KevinFaulk-33
On the Game Day Roster
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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.Brace is a solid player when healthy. His problem has always been more staying on the field than what he did when he was on it. Let's hope he can stay healthy this year.
We agree. One of the first things I noticed about Brace that was surprising to me when I saw him at camp as a rookie was his quickness off the ball, That was evident last night as well.I'd even take that a step farther and say he has always played well when he has been on the field, but IN ADDITION TO injuries, he has not been on the field nearly as much as his level of play would indicate.
I have no clue what was holding him back, but if it is corrected, fans are going to be very surprised with the level of play out of this guy if we get to see enough of it to notice.
Personally I think there has been a conditioning and/or maturity issue, but I am guessing.
That's a good point. Brace is a "run stopper", who I hope will develop into an "interior pocket pusher". but I don't see him as a "sack threat"Yes, indeed!! :rocker:
Mind you, he's a very different kind of player than Fanene.
We agree. One of the first things I noticed about Brace that was surprising to me when I saw him at camp as a rookie was his quickness off the ball, That was evident last night as well.
While I think his immaturity was the reason he had such a bad rookie year, he was coming along well in his 2nd year before he got that elbow injury. It cost him the 2nd half of his 2nd year, and damaged his effectiveness for most of his 3rd year after coming off the PUP.
Back in the day, defensive lineman used their forearms, helmets, and shoulders when they created contact with the OL. The object was to make contact, separate and run to the ball. In today's game its all about handplay. Less like a collision, and more like greco-roman wrestling.
The way they play the game today, a debilitating elbow injury like Brace had, is as incapacitating as an ACL. If you can't power lock your elbows, you can't control your OLman.
Now its clear he has a good attitude, AND a healthy set of elbows. Between getting his own snaps and taking some from Vince, Brace could be ANOTHER one of the "surprising" players who will make an impact this season.
BTW- Its one of my pet peeves is hat most defensive linemen don't get off the ball faster than they do. In college I survived as a 205lb DE/NT because no one got off the ball faster than I did. (Yes I was THAT scared, and subscribed to the philosophy that it hurt less to be the hittER than the hitEE). It wasn't a natural gift. It was a LEARNED skill. A simple skill, IMHO that too many DLmen in the league don't develop an/or use well enough. That and poor tackling "grind my gears" (Family Guy reference)
That's a good point. Brace is a "run stopper", who I hope will develop into an "interior pocket pusher". but I don't see him as a "sack threat"
That seems to be the key, and then we have a really dynamic big guy behind the other two dynamic big guys. Hey, this is fun.IF he can stay healthy he should be a solid player.
Haha, something tells me that can be expressed in a physics equation involving mass and speed.Whoever moves further before contact happens wins the battle 90% of the time.
I'd even take that a step farther and say he has always played well when he has been on the field, but IN ADDITION TO injuries, he has not been on the field nearly as much as his level of play would indicate.
I have no clue what was holding him back, but if it is corrected, fans are going to be very surprised with the level of play out of this guy if we get to see enough of it to notice.
Personally I think there has been a conditioning and/or maturity issue, but I am guessing.
Yes, indeed!! :rocker:
As I said earlier this week, I do believe young Mister Brace has quietly reached an Inflection Point in his young career...And thank GOD, because he could be absolutely essential to our Championship Quest, this year!!
Mind you, he's a very different kind of player than Fanene.
I have pretty openly NOT been a Ron Brace fan over the past several years. He has clearly shown flashes, but his inconsistency, injury history, and at times what seemed to me to be a lack of explosiveness and core strength all made it hard to have a ton of confidence in him. Despite showing some nice flashes early, I was skeptical that Brace would be consistent enough to make the roster. I would be more than happy to be proven wrong and see him emerge as a solid member of the interior DL, and his emergence would be a great addition to the defense.
Love has developed nicely. Deaderick seems to be fairly solid. If Brace can develop then we will have a solid nucleus of stout interior linemen behind/in addition to Vince Wilfork. As Grid notes, Fanene was a different kind of player entirely, and his loss hurts. But hopefully one of Pryor, Harrison or Forston can step up and take on that kind of role.
Haha, something tells me that can be expressed in a physics equation involving mass and speed.
You must have been impressed with Vince's work in the Ravens game.
Brace in the time he has been on the field, which again is very limited, has shown a good bull rush, which is really what is most important in a DT collpasing the pocket.
Shoving a G into the face of the QB is about as effective at rushing a throw, flushing the QB from the pocket, etc as anything else, and it works vs every type of passing game, unlike an outside rusher who is completely negated by a WCO short passing game. (Which is probably the most important reason the WCO was so successful when it was)
If Pryor actually was what many fans think he is, then he would be a great Fanene replacement.
However, what he is happens to be an always injured guy, who really has never done anything in the NFL other than make some plays vs scrubs in the preseason, and be surprisingly not awful in his few chances in a real game, to create unsubstantiated optimism.
I hope he becomes the ceiling of his talent that many fans have annointed him already to be, but expect that when all is said and done his Patriot career as supposedly a great inside pass rusher sadly ends at the 2 half sacks in his career that he already has in 24 games played over 3 years.
You are right. Pryor is a lot more promise than substance over his career. That promise has grown to almost mythic proportions, and I am as guilty as most.If Pryor actually was what many fans think he is, then he would be a great Fanene replacement.
However, what he is happens to be an always injured guy, who really has never done anything in the NFL other than make some plays vs scrubs in the preseason, and be surprisingly not awful in his few chances in a real game, to create unsubstantiated optimism.
I hope he becomes the ceiling of his talent that many fans have annointed him already to be, but expect that when all is said and done his Patriot career as supposedly a great inside pass rusher sadly ends at the 2 half sacks in his career that he already has in 24 games played over 3 years.