We were wrrr…

Hard to get that word out..wrrrrroo…

Wrong.

There we go. We blew it.

Yes we were dead wrong about one thing concerning the NFL Meetings in Phoenix this week:

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick did participate in the annual Coaches Photo.

There now, you happy?

One thing we weren’t wrong about was that there’s be plenty of Patriots buzz coming from Belichick and owner Robert Kraft. And that a lot of it would surround itself around everyone’s shiny new toy, Lamar Jackson.

Thank goodness the Red Sox Opening Day, plus the Celtics taking on the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday took a lot of that buzz and debate to the back burner.

Robert Kraft was asked in a late followup the other day about Jackson and he offered the nugget of rapper Meek Mill – like we really knew who he was, sorry – texting him that Jackson wanted to be a Patriot. Oh wow, roll out the red carpet.

Of course he wants to be a Patriot. He also wants to be a Dolphin. A Jet. A Falcon. A Colt. Name any team other than the Balimore Ravens and he’ll say he loves the idea.

Jackson, despite some recent spin, wants a Deshaun Watson like contract, fully guaranteed. That will never happen. And let’s see how good the Browns get in the next couple of years.

Jackson turned down what we think was a pretty good offer from the Ravens, because he wants a contract better than the outrageous one given Watson. Wants a trade. Didn’t attend the team’s playoff game vs. the Bengals, a game they almost won. If he was smart enough to have an agent, he’d be a Raven right now.

Everyone wants the Patriots to go for Jackson now. The media capologists are giving all sorts of ways that this can be done. Oh yeah, fine, but what about, say, year three of the deal, when the bill ultimately comes due? Not to mention the numerous restructurings that have to take place.

Oh, and let’s not forget about the draft picks. To make an offer and have it not be matched would cost two first round picks. To have him sign the franchise tender with the Ravens and be dealt would cost way more than that. And does one really think the Ravens will deal him within the AFC? Ask the L.A. Rams about what it’s like to be cap strapped and not have any young players from the draft able to fill in for all the injures.

We’d be foolish to say that Mac Jones is better than Jackson. But Jackson is also 1-3 in the playoffs, and the reason the Ravens don’t want to guarantee the contract is he’s been injured the last two seasons because he’s a run-first style.

That’s not the type of player you want to invest a ton of guaranteed money, kill your cap and drain your draft capital for. The time to get Jackson was in the draft.

Sure, Kraft is going to say the decision is up to Belichick. If he doesn’t, then he’ll have a huge internal problem on his hands. It was the right answer for another reason as well: the owners are more or less colluding, and the idea of a Watson type contract will be way more than just frowned upon by the wealthy fraternity.

The best way for success is to draft a you ng quarterback, five years of team control, low cap hit, and build around him. The Patriots looked like they were doing that with Mac Jones, until Belichick made his major gaff by destroying his offense and young QB’s psyche with two sub-par coaches. It was a major, major mistake that now has the owner clearly annoyed and basically demanding that progress be made.

Look, fans, this isn’t unexpected. Once the best player on your team (Tom Brady) leaves, it’s just not going to be the same and the coach won’t look as great and infallable. The Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls under Chuck Noll , the last coming in January of 1980. QB Terry Bradshaw retired in 1983 with most of the talent around him gone and Noll won just two playoff games thereafter until he retired after the 1991 season.

The Patriots are committed, despite what an obviously annoyed Belichick said during his press conference which ended in the “last 25 years” gaf to Jones with coordinator Bill O’Brien. They’ll try to build a team around him rather than rip their team apart for a shiny toy that has broken down not once but twice in the last couple of years.

Right move? Like Belichick says, we’ll see. And so will the owner. But it’s better than killing your team down the road. If we’re wrrrr…well, that word, we’ll let you know.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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