signbabybrady

Patriots blog - Reiss' Pieces - Boston.com

Mike had a nice breakdown of who was on the core special teams KO, Punt, KR, and PR.

these were the 4 guys on all 4 units above.
S Matthew Slater
S Brandon McGowan
LB Eric Alexander
WR Sam Aiken


When you add Chung, Ventrone, and Edelman to this list it would seems some of our key STs guys are all of similar mold except Alexander.

Chung looking good on STs and the presence of McGowan on all four units IMO cant be a good thing for Slater as they are all listed Safeties and McGowan and Chung are the better Safeties. I find it interesting Ventrone isnt on all four but maybe that was just to get a look at others.

This IMO is heating up as a real interesting battle. I think we all would have ignored Alexander saying the others are better but don't forget Izzo is gone and Alexander is probably the best STs player from the LB group maybe Churchoo (i learned how to pronounce it and forgot how to spell it) but I haven't seen enough. Maybe they are moving to some smaller quicker guys without the wedge.

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patchick

Every time I noticed McGowan's number it was in a positive way. He's been a bit of a forgotten man in board discussions, but I'm not counting him out.

Also, I don't think Ciurciu suited up?

signbabybrady

Yeah, I have noticed McGowan make a few nice plays at camp nothing amazing but I must admit to kind of ignoring him too except the last few practices as I started to realize I wanted a better look at him.

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pencilneckgeek

He suited up, #50 in your program, spotted overrunning the play in punt coverage on two occasions. I'll give him at leaset a week to settle down before I pass judgment on his ability as an STer.

BradyManny

I'd have a hard time justifying a roster spot for Eric Alexander on this roster. He looked poor at ILB last nite, and the depth at that position isn't strong enough to justify keeping an ST only guy there.

signbabybrady

If he is a STs only guy was does it matter what the depth is at his position?

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BradyManny

Theoretically, it doesn't. I guess I think this roster is too stacked to carry him if he can't contribute on defense at all. I want the best 53 players on my team.

mgteich

If someone is one of three special teamers on the squad and does NOTHING else, he is one of the best 53 players on the team.

Why does the best special teamer need to be a 4th or 5th string linebacker, wide receiver or safety.

That being said, I don't think Alexander is one of the best three special teamers on this team.

bucky

You're right on all accounts. He's probably 4th out of the 4 on Reiss' list. And I'd venture to say that TBC is a better ST player. Chung is probably better too, but then you start getting into the different ST positions and they don't quite compare in that sense.

AzPatsFan

I thought little of Alexander's play, Including his ST non-contributions.

Churciu was a disapointment on ST. He took himself out of position three times, and great returns came through the holes he created. Unfortunately the great returns were by the other team.

Chung looks like a real keeper on ST, and so does the ex-Bear Brandon McGowan. I can see why Aiken is ST captain, too/ And Pierre Woods contributed as well.

Unmentioned was the non-mistakes by other ST contributors. Ingram did not screw up a snap. But one snap to the punter was a little low and to the left. And one snap to the FG holder was a little high, But that is nitpicking. He should be much cheaper than the ex-Arizona long snapper. Gostowski's leg was accurate and the punters leg seemed to be stronger too.

I did notice that Ingram was in on the stop on a long return. As was the punter as well, another time. Its encouraging when these specialists are willing to be football players too.

I suspect the days of the ST only contributor, are drawing to a close.