Bye Bye Brandon Lafell

[PatsFan2]

And that's why I don't get the sympathy for LaFail the guy haven't been able to get open for over a month. LaFail didn't have Richard Sherman glued to him on every play.

 

[DW Toys]

The Pats lost the opportunity to draft a receiver in 2 good drafts, and now we don't have a 1st round pick what makes things worse. The Pats have a problem at WR and I don't see this being solved in one off season.

I expect a good look into the FA market.
DW Toys

 

[EatSleepWinRepeat]

Get this garbage man out of Foxboro

 

[New England Pride]

I'm tired of his mouth as much as his poor play. He just doesn't get it. *****ing about his 82 Madden rating (what's your 2016 Madden rating gonna be slippery hands Lafell), commenting on Gronks twitter slip up this week, crying after the 2014 Minnesota game about blocking, saying he doesn't enjoy training camp, there have been other instances where he just can't shut bis mouth.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

The frustrating thing is LaFell should have done something yesterday. As our 4th WR and with Edelman, Dola and Gronk out there, he should have been drawing the #3/#4 CB. And he still couldn't get open.

who knows...he might well have gotten open as Brady's third or fourth read, but by then Tommy was on his butt or had thrown the ball into the ground to avoid another pick....

i did, though, think that White missed a couple of balls that were admittedly tough catches because Tommy threw them in a hurry, but they could have made a big difference if he had "made a play."

that's really what happened yesterday...no one made a play...last year the difference was Malcolm Butler making a play...in 2007, Asante didn't make a play on a pass he could have picked before the magic helmet catch...in 2010, Welker didn't make a play when he could have iced the game with a tough catch...

it's what BB says...the big games come down to who makes a play and who doesn't make big mistakes...yesterday nobody made a play and Goskowski made a big mistake...but don't blame the loss on the K...it was a team effort...

 

[DarrylS]

LaFell was injured most of the season, he did well last year when the was the 3rd, 4th option and drew the 3rd or 4th CB, however when he had to be #1 for a while and drew the #1 CB he did not do as well.. yesterday he was mostly a decoy.

Hang on to him through TC to see how he does.. he knows the offense, which can be challenging for many receivers..

 

[PatsFan2]

LaFell was injured most of the season, he did well last year when the was the 3rd, 4th option and drew the 3rd or 4th CB, however when he had to be #1 for a while and drew the #1 CB he did not do as well.. yesterday he was mostly a decoy.

Hang on to him through TC to see how he does.. he knows the offense, which can be challenging for many receivers..

I think the LaFail stock is on a free fall sell while you can...the Pats are not swallowing his cap hit based on his performance this year.

 

[meatface]

please bring in a capable playmaking big body X WR across from Edelman. This offense needs one.

What about a guy who had nearly 1000 yards in 2014 but is coming off a down year in 2015 due to a foot injury? But obviously policymaking wide receivers are so easy to be had in the nfl. Who do you propose exactly?

 

[meatface]

Lafell can stay if he takes a pay cut, but in my opinion I think we should replace him with a guy like Kearse, Benjamin, or Marvin Jones next year. I actually don't think WR is the biggest need next year, though. It wasn't what failed us.

Lafell isn't making very much, it's a good thing our coaching staff is smarter than the average fan. You probably wanted to cut white in the preseason

 

[Deus Irae]

For years, some of us have been talking about the need for a middle-deep WR threat. This past game was a textbook example of why such a player is important.

 

[PatsFan2]

For years, some of us have been talking about the need for a middle-deep WR threat. This past game was a textbook example of why such a player is important.

But...but we have James freaking White a RB at that.

 

[PatsFan2]

Lafell isn't making very much, it's a good thing our coaching staff is smarter than the average fan. You probably wanted to cut white in the preseason

James White is a WR in a RB's body that ain't going to cut it for him to be effective a RB have to eb able to run a little.

 

[Mack Herron]

I think the LaFail stock is on a free fall sell while you can...the Pats are not swallowing his cap hit based on his performance this year.

BB buys low and sells high.

 

[Ivan]

I wouldn't say the book is closed on LaFell yet, though he had a bad year. I wouldn't be surprised if he stayed for training camp next season, but I do expect competition for his position.

His comments on the off-season raised red flags imo but Belichick was pretty positive about him when I heard him talking about him this season. Sounded like he was playing through some difficult injuries, like half the team was at the end, so I would expect him back
but he's definitely one of the significant questions they have to answer.

 

[Ross12]

His comments on the off-season raised red flags imo but Belichick was pretty positive about him when I heard him talking about him this season. Sounded like he was playing through some difficult injuries, like half the team was at the end, so I would expect him back
but he's definitely one of the significant questions they have to answer.

Definitely. I think he has been passed on the depth chart by Keshawn Martin, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's gone... An offseason to get his foot right and a full training camp could do wonders. Or, he might just actually stink, and he'll be gone. But he was too good in 2014 to just write off after one bad year where he missed all of TC and then also half the season.

 

[meatface]

James White is a WR in a RB's body that ain't going to cut it for him to be effective a RB have to eb able to run a little.

so you still want to cut him? Shane vereen didnt need to run much either, pass catching backs who dont run between the tackles well arent exactly something new.

 

[Ivan]

Pats need a new split end, and while I think they need a new kicker I'll probably flip flop on that in a couple hours, but missing a PAT is pretty much unforgivable.

Brady too, missing Gronk for two is unforgivable.

 

[Ivan]

Given the way this thread is going they should only have to replace 35 to 40 players. Lots of common sense.

 

[Ivan]

Definitely. I think he has been passed on the depth chart by Keshawn Martin, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's gone... An offseason to get his foot right and a full training camp could do wonders. Or, he might just actually stink, and he'll be gone. But he was too good in 2014 to just write off after one bad year where he missed all of TC and then also half the season.

The remarks about his off-season work ethic really made me wonder about him. It's always tough to know what's really going on in Foxboro but I would say there are a number of guys who are going to work their asses off to stick around and LaFell and Dobson are high on the list.

 

[Ivan]

IMHO Jackson was never given a chance. Sure, the OL sucked and every back was mostly getting hit at or behind the line, so the running game was not going to be potent. But Jackson was simply never given a chance.
Pretty sure here is the line of Jackson's opportunities:
First handoff: 1 yard.
Second handoff: 5 yards
Third handoff: Solid 1 yard TD run.
Fourth handoff: 2 yards.

That's the total of the chances JM and BB gave Jackson. Out of his four chances he made 2 good plays.

IMHO, with the OL's pass protection faltering badly coupled with Denver frequently focusing in on and effectively stopping Gronk and Jules on numerous occasions, it was a fail on the brain trust to not adjust outward from the norm until the final minutes. It wasn't F'n working! Try Jackson or White with some added opps (IMHO White was grossly misused). Personally I would have liked to have sees some attempts to hand off to Jackson and see him plow into the unsuspecting Broncos, to see if we could have just beaten them physically. Probably not worked out but what we were doing was certainly and clearly not working out.
I am sure I'm probably way over simplifying it, however, I'm left shocked that an offense that critically and clearly couldn't give the QB enough time to throw against a good D that was also teeing off on Brady's constant targeting of Gronk and Jules, that they didn't think outside the box until the last few minutes. Coaching fail on this one IMHO...

They need a more explosive and versatile back than either Jackson or Blount give them. I love having a power back around but I think their first down back needs to be able to get outside and make defenses play honest against the run. There's still a role for the power back but they need a guy like Forte or Lamar Miller on first downs.