I miss Ellis Hobbs

[sieglo]

Sure, I know many people hate Ellis Hobbs. And I know he coughed up a fumble on kick return duty for the Eagles yesterday. But he was one hell of a return man. I don't think anyone on the roster now even comes close.

Special teams killed the Pats yesterday.... The blocking/coverage was horrible, but a lot of it has to do with the guy returning the ball.

 

[Garbanza]

Sure, I know many people hate Ellis Hobbs. And I know he coughed up a fumble on kick return duty for the Eagles yesterday. But he was one hell of a return man. I don't think anyone on the roster now even comes close.

Special teams killed the Pats yesterday.... The blocking/coverage was horrible, but a lot of it has to do with the guy returning the ball.

So you would keep a suspect - at best nickelback - as a ST specialist - because, gee, he'd be happy with that! I'm more concerned with ST blocking schemes, than returns. It will get better. That is the least of my worries.

 

[rsd]

Wouldn't have mattered, on the one decent return (iirc) by Maroney there was a penalty. The penalties killed us more.

Btw, I don't miss Ellis at all, we have at least 4 corners better than him this year (Bodden, Springs, Wilhite, Butler).

 

[SVN]

i miss antowain smith, charlie weiss,romeo crennel,andre tippett ,troy brown,bruschi....
if we win next week i wont miss any of these guys just like i didnt miss them last week.

 

[Easywolf32]

True, Hobbs was such a great weapon.........and very decent CB

 

[TomPatriot]

Sure, I know many people hate Ellis Hobbs. And I know he coughed up a fumble on kick return duty for the Eagles yesterday. But he was one hell of a return man. I don't think anyone on the roster now even comes close.

Special teams killed the Pats yesterday.... The blocking/coverage was horrible, but a lot of it has to do with the guy returning the ball.

I agree that the special teams play was pretty poor. But Phillip Rivers was right - Ellis Hobbs is not an NFL corner.

 

[pats1]

i miss antowain smith, charlie weiss,romeo crennel,andre tippett ,troy brown,bruschi....
if we win next week i wont miss any of these guys just like i didnt miss them last week.

Out of those names, I miss Antowain Smith the most. The Pats desperately need some semblance of a running game.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Out of those names, I miss Antowain Smith the most. The Pats desperately need some semblance of a running game.

it's the run BLOCKING imo not the RB that is the problem. BB has held on to these old o linemen for too long. The oline hasn't changed since 04', right?

 

[pats1]

it's the run BLOCKING imo not the RB that is the problem. BB has held on to these old o linemen for too long. The oline hasn't changed since 04', right?

Well, '05, when Mankins and Kaczur were drafted.

 

[ernie_adams]

It didn't matter who took the ball back yesterday there were no holes to hit.....both Maroney and Edelman looked like they were waiting for lanes to develop but nothing opened up....Our CB's have certainly been upgraded without having Hobbs at the #1 corner spot....I for one have been impressed by Bodden and think they we have a chance to get tremendous value out of him

I'm more concerned right now with our coverage unit that the return unit right now. Leon Washington was scaring me on every return.

I'm concerned with some specific areas like playcalling has confused me at times (no screens? lack of rushing attempts in general)...defensively with the amount of turnover we've had I think we should feel pretty good despite a pretty conservative game plan... I also thought Chris Baker was going to be much more of a factor in the passing game but hey it's early.

Either way it's Week 3 of a young season and I truly believe this team is going to continue to improve and develop as the season progresses, and will be ready to make a playoff run. At the end of the day it's not a truly negative thing that we have some ugly grind it out games early on in the season, because those are the type of games you have to Win in December and into the postseason.

 

[sieglo]

So you would keep a suspect - at best nickelback - as a ST specialist - because, gee, he'd be happy with that! I'm more concerned with ST blocking schemes, than returns. It will get better. That is the least of my worries.

I didn't say I would keep him. I just said I miss him. We don't have anyone that dynamic taking kickoffs right now. Period.

 

[JackBauer]

Out of those names, I miss Antowain Smith the most. The Pats desperately need some semblance of a running game.

I don't really think Antowain would lend much in that department.

Not sure why they're so hesitant with the RBBC we currently have. And why on earth the coaching staff feels we're better off running from a single back formation and not utilizing a fullback is baffling to me. All of these running plays where we have the RB line up 75 feet in the backfield or the toss sweep plays hardly ever seem to work.

 

[pats1]

I don't really think Antowain would lend much in that department.

Not sure why they're so hesitant with the RBBC we currently have. And why on earth the coaching staff feels we're better off running from a single back formation and not utilizing a fullback is baffling to me. All of these running plays where we have the RB line up 75 feet in the backfield or the toss sweep plays hardly ever seem to work.

I don't mean Antowain Smith ver. 2009, I mean running game ver. 2001-03.

This shotgun/spread/single-back attack has failed since it first came about in 2005 - obviously there's 2007, but really, that was only Brady-to-Moss from September-November. After Thanksgiving and in the playoffs that offense wasn't all that much more than pedestrian. All of those 50-point wins came in the first few months of the season.

Late September is no time to re-think an offense philosophy though, so I bet we'll continue to see the Pats come out and bang their heads against the wall next week.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

The return game wasn't spectacular but absent the penalties it was sufficient. The problems was the coverage units. On three of their five possessions in the second half the JETS started out around the 45. That's a huge differential. A lot tougher to defend a short field.

Hobbs set them up with great field position and an INT in the game that needs no mention, and it netted them nothing. Been a recurring theme ever since.

 

[Garbanza]

it's the run BLOCKING imo not the RB that is the problem. BB has held on to these old o linemen for too long. The oline hasn't changed since 04', right?

The run blocking is problematic. That said, why was Taylor more effective behind the very same line that Maroney runs behind? Oh ya, I know. He has the field vision of a blind goat.

 

[upstater1]

I definitely think we could use Hobbs' returning. He was one of the best in the league. Hard to believe that we could find that again easily.

But would Hobbs be satisfied as a specialist? Heck no, he wants to play CB and be paid accordingly. Say you weigh how much you gain on KRs against what you lose at DB, and you decide. That being said, we still haven't found a CB on the flip side of Bodden.

As for missing people, I sure as heck miss Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel. Those two were better than what we have now, and they were better than what we had the last two years as well.

They're not here BECAUSE they were better.

 

[Deus Irae]

Hobbs would be a valuable addition to this team, both as a return man and as a cornerback.

 

[Bring Back Antowain!]

I freaking love this thread. Multiple posts mentioning Antowain Smith. Wow, never thought I'd see that again.

I thoughts Hobbs was a good player, certainly worth a roster spot. Great kick returner, decent coverage skills, certainly capable of being a premier nickel back.

That being said, I like our current group how it is. Only player I might replace for Hobbs might be Wheatley. Because unfortunately, I don't think he is going to pan out.

 

[DarrylS]

What I miss most about Hobbs is seeing the back of his jersey as he chased WR's down the sideline...

 

[IcyPatriot]

I miss Ellis Hobbs .

I miss Hart Lee Dykes.