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I just hope he doesn't get a chance to be too much of a difference maker, if you know what I mean.
Sciz, you should already know that the future of the offense is the jumbo-spread.
Ballard will be on the field for no less than 85% of snaps next year.
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I don't actually believe that the number will be that high, but I expect him to see a lot of time next year. Belichick loves the 3 TE sets with Solder/Crumpler. The problem was that neither of those players were capable receivers which Ballard is. Obviously not Rob Gronkowski, but he's an underrated pass catcher.
Also while Hernandez is a better player, Ballard fits the scheme better.
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.
Nice analysis but ballard is coming off an ACL. He won't be the same until
2014.
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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. "
Nice analysis but ballard is coming off an ACL. He won't be the same until
2014.
Easy there Debbie Downer. Welker was very productive his season back from ACL injury, which happened the end of the season before. Ballard was the end of last season.
Nice analysis but ballard is coming off an ACL. He won't be the same until
2014.
The fact is we don't know how he will be in 2013. Players heal at different rates. Look how quickly Welker healed.
We know for a fact that Ballard was operated on in February of last year. So by the time training camp comes around the end of July, it will be 17 months since that operation....18 months when the season starts.
Even on the long end, assuming things have gone well, he should be able to make a difference on the field. Besides, it's not like he was "The Flash" anyways. He had some decent quickness in turns and could make great catches. As long as he can make those turns in his routes, I see him being a big difference maker.
The fact is we don't know how he will be in 2013. Players heal at different rates. Look how quickly Welker healed.
We know for a fact that Ballard was operated on in February of last year. So by the time training camp comes around the end of July, it will be 17 months since that operation....18 months when the season starts.
Even on the long end, assuming things have gone well, he should be able to make a difference on the field. Besides, it's not like he was "The Flash" anyways. He had some decent quickness in turns and could make great catches. As long as he can make those turns in his routes, I see him being a big difference maker.
Yup. It's hard to say that Ballard will be fully healthy and will be on the field for 85% of the plays (as someone said up thread). Even if healthy, he's still the third TE and it's not as if the third TE ever gets on the field THAT much.
But this guy could be a very nice piece and hedge against injury risk.
And his play could make NY Giants fans vomit.
And I hate this sports week so I need good thoughts like these to distract me.
And Bernard Pollard should have very bad things happen to him.
Injury issues aside, next year the Patriots will have three TEs on the roster who have all had very productive years since 2010.
Gronk (every year in the league he's been tremendous)
Hernandez (2011 - 79 rec, 910 yds, 7 td)
Ballard (2011 - 38 rec, 604 yds, 4 td)
They can rotate the three guys and not lose a whole lot with any combination. It'll keep them fresh and reduce the risk of injury. And then, since Gronk and Ballard both block like linemen, they can go with a jumbo package of Gronk and Ballard, and then, with them isolated on run-stuffing LBs, split them out wide and they'll have one-on-one matchups. Nice. :-)
The fact is we don't know how he will be in 2013. Players heal at different rates. Look how quickly Welker healed.
We know for a fact that Ballard was operated on in February of last year. So by the time training camp comes around the end of July, it will be 17 months since that operation....18 months when the season starts.
Even on the long end, assuming things have gone well, he should be able to make a difference on the field. Besides, it's not like he was "The Flash" anyways. He had some decent quickness in turns and could make great catches. As long as he can make those turns in his routes, I see him being a big difference maker.
Welker was NOT 100% when he got back, yes he was productive but he was clearly not the same until 2011. Just compare his 2010 numbers with his 2011 stats.
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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. "
Welker was NOT 100% when he got back, yes he was productive but he was clearly not the same until 2011.
Yeah, but again, Welker was back the next season after he was hurt. Ballard won't be coming back until the following year (2nd season after he was hurt). Plus Welker relies almost exclusively on quickness to get open, while Ballard uses his size and his strength as well.
Given Gronkowski's inability to stay healthy this past season, having Ballard to pick up the ST snaps and hopefully contribute in the base offense is a huge boost for us.
Keeping Grnkowski healthy and fresher come playoff time could be the missing puzzle piece for our offense.
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Re: Jake Ballard - Difference Maker Next Year
Re: Jake Ballard - Difference Maker Next Year
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