TommyBrady12

the players who are on the field have to execute better. it doesn't matter who the personell is if they don't do their job. would jake ballard have made a difference this year against the ravens? no, the team as a whole didn't play well. brady was missing passes, welker dropping balls, bad coaching, etc. so all this talk of getting revis, signing bowe, or inserting ballard into the lineup is pointless unless the team executes in a way it hasn't in the past 8 years. in big games these guys simply don't want to rise up and meet the challenge - they play tight and timid.

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"He’s the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. He goes from being a rookie that nobody is expecting anything from, to taking over with people saying he can’t do it, to winning three Super Bowls....It should already be obvious he’s the greatest quarterback to ever have played. "

- Steelers S Troy Polamalu on Tom Brady

Ive_Killed_People

Go away Mr Sunshine

VJCPatriot

lol yeah that would be nice. if only we could take back that meaningless extra point injury.

ballard gives us depth that we need. shiancoe and fells have done nothing even with opportunities shown their way.

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SacPete1

I am so on board with the thought have another TE who is a good blocker and a decent receiver which really fits Ballard. If healthy, I see a new formation with he and Gronk along with Hernandez (WR = Lloyd) which would offer simply another formation/player grouping that would require a heavy defense.
Blocking from our TE's with Gronk out of the lineup was average at best and was really evident in the Baltimore game.

patsfan13

Fells was supposed to back up Gronk and was a disappointment this year. Ballard if healthy will fill that role nicely, Hooman will be the backup for AH. The TE position will be very solid going forward.

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"Some guys play in all-star games, some guys don't. I don't know who picks all those all-star teams. In all honesty, I don't know who picks the combine, for that matter," Belichick said. "How does (Miami-Ohio offensive lineman Brandon) Brooks not get invited to the combine? How did Vollmer not get invited to the combine? I don't know. We can't really worry about that. We just have to try to evaluate them the best we can."

DarrylStingley

Yep. I don't see Ballard being a huge difference maker but having a solid third TE in this offense, and really more of a classic TE than Hernandez, will be nothing but positive.

If he's in fact a huge plus for the Pats offense, the pain and aggravation that it will cause Tom Coughlin and Giants fans will be nothing but glorious. Never ending pleasure. Sportsgasm.

DocHoliday

He's huge but so damn slow.

He's literally an O-lineman running around the field. Interesting to note that some scouts said he could be an offensive lineman.

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Fencer

If he were THAT good, wouldn't he still be a Giant?

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"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." -- Oscar Wilde

ctpatsfan77

For reasons I cannot understand, the Giants put him on IR too early in the offseason, which required them to expose him to waivers first. [IR still counts as one of the 90 roster spots, so it wouldn't have given them a roster spot.]

And dangling a TE with 38 catches for 600 yards was just begging Belichick to put in a waiver claim.

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"Momentum was quickly snatched away by New England, who once again proved that any Patriot, at any moment, can make a play." —Inside the NFL, Packers v. Patriots

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RI Patriots fan

I think some posters are underestimating just how good Ballard is as a TE. He had more yards (604 versus 563,546) and a better YPC average (15.9 versus 13.0,12.5) than both Gronk and Hern his first year.

Our TEs also missed a combined 11 games last year, so that means we didn't have a second quality TE for most of the season.

If you include the Cardinals game and the playoff loss to Baltimore (since Gron and Hern were both out at the very beginning of each game) 4 out of our 5 losses have come when either Gronk or Hern weren't playing. The one loss we have when they were both playin was in Seattle with a less than healthy Hern.

I think having a number 1 TE (and yes, he is clearly a number 1 TE) like Ballard to back up Gronk and Hern will make a huge difference next year on the offense. The odds are very likely that both TEs will not be healthy all 16 games (Hern has missed 10 games in 3 seasons).

I really believe that we will see the greatest TE line-up of all time next year and I believe it will make all the difference.