3 Patriots players who have impressed / Players who could use improvement

[PATRIOT64]

O.K. The team has played great so Its much easier to pick the players who have impressed me the most in the 3 weeks of play so far than picking 3 who need improvement which is a bit tougher so here is my take on it...

(Note: The entire OL and DL or Secondary do not count,must be an individual)

3 who have Impressed me the most so far....
1) RANDY MOSS - Is there even a close contender to the throne right now?,He has played WR better than ANY new WR I have EVER seen on this team in 30 years.
2) JARVIS GREEN - Probably the only replacement Defensive Lineman on the bench in the NFL that can make fans and coaches not miss Seymour so much.
3) WES WELKER - Has opened up the middle of the field to keep defenders honest and away from just depending on Moss to hurt them by himself,He has been very solid and is as just as dangerous in the center of the field as Moss is down the sidelines.
Runner Ups...Morris,Adalius Thomas,Sanders and of course Brady

3 who need a bit of improvement...
1) DONTE STALLWORTH - I know Moss has been the main guy so far but Donte should be able to get a bit more open with his natural speed than he has been,I hope he can come around soon and get in better synch with Brady,then who knows how many points we can score if he improves,its a frightening possibility for other teams to think about.
2) LAWRENCE MARONEY - Has not played bad at all but would like to see more explosiveness like he showed a few flashes against the Bills,His best game as a Patriot came against the Bengals last season IMO and I hope he can duplicate that effort again this Monday Night,He still is not quite ready for heavy full time duty and has played his role well when in a duo back set splitting some time with Morris.
3) TY WARREN - Is it me or have we not seen alot of big plays from Warren as of yet? - He has been in on alot of plays and overall has played well but has been quieter compared to last years start,I expect once Seymour comes back he will intensify his position and he seems to always play better for some reason when Seymour is in there next to him.
Runner Ups...Bruschi,Samuel

 

[khayos]

I'd replace Ty Warren with Bruschi.

 

[PATRIOT64]

I'd replace Ty Warren with Bruschi.

I was thinking of that, but with Bruschi's age I guess you can expect a downward trend in performance and it will continue I am afraid.

There are not too many Junior Seau's in this league who at an older age can still play like 25 again

 

[emoney_33]

Ty Warren is doing great as usual, I think. I still don't remember many running plays that go anywhere on his side. I don't have the facts to back me up or anything but no body runs to Warren's side! and no one's running to seymour's side when he's back, and no one's running through wilfork... soooo no ones running!


Maroney is averaging 4.7ypc, dont know how much more you are expecting from him.


Stallworth doesn't bother me, he's gotten some passes and we just have a boatload of weapons so someone is gonna not get as much as they might if we didn't have so many weapons

 

[DarrylS]

This reminds me of the Richard Seymour did not show up in the box score, so he must not have played well... Warren is fine, the 3-4 D does not lend itself to a lot of big plays from the D lineman, their job is to plug holes, tie up the offensive line, control the flow of the offensive play and to allow the Linebackers to make plays. To say Warren is not playing well is denying the fact that we have the best D right now in the league, Warren is part of the D.

As far as any criticism of Maroney goes, he is exceeding my expectation. Spelling him with Morris,Faulk and Evans will only lead to resting him for this marathon.. not sure how anyone can really be criticized for anything they have done.

Even Stallworth, he might be being used as a decoy to help spread the defense. Right now it is hard to criticize anyone on this team except maybe the punter who had a 29.5 avg last week.

 

[shmessy]

Let me add to the pile-on. Replace Warren on that list (he's doing fine in the Seymour "I'll take the double teams so the others can get the credit" role) with Bruschi.

I love Tedy, but he's not the player he used to be. He's still a very serviceable MLB, but he's not the playmaker of 2000-2005 (yes, 2005. Even when he came back from the stroke he was much more involved around the ball and shredding blocks).

 

[Rob0729]

I agree with the people who say replace Warren with Bruschi. Warren is the guy now getting double and triple teamed with Seymour out. Bruschi showed signs of being finished last year in the playoffs. He was getting burnt in coverage a bit. I figured it might have just been a tough year back while playing with a broken wrist all year. But he has been just as bad this year. Luckily he hasn't been a huge liability and they have Seau to rotate with him.

Bruschi is one of my favorite players of all time, but it is time for him to hang it up after this season.

I also have no problem with Maroney either. He still dances a bit too much at times, but he is getting better at that. Even splitting carries with Morris, he is still 12th in the league in yards, 14th in YPC (the difference between him and the #12 spot is in the second decimal spot with both rushing for 4.7 YPC), and 15th in carries. Most of the guys ahead of him in yards are backs who run the ball almost exclusively for their teams. Maroney is still on track for over 1300 yards.

 

[FlyingElvis75]

I'd probably put Bruschi on that list, but honestly I think it has more to do with the fact that the linebackers don't quite seem to be on the same page yet. They looked confused on the early Buffalo drive and at times vs. SD...missed coverages usually mean messed-up communication, not lack of athleticism or whatever. I think it will get better as the season goes on.

Warren is fine, the 3-4 D does not lend itself to a lot of big plays from the D lineman, their job is to plug holes, tie up the offensive line, control the flow of the offensive play and to allow the Linebackers to make plays.

Hehe, I think that shows how spoiled we are right now...we play 3-4, *and* we expect the D-linemen to make big plays on a regular basis. I was watching Titans vs. Saints last night, who both play 4-3, and I couldn't help thinking, "What the hell is that extra lineman doing?"

 

[MetalBleachers]

Let me add to the pile-on. Replace Warren on that list (he's doing fine in the Seymour "I'll take the double teams so the others can get the credit" role) with Bruschi.

I love Tedy, but he's not the player he used to be. He's still a very serviceable MLB, but he's not the playmaker of 2000-2005 (yes, 2005. Even when he came back from the stroke he was much more involved around the ball and shredding blocks).

:agree: Piling on to the pile-on.

 

[sebman2112]

OK, the impressed list is good, but if you ask me the second part of your list needs improvement

Ty Warren has been eating up double teams, making plays against the run, and getting some pressure on the QB (not as much as last year, yet). Because he hasn't been all over the QB early doesn't mean he's not still a force out there. I could see how it would appear that way since Ty was quite the freak last year but he's still performing well so far this year. Right now Warren is projected to end the season with 64 tackles which is good for a 3-4 defensive end, and that's without Seymour this first part of the season. I'm pretty sure when Seymour comes back Warren's numbers will improve.


I didn't get all the "Maroney needs to improve" threads before and I especially don't get them right now. What games are some of you guys watching? I ask because Laurence Maroney is currently on a projection of 1,344 rushing yards. Last year that rushing total would have put him seventh in the NFL just behind Willie Parker and Steven Jackson. So, can you see why I don't completely understand the complaints? Really, those are very good numbers for a RB in the NFL, especially a RB in his second season who's not carrying the full load. The guy went over 100 last week, showed power and speed in that game and during the second half against the Chargers yet people aren't satisfied? At this point I almost feel like Laurence could be the best RB in the NFL and posters on here would still be saying "he dances to much".

Now, Stallworth I can understand because he hasn't made that many catches, yet. I do think he's getting open more than it seems it's just that Brady's got something special going with Randy and Welker right now. Stallworth is probably Brady's third or fourth read on most plays and the combo of Moss & Welker seems to be getting open almost every time Brady looks their direction. He only had one catch against the Chargers but then he also worked Cromartie for the PI and Brady just missed him for a TD pass (was Brady's fault). I would like for him to have shown up more in the Bills game but then we don't know how much the knee injury was bothering him. Considering how Moss and Welker have been playing it's probably a little to early to call Stallworth a dissapointment and he has plenty of time to produce something. I personally like the guy so I hope Brady does start looking his direction a little more and Stallworth starts catching more passes. I will say the passes he has cought have at least been for decent gains and he doesn't seem to be having any problems with the drops.

 

[RobertWeathers]

This is a little nit-picky, but here it goes.

Gostkowski-For some reason, he is a little off in his kicks.

Heath Evans- I wish he was a little more of a short yardage/goal-line/lead blocking force. I have not been impressed.

Hansen-I know BB protected him in the press conference yesterday, but he needs a little more distance on his kicks.

As far as Bruschi goes, he on the back 9. Hes a 1st and 2nd down LB now.

Warren has been fine.

Welker & Moss have been sensational

 

[sebman2112]

This is a little nit-picky, but here it goes.

Gostkowski-For some reason, he is a little off in his kicks.

Heath Evans- I wish he was a little more of a short yardage/goal-line/lead blocking force. I have not been impressed.

Hansen-I know BB protected him in the press conference yesterday, but he needs a little more distance on his kicks.

As far as Bruschi goes, he on the back 9. Hes a 1st and 2nd down LB now.

Warren has been fine.

Welker & Moss have been sensational

This is closer to my list.

Ghost has seemed to be a little inconsistant on fg's of late, but he's still booming kickoffs into the endizone.

Bruschi is still having some of the same problems he had last year. I thought it had a lot to do with the cast last year, but he doesn't have that excuse this year. Guy's taken a pounding and gone through a lot so it's understandable for him to start slowing down. Most NFL players don't even make it this long.

Heath Evens, doesn't seem to run with the type of power a back of his size should. I don't understand why BB takes Maroney or Morris out and puts in Evens since I don't see him as being any better of a short yardage runner than Morris. Heck, I'd rather have Morris in there actually.

I was dissapointed with Samuel for awhile because I figured he was working his ass off down in Florida and would show up in top shape like he did last year, but he seemed a little rusty the first week and at times vs the Chargers. I do think he played better vs the Bills but then Hobbs was mainly covering Lee Evans (1 reception for 7 yards). This week will really tell us if Samuel is back upto his old level of play since he'll be going up against the CJ & TJ show. I have no doubt he'll get back upto a strong level I just hope it doesn't take to long. Yes, he played decent vs the Chargers and good against the Bills but he hasn't looked quite like the 2006 Asante just as yet. Hopefully that INT vs the Bills is what he needed to get back into form.

 

[onegameatatime]

Ty Warren is doing great as usual, I think. I still don't remember many running plays that go anywhere on his side. I don't have the facts to back me up or anything but no body runs to Warren's side! and no one's running to seymour's side when he's back, and no one's running through wilfork... soooo no ones running!


Maroney is averaging 4.7ypc, dont know how much more you are expecting from him.


Stallworth doesn't bother me, he's gotten some passes and we just have a boatload of weapons so someone is gonna not get as much as they might if we didn't have so many weapons

Ditto. Anyone can get better, but I see no need for substantial improvement there.

Looking for improvement, how about our place kicker -- how are you going to feel right before a do-or-die 45 yard FG?

It would be nice to see Tedy make a big play.

I'd like to see Watson hold the ball better when hit.

This week we find out what our DBs are made of.

 

[patsox23]

Heath Evans, doesn't seem to run with the type of power a back of his size should. I don't understand why BB takes Maroney or Morris out and puts in Evens since I don't see him as being any better of a short yardage runner than Morris. Heck, I'd rather have Morris in there actually.

Couldn't agree more. Evans is NOT a good goal-line back. A little bit I wonder if it's that goal-line carries take a lot of pounding and BB sees him as "good enough" and would rather use him in that role more often than the others so they don't take the pounding. Evans is a decent-ish versatile player but he's not nearly the headbutt-er you'd like to see at the one-yard line. He's built a little like Alstott but plays nothing like him.

 

[FlyingElvis75]

Heck, I'd rather have Morris in there actually.

He was in there against the Bills...plowed right through for the TD, too. Where the heck did this guy come from?

 

[letekro]

I'd probably put Bruschi on that list, but honestly I think it has more to do with the fact that the linebackers don't quite seem to be on the same page yet. They looked confused on the early Buffalo drive and at times vs. SD...missed coverages usually mean messed-up communication, not lack of athleticism or whatever. I think it will get better as the season goes on.



Hehe, I think that shows how spoiled we are right now...we play 3-4, *and* we expect the D-linemen to make big plays on a regular basis. I was watching Titans vs. Saints last night, who both play 4-3, and I couldn't help thinking, "What the hell is that extra lineman doing?"

In the case of Albert Haynesworth, penetrating and wreaking havoc. My goodness, what a beast. That team is very tough and their QB is a winner. There's a good chance we'll see them in the second round (following our bye) in the playoffs.

 

[mgteich]

The short yardage back takes a lot of pounding. It makes sense to be to have Evans in that role.

 

[sebman2112]

He was in there against the Bills...plowed right through for the TD, too. Where the heck did this guy come from?

Yea, he's looked great so far this year. Morris has looked good in the past when he's actually been given a chance to run but he's been stuck behind some good backs so they didn't give him the ball enough (in Buffalo & Miami). In 2006 (92 carries) his avg was 4.3 and he went off for 123 yards against the Patriots. If you look at his career stats it seems he has a better avg in the years they gave him the ball more, so he actually improves with more carries which is something you want out of your RB. Morris has already run the ball 33 times in just the first three games and his avg (4.6) to this point is the best of his career. Right now his 2007 projection is 176 carries for 805 yards and 11 TD's.

 

[jeffd]

WTH??????????????????

2 pages and no love for big Vince. This guy doesn't just take on double teams he eats them up! Every defensive play he just completely blows up the middle of that OL. Not to mention that by the end of the year the Bills might vote him MVP.

 

[Real World]

Hmmm...we're #1 in total defense and we've given up 35 points in 3 games and Bruschi can't play anymore, while Ty Warren is a disappointment?

Only in New England.