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Not that it means much, but he looked the best out of all backs in the blitz pickup drill today. Vereen looked good too, but faced lesser competition while Woody took Mayo a couple times.Bolden looked sloppy and Ridley looked awful/indifferent
As you say one session early in camp may not mean much but we all know that RBs who can't do blitz pickup very well will not get much play time on this squad and may get CUT. Josh McD isn't going to want to telegraph RUN by inserting a player unable to protect The Franchise.
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The biggest thing that kept Faulk on the field even even he wasn't the biggest or fasted back on the field, and even when he was a fumble risk, was despite his size he was always an EXCELLENT blocker in blitz pickup.
If Woodhead can eventually do the same, he will have a long career here.
As you say one session early in camp may not mean much but we all know that RBs who can't do blitz pickup very well will not get much play time on this squad and may get CUT. Josh McD isn't going to want to telegraph RUN by inserting a player unable to protect The Franchise.
I was saying my analysis doesn't mean much, since I'm no expert here. In fact, a bunch of the media observers are reporting that Woodhead got owned by Mayo. I just have a different opinion then those guys. First off, the linebackers "win" almost all of those matchups, it's just a matter of how long it takes. What WEEI is reporting as the "Hit of the Day" (Woodhead vs. Mayo) was pretty misleading to me. The point of the drill was for the defender to tag the "QB." Woodhead occupied Mayo for a few seconds, but kept getting pushed directly back (away from the QB), until Mayo broke free and pushed Ridley. If that were a passing situation, Woodhead would have held him up long enough to protect Brady.
Really, the best hits out of the blitz pickup drill were either Mayo dominating Ridley or Hightower embarrassing Kettani and Ivan Fears, IMHO.
Location: Central MA by way of the great state of New Hampshire
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Re: Woodhead
Quote:
Originally Posted by hovis
I was saying my analysis doesn't mean much, since I'm no expert here. In fact, a bunch of the media observers are reporting that Woodhead got owned by Mayo. I just have a different opinion then those guys. First off, the linebackers "win" almost all of those matchups, it's just a matter of how long it takes. What WEEI is reporting as the "Hit of the Day" (Woodhead vs. Mayo) was pretty misleading to me. The point of the drill was for the defender to tag the "QB." Woodhead occupied Mayo for a few seconds, but kept getting pushed directly back (away from the QB), until Mayo broke free and pushed Ridley. If that were a passing situation, Woodhead would have held him up long enough to protect Brady.
Really, the best hits out of the blitz pickup drill were either Mayo dominating Ridley or Hightower embarrassing Kettani and Ivan Fears, IMHO.
For a RB, or a scat-back like Woody the key is not to systematically stymie the blitzing rusher rather redirect him into traffic or slow him down by a second. Thats it. The key is recognizing the defensive set, listen to TB, observe how the play is developing and throw your body at the defender accordingly.
Its safe to say that Woody is adequete in this capacity. Is he Faulk? No, however being able to buy TB a .5 seconds is something in my opinion he has done fairly consistiently.
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Last edited by robertweathers; 07-29-2012 at 06:34 PM..
My opening point wasn't that people expect Woodhead to not make the team -- although there have been those predicting that -- but that folks don't seem to realize that he's almost certainly our best running back. Coming out of training camp last year, he was the the lead back, getting plenty of looks on first down. And he led the team with 7+ ypc in the preseason. Then he got hurt. Again. His ability to stay healthy seems to me to be the big issue with him.
But for all the fawning attention the Ridley and Vereen have gotten this pre-season, in this first week of training camp...
Quote:
Danny Woodhead saw the most snaps of the running backs, with 57.
The fact that Woodhead was the only receiver who looked alive in the Superbowl (and scored a touchdown!) tells me Woodhead's position is safe.
He is an X factor on offense.
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The Patriots have been overachievers the past two years. It doesn't have the talent to compensate for injuries, and it wins so much because it puts in 99% effort in the regular season and plays with terrific schemes to mask its deficiencies.
But in the playoffs a good team at 99% will not beat emotional, talented teams that play at 100%. It's what happened against the Giants in 2011 and the Ravens in 2012.
An article in today's Herald mentioning the use of the screen play as a weapon that will be used more this year. I was thinking it will be deployed against Buffalo. Anyway, the writer mentions all the rb's ability to catch the ball, and I don't remember Woodhead's name mentioned.
Location: Central MA by way of the great state of New Hampshire
Posts: 7,377
Re: Woodhead
Quote:
Originally Posted by scout
An article in today's Herald mentioning the use of the screen play as a weapon that will be used more this year. I was thinking it will be deployed against Buffalo. Anyway, the writer mentions all the rb's ability to catch the ball, and I don't remember Woodhead's name mentioned.
Woody would do just fine with the screen play. Not a concern.
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Re: Woodhead
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