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Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2006
- Messages
- 10,450
- Reaction score
- 11,330
So far, here at the quarter pole, Rob Ninkovich isn’t playing at the level we’ve grown accustomed. He’s on pace for 4 sacks (half of the 8 he’s had the past three years) and 28 tackles, down a third from the 40s he’s had the last couple of years. He had a couple of sub-par games before the break, and came back yesterday with as many penalties as tackles.
So…is this a case of (to go to another sport for moment) a post-30 guy taking a little longer to get ramped up, a la David Ortiz? The addition of Sheard means Rob doesn’t have to play every snap anymore (54 out of 72 yesterday, compared to probably 70/72 last year). Fewer snaps could affect stats, but maybe he was a guy who thrived on always being out there? Or is this one of the cases that if Belichick had cut him loose in August for a future pick, we’d all have been shocked but then a few months later thought, “once again, Bill makes a move at exactly the right time.”
Because he’s the kind of player you have to love, I’m glad he’s still with the Pats, and am hopeful his game will improve. But he’s not himself so far. Thoughts? Is he hurt? A short-term slump? Or something more?
So…is this a case of (to go to another sport for moment) a post-30 guy taking a little longer to get ramped up, a la David Ortiz? The addition of Sheard means Rob doesn’t have to play every snap anymore (54 out of 72 yesterday, compared to probably 70/72 last year). Fewer snaps could affect stats, but maybe he was a guy who thrived on always being out there? Or is this one of the cases that if Belichick had cut him loose in August for a future pick, we’d all have been shocked but then a few months later thought, “once again, Bill makes a move at exactly the right time.”
Because he’s the kind of player you have to love, I’m glad he’s still with the Pats, and am hopeful his game will improve. But he’s not himself so far. Thoughts? Is he hurt? A short-term slump? Or something more?