JR4

any news is better than nothing

From KFFL
Patriots | K. Faulk discusses return game
Mon, 26 Jun 2006 05:56:05 -0700

Eric Narcissse, of The Advertiser, recently discussed the New England Patriots return game with Patriots RB Kevin Faulk. When he asked Faulk if he was returning kickoffs and punts Faulk replied, "To be honest with you, I haven't the slightest idea. We are just trying to find the best guy to put back there." He then asked Faulk if he wanted to return kickoffs and punts and Faulk replied, "I'm a team player, so I'll do whatever the team wants me to do. My job is to help the team win, so if that means returning kickoffs or punts - I'll do it." Faulk also said the minicamps he has attended so far have been pretty good.

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Faulks response .... pure belichickian

patsox23

AWESOME!!!

ilduce06410

seems to me that kevin were ever to get disgruntled and and crotchety, this year would be it.
new RB there, other RBs have velue.
what, does he now have to compete with patrick pass and heath evans for a roster spot? is BB going to leave that up in question all summer?
time to feel "disrespected" if there ever was one.

spacecrime

of course.

roster spots aren't reserved

if faulk can't play better than pass and evans, then why is it disrespecting him to give the spot to the better players?

not that i think he won't beat out both pass and evans

barring tc injury, my guess is:

dillon-maroney-faulk-mills to the 53
pass to the shadow roster

pats1

Let's not make this into "Pass won't get cut" part II, but...

Since we know Mills won't be running the ball soon, I think we should leave him out of the # of RB equation. As I've said before, we won't see Pass lining up at TE, nor will we see Mills lining up at TB. They're not fighting for the same roster spot.

spacecrime

I don't see either Mills or Pass as RBs, actually. I see Mills and Pass competing for the only FB spot on the roster, with ST being the deciding factor.

If Mills makes the roster, and I simply cannot see an early fourth round pick being cut unless he truly stinks, then Pass has a very tough job ahead of him.

But that is just my opinioin. It a difference of opinion that makes betting on horse races possible.

arrellbee

I am somewhat puzzled. There are a lot of posts on Faulk and Pass. But I don't quite get why Pass isn't regarded as an RB (granted he has only 1/6 of the carries of the RB offense) or why Faulk is so 'clearly' more valuable than Pass. Mind you, I'm not making any case for either one of them - I'm pretty sure I don't have the nitty gritty info that will determine what Belichick does with the RB roster positions. But I am just puzzled. Here, for interest, are the stats for the two last year. I am clearly in the camp that stats don't give a terribly meaningful picture. Yet, they aren't meaningless either .......

Faulk and Pass had about the same number of carries and receptions last year (50+ carries and 20+ receptions each).
Carries:
Faulk 2.8 avg, 13 longest, 0 TD, 5 FD
Pass. 4.5 avg, 31 longest, 3 TD, 12 FD
Receptions:
Faulk 9.0 avg, 23 longest, 2 20+, 0 TD, 13 FD
Pass. 10.3avg, 39 longest, 4 20+, 0 TD, 8 FD

Faulk and Pass both have baggage of injuries and fumbles. As Box pointed out so clearly in one thread, Pass has ST value unless he gets beat out of those duties in TC.

As I say, I'm just puzzled.

JR4

good point arrellbee! When it comes to fumbles maybe Pass has had
his share of fumbles but the ones I remember best are the one Faulk makes.
He seems to have a knack of fumbling at just the worst time.
( assuming there is a better time to fumble )

pats1

Just as the Pats have kept an extra player or two at positions in the past, I can easily envision this scenario:

4 RBs - Dillon, Faulk, Maroney, Pass
4 TEs - Graham, Watson, Thomas, Mills
5 WRs - Branch, Caldwell, Jackson, Brown, Childress

Like it or not, Pass was and will continue to be the Pats' staritng FB. While Pass isn't the greatest blocker himself, he holds the edge (as we saw in 2004) in blocking over Mills.

Given Dillon's age and injury history last year, and then Faulk missing a good chunk of each season the last 2 years, and Maroney, well, being a rookie, there IS a need for a RB that had shown promise running it last year. And if you think Pass will be available if Faulk or Dillon goes down (again), think again. Teams haven't missed his return time early in his career, or some of his big plays in 2004 and 2005.

PATSNUTme

He also has the knack of making a big play at just the right time. Review the 3 Game to Glory films and see for yourself. It doesn't matter which one- any or all of them.