I thought I read Amendola...

[TommyD4207]

I worry JE is gonna break down too. He is already leading the NFL in drops. Not sure what to make of it.

Edelman does not have great hands. He never has. It's like the "normally sure-handed Wes Welker" stuff we heard every week the last three years he was here...except no one's ever said Edelman is sure-handed.

Because he's not. He's very good, but "great hands" isn't in his skillset.

 

[Bruins29]

Edelman does not have great hands. He never has. It's like the "normally sure-handed Wes Welker" stuff we heard every week the last three years he was here...except no one's ever said Edelman is sure-handed.

Because he's not. He's very good, but "great hands" isn't in his skillset.

Which is odd because if someone asked me where JE was in terms of drops in the league (before that stat came out) I would have said mid pack maybe or even bottom 1/3rd? Very deceptive.

 

[TommyD4207]

Which is odd because if someone asked me where JE was in terms of drops in the league (before that stat came out) I would have said mid pack maybe or even bottom 1/3rd? Very deceptive.

Amendola's got the best hands on the team by a wide margin.

Gronk doesn't have great hands either, if we're going to take a look at it.

 

[Bruins29]

Amendola's got the best hands on the team by a wide margin.

Gronk doesn't have great hands either, if we're going to take a look at it.

Jules has said that a few times. He always marvels at DAs catch radius and control. SO glad DA is on the team and a weapon. They need to keep him going forward

 

[smg93]

I worry JE is gonna break down too. He is already leading the NFL in drops. Not sure what to make of it.

Is there a stat that tracks drops/amount of targets? He may be leading in drops,. but if he is targeted a lot more than others, that might put things in better perspective.

On DA, the guy has been huge especially on those off target passes TB throws him sometimes. So acrobatic.

 

[Interception]

He has essentially become the superstar they originally coveted. His first game here foreshadowed that clearly.

However I think they have figured out how to use him. If you make him the primary WR he can catch the 100 balls and get the 1200 yards probably (in this offense). But there is no reason to subject him to that when JE has been great and DA does seem to get injured (or could) when you subject him to the constant pounding.

By using him as a secret weapon, you effectively limit his snaps, allow him more time and energy for special teams and insure mismatches with the opposing defense who are really not sure how to plan for him. But as stated with Gronk, JE and Lewis commanding attention that leaves him with a possible mismatch. He will probably get less snaps too with Lefell back.

He is however a big reason why this 15 team is deeper than the 07 team.

He is not the primary receiver because Edelman is better. Simple. If DA was better, he would be the primary. It has nothing to do with being a "secret weapon." And saying "opposing defenses are not really sure how to plan for him" is speculation based off of nothing. DA has been great but it's not like he's topping 200 yards a game with no defense coming up with an answer. What makes you think they don't know how to plan for him?

 

[Marinlik]

Think about this. In 2013 bb let welker walk, and signed Jules and dola. Now these 2 are more clutch and just as good as welker. Bb let what we believed was the best slot wr of all time go and upgraded the position with 2 better players IMO.

Jules is a different player, him and Welker have not had the same role, and Amendola is far from better than what Welker was.

 

[DarrylS]

DA is a very nice luxury for any NFL Team, but only the Pats had the foresight to figure this out, consider if JE was taken out during SB 49, good to have a #3 that can interchange with a #2... not a tremendous diminishing of talent at that position.. it is about quality depth in this season of attrition.

 

[AzorianPats]

Edelman does not have great hands. He never has. It's like the "normally sure-handed Wes Welker" stuff we heard every week the last three years he was here...except no one's ever said Edelman is sure-handed.

Because he's not. He's very good, but "great hands" isn't in his skillset.

Amendola and Welker have better hands than Edelman. I love JE11, but if you look back at the last couple of years, he's never really caught the ball cleanly. He makes a lot of body catches, and even then juggles the ball at times. Also remember though, he was a QB at college.

Where Edelman sh!ts on both of them is his ability to juke and make people miss. That's where Edelman is really special. He's tough as nails too, maybe the best blocker out of the 3. He might be the most clutch.

 

[RobertWeathers]

You're sad that we have Gronk, Edelman and Lewis? why?

No. That DA never became the next slot guy. Overpaid for him. JE stepped up. Oh well.

 

[RobertWeathers]

This. WWW had five, maybe six awesome years. JE11 has had two and is headed towards a third great year. Edelman is a superior punt returner but that doesn't outweigh the extra monster years, which Welker paid for and will probably pay for for the rest of the string in the form on concussions. We saw him at the end and he was showing signs of wear and tear, but he was massively reliable and clutch before that. In fact I worry that JE11's trajectory (excellence, head issues, now drops) is distressingly similar to this point and that he'll end up similarly.

Yea he's dropping around 9% or so of his passes. Not ready to say its due to brain trauma or physical wear and tear.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Amendola's got the best hands on the team by a wide margin.

Gronk doesn't have great hands either, if we're going to take a look at it.

For a player his size, Gronks hands are excellent.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

BTW, saw a few times in the thread how Dola hasn't lived up to expectations of 100 catches, 1,200-1,300 yards. Just as a reminder because we were a bit spoiled by Welker, those are actually pretty high benchmarks to expect of a slot receiver with injury issues from a mediocre team like the Rams, let alone any other WR.

Annually, only 5 or 6 guys break the 100-catch mark. In 2010 and 2011, it was only 2 guys. And there's rarely any consistency to it either. In 2009, 6 guys hit the century mark, and only 1 of them repeated in 2010. Welker was the next guy to hit that mark 2 years in a row from 2011 to 2012, Marshall did it two years in a row. As for the guys who are consistently around that mark, those are guys like Calvin Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Andre Johnson, future HOFers. I don't think anyone in NE should have expected that out of the Dola signing.

As for the 1,300 yard mark, most years, only 10 guys pass that mark. Jules has never hit that mark, although he's on pace to do it this year. Welker only did it 3 times out of 6 years in New England. So I think expectations were a bit unrealistic to begin with.

And that contract...how many ****ing times did we see *****ing and moaning about the contract. In the later years, it escalated, but as an overall deal, it didn't even put Dola in the top 25 in annual salary for WRs. He wasn't worth what we paid, but it's not like it was a massive contract. We're spoiled in NE, where BB manages the cap so well and any fluctuation in performance vs. pay is dealt with. Pro Bowl HOF guards like Mankins have a bad year and are asked to redo their deal.

So Dola's deal wasn't exactly what he should have been paid, but $5.7M vs. $3.1M isn't as big a deal as Mike Wallace making $12M or Victor Cruz's $8.6M or Torrey Smith's $8M. Heck, Dwayne Bowe got $6.5M a year after playing like crap for KC. Percy Harvin is also making $6M a year to do nothing right now. Dola might have been overpaid a bit, but it wasn't significant, and certainly nowhere near the level of moaning that went on around here.

Catch a huge TD in an epic play-off comeback against the Ravens? Well yeah, but look at his contract. Clutch plays in the Super Bowl? Yeah, but contract...

He hasn't been what we thought he'd be, but he's been a pretty solid player. And when it was clear his role wasn't going to be what he or we had hoped, he didn't complain like Watkins, he didn't make a fuss. He found a way to contribute, he was a team player the whole way, and he found ways to help us win games.

 

[MUFC7]

3 sites of discussing the WR situation and not one Dobson bust/should've drafted Keenan Allen post. Strange things happen when you're 7-0

Hard to believe we nearly let Edelman go. That would've haunted us for years.

 

[RayClay]

You aren't crazy, I saw that stat too.

Those two things aren't mutually exclusive, but thanks for the corroboration.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Welker was a workhorse but given DA's accomplishments compared to welkers, which we care about performance on the biggest stages in patriot land. Da has clearly edged welker. Welker was great but da has the edge in the most important category, so does Jules.

So one drop in a key moment makes DA a better player and having a better career than WW?

Is that what you are saying?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Hard to believe we nearly let Edelman go. That would've haunted us for years.

Yea Pitt was interested in him in 2013 and SF in 2014.

JE wants to be here. A couple of more kickass years he in the Pats HoF.

 

[TommyD4207]

For a player his size, Gronks hands are excellent.

His hands are average, "for his size" or not.

Receivers aren't supposed to drop a pass or two a game. That's way more than anything that can be considered "excellent".

 

[RayClay]

No. That DA never became the next slot guy. Overpaid for him. JE stepped up. Oh well.

Not sure why you worry so much about individual stats compared to team performance, due to roles played well, especially since Amendola reworked his contract to stay.

 

[RobertWeathers]

His hands are average, "for his size" or not.

Receivers aren't supposed to drop a pass or two a game. That's way more than anything that can be considered "excellent".

Hes not a WR. Hes a 270 lb TE which makes it a bit more of a challenge to adjust to balls, get into catch position, etc.

He hasn't dropped a pass all year.

His career drop percentage is low.

Not sure what you are basing your opinion on?