Here’s further proof - as if anyone needs it - of my dedication to my craft.
Today was all about serving the public.
Leaving my quiet seaside community to drive an hour to Foxboro because Draft Season is upon us.
And it’s a Draft Season unlike any other.
With a new regime.
A new head coach.
And presumably, an entirely new approach.
I do and do and do for you kids, and I ask nothing for myself.
The whole atmosphere in the place was perceptibly different.
Not quite like having a substitute teacher; there was none of that chaos.
He’s a legacy.
The son of the guy who ran the Packers forever.
So he’s been trained on how to answer questions without actually giving answers.
Not giving away proprietary information or exposing state secrets at least.
He’s more deft when it comes to giving evasive non-answers than his precedessor.
All that said, I didn’t come all this way just to learn about style.
I burned all that fuel for substance.
To have a go at determine what this franchise’s direction is going forward.
Trader Ron is ready to deal.
But if that 2025 pick gets replaced with Justin Jefferson, we might be looking at a history-making transaction.
And he feels the same way about other QB prospects, though he didn’t name names.
The process for evaluating the position is, as you’d figure, their game film.
And the ages of the various prospects will not be a factor in the evaluation process.
But he said they get a lot out of the visits they’ve conducted.
From the way these guys carry themselves.
How they act around other people in the building.
The Process
As far as the decision-making, there was quite a bit of talk about “consensus.”
Which is why the old system worked so well for so long.
The Pats used to be run by an all-powerful Dictator with a very small council of trusted advisors.
One consisting entirely of Ernie Adams.
What Wolf described isn’t a full on Parliamentary Democracy; it’s more of an Oligarchy.
With himself, Jerod Mayo, and the coordinators making the calls.
What he described as “the true decision makers.”
And while with that No.
Wide Receivers
It should come as no surprise that the topic of wideouts came up a lot.
Wolf did mention the record of success the Packers had at the position while he was there.
But as far as the Patriots many failed attempts?
Much like the rest of us, he’s damned if he can explain it.
While defending KJ Osborne, Kendrick Bourn and Pop Douglas and insisting the world is underrating them.
On a related note, the season does not, in fact, begin for another 5 1/2 months.
(OK, I’ll admit this is a dickish way for me to phrase this.
He’s done nothing to deserve my shade.
A cynical man would point out there is still $53 million of cap room available for further supplementation.
But I don’t want to be that guy.
So while this was a quality way to start, so far it’s all just talk.
Let’s hope it was.
