ESPN Insider already declaring Ron Brace a bust? - Page 3 - New England Patriots Forums

PATSYLICIOUS · 11-04-2009, 07:41 AM

Too early for the bust label. However you gotta admit it's a tad concerning that Terdell Sands, a guy who's not even on the team anymore, was active over him. Especially with the success of the other rookies this year.

***robertweathers*** · 11-04-2009, 08:00 AM

I'll be honest, I am slightly a disappointed that a 2nd round pick, 330 lb DT has not shown the coaching staff enough to get 5-10 snaps with the D and the opportunity that he did get did not go very well.

Still, in no way is Brace a bust. Terrence Wheatley is much farther down the path of "bust declaration" than Brace.

NE39 · 11-04-2009, 08:14 AM

I'm not really concerned about him being outplayed by a lower-drafted prospect. Ultimately, who cares where they were drafted? Seems to me we had a 6th round QB outplay our established 1st-overall pick guy at one time, and it worked out pretty well. Maybe Pryor ends up being really good, in which case it is a bad thing he out-played our 2nd rounder?

Maybe Brace needs some time to develop, a year of Pro conditioning. I haven't heard anything about the coaching staff being unhappy with his effort and work ethic. Let him work behind the scenes and wait his turn. Seems early to label him anything, whether it be a bust or success.

***FreeTedWilliams*** · 11-04-2009, 08:27 AM

Of all the Pats draft picks, I thought that Brace would be the quickest one to get on the field. Pryor has been a pleasant suprise (althouh he was 2nd team all SEC, and did have a knack for causing fumbles and tackles in the backfield while in college) Pryor played at Kentucky and went un-noticed. I think most of y'all saw Brace play every weekend and expected more from him. I would not label Brace a bust right now, rather I would label Pryor a sucess for the drafting team that plucked him. It is obvious that Pryor can play in the NFL, I went back and read some draft day stuff about Pryor and they compared him to Mike Wright.

You have to remember that anyone who plays in the SEC, is going to have a advantage coming into the NFL, as the talent level in the SEC is the only thing that is even close to the NFL in college.

Brace shold see some more time now that Green is out for a few weeks, but as of now, Pryor has simply beat him out for the job, I think that says more about Pryor than it does Brace.

***patchick*** · 11-04-2009, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rossmci90

According to the guy who wrote this article, Brandon Merriweather is a bust.

Seriously, he's SEVEN games into his NFL career.

To be fair, Brandon Meriweather has made the active 45 for every single game of his career. People also like to compare Brace to Ty Warren "starting slowly," but Warren also played 16 games as a rookie, and started 4 of them.

Of course it's silly hyperbole to call a guy a "bust" after 7 games. But it's also unrealistic to pretend that Brace is following a perfectly normal development path and is just buried by a deep roster. Remember, for one of his inactive games, Terdell Sands made the 45 instead.

Brandon McGowan was a bargain-basement signing late in free agency who looked like a long shot to crack a safety roster that included 2 returning starters and the team's top draft pick. He's now entrenched as a starter. Darius Butler was looking up at Bodden, Wilhite and Springs, but he's already drawn a starting assignment. Etc. If Brace were looking impressive, it's fair to assume he'd be on the field.

No panic here, but some modest disappointment seems fair.

Bobs My Uncle · 11-04-2009, 08:37 AM

I know players progress at different rates but I'd feel MUCH better if Brace was viewed by the coaches as being capable of starting on this team right now. Far too early to label any draft pick from this class a bust but I gotta say I'm starting to get worried that Brace has been silent up to this point.

thodoks · 11-04-2009, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joker

the reason we get these posts is there exists a certain core group of Pats fans that are totally immersed in fantasy football and get so deep into their mountains and mountains of stats that they begin to think THEY know more than the Patriot organization about how to run this football team.

THIS

10chars

***patchick*** · 11-04-2009, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joker

the reason we get these posts is there exists a certain core group of Pats fans that are totally immersed in fantasy football and get so deep into their mountains and mountains of stats that they begin to think THEY know more than the Patriot organization about how to run this football team. This is why you see so many "I say this player is this" and "I say this player can't play that" after tiny samples of seasonal data are in.

There's no question that phenomenon exists. But how does it apply in this case? Nobody is analyzing stats at all here. And far from second-guessing the coaches, we're basing our concern on the coaching staff's own judgment in benching the player.

Ice Cold Bruschi · 11-04-2009, 09:16 AM

I remember when Warren was allegedly a bust because Dan Klecko was getting more playing time than him.

***Rob0729*** · 11-04-2009, 09:46 AM

If Brace was a high first round pick, I would label him a bust so far (I wouldn't label him a complete bust yet). Being a midround second round pick, it is far too early.

Hey Ziggy Hood was drafted in the first round and 9 spots ahead of Brace and he has an assisted tackle and that is it for his career so far.