Why does everyone assume that Faulk makes the team? - Page 5 - New England Patriots Forums

***pats1*** · 03-18-2007, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacecrime

At what point do we have enough pass catchers out of the back field to put Faulk's job in jeopardy? At what point, when push comes to shove, do you keep younger talent and jettison the old?

What younger talent is there to replace Faulk? There's none!

Garrett Mills is an H-Back/TE/blocking FB. In NO way could he be used in the same role as Faulk. Would a defense even be remotely afraid of Faulk's deadly draw running if they lined up Mills instead in the backfield? Hell no!

Mark my words: You will NEVER see Mills as the RB in a single-back set. NEVER.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacecrime

In Faulk's case, it is 2007, at least for me. Not to say he can't play, just that if Mills shows good stuff in pre-season games, and with Evans and Morris, I'd rather cut Faulk and use the roster spot elsewhere.

Again, if Mills show his good stuff, as he did last preseason, he'll simply find his niche on the roster. But he isn't going to replace Faulk. He'd be much more likely to replace Evans, or just have both co-exist.

Here's how the offensive roster will shake out:

Starting RB - Maroney
Spell RB - Morris
3rd Down RB - Faulk
Blocking FB - Evans

H-Back - Mills

Starting TE - Watson
Starting TE - Thomas
Blocking TE - Brady

Starting WR - Stallworth
Starting WR - Caldwell
Slot WR - Welker
Slot WR - Washington/Gaffney
Emergency WR - Washington/Gaffney
Up in the Air WR - Jackson

Starting LT - Light
Starting LG - Mankins
Starting C - Koppen
Starting RG - Neal
Starting RT - O'Callaghan/Kaczur

Backup OT - O'Callaghan/Kaczur
Backup OT - Britt
Backup G/C - Hochstein
Backup G/C - Yates/Mruczkowski

(One of the backup OL spots could be eliminated)

***pats1*** · 03-18-2007, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacecrime

Irrelevant. (see WMG, AV, Givens, Law, Spires, Wasington, etc etc etc etc)

You are thinking with your emotions, not your head. You are also missing the point. Faulk is going to be let go. That is absolutely true.

The question is not whether he will go away, as will Troy and Seymour and Brady, the question is "When?"

For Faulk, I see no compelling reason that it might be this year.

There's NO player to replace Faulk on the roster right now.

***pats1*** · 03-18-2007, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacecrime

???Neither is Faulk a ball-carrier. Faulk is a catcher of passes and onceona while runner.

We have no knowledgeof what Mills is and is not. That's why I said, "If Mills shows anything at all in preseason ..."

If Mills shows the abilty to pass protect and catch out of the backfield, and so does Morris, tell me why we need three of these guys?

Because there's no more Dillon. Morris will have to be a runner again.

Mills is your Chris Cooley, Keith Byars, Larry Centers type. Not your Kevin Faulk type. One won't replace the other.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacecrime

If we have three guys who do the same thing, why do we keep the oldest and most expensive.

Will you ever see Mills lineup as the tailback? No.

Will you ever see Faulk lineup as the TE? No.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacecrime

Before any one else gives me any more stupid crap about not seeing Mills, let me repeat for the reading impaired:

If Mills shows anything at all in preseason

If Mills shows nothing in preseason, Faulk has a chance to keep his job. I agree.

Whatever Mills shows in the preseason has nothing to do with Faulk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacecrime

Anyway, I was wondering why people are treating Faulk as a lock, and I can already see the answer: Because no one is actually bothering to stop and think. The automatic answer is "OF COURSE HE STAYS!!!!! LOOK AT ALL HE"S DONE FOR US!!!!"

Yeah, okay. Good reason. Lawyer Milloy was better at what he did than Faulk is at what he does. DItto Ty Law, Adam Vinatieri, and a few others.

The Patriots have shown no problems with Faulk's salary as they did with Law or Milloy. Vinatieri wasn't cut.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacecrime

Remember, the question isn't if he will leave the team. The question is whether it is this year of not.

Alas, I'll be off-line for a couple weeks. I'm off to backpack the Pinhoti Trail in Alabama. When I get back, I hope to see some responses based on thought rather than emotion.

Take care.

Crowpointer · 03-18-2007, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pats1

Up in the Air WR - Jackson

I agree with your roster makeup completely . On a different note I especially liked the new roster designation for Jackson

satz · 03-18-2007, 07:42 AM

what a stupid post.....i think you did not see him make some screen plays and run between the tackle against sd. He is an accomplised route runner and can only be replaced by westbrook.He has awesome catches too.

now who the heck we havehave who has proven to be a great runner between the tackle,can line up and run precise routes and able to make some awesome catches...ofcourse run screens .

I forgot to add who knows the offence and can be used to call plays not used in 4 yrs aka 2 pt conversion against SD.He been in the offence as long as brady and probabily knows it real well....

can you name the player who we have to replace him ....non....millis is slower than faulk and in a few yrs when he puts some age is going to be slower.I have not seen him run up the gut between tackles.

captain stone · 03-18-2007, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pats1

Here's how the offensive roster will shake out:

Starting RB - Maroney
Spell RB - Morris
3rd Down RB - Faulk
Blocking FB - Evans

H-Back - Mills

Starting TE - Watson
Starting TE - Thomas
Blocking TE - Brady

Starting WR - Stallworth
Starting WR - Caldwell
Slot WR - Welker
Slot WR - Washington/Gaffney
Emergency WR - Washington/Gaffney
Up in the Air WR - Jackson

Starting LT - Light
Starting LG - Mankins
Starting C - Koppen
Starting RG - Neal
Starting RT - O'Callaghan/Kaczur

Backup OT - O'Callaghan/Kaczur
Backup OT - Britt
Backup G/C - Hochstein
Backup G/C - Yates/Mruczkowski

(One of the backup OL spots could be eliminated)

Barring injury (e.g. Chad Jackson to PUP), I think this is exactly how the offensive roster shakes out. Troy Brown can replace Jackson; Mruc should be long gone; TB and Cassel make 25.

stinkypete · 03-18-2007, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brady199

Faulk is Like Troy Brown, His Value goes beyond his Numbers.

He is clutch player.

And nobody can read blocks off a screen pass better than this guy, not to mention how good he is on the draw play.

Simply Put, FAULK IS A PATRIOT in 07!!!

We should make this an annual thread. Really, I think I saw this same thread title last May after Maroney was drafted.

Faulk makes the team. He is a lock. He plays far too valuable a role in the offense.

dhamz · 03-18-2007, 09:05 AM

If we went out and drafted Lorenzo Booker then there might be a reason to ask this question.

As of now this is a non-issue. He is the only "3rd down back" on the roster - a guy who can run draws, catch screens, pick up the blitz, and make guys miss and get yards after the catch that mean first downs on those 3 yard dump off on 3rd and 6.

PromisedLand · 03-18-2007, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MDPATSFAN

To be fair Faulk had two fumbles in 141 touches last season with only one being recovered by the other team. Not sure but I think this is an improvement over previous seasons.

Last year his fumbles per touch (FPT) was 1.72%, close to his career average of 1.98% but not statistically significant.

But it is certainly better than the year before when his FPT was 3.57%, the worst year of his career.

Fanfrom1960 · 03-18-2007, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacecrime

So far, I've seen a lot of possible rosters, and they all show how tight roster spots will be. I've been keeping Excel spreadsheets every year since 2002 (with playres color coded as green-locks, blue-surprised if they don'tmake the team, and yellow-surprised if they do) and this year will be the toughest cuts ever. Lots of greens and more blues than 53

On my roster, Faulk isn't there, but I've seen that everyone else considers him a lock. I know BB really likes his work ethic and coachability, but I also know he favors cutting players a year too early rather than ayear too late.

At what point do we have enough pass catchers out of the back field to put Faulk's job in jeopardy? At what point, when push comes to shove, do you keep younger talent and jettison the old?

In Faulk's case, it is 2007, at least for me. Not to say he can't play, just that if Mills shows good stuff in pre-season games, and with Evans and Morris, I'd rather cut Faulk and use the roster spot elsewhere.

I don't think Faulk makes the 2007 team.

Like the majority here, I think you're wrong. As for the cutting players a year too early rather than a year too late., the coach who is credited with starting that, the great Bill Walsh, let Jerry Rice go at least three years too early, so that philosophy can be done wrong too, even by the best of them.