Pats726

Per Reiss...I am happy he is back....Rivers is good.. Herron?? Hmmmm not bad.

Pats726

From the draft insiders.......

The good: Herron improved steadily after starting his career at fullback. He is a dedicated worker on and off the field and he puts forth fine effort in every game. Herron became more instinctive late in his college career, reading plays better which allowed him to use his good athleticism. Though his speed is somewhat straight line, he can make stops outside the tackle box and cover in the shorter zones. He can take on blockers and is strong at the point of attack, displaying fine technique and good functional strength. He has good speed and is a solid all-around athlete with the intangibles to make the grade as a top-flight special-teams performer.

The bad: He is not a natural lateral mover and he will struggle when asked to break down and tackle in the open field. He does show some change-of-direction skills in coverage, but he is mainly a two-down defender. In pass coverage, he does not have good hip flex when dropping in coverage, but he is adequate in the short zones.

The skinny: Herron is a hard-nosed kid who can fill a few roles and has the athleticism to surprise in time, and he could eventually start inside. He will be a solid special-teams guy, and a good late pick or priority free agent with upside in a 3-4 defense.

Good..another special teamer..might be a player in time..
I think the fact that Rivers is back certainly means that possibly Brady and/or Thomas are NOT really ready to go. I thought he had a good preseason and was a bit surprised about the cut. Glad he is back.

PonyExpress

Isn't Herron supposed to play Fullback?

psychoPat

spacecrime

Herron? We cut our fourth round pick LB and claimed an UDFA LB? Does that make sense to anyone? I'm sure BB/SP has a reason - I'm just looking for it.

That's Mack Herron, I think.

Pats726

He played fullback in college for a year I believe but was converted to ILB...I know some had him in the top 25 ILBs this year...

Pats726

No...he did play fullback in college..BEFORE ILB. Not sure what it means..why keep 2 spots open and then bring a player back and...then a UDFA linebacker. He seems like a special teamer..but??? Not sure what the deal was in getting down 2 for these players..I agree. Maybe other things were in the works...other avenues that were dead ends..deals not made. I think in the case of Rivers, it might have been one of timing..maybe information NOT KNOWN yesterday found out today. (obviously about Thomas or Brady or both) That is the only thing I can think of.. Herron?? Not really sure...esp when they also have Mays who knows the system.

BelichickFan

Rogers was a 6th round pick.

marcus

Hard to understand why they would let Rogers go and take this guy instead.

I suspect the Patriots did not think any team would claim Rogers and were taken by surprise when the Cowboys did.

There is NO doubt that the Patriots have to develop some non special teams linebackers given the ages of Vrabel, Bruschi, Colvin, Seau.

pats1

That's Noah Herron, who was just IR'd by the Packers.