Will Contribute If They Are Healthy

mgteich · May 1, 2013

Pryor is already gone. We will see who of the following three comes back healthy enough to be a serious contributor. I understand that there are many coming back from injuries, but their role is not questioned (Hernandez and Gronkowski).

COMING BACK FROM INJURIES
Fletcher (alternative is Beuharnais)
Dowling (alternative is Cole)
Ballard (alternative is Fells)

Most important to be is that we have the alternatives.

Brady2Moss · May 1, 2013

mgteich said:
Pryor is already gone. We will see who of the following three comes back healthy enough to be a serious contributor. I understand that there are many coming back from injuries, but their role is not questioned (Hernandez and Gronkowski).

COMING BACK FROM INJURIES
Fletcher (alternative is Beuharnais)
Dowling (alternative is Cole)
Ballard (alternative is Fells)

Most important to be is that we have the alternatives.

If Dowling is healthy and has regained his fluidity we're going to have a beast secondary.

Archeryaddict12 · May 1, 2013

Brady2Moss said:
If Dowling is healthy and has regained his fluidity we're going to have a beast secondary.

I agree, but can't tell yet, which sucks. Wish football season started in 4 days. Lol

Matt991 · May 2, 2013

Brady2Moss said:
If Dowling is healthy and has regained his fluidity we're going to have a beast secondary.

Exactly hoping Dowling can be a pleasant surprise

ausbacker · May 2, 2013

Matt991 said:
Exactly hoping Dowling can be a pleasant surprise

Dowling has shown he has talent. I'd really like to see him have an injury free run as I believe he's a legitimate #1 CB.

Brady2Moss · May 2, 2013

ausbacker said:
Dowling has shown he has talent. I'd really like to see him have an injury free run as I believe he's a legitimate #1 CB.

Guys injury history is just too bad at this point to even really hope for anything, which sucks he was the guy we needed the last 2 years, a tall physical corner.

I'm not sure of the exact statistics but someone posted in the Dowling thread after he got injured in 2011 that players that get injured their rookie year are much less likely to ever contribute and if they get IRed the 2nd year there almost 0 chance they are good.

One scary thing is he may be healthy all year, but never be as good as he could've been because last year when he was healthy he was a much lesser player than in 2011, presumably because the hip injury robbed him of his fluidity.

supafly · May 2, 2013

mgteich said:
Ballard (alternative is Fells)

I tend to think that Fells will battle for the TE4 spot with Hooman/UDFA future pickup myself (due to the recent cut of Herman it's hard to project "who" that other player may be).

It has been rumored that Fells was more injured than anyone realized last year. If that's the case, he may very well have a leg up on Hooman--due to more overall talent in both blocking and receiving.

OTOH--if they wish to save a little money, Fells may be the odd man out.

doesntmatter1 · May 2, 2013

I liked dowling coming out of the draft but I thought he was a beat up player taken too soon. I really think he needs to leave football alone until his body is perfect. At this point, ras is the equivalent to shawn crable for me.

I'm a big fletcher fan. So I'm going all in and hoping for big things from him.

I also believe something was wrong with fells. When i seen him in denver he was I wanna say a great blocker at times and caught some pretty off target balls from tebow. So I still believe in his blocking but i don't understand why his hands turned to stone here.

I think ballard is overhyped. He isn't the best blocker but he does have deceptive speed. He is the biggest question mark for me.

HowardRoark · May 2, 2013

doesntmatter1 said:
I also believe something was wrong with fells. When i seen him in denver he was I wanna say a great blocker at times and caught some pretty off target balls from tebow. So I still believe in his blocking but i don't understand why his hands turned to stone here.

I feel like it is a small sample size. Does anyone have his target numbers? I can only remember two or three passes his way the whole year.

Nunchucks · May 2, 2013

I really want to believe Dowling can contribute this year. However, even if healthy, there is no guarantee that he will be able to compete with the guys on the roster. Basically, he was out of football for two years, I have a hard time believing he can come in and push guys for a roster spot.

mgteich · May 2, 2013

I have Hooman beating out Fells.

TE (4) - Gronkowksi, Hernandez, Ballard, Hooman

Fells makes the team if Ballard doesn't work out or if one of the top 2 can't go for an extensive time.

supafly said:
I tend to think that Fells will battle for the TE4 spot with Hooman/UDFA future pickup myself (due to the recent cut of Herman it's hard to project "who" that other player may be).

It has been rumored that Fells was more injured than anyone realized last year. If that's the case, he may very well have a leg up on Hooman--due to more overall talent in both blocking and receiving.

OTOH--if they wish to save a little money, Fells may be the odd man out.

HowardRoark · May 2, 2013

Nunchucks said:
I really want to believe Dowling can contribute this year. However, even if healthy, there is no guarantee that he will be able to compete with the guys on the roster. Basically, he was out of football for two years, I have a hard time believing he can come in and push guys for a roster spot.

DocHoliday · May 2, 2013

I don't see more than one of Fells, HooHoo, and the other UDFA tight end making the roster.

It's probably going to be the best passcatcher out of the three.

Kontradiction · May 2, 2013

I think it will be interesting to see how big the team will try to get in the red area against smaller, quicker defenses. If this is the case, I can see Ballard and Gronk at TE and Hernandez in the slot. IMO, this could be where Ballard, who is a very big target, could contribute the most if the ball doesn't go to Gronk. Fletcher could contribute a bit in a reserve role where he plays a coverage specialist. I don't expect Dowling to make it through TC.

jmt57 · May 2, 2013

mgteich said:
COMING BACK FROM INJURIES
Fletcher (alternative is Beuharnais)
Dowling (alternative is Cole)
Ballard (alternative is Fells)

Most important to be is that we have the alternatives.

Myself, I see Fletcher's job in jeopardy due to the drafting of Collins.
To me Beauharnais is a replacement for Tracy White.

At CB the other alternatives at this point would be undrafted free agents Brandon Jones and Stephon Morris, so it would make sense that Cole would be the primary alternative to Dowling.

At TE the other alternatives at this point would be undrafted free agents Brandon Ford (move TE) or Zach Sudfeld (inline TE), so again it would make sense that Fells would be the primary alternative.

old 55 · May 2, 2013

Gronk, Hernandez, Ballard & HOO if they keep a 4th. They may opt for keeping more young WRs over the 4th TE.
This changes if any of the top 3 TE start the season on PUP.

PatsWickedPissah · May 2, 2013

mgteich said:
Pryor is already gone. We will see who of the following three comes back healthy enough to be a serious contributor. I understand that there are many coming back from injuries, but their role is not questioned (Hernandez and Gronkowski).

COMING BACK FROM INJURIES
Fletcher (alternative is Beuharnais)
Dowling (alternative is Cole)
Ballard (alternative is Fells)

Most important to be is that we have the alternatives.

You left out returning IRed Edelperson who faces competition as WR/slot receiver backup via several draftees and UDFAs.
His low cap cost amd most importantly stellar PR capabilities should keep him on the 53 unless he regresses.

Christian · May 2, 2013

I don't mind keeping Hoo-man if he can get some time in at FB. Would be nice to have a big bodied blocker out there occasionally on first and second downs to make some room for Ridley.

Otherwise, is keeping 4 TE's a must?

Really hope we can get some good play out of Ras this year. He's a guy I've been rooting for since we drafted him. Really want to see him reach his potential. Been a string of bad luck for the guy.

mgteich · May 2, 2013

You answered your own question. Edelman is in no danger of not making the roster. As you say, the is top punt returner. He is also a backup slot receiver, Obviously, he could be injured in camp; but that is true of every player on the roster.

As far as competition, Jones, Jenkins and free agents will compete for the last WR spot. Edelman is certainly much more likely to make the 53 than any of them.

PatsWickedPissah said:
You left out returning IRed Edelperson who faces competition as WR/slot receiver backup via several draftees and UDFAs.

His low cap cost amd most importantly stellar PR capabilities should keep him on the 53 unless he regresses.

TruthSeeker · May 2, 2013

doesntmatter1 said:
I liked dowling coming out of the draft but I thought he was a beat up player taken too soon. I really think he needs to leave football alone until his body is perfect. At this point, ras is the equivalent to shawn crable for me.

I'm a big fletcher fan. So I'm going all in and hoping for big things from him.

I also believe something was wrong with fells. When i seen him in denver he was I wanna say a great blocker at times and caught some pretty off target balls from tebow. So I still believe in his blocking but i don't understand why his hands turned to stone here.

I think ballard is overhyped. He isn't the best blocker but he does have deceptive speed. He is the biggest question mark for me.

As far as Ballard is concerned, I hope he hasn't lost that deceptive speed. That was a pretty bad injury he suffered. We REALLY need him to be 100%, because we don't know if Gronk will be on the PUP list. Hell, we don't even know if Gronk will ever be the same player. Unfortunately Gronk is reminding me of Jeremy Shockey (in many ways), amazing start to his career, and then injuries set in. I hope he goes injury free for the rest of his career, but I am concerned.

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