Time to Start and Play Younger Players

Yeah but one of those trades was with the Raiders so it doesn't count (and for a guy most of the league thought was damaged goods at the time too). The Fins could have matched the offer for Welker and kept him too but chose not to thinking it too expensive (that from the team you would think would know what he could do, huh).

And Davis is looking like a better pick all the time. I still think Kelly has more upside than Thomas but the reality is that I don't either guy is going to amount to much with Campbell throwing them the ball. He just doesn't seem to see them like he does Moss, Cooley, ARE, the checkdown backs and now Davis.

But that's the sign of a good GM. The Pats made the deal for Moss when others would not.

The 49ers did the same thing with Steve Young back in the 1980's.

The point is that there are avenues open to improve the roster that don't include spending a top 10 pick or giving a guy $40M before he proves he is a fit in your system.
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You are right, it is the sign of a good GM. But the Pats are also the same team that picked up Adelius Thomas in free agency and he has not been the same player in NE that he was Baltimore, to the point he has been non-injury scratch at least once this season. You can't talk about the big moves that paid off without talking about the ones that weren't so good.

Every move in this league is a calculated risk. Perhaps the Pats have been better at it than other teams and perhaps having Tom Brady makes some of these moves less risky. On the front end of every pass Moss and Welker catch is Brady. Do we really believe either of these guys would have the numbers they have if they were being thrown to by Jason Campbell?

Conversely, I am guessing that Kelly, Thomas and Davis would all have better numbers playing in NE than they do playing in Washington and none of them would staring at wearing the "bust" label there.

Bobby Beathard made his share of mistakes as GM here.

Remember the trade of a #2 for Malcolm Barnwell?

Remember the drafting of Wally Kleine, Walter Murray, and Bob Slater in round 2?

BUT, Beathard made up for those mistakes by drafting Hall of Famers Monk and Green in Round 1 and finding gems like Mckenzie, Manley, Didier, Grant, Grimm, Gouveia, etc. In later rounds.

And THAT is the problem here.

We make mistakes but don't recover from them with consequent bonus moves.

Finding a London Fletcher in FA or drafting a Cooley just doesn't equal us out for all the miscues and poor judgments.
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Looks like Mitchell may get some playing time this Sunday:

http://twitter.com/1067thefandc

"My goal is to be the best WR on the field, to beat the DB's and to come back with a win." -Marko Mitchell's goals for Sunday. #Redskins.

Friday's news from Park: P. Daniels named Ed Block Courage Award winner, M. Mitchell will play on Sunday, Blades & Horton are questionable.
about 1 hour ago