Pierre Woods will have a bigger impact next year than Jerod Mayo

[pats1]

Wood's situation is different in that the starter at his position has just been released.

Of coarse if BB thinks of Thomas as an OLB then that changes everything. I'm just curious at what position does everyone here see Thomas as the best fit?

I think it's pretty obvious that Thomas is a OLB. He's a ILB, too. But he's still a OLB.

 

[jczxohn1]

BB spoke highly of Kelly Washington who is another ST ace. Guess Randy and Wes will be riding the pine...

Wood's situation is different in that the starter at his position has just been released.

Of coarse if BB thinks of Thomas as an OLB then that changes everything. I'm just curious at what position does everyone here see Thomas as the best fit?

IMO, Thomas will spend 90% of his snaps at OLB this year.Crable and Woods will back up him and Vrable. Bruschi and Hobbs will start at ILB backed up by Mayo, the only question being whether Seau comes back, and what effect that will have on Alexander. Due to the ability of so many to play either ILB or OB, I expect BB will only carry 8 total, using the extra slot in the DB. If Seau comes back and the newbies progress as expected, Alexander is the vulnerable one.

IMO, BB won't try to stow a rookie LB on the Practice Squad.

 

[BRiZ]

Just my opinion I think he is ready to take over from Rosie Colvin at the OLB position. BB seems to trust him and speaks highly of him. Pierre led the league in percentage of special teams plays with him being involved in 88.9% of all special teams plays. To me this suggests that he has gained the trust of the coaching staff and will be given an opportunity to be a starter.
Some people seem to be assuming that Adalius Thomas will be the new OLB since that is where he ended up playing after Colvin got hurt. I'm saying Thomas will be more valuable inside as a physical presence againts the run. Mayo will have to make his mark on special teams and hope for some playing time as the season rolls on.

delusional.

Mayo will be starting inside and rotating with Hobson. Bruschi and Seau will rotate inside on the strongside. Adalius will be starting PERMANENTLY on the outside.

 

[RussFrancis]

Jmho, but if our D is going to be leaning on Woods this year, then we're gonna be in trouble. He doesnt get on the field for a reason. He's not that good.

 

[DarrylS]

Right now Woods seems to be a special teams player, going to be difficult to crack that LB corps, barring signficant injuries.. with so many quality players who are so versatile, will compound the situation.. he may have difficulty making this team.. I do not think for one minute that he will get more time than Mayo all things being equal.

 

[Julius]

Wouldn't it be easier for Mayo to break into the defense playing at Colvin's old spot? He is by all accounts a little undersized compared to say Hobson or Thomas. If he is expected to step right in and make an impact this year that would be his best spot? If you put Mayo inside in a rotation how long will it take for him to learn the defense?

 

[PatsDeb]

If Pierre Woods was all that, I doubt we would have drafted Mayo - we would have goine corner in the 1st round. I am sure Mayo is slated to be a significant contributor and Woods will remain a special teams ace and back-up linebacker.

 

[DaBruinz]

If Pierre Woods was all that, I doubt we would have drafted Mayo - we would have goine corner in the 1st round. I am sure Mayo is slated to be a significant contributor and Woods will remain a special teams ace and back-up linebacker.

This doesn't make any sense at all. Mayo is slated to be the future at ILB. Woods is an OLB. One doesn't affect the other.

I think we could see Woods getting more time in the OLB rotation to keep Vrabel and Thomas fresher.

I would not be at all surprised to see the Pats carry 10 LBs this year. With 10 DBs and 6 D-line.

 

[captain stone]

IMO, Thomas will spend 90% of his snaps at OLB this year.Crable and Woods will back up him and Vrable. Bruschi and Hobson will start at ILB backed up by Mayo, the only question being whether Seau comes back, and what effect that will have on Alexander. Due to the ability of so many to play either ILB or OB, I expect BB will only carry 8 total, using the extra slot in the DB. If Seau comes back and the newbies progress as expected, Alexander is the vulnerable one.

IMO, BB won't try to stow a rookie LB on the Practice Squad.

I agree with everything here. Adalius is our best pass-rusher; using him inside for more than just the most obvious passing situations (along with Vrabel, Crable and Woods; 5 DBs; and Jarvis and Mike Wright up front) would be a waste of his talents. And I too hope that BB/SP have learned their lesson about trying to slip promising rooks through waivers and to the PS.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I'm an optimist, I'm hoping Woods becomes like a Randal Gay type of player, who gets plenty of playing time in the rotation. I'd be thrilled if he can become a very good player who was mis-diagnosed by scouts. He does seem to have a ton of talent. Just look at guys like Brady and Adalius, drafted very low yet became All-Pros (I don't envision Woods like that, but you never know). I also hope Mayo gets a lot of playing time. I'm just excited to have some youth in the LB core. I'm very excited about Mayo, Crable, Woods & Ruud (and Vince Redd, this year's Woods). Damn, wish training camp and preseason were here already, lol.

 

[BradyToMoss]

Re: Pierre Woods will have a bigger impact next year than Jerrod Mayo

While he was "out-muscled", the play should have been blown dead because he clearly had the ball and someone was on him before Bradshaw, who isn't that scrawny (5'10 - 205 lbs), went into the scrum.

Pierre Woods is 6'5", 250lbs, in the NFL you play til the whistle blows, especially if guys are still trying to pry the ball out of your arms. In a game of this magnitude and what that play could have meant to the football team. "ASSUMING" the play is dead and letting a running back rip the ball out of your hands is totally unacceptable. And the sad thing is that every time I think of Pierre Woods and I'm sure many other people too, the first thing that will come to mind is that particular play.

 

[tombonneau]

Not trying to be a smartass, but where/when did BB praise Woods? The only time I heard him mentioned this offseason is when some idiot reporter compared 3rd round pick Crable with Carl Banks.

BB rightly bristled at the notion of comparing a player who has never done anything in the NFL with one of the most underrated LBs of all time and a BB favorite.

He made the far more realistic comparison to Woods, then went on some sort of extemporaneous tangent about playing time at Michigan and some other things.

Is that what this stems from? Or has there been more stuff BB has said?

Based on what I've seen of him, I have no reason to think he'll be more than a career backup.

And if you don't think that when a marginal player make a bad play (e.g. Woods non-fumble recovery) that that player isn't in the doghouse, you haven't been watching BB football.

And don't give me the "well then bench Brady, Givens, etc." argument. I'm talking marginal players, e.g. Patrick Pass, the ST player who missed a play and was cut two days later.

It's a reality.

 

[BradyToMoss]

Not trying to be a smartass, but where/when did BB praise Woods? The only time I heard him mentioned this offseason is when some idiot reporter compared 3rd round pick Crable with Carl Banks.

BB rightly bristled at the notion of comparing a player who has never done anything in the NFL with one of the most underrated LBs of all time and a BB favorite.

He made the far more realistic comparison to Woods, then went on some sort of extemporaneous tangent about playing time at Michigan and some other things.

Is that what this stems from? Or has there been more stuff BB has said?

Based on what I've seen of him, I have no reason to think he'll be more than a career backup.

And if you don't think that when a marginal player make a bad play (e.g. Woods non-fumble recovery) that that player isn't in the doghouse, you haven't been watching BB football.

And don't give me the "well then bench Brady, Givens, etc." argument. I'm talking marginal players, e.g. Patrick Pass, the ST player who missed a play and was cut two days later.

It's a reality.

Don't forget about the Doug Gabriel fumble down the sidelines, he was never heard from again..........

 

[AzPatsFan]

Just my opinion I think he is ready to take over from Rosie Colvin at the OLB position. BB seems to trust him and speaks highly of him. Pierre led the league in percentage of special teams plays with him being involved in 88.9% of all special teams plays. To me this suggests that he has gained the trust of the coaching staff and will be given an opportunity to be a starter.
Some people seem to be assuming that Adalius Thomas will be the new OLB since that is where he ended up playing after Colvin got hurt. I'm saying Thomas will be more valuable inside as a physical presence againts the run. Mayo will have to make his mark on special teams and hope for some playing time as the season rolls on.

I felt I and BB, were the only ones who thought Pierre Woods would turn into a star. Welcome to the group.

Woods was terribly mis-managed by Michigan Coach Lyold Carr, (just like he mismanaged Brady! and Crable) otherwise he would have been a first or second round pick which he was, going into his Junior year.

Instead BB picked him up as a free agent as Carr benched him and bad mouthed him to scouts as a lazy headcase. You don't lead the league in ST plays, which I didn't know, but it was quite obvious to me that he has left aging Larry Izzo in the dust as the ST guru.

A ST ace is NEVER lazy. Period. Nor unwilling to stick his head in there.

Woods is big, 6-5 to bat down passes, and block passing lanes, agile, as proved by his leading ST tackles, despite not being a swift gunner, and speedy enough to be a prime talent at OLB. He is faster than either Rosey Colvin or Mike Vrabel.

Now that he has two years of grooming at 3-4 OLB, (and Starring) on ST, he is ready for full time action. I thought he did well in the later portion of the year, after Colvin was hurt, and had he held onto the fumble, he would have been a hero of the undefeated season. Close but no cigar; but his time is coming, I beleive.

From a position point, I too think he would be best at ROLB instead of SOLB, but Vrabes may need more blows as he is older than AD this year. Eventually Woods and Crable will be two of new generation pass rushing troika at OLB for the Pats.

Needless to say, I concur in you post...

 

[Julius]

Just to be clear I never said that Wood's would be a star or would have a better career than Mayo. I just said that next year I expected him to have a greater impact on the team than Mayo. Even if Woods doesn't start his special teams contribution may still overshadow what Mayo will bring.

 

[tombonneau]

Even if Woods doesn't start his special teams contribution may still overshadow what Mayo will bring.

If this comes true it will be a long season for the NE defense.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Woods has been around for a few years now, and has done absolutely NOTHING!! (except somehow get a critical fumble yanked out of his hands).

Why suddenly is he going to be a star? What is this based on? Certainly he must have learned "the system" by now (the Chad Jackson/Brandon Merriweather excuses). This is why I hated the Pats draft, unless they can go out and find someone who can rush off the edge, they will still be the team, that was unable to get to Eli Manning not even ONCE during his game winning drive.

Honestly who is coming off the edge for the Pats?
Vrabel?, no
Thomas?, everyone says he is better at OLB, I think he is better at ILB.

I would much rather see, Thomas and Mayo in the middle, with Bruschi spelling one or the other.

As for the outside, Vrabel is very good at the strong side, but they have NO ONE for that crutical weak side speed rusher.

Now if they could somehow get that guy who spent his summer dancing, and put him on the weakside edge rusher, then I would get excited!

 

[DarrylS]

Why suddenly is he going to be a star? What is this based on? Certainly he must have learned "the system" by now (the Chad Jackson/Brandon Merriweather excuses).

Not sure how you can place Meriweather in this group, he seemed to playing pretty well towards the end of last season.. come back in mid February '09 and then give an assessment.. did not expect much more..

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Not sure how you can place Meriweather in this group, he seemed to playing pretty well towards the end of last season.. come back in mid February '09 and then give an assessment.. did not expect much more..

I haven't completely given up on either of them yet, I would be much less suprised if either Jackson or Merriweather, or both, turned into a star, but Woods is not going to suddenly become Lawrence Taylor.

 

[tombonneau]

Honestly who is coming off the edge for the Pats?

By mid-season I'm hoping Crable can make an impact on pass-rushing downs.