The officially merged all Patriots draft choice threads

[brady199]

Nice, all theese threads are merged, now I don't got to look through them all. :rocker:

 

[Don Kipines]

Re: Official Shane Vareen Thread

I admit to being terrified that Mark Ingram will haunt us a la Clay Matthews. But the one thing I can say about Vereen is that it looks like he's above-average at everything. Better-than-average speed, better-than-average elusiveness, he gets his pads low, he breaks tackles, good balance, very good receiving ability, and so on. Maybe not great at anything, but very good at most things. I would bet the attraction for the Patriots is that he allows them to run any kind of play on offense, unlike BJGE (where they know he's not running pass routes) or to a lesser extent Woodhead (you can't really rely on him to pass-block, although he tries).

He's not going to punish a defense physically but he looks like he'll be a headache to defend, especially in this offense. You can easily imagine him hovering near 5 yards a carry.

 

[Isaac]

Re: Official Nate Solder Thread

I think we need official threads with any analysis and news on the player. I hate running through multiple threads.

I wholehardedly agree. Thread merging by the mods is critical for a good board, but the one exception should be that each draft pick should have a thread. We used to do it that way a few years ago and it was very nice and clean. I'm not sure why that changed. My 2 cents.

 

[PATSNUTme]

I think that we need only one thread to discuss the Patriots drafts choices, as they have been discussed over and over again on previous threads.

EDIT: if there is any new information regarding any of the Patriots draft choices then a new thread is certainly in order.

 

[eom]

lolz567890

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I think that we need only one thread to discuss the Patriots drafts choices, as they have been discussed over and over again on previous threads.

EDIT: if there is any new information regarding any of the Patriots draft choices then a new thread is certainly in order.

I direct you to post #10 and post #11 in this thread.

 

[Sciz]

I'm definitely looking forward to Lee Smith completely dominating Clay Matthews in the run game in the near future.

 

[upstater1]

Can we talk just a little more about Dowling. I know this has been discussed, and I know it's been alluded to, but I'd like to see more analysis about Dowling's style of play.

A couple points:

1. We have Bodden and McCourty at CB, backed up by Arrington, Butler, Wilhite. That's not a bad situation to be in for CBs. Remember, with the backups, they are very young. A player like Asante Samuel didn't come on until his 3rd year.

2. We have a 2 time Pro Bowler in Meriweather who will be in the last year of his contract at FS. He's backed up by a solid but slow guy who is earning $3 million plus. Opposing players seem to think a lot of Meriweather as an intimidator. But the Patriots probably value his play a lot less than the 2 Pro Bowls would intimate. They are not going to overpay to retain him.

3. If we're worried about replacing Meriweather, we want to make preparations NOW, because bringing in a rookie--or a vet for that matter--to become QB of the defense--that's too risky.

4. McCourty is a physical presence at CB and he played fantastically. Dowling is not McCourty accoridng to some scouts because he's a little tight in the hips. His sped is mostly straight line. As such, he might play like a bigger better Kyle Arrington. And that's fine for a #2 Cb. However, I remain totally unconvinced that Belichick has moved away from his preferred munchkin style of CB who is highly capable of staying with WRs or cutting them off at the path precisely because of their quick hips and overall quickness. Just because McCourty can do it does not mean that suddenly Belichick prefers big CBs.

These four factors lead me to conclude that Dowling was brought here as a FS.

I guess I want to see if people can discuss Dowling's technique and skill set when it comes to the possibility of him being a CB. Can he be a CB in a Belichick defense?

 

[Synovia]

2. We have a 2 time Pro Bowler in Meriweather who will be in the last year of his contract at FS. He's backed up by a solid but slow guy who is earning $3 million plus. Opposing players seem to think a lot of Meriweather as an intimidator. But the Patriots probably value his play a lot less than the 2 Pro Bowls would intimate. They are not going to overpay to retain him.

If they don't value his play, why did he get almost 100% of the snaps from week 4 on? The guy litterally sat out 17 snaps between week 4 and week 14. Thats a play and a half on the bench each week.


During that same time, and this is completly ignoring the two games he was inactive (so you can add 120 or so snaps), Pat Chung sat out roughly 140 snaps.


Brandon Merriweather isn't just A Starter at Safety, hes at the top of the depth chart.


Dowling is not a safety. He's here as Bodden Insurance/to replace Bodden in the next couple years.

 

[upstater1]

If they don't value his play, why did he get almost 100% of the snaps from week 4 on? The guy litterally sat out 17 snaps between week 4 and week 14. Thats a play and a half on the bench each week.


During that same time, and this is completly ignoring the two games he was inactive (so you can add 120 or so snaps), Pat Chung sat out roughly 140 snaps.


Brandon Merriweather isn't just A Starter at Safety, hes at the top of the depth chart.


Dowling is not a safety. He's here as Bodden Insurance/to replace Bodden in the next couple years.

I didn't say they didn't value his play. I said they didn't value him at the level of giving him Pro Bowlers salary. Clearly, it's not the fan vote that gets Meriweather to the PB. It's the opposing coaches and players. If the Patriots thought of him that highly, they wouldn't have sat him or benched him to start games a couple times.

 

[Synovia]

I didn't say they didn't value his play. I said they didn't value him at the level of giving him Pro Bowlers salary. Clearly, it's not the fan vote that gets Meriweather to the PB. It's the opposing coaches and players. If the Patriots thought of him that highly, they wouldn't have sat him or benched him to start games a couple times.

What exactly is pro-bowler salary? Lets put a number to this.


The only time Merriweather was benched were weeks 2 and 4. Wilfork, Wilhite, Spikes, Guyton, and Butler also saw reductions in their snap counts those games, and about 10 other players saw reductions in weeks 3 and 5. About 2/3 of the starters were "benched" at some point during that time period.

Pretty much the only guys not benched were McCourty and Mayo. Nobody seems to talk about how BB kept pulling Pat Chung out in games because he kept blowing coverages, asn about how he got benched a game later in the season, (Meriweather played significantly more snaps than him) or that Sanders got "benched" several times.


its always this irrational hard-on for Merriweather. BB thinks (right or wrong) that hes the best S on the team.

 

[upstater1]

What exactly is pro-bowler salary? Lets put a number to this.


The only time Merriweather was benched were weeks 2 and 4. Wilfork, Wilhite, Spikes, Guyton, and Butler also saw reductions in their snap counts those games, and about 10 other players saw reductions in weeks 3 and 5. About 2/3 of the starters were "benched" at some point during that time period.

Pretty much the only guys not benched were McCourty and Mayo. Nobody seems to talk about how BB kept pulling Pat Chung out in games because he kept blowing coverages, asn about how he got benched a game later in the season, (Meriweather played significantly more snaps than him) or that Sanders got "benched" several times.


its always this irrational hard-on for Merriweather. BB thinks (right or wrong) that hes the best S on the team.

$6 million a year for a Pro Bowl safety.

I don't think we're shelling that out for a guy that the coach does not fully trust.

 

[Captain Cliche]

I agree this thread sucks.

I liked the old format with a seperate thread for each draftee....with scouting reports and additional information on each player. It's not like there is much else going on and we need the space.

 

[Synovia]

$6 million a year for a Pro Bowl safety.

I don't think we're shelling that out for a guy that the coach does not fully trust.

I don't think we shell that out either. I still think he ends up a Patriot though.



If BB doesn't trust Merriweather, why does he get so much play time? There is NO EVIDENCE that he trusts him any less than anyone else.

 

[Sciz]

Learning more about ... Shane Vereen - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

"The guy that stands out to me [as a comparison] when it comes to style of play is Marshall Faulk. He can run between the tackles and be physical inside. He has the ability to pass-protect on third down. He can catch the ball as a wide receiver, or coming out of the backfield. He can be an every-down guy and is the type of player who is going to rise to the occasion with the opportunity to compete.
...
When you talk about Shane's character, he's the type of guy that if you had a daughter, you'd want him to marry her. That's the highest compliment."