Bob Quinn came off the top rope a little bit on Wednesday in Indianapolis. The newly-hired Lions GM --- and former Patriots personnel man -- basically put the whole team on notice that it just plain isn’t good enough.
“There’s a lot of areas on the team that need to improve, not just the offensive line,” Quinn said in a response to a question about (you guessed it!) the offensive line. “You can go to running back, tight end, defensive line, secondary, linebackers, some of the specialists . . . This team didn’t make the playoffs last year and there’s a reason for that. That’s why I’m here and hopefully we can improve the team.”
Improving the team is what every GM in the league is trying to do right now. But what’s interesting from a local standpoint is the number of former Patriots execs -- and one head coach -- who will be swimming in the same personnel pond, using similar philosophies to hook players.
Aside from Quinn, the Titans hired Jon Robinson this offseason to be their GM. He came over from Tampa Bay, where he worked alongside Jason Licht, another personnel man with Patriots roots. Meanwhile, Scott Pioli and Thomas Dimitroff are still running things in Atlanta and Texans head coach Bill O’Brien obviously has Patriotic sensibilities as well that will flavor some of the personnel calls he and GM Rick Smith make.
Quinn knows that building team depth -- which he says is his priority -- is not just a matter of calling some agents when free agency starts or waiting for your turn in the draft. There are a lot of rocks to kick over.
“Whether it’s free agency, whether it’s the draft, there’s dozens of other avenues I’m gonna use every year to improve this team,” he said. “I know the draft and free agency get all the media buzz and I respect that because it’s a big story, but there’s dozens of other ways we can acquire players and talent.”
On social media, that comment seem to raise a skeptical eyebrow from some NFL media. Yet while 12 is an exaggeration, there are -- and the Patriots have proven -- a lot of ways to add talent. There are straight post-draft signings of undrafted guys, minicamp tryouts for ignored undrafted guys (Malcolm Butler), plucking players off of practice squads, beating the bushes for retired guys who might want to come back (Junior Seau, Steven Jackson), trades and probably some other avenues.
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The Patriots will have competition for certain types of players as well, one has to expect.
It’s not all negative, though. Consider the number of deals the Patriots have made with teams they are comfortable with that paid off. Jonathan Casillas, LeGarrette Blount and Aqib Talib all came from Tampa. Keshawn Martin came from Houston.
Hell, maybe Quinn has a big receiver under contract for a massive number that is ambivalent about returning to Detroit. A little inventiveness and some interest on the part of the player then -- voila -- you got a deal.