Schefter: Brandon Aiyuk-to-NE is Off Because 'the Patriots are Excited About Their Young Receivers.' Looks Like Old Balls Was Right Again.

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Some blogs just write themselves. Either because you Tweeted them, or you already blogged them, or both.

Take the hysterics over the idea of the Patriots making a major trade for Brandon Aiyuk. With the idea of the Pats being so close to making such a splashy, it was only natural that pundits and fans alike would get distracted by the jingling keys and lose focus on what really matters for this team. Just not your pal Old Balls. Here's what I posted on X:

Much more importantly, since colorful multi-billionaire Elon Musk doesn't pay me to put stuff up on his platform but since colorful multi-millionaire Dave Portnoy does, this is what I posted here:

[There's a] reason why I'm not jumping at the prospect of having the most talented deep threat this team has seen since probably Randy Moss. … And it is the receivers we currently have. …

I'm in a place mentally and emotionally where I'm not interested in The Quick Fix. I accept that in order to do this right and make this team a reasonable facsimilie of what it once was, it's going to take time. That is, if we're interested in doing this right. …

And to me, the way to truly do this right is to see what we have before we go running off to get our hands on the shiny new thing. Mostly due to the fact as we sit here on August 6th, I'm extremely high on the upside of the guys they've drafted the last couple of drafts.

And then went onto post videos of great routes run and catches made by rookies Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, second-year receivers Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte, and another by under-peforming Season 3 guy Tyquan Thornton, who might just be the most improved Patriot in camp. Because I truly believe trusting the process of developing them is a better path to long term success than spending a fortune in blood and treasure on Aiyuk. 

And a few hours after? I guess I wasn't sounding so crazy after all:

Sure, you can read all this and jump to the conclusion that I'm a next-level genius with the sort of intellect that makes childless women want to become pregnant by me in hopes of giving birth to future Nobel Prize winners. I won't argue with you. But honestly, all I'm trying to be is a realist. 

After going 12-22 over the previous two seasons, facing an uncertain future with a new coach, new offensive coordinator, mostly new offensive line, a young and inexperienced receiver room, and in due time, a new rookie quarterback. This is our reality. This is not currently a destination team for many players with options. Like with Calvin Ridley before him, Brandon Aiyuk's best use of the Patriots is leverage to get what he wants from whomever he'd rather play for. Ours is the team that sets the market for you, and hope your preferred destination matches that offer. But either way, you end up going where you hoped to end up all along. The Patriots right now are the free agent equivalent of what Tampa Bay was to MLB franchises in the 1990s. The market you threatend to move to so that your home city will build you a stadium. But you're actually just bluffing.

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And I'm fine with that. In fact, I'd be disappointed right now if Eliot Wolf had sent next year's 2nd rounder plus Kendrick Bourne and invested $30 million a year on one position that might be perfectly good for the foreseeable future. There are too many needs all around the roster, and no shortcuts to future sustained excellence. 

In the meantime, I'll let you know if being right all the time ever gets boring. It hasn't so far.