rookBoston
In the Starting Line-Up
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- Sep 13, 2004
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Lots of assumptions in the media that Meriweather will practice at CB, then play FS, and Thomas who's playing inside will eventually shift outside. Granted, BB likes to cultivate versatility in his players. And TC is the time when he puts Vrabel at TE and Troy at CB and Troy at QB and Wilson at CB and Seymour at FB. But not Day One, people.
The media is overlooking a simple fact: BB is not going to experiment with players out of position during the first days of TC! And if he does, it's not going to be his high profile, new players who are totally new to the system.
I assert, if Meriweather is seeing a lot of time at CB this early in camp, it's because the staff want to see him play at CB. It sounds so stupidly obvious and self-evident that I'm almost surprised it needs to be said. So, I'll say it again. The staff want to see him at CB more than they want to see him at FS. This is not a mistake! And it has nothing to do with Scott or Samuel, or anything like that. They're not going to train a first round rookie out-of-position because someone hurt his knee on the first day of camp.
BB is offhand and dismissive in his comments to the media about players and role during his press conferences-- which is appropriate because nothing is set in stone, and he never gives them anything printable. But running Brandon at CB was not a casual, throw-away decision. And not something we need to disregard as meaningless.
Who would suggest that BB's idea of the best way to groom a promising rookie FS is to train him first at CB? Doesn't that sound a bit presumptuous? I'd say, a smarter strategy is to see if he can learn his own position first, before building positional versatility. We still haven't eliminated the possibility that he sucks in our system at the spot where we want him to play. Doesn't that make it premature to start training him out of position?
Suppose it was all about Scott and Samuel not being around, and the staff really do project Meriweather at FS-- then shouldn't it be Wilson getting all those reps at CB this week, as the emergency backfill, not the rook? Isn't that the safer way to build the skills and versatility into the secondary? Wilson already knows how to play S. His time at CB would be additive.
No. I read this only one way. The Pats drafted Meriweather as a corner.
Likewise, based on camp so far, I'm convinced that Thomas is our official, new starting ILB, playing beside Bruschi, allowing Vrabel to play at his natural position. What would the rationale be for playing Thomas significantly at ILB during minicamp, and opening TC with him inside if BB really expects him to play the season on the outside.... ?!? Granted the media types continue to suggest that he's just passing time inside, until his eventual move back to his presumed outside position. But what's more likely: the media have preconceived notions of what Thomas's position will be based on his time at Baltimore, or that they have a special insight into BB's mind? All evidence is that they are a bunch of doobs that cant find a urinal without someone drawing them a map. Belichick sure isn't going to connect the dots for them.
We dont see Welker practicing his fieldgoal kicking, or Hochstein lined up at FB in Week One of camp. Miller may be the backup placekicker, but I'm pretty sure he was punting the last two days. If Troy were healthy and playing, would you expect him to start camp at CB? Wouldn't you expect him at WR, at least to start things off? Of course. And Troy's been in the system for years.
Who's prepared to argue, after thinking about it for a bit, that BB is asking two of his most promising new additions to kickoff a teaching and evaluation camp, playing out of position? New players, more than anyone, need time in their positions, in the system. BB is clever and subtle, but some things really are not that complicated.
Undoubtedly-- over time-- BB will look to move players around and try them elsewhere on the field, but only if (1) they've mastered their current role, and BB thinks they can contribute in a second role (Brown, Vrabel, Seymour...) or (2) they trained at their primary position but weren't competitive for some reason (Klecko, Hochstein, Mills...) and he's trying them out somewhere else to see if they deserve a roster spot as a generalist. Bubble roster players live and die based on how many roles they can fill into. And they'll get moved around as rookies and UFAs. But Meriweather and Thomas are not on the bubble. They are roster locks, and BB is investing very important-- very priceless-- reps into them, to incorporate them as quickly and seamlessly as possible into a veteran team.
Write it down, and get used to it: Meriweather at CB and Thomas at ILB. This is not an accident. This is fully intended. As Freud once said, "Sometimes a banana is just a banana."
The media is overlooking a simple fact: BB is not going to experiment with players out of position during the first days of TC! And if he does, it's not going to be his high profile, new players who are totally new to the system.
I assert, if Meriweather is seeing a lot of time at CB this early in camp, it's because the staff want to see him play at CB. It sounds so stupidly obvious and self-evident that I'm almost surprised it needs to be said. So, I'll say it again. The staff want to see him at CB more than they want to see him at FS. This is not a mistake! And it has nothing to do with Scott or Samuel, or anything like that. They're not going to train a first round rookie out-of-position because someone hurt his knee on the first day of camp.
BB is offhand and dismissive in his comments to the media about players and role during his press conferences-- which is appropriate because nothing is set in stone, and he never gives them anything printable. But running Brandon at CB was not a casual, throw-away decision. And not something we need to disregard as meaningless.
Who would suggest that BB's idea of the best way to groom a promising rookie FS is to train him first at CB? Doesn't that sound a bit presumptuous? I'd say, a smarter strategy is to see if he can learn his own position first, before building positional versatility. We still haven't eliminated the possibility that he sucks in our system at the spot where we want him to play. Doesn't that make it premature to start training him out of position?
Suppose it was all about Scott and Samuel not being around, and the staff really do project Meriweather at FS-- then shouldn't it be Wilson getting all those reps at CB this week, as the emergency backfill, not the rook? Isn't that the safer way to build the skills and versatility into the secondary? Wilson already knows how to play S. His time at CB would be additive.
No. I read this only one way. The Pats drafted Meriweather as a corner.
Likewise, based on camp so far, I'm convinced that Thomas is our official, new starting ILB, playing beside Bruschi, allowing Vrabel to play at his natural position. What would the rationale be for playing Thomas significantly at ILB during minicamp, and opening TC with him inside if BB really expects him to play the season on the outside.... ?!? Granted the media types continue to suggest that he's just passing time inside, until his eventual move back to his presumed outside position. But what's more likely: the media have preconceived notions of what Thomas's position will be based on his time at Baltimore, or that they have a special insight into BB's mind? All evidence is that they are a bunch of doobs that cant find a urinal without someone drawing them a map. Belichick sure isn't going to connect the dots for them.
We dont see Welker practicing his fieldgoal kicking, or Hochstein lined up at FB in Week One of camp. Miller may be the backup placekicker, but I'm pretty sure he was punting the last two days. If Troy were healthy and playing, would you expect him to start camp at CB? Wouldn't you expect him at WR, at least to start things off? Of course. And Troy's been in the system for years.
Who's prepared to argue, after thinking about it for a bit, that BB is asking two of his most promising new additions to kickoff a teaching and evaluation camp, playing out of position? New players, more than anyone, need time in their positions, in the system. BB is clever and subtle, but some things really are not that complicated.
Undoubtedly-- over time-- BB will look to move players around and try them elsewhere on the field, but only if (1) they've mastered their current role, and BB thinks they can contribute in a second role (Brown, Vrabel, Seymour...) or (2) they trained at their primary position but weren't competitive for some reason (Klecko, Hochstein, Mills...) and he's trying them out somewhere else to see if they deserve a roster spot as a generalist. Bubble roster players live and die based on how many roles they can fill into. And they'll get moved around as rookies and UFAs. But Meriweather and Thomas are not on the bubble. They are roster locks, and BB is investing very important-- very priceless-- reps into them, to incorporate them as quickly and seamlessly as possible into a veteran team.
Write it down, and get used to it: Meriweather at CB and Thomas at ILB. This is not an accident. This is fully intended. As Freud once said, "Sometimes a banana is just a banana."
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