Prisco picks Vollmer as one of his top 20 'Breakout Players' in 2011

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Pricko likes Vollmer to stand out on the OL this season

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While I like Vollmer and is a good choice to shine this season,I would pick Brandon Tate as our surprise breakout player this year.

Who is YOUR surprising breakout player this year?.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Based on what we saw from Tate last year, I'm not sure what we could reasonably expect from him. It's not inconceivable that he'll become a good WR, but I didn't see anything least year to lead me to expect that.

As far as breakout player, I wouldn't say Vollmer only because I think he already has "broken out", to an extent. I'm more hopeful that it will be Cunningham.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Based on what we saw from Tate last year, I'm not sure what we could reasonably expect from him. It's not inconceivable that he'll become a good WR, but I didn't see anything least year to lead me to expect that.

As far as breakout player, I wouldn't say Vollmer only because I think he already has "broken out", to an extent. I'm more hopeful that it will be Cunningham.

Cunningham and Brace are needed to perform as breakout players for sure

Myron Pryor is an interesting player...he looked pretty decent in some games and invisible in others in the short time he has seen the field.

 

[sbpatfan]

I don't understand why people are so down on Tate, it doesn't even make sense. The guy has been working hard in Gillette this "offseason" with Hoyer.

Part of me wonders if the problem isn't necessarily Tate, but Brady and Tate together (and some of the younger receivers in general). Check out this quote from Tate about the TD pass he caught from Hoyer against the Dolphins.

“We just went out there and I told him, ‘If you’ve got a chance, just throw it up there to me,’” Tate said to reporters at the end of the game.

Chemistry problem? I don't doubt Brady, but it seems like Hoyer is making a better connection with guys like Price, Edelman, and Tate than Brady is. I mean isn't the Deion Branch acquisition possible evidence for this? Branch is probably the least athletic receiver on the roster, but he has comfort with Brady.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Pricko likes Vollmer to stand out on the OL this season

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While I like Vollmer and is a good choice to shine this season,I would pick Brandon Tate as our surprise breakout player this year.

Who is YOUR surprising breakout player this year?.

I think Price and Chung come out very well.

 

[Bertil]

The only thing Prisco can pick correctly is his nose...and that is probably stretching it.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I think Price and Chung come out very well.

Chung is far from being considered a breakout player,he has established himself already as an up and coming star.

Arguably,Chung was our BEST Safety in 2010 and outplayed and outperformed our 'pro bowl' safety Meriweather so his 'breakout' year was last year.

No one has any idea of what Price can do.....the 'price may be right' or it may be 'overpriced'.

 

[Deus Irae]

I don't understand why people are so down on Tate, it doesn't even make sense.

It's probably because he was a pretty poor receiver last year, being basically nothing more than Aikens running slightly deeper routes. Most people like their team's wide receivers to be, you know, good. If Tate is good this year, people will be much happier with him.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I don't understand why people are so down on Tate, it doesn't even make sense. The guy has been working hard in Gillette this "offseason" with Hoyer.

Part of me wonders if the problem isn't necessarily Tate, but Brady and Tate together (and some of the younger receivers in general). Check out this quote from Tate about the TD pass he caught from Hoyer against the Dolphins.



Chemistry problem? I don't doubt Brady, but it seems like Hoyer is making a better connection with guys like Price, Edelman, and Tate than Brady is. I mean isn't the Deion Branch acquisition possible evidence for this? Branch is probably the least athletic receiver on the roster, but he has comfort with Brady.

It's not so much being down on him as having no reason to be up on him. I don't think that he's a bad player, it's just that everything that he's shown to date suggests that he's a very good KR and a limited receiver. That could certainly change, and he could develop into a star--lots of really good WRs showed no signs of excellence in their first couple of years, and Tate did miss a lot of time--but we don't have any reason to expect that he'll fall into that category.

 

[Sciz]

This is one of the good parts about having such a young team. There are so many breakout candidates!

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

It's not so much being down on him as having no reason to be up on him. I don't think that he's a bad player, it's just that everything that he's shown to date suggests that he's a very good KR and a limited receiver. That could certainly change, and he could develop into a star WR--lots of really good WRs showed no signs of excellence in their first couple of years, and Tate did miss almost two full years--but we don't currently have any reason to expect that he'll fall into that category.

There were some in here who were waiting and assured that Chad Jackson was going to be the guy to take our WR corps to the next level..years later,it never happened.

Perhaps it will be a reverse with Tate...so many in here have little faith he can be the go-to guy....maybe a healthy Brandon can do what Chad never could.

 

[Calciumee]

The only thing Prisco can pick correctly is his nose...and that is probably stretching it.

That must be pretty painful! Stretching his nose!

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Chemistry problem? I don't doubt Brady, but it seems like Hoyer is making a better connection with guys like Price, Edelman, and Tate than Brady is. I mean isn't the Deion Branch acquisition possible evidence for this? Branch is probably the least athletic receiver on the roster, but he has comfort with Brady.

I doubt it's chemistry as much as it's trust issue. The system we play in, all receivers have option routes and the receiver and qb have to make the same read. It does lead to an incompletion from time to time, but it can also make it harder to defend (taking what the defense gives you).

Essentially if Tate isn't reading the defense the same way and gets out of position, Brady will quickly check him off as an inelgibile option.

Hoyer should have a better chemistry with some of those gusy as their on the 2nd team and they've possibly had more reps together (though tate should have had more reps with Brady last year than Hoyer). Brady and Branch have developed that sense and naturally read defenses the same way. Woodhead came in last year and pretty much had an immediate impact. Edleman seemed to have regressed a bit, but he had some big time drops on passes from Brady (though how you catch some of those bullets Brady threw from 5-10 years is beyond me, but that's why they get paid the big bucks...)

 

[BradyFTW!]

There were some in here who were waiting and assured that Chad Jackson was going to be the guy to take our WR corps to the next level..years later,it never happened.

Perhaps it will be a reverse with Tate...so many in here have little faith he can be the go-to guy....maybe a healthy Brandon can do what Chad never could.

I think Chad Jackson and Bethel Johnson are exactly why so many people have taken a more pragmatic/pessimistic outlook on Tate. Both of those guys had all of the markings of success coming in, but that doesn't guarantee anything in the NFL. There's still a good chance that Tate could be much better than either of those guys, but we just haven't seen any sign that that will be the case yet. Hopefully that will change soon.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Chung is far from being considered a breakout player,he has established himself already as an up and coming star.

Arguably,Chung was our BEST Safety in 2010 and outplayed and outperformed our 'pro bowl' safety Meriweather so his 'breakout' year was last year.

No one has any idea of what Price can do.....the 'price may be right' or it may be 'overpriced'.

I'm talking about Chung breaking out on an NFL level, not just a Patriot level.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I think Chad Jackson and Bethel Johnson are exactly why so many people have taken a more pragmatic/pessimistic outlook on Tate. Both of those guys had all of the markings of success coming in, but that doesn't guarantee anything in the NFL. There's still a good chance that Tate could be much better than either of those guys, but we just haven't seen any sign that that will be the case yet. Hopefully that will change soon.

I think fans will think the same of Vereen if he does not show much in his rookie season because of the Maroney debacle.

Fans...especially spoiled ones like here in New England expect immediate pro bowlers at WR when deep down inside they realize this is an offense that has once again like the old times,does not rely on one player to move the chains.

Belichick has never produced a stud at WR in the draft and he probably didn't with Tate....all we need Tate to do is to start seperating himself from his defenders a bit better and I think he will this year
...we know he has the speed and the agility and knows the playbook...now he just needs the maturity.

 

[patsfanboy]

Tate is a great athele but he lacks the hands to make him a star. He is fast, seems to create space but he droped passes and didn't put himself in the right position to catch some passes last year. Price in my mind has more of an opportunity to become a breakout player.

 

[Deus Irae]

I think fans will think the same of Vereen if he does not show much in his rookie season because of the Maroney debacle.

Maroney was excellent out of the gate, and it was durability that was his problem, so I have no idea what the hell you're talking about here. People here have been on BJGE's bandwagon from the beginning, and he was anything but an instant success.

Fans...especially spoiled ones like here in New England expect immediate pro bowlers at WR when deep down inside they realize this is an offense that has once again like the old times,does not rely on one player to move the chains.

It's possible that such fans exist, but they are certainly not found in large numbers. Most fans understand that WRs tend to struggle as rookies (although the past few years have bucked this trend).

Belichick has never produced a stud at WR in the draft and he probably didn't with Tate....all we need Tate to do is to start seperating himself from his defenders a bit better and I think he will this year
...we know he has the speed and the agility and knows the playbook...now he just needs the maturity.

No, "we" need Tate to start running the proper routes. "We" need Tate to start separating. AND, "we" need Tate to catch the ball cleanly when it's thrown to him.

So, basically, "we" need Tate to be better in all aspects of his game, or "we" will see someone else taking his job from him.

 

[Metaphors]

Excluding rookies (I still count Price as a redshirt freshman), there are 22 Pats that can be reasonably expecting to improve significantly this year (with ages):

Hoyer (25)
BJGE (25)
Woodhead (26)
Edelman (25)
Tate (23)
Gronkowski (22)
Hernandez (21)
Vollmer (26)
Brace (24)
Deaderick (23)
Love (24)
Pryor (24)
Cunningham (23)
Fletcher (24)
Guyton (25)
Mayo (25)
Spikes (23)
Arrington (24)
Butler (25)
Chung (23)
McCourty (23)
Mesko (25)

That is about half of their gameday 45, a bunch of which are still considered "underage" by car rental companies. Each of them has shown enough that it would be a shame to block their development before their potential can be realized.

All of these guys have the potential to be core contributors through 2012. That is the window where Brady and Wilfork will still be performing at an elite level. If these guys don't regress and a good number of them reach their potential, the next 2 years should be pretty special.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Edelman seemed to have regressed a bit, but he had some big time drops on passes from Brady (though how you catch some of those bullets Brady threw from 5-10 years is beyond me, but that's why they get paid the big bucks...)

I just watched the Jets-Patriots playoff game (was on an airplane during the game and finally summoned up the courage to watch the loss to the Jets) and was very impressed with Edelman during the game. He always got more yardage than you had any right to expect.