Idle Thoughts - the opening edition

[signbabybrady]

I don't get all the love for Gaffney(not really here in this thread)? His big play last week was so clearly on the o-line and other than that I haven't seen much in the practices or games I've been to to make me think he's more than a JAG.

I was specifically disappointed in his goal line play last night. He got several chances and couldn't bring it in.

I think he's done enough this TC to possibly make the team as RB5 (not including Devlin in this count) but I don't know if this roster has enough room for 5 RBs.

He is not better than Blount or Bolden and Lewis and White fill different roles (and not better than either too).

That said I've been pleased with White who has continued to show his skill in the passing game and has shown more as a ball carrier than I thought.

Even with my opinion of Gaffney I agree with @patfanken That I think this RB group is better than people give it credit for assuming we get Lewis back soon.

 

[aluminum seats]

assuming we get Lewis back soon.

One of the big questions this year. Lewis healthy is an absolute game-changer. Can he be what he was last year, or even 80% of that.

 

[PatsFan37]

I think Richards looked pretty good in run support, and suspect in coverage, which I think is what most people expected from him when he was drafted. He's almost like what we assumed Chung would be when he came back from Philly, while Chung himself has developed quite well into a starting SS.

Richards does show well on ST though, so I don't really consider him on the bubble really. He's our 4th safety and a good coverage guy on kickoffs. That's all he needs to be right now.

I was hoping Richards' intelligence and anticipation would make up for his lack of speed and quickness, and that may be the case when the play is in front of him, but not in coverage. I don't want to judge too much on a couple of plays, but he didn't look good last night. You're right about STs and run support, though. He can tackle. One question might be whether Ebner, with his recent slimming down for Olympic training might have improved his quickness and made him a better reactive athlete for coverage. Would they be competing for a roster spot?

 

[PF_SU]

Terrance Knighton - Pork Chop was out there late in 4th quarter, yow. He better wake up or he'll be another guaranteed $ man looking for a new team in 2 weeks.

Knighton was in for a few snaps early in the fourth quarter. He wasn't in there on the Bears subsequent two drives. But yes, he had a rough outing in his appearance in the first half where he once overran the play and thus a big gap developed between him and Vellano which was exploited for a big run and then on the TD he got pancaked by a double-team.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

I am actually starting to worry about brady. He needs preseason reps. Next week against carolina will mostly be JG and the following week will be JB. Brady himself said he got injured in 2007 because he didn't have the usual pocket awareness that comes from game action.

 

[Brit patriot]

The Offensive line looked much stronger, which in turn let Jimmy have more time to go though his reads. If he think he is getting pancaked, he will be dancing like Fred Astaire

 

[long distance]

Knighton was in for a few snaps early in the fourth quarter. He wasn't in there on the Bears subsequent two drives. But yes, he had a rough outing in his appearance in the first half where he once overran the play and thus a big gap developed between him and Vellano which was exploited for a big run and then on the TD he got pancaked by a double-team.

This is a good and hopefully key observation. He didn't look good in combination with lesser DTs last night. In the first game he played with his fellow-bodies Brown and Branch and he looked solid, even very good on a couple of occasions. I think he can be key contributor when he is needed.

 

[WhoaDirty]

Is the 3rd down conversion rate so far a concern at all? I know it's preseason, and there's no JE, DA or Gronk, but I feel the % over the first two games is pretty bad.

 

[PF_SU]

This is a good and hopefully key observation. He didn't look good in combination with lesser DTs last night. In the first game he played with his fellow-bodies Brown and Branch and he looked solid, even very good on a couple of occasions. I think he can be key contributor when he is needed.

Have to rewatch the tape, but in the snaps early in the fourth where he played with Valentine he looked better. Of course the competetion there was mostly backups, so there's that.

 

[patchick]

Daryl Roberts has one trait you can't teach a CB - great closing speed, it finally showed up again last night after flashing last year. Plus, he's not a shrimp. Don't be surprised if he makes club and presses Coleman for playing time.

Yep -- at the logjam positions, you have to look at roster building and what each player might uniquely contribute for individual matchups and gameplans. For Roberts, it's hard to ignore this:

5'11, 4.38 40, 39" vertical

That makes him the tallest CB on the roster AND one of the fastest.

Similiarly, Anthony Johnson has remade himself into the team's best (only?) option for a lighter, quicker DT on a roster of behemoths.

 

[Kdo5]

I don't get all the love for Gaffney(not really here in this thread)? His big play last week was so clearly on the o-line and other than that I haven't seen much in the practices or games I've been to to make me think he's more than a JAG.

I was specifically disappointed in his goal line play last night. He got several chances and couldn't bring it in.

I think he's done enough this TC to possibly make the team as RB5 (not including Devlin in this count) but I don't know if this roster has enough room for 5 RBs.

He is not better than Blount or Bolden and Lewis and White fill different roles (and not better than either too).

That said I've been pleased with White who has continued to show his skill in the passing game and has shown more as a ball carrier than I thought.

Even with my opinion of Gaffney I agree with @patfanken That I think this RB group is better than people give it credit for assuming we get Lewis back soon.

Me neither. I mostly see him as a guy who is only as good as his blockers. That's the same for a lot of RB's its true but point is I'm not seeing anything special. While I'm not suddenly high on Blount (no pun intended), he is better than Gaffney when he actually runs hard. Blount can make some moves. He's just so inconsistent.

 

[Kdo5]

I am actually starting to worry about brady. He needs preseason reps. Next week against carolina will mostly be JG and the following week will be JB. Brady himself said he got injured in 2007 because he didn't have the usual pocket awareness that comes from game action.

He needs to be out there next week at least for two series. I don't like the idea of him not having played in live action all offseason up to week 5.

 

[PatsFan37]

I am actually starting to worry about brady. He needs preseason reps. Next week against carolina will mostly be JG and the following week will be JB. Brady himself said he got injured in 2007 because he didn't have the usual pocket awareness that comes from game action.

Good point, but it's a tough call. Would you rather have his first NFL snaps of the year be against Carolina with a bad thumb, Solder just back from injury and no Vollmer, and the centers and guards still fluid? Or against the Browns with an OL that (presumably) has all its starters and 4 games to cohere? I'd lean towards not playing him.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Another though that just occurred to me was the lack of any visible impact from Terrance Knighton. Did he play? I never heard his name called, and I didn't try to track him specifically. That's another guy I expect great things from this season.

Pork Bellies did not play well in limited 1st half downs. Played again in 4th QTR looking better against September Walmart employees.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Thought the Gaffer et. al. played well enough that with Lewis back it would be a waste to trade for a RB castoff. Use even late picks to trade if need be for more of an upgrade possibility, i.e. OL, not a RB.

 

[long distance]

@ Blount/Gaffney
Its strange to see the mood for Blount going up and down here. He is always his solid self with the same pluses and minuses. He looked better last night because of circumstances (much bigger help for RBs from Develin + 6th OL (Fleming) + 2TE + better OL performance). Maybe the good showing of Gaffney vs Saints and the afterbuzz pushed him a little as well. But when the opening was not there he still hesitated and gave up play.

Gaffney never hesitates, thats why he consistently gains yards even when there is no opening. But he still lacks confidence, especially on screens and blocking, sometimes he seems lost in space and he lacks power which painfully showed in his 3 attempts he got for a short yard TD.

Like some people mentioned you could have a very solid RB if you could put the two guys in one RB.

But in reality its all about Lewis. If he's coming back week 1, if he comes back his last year's self and if he stays on the field till Feb then Blount will be great to have. But thats a lot of IFs. With no Lewis we will suffer with Blount at #1. At least with Gaffney you have somewhere to go. Here is a nice assessment from Michael Hurley:

–Tyler Gaffney is a great story. Tyler Gaffney may well be a good running back. Tyler Gaffney is not a goal line runner.

Prior to the goal-line stuff, though, he ran three times for 18 yards and caught a pass for six yards, as the coaching staff seemingly wanted to find out how he could handle a heavy workload. On that drive, they went to Gaffney on seven of eight snaps. He’s a guy who’s battled through injuries and is fighting to make the league. That’s after he ran for 1,709 yards and 21 touchdowns in his senior season at Stanford, and after rushing for seven touchdowns on just 74 carries in his junior season.

He’s easy to root for. And he’s looked decent. At the very least, if he doesn’t make the Patriots’ roster, surely some team will come calling in September.

The most reasuring thing would be to have all 3 - Gaffney to ease the load from Lewis on early downs and Blount to come in crucial power back situations and later in the games against tired Ds. Unfortunately there is not enough space for this with Bolden and White as well.

For the moment its Blounts job. He can give you those 6 points that Gaffney can't.
Also I have a feeling Gaffney can clear waivers so he is a very solid PS option.

 

[primetime]

Gaffney looked like a dime a dozen borderline running back. He's swappable with any practice squad player in the league. There's no need to keep him around.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Good point, but it's a tough call. Would you rather have his first NFL snaps of the year be against Carolina with a bad thumb, Solder just back from injury and no Vollmer, and the centers and guards still fluid? Or against the Browns with an OL that (presumably) has all its starters and 4 games to cohere? I'd lean towards not playing him.

Yeah, that's why I wished he played last night.

 

[BobDigital]

Gaffney looked like a dime a dozen borderline running back. He's swappable with any practice squad player in the league. There's no need to keep him around.

Same can be said for Blount then cause he looked no better overall IMO.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

I look forward to seeing some of the game. Recording the NFLN replay at 4pm EST.