on the positive, Josh Boyce looked good

[hwc]

both out....

That's what I thought...

I was a little confused by so much enthusiasm for the awesome five-wide sets we can put on the field. As of right now, those five wide sets would probably have to include Collie and Slater...

 

[jsull87]

vereen has been Brady's #1 guy since he has been back if teams find a way to stop him that's when the pats will have big problems untill then every one they face will have to bring there A game for a full 60 min

Vereen once again showed why we let Danny Woodhead go. Danny was good but Vereen is a game changer out there in the passing game.

Whats that now? 5 games 559 yards and 2 TD's. The guy is good.

Pretty good couple of RB's we picked up in that draft IMO.

 

[VJCPatriot]

He was so-so. I don't see why he couldn't catch that last pass in the endzone. Thankfully we got a ticky tack penalty go in our favor.

Might be because the defender pulled his shoulder just as he went up for the catch.

It's obvious that Boyce is gifted with speed. Hopefully he can continue to improve as the season goes along and we get back Dobson and Thompkins.

Vereen also is looking like a factor back for us and Blount is running hard and punishing defenses as well as ripping off some runs.

We're obviously going to miss Gronk, but we did go 5-1 without him. So this team still has ways to win football games, we just need other people, such as Boyce to step up their games.

 

[PatsFan2]

Boyce knows the Offense which is great for us he is a Beast with the football in his hands that can be clearly seen. Boyce's pedigree alone tells me he will make it in this league he's Steelers WR Antonio Brown's cousin.

 

[LasVegasPatsFan]

Boyce's pedigree alone tells me he will make it in this league he's Steelers WR Antonio Brown's cousin.

You have the wrong guy. KT is Brown's cousin

 

[Ring 6]

Seriously?

I will say this though, Brady, shotgun, 5 wide's the rest of the season. Edelperson, Vereen, Amendola and a combo of Dobson/Thompkins/Boyce. Let Brady read the defense and hopefully find a weak spot.

Don't like that because it requires mostly quick short throws. The strength in out receiving corps now compared to other seasons is the amount if receivers who are capable if getting open on intermediate and deeper routes.

 

[supafly]

We're obviously going to miss Gronk, but we did go 5-1 without him. So this team still has ways to win football games, we just need other people, such as Boyce to step up their games.

Unfortunately, attempting to compare the record of the first 6 games without Gronk to the current team right now is night and day. They aren't even close due to the injury situation and change in defense.

Yes, we went 5-1 without Gronk, but that was because the defense was able to win games for us. They were the strong part of the team throughout that period.

Since we've lost Wilfork and Mayo (right around the time Gronk came back), we're giving up more than 27 points per game on average. That's a major concern moving forward. I'm not claiming it can't be done, but I think the bye is more important than ever now, and in order to get that bye we will likely need to win our last 3 games.

If we can get through the next 2 games on the road somehow @MIA and @BAL, who are both playing better than they were and competing for a playoff spot in their own right, we raise our chances of at least making it to the AFCCG (where anything can happen, especially if someone were to beat DEN somehow) dramatically. Very dramatically.

 

[Tasco]

Interesting that you should say this, I too had a similar feeling until I started hearing all these reports of ACL.
At first I thought it was a spinal injury based on his hand exhibiting spasms.
It appeared that he could not move his lower body at all. If it is a knee injury I will take it for his sake as compared to an injury to his spine or back.

I too didn't think it would be a knee, but more like a heavy concussion: the arms spread out after the hit were typical symptoms for that.
But as he didn't even move his legs one bit I thought it could be a serious neck injury; glad he escaped that one, but it surely didn't look like a hit that would cause an ACL, that was the last injury I was thinking about until they did the test on his knee.

 

[manxman2601]

72 snaps yesterday, more than Amendola. That either proves how desperate we were at the position or is evidence of increased faith. Whichever, it was really nice to see him get the reps. His and Vereen's explosivity look to be really nice additions.

 

[50-yard-line]

72 snaps yesterday, more than Amendola. That either proves how desperate we were at the position or is evidence of increased faith. Whichever, it was really nice to see him get the reps. His and Vereen's explosivity look to be really nice additions.

I think they're putting him on a crash course to maturity, with the injuries to Dobsona nd KT.

Boyce gives the Pats the Flacco-route (heave it and hope) should they need it. If Gronk's gone for the year, as it appears, they just might.

Boyce can take the top off a defense in a hurry. He also reminds me of Victor Cruz when he gets the ball in his hands on a run-and-catch. I've got a feeling we might be hearing his name come playoff time, and I like it.

I still remember watching the Pats practicing earlier this year. In the one-on-one's on a 5 and out pattern, every time Boyce made the cut, He left the defender in the dust. he just seemed quicker than anyone else on the field.

He and Dobson both have tremendous upside. Nicks and Cruz?

 

[ausbacker]

72 snaps yesterday, more than Amendola. That either proves how desperate we were at the position or is evidence of increased faith. Whichever, it was really nice to see him get the reps. His and Vereen's explosivity look to be really nice additions.

Watching Boyce yesterday reminded my as to why Al Davis had such a hard on for outright speed.

 

[BradyFTW!]

72 snaps yesterday, more than Amendola. That either proves how desperate we were at the position or is evidence of increased faith. Whichever, it was really nice to see him get the reps. His and Vereen's explosivity look to be really nice additions.

I think it can also be attributed to their different roles. Boyce and Amendola are very different receivers.

 

[patriot1136]

Boyce should keep improving too as he gets more reps. I also like having Austin Collie back, he will be a good role player for us.
Lets hope DJ Williams is good.

 

[MTM558]

I would like to see Boyce involved more as well, but the question is where is he in relation to Thompkins on the depth chart?

 

[Froob]

Vereen once again showed why we let Danny Woodhead go. Danny was good but Vereen is a game changer out there in the passing game.

Whats that now? 5 games 559 yards and 2 TD's. The guy is good.

Pretty good couple of RB's we picked up in that draft IMO.

Insane. I don't think Woody wanted to come back, but the way Vereen has been playing I feel like they could have had both out there on the field at the same time. Vereen is pretty much a wide out. Dude runs some damn good routes for a running back.

 

[manxman2601]

I think it can also be attributed to their different roles. Boyce and Amendola are very different receivers.

The point wasn't about comparing the two. It was about the dramatic increase in Boyce's involvement.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Insane. I don't think Woody wanted to come back, but the way Vereen has been playing I feel like they could have had both out there on the field at the same time. Vereen is pretty much a wide out. Dude runs some damn good routes for a running back.

The problem with that is that, if they were both out there, it would tip the offense's hand and they'd treat Vereen like a wideout. Vereen is so devastating in the passing game because the Pats don't tip their hand by putting him on the field. If opposing defenses match up a cornerback against him, they respond by running and/or screening. Pretty much anything that forces that corner to fight through a block. If they put in a linebacker, he splits out wide and dominates the guy, because as a general rule linebackers just can't cover a guy like him.

For example, on his long catch yesterday, the reason why he was so open is because the Browns had a linebacker (Craig Robertson) cover him. That's what they do. They motion him out wide, and if a linebacker follows him out, then he's going up the sideline and Brady's taking a shot. Happens a few times per game, like clockwork.

If you just make Vereen a WR, you take away the single biggest reason why he's good. If he's running routes with a CB covering him, he won't be particularly effective.

 

[coolguy]

Insane. I don't think Woody wanted to come back, but the way Vereen has been playing I feel like they could have had both out there on the field at the same time. Vereen is pretty much a wide out. Dude runs some damn good routes for a running back.

To bad he can't run like a running back

 

[BradyFTW!]

To bad he can't run like a running back

Career 4.3 YPC, with many of those carries coming between the tackles and in goal line situations (he was our goal line back for a large portion of last year) says otherwise. But to acknowledge that you'd have to go an entire post without one of these----and we all know that doing that would literally kill you.

 

[coolguy]

Career 4.3 YPC, with many of those carries coming between the tackles and in goal line situations (he was our goal line back for a large portion of last year) says otherwise. But to acknowledge that you'd have to go an entire post without one of these----and we all know that doing that would literally kill you.

9 yards though

I always thought the general consensus that woodhead was the better running back of the two.