I'm not sure how many people listen, but Bill Polian was on Tom Curran's podcast yesterday and it was I think a pretty reasoned take on Bill, the Patriots, and rebuilding.
Feels like so often we're shifting week to week and in a bit of a bubble, so it was interesting to hear a pretty veteran take on the situation.
Posted Nov 10, 2023, 6:17 PM UTC
Definitely a good listen. Bill Polian had a really level-headed take to the situation that the Patriots are in. Certainly more intelligent take than people in this sub and/or most of boston sports media.
Dynasties end. They all do. It happens. It's spanned several generations of players and coaches. There's been a brain drain (coaches, front-office, scouts, etc) and talent drain. They hadn't drafted well and tried to patch holes to keep things rolling the last few years but it's finally time for a reset. It'll be up to Bill(if he wants to) and Kraft(if he wants to let Bill or look elsewhere) how it turns out. If Kraft decides to roll with Bill, he's gotta let Bill be Bill. If not, it's better if they part ways.
Its like you wrote a report in the episode.
A-
It’s funny Curran kept trying to lead Polian to “team sucks Bill’s washed, time to move on…. Right?” And Polian wouldn’t
Polian seems like a sharp guy, this was a good watch, thank you for posting.
Curran seemed to be filling the role of the fan analogue in that interview. He brought up a lot of the feelings and beliefs that the fans have, and let Polian basically tell us to "chill".
Curran takes every opportunity he can to shit on Bill. Not really sure that’s the fan analogue
I generally think this is true but I thought he did a pretty fair job in this interview. Pushed back enough to give Polian the opportunity to fully flesh out what he thinks. It was a pretty good listen actually
I thought he had some fair takes but I thought his stance on Mac of “has he performed well literally ever? Well then he’s good! Keep him!” Was silly. He also traded in one narrative that I’ve seen a lot of people do which is conflate the idea of people being spoiled and having sour grapes about no longer rolling out of bed and being in the AFC Championship game, with people saying “hey this team is going in the wrong direction and Bill’s not getting any younger what’s the plan.” Nobody expected the dynasty to just keep rolling once Tom was gone they just thought it would be better than this.
I just think it's a different perspective from an experienced FO guy. I really dont like Polian in general, but I think as fans we have a much different perspective on how things operate compared to how FOs internally operate.
So, it's interesting.
And I'd disagree on the fan entitlement and dynasty thing. I think a lot of fans have never experienced a rebuild, have never experienced the Patriots sucking, and there are a lot of sour grapes about it. If rebuilds were so automatic the NFL would be a lot more competitive.
they just thought it would be better than this.
Goes to show what 'they' thought they knew
Thanks! I saved it so I could listen later!
Never liked the guy but his resume cannot be denied. Built the late '80's Bills, a quick contender in Carolina and then the Manning Colts. Eerily similar fall from grace in Indy as well.
Okay, this convinced me. Time to fire Bill if the guy who claimed he had a "first round grade" on Brady but didn't draft him in six rounds thinks we need to ride it out.
Loved this interview. Really refreshing to hear someone who’s been there several times give a levelheaded perspective. The players aren’t great, you’ve lost decades of experience within the coaching/scouting rooms in the last 5 years, you don’t have that unicorn QB anymore, it’s probably time for a full reset.
Love that Polian doesn’t bite in any of the revisionism regarding Bill’s legacy or prowess. The teams not good, that doesn’t mean Bill never was.
Still fuck this guy for flipping the rules committee to get Peyton a title
He did have a first round grade on Brady before passing on him however many times so the Patriots could get him so he's not all bad... /s
He had an upper 3rd round grade on Tom.
Polian has stated that Brady would've been a 1st Rounder if he was more athletic.
He also thought Lamar Jackson should covert to WR because he couldn’t cut it as a QB
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bill-polian-claims-colts-had-a-first-round-grade-on-tom-brady
No doubt.
Yeah Bill Polian is a bitch