Winning with this current receiver corp is not sustainable

Snake Eyes said:

How do you KNOW the receivers will develop? How many receivers have been brought in who haven't developed?

The goal should be bring in players who give us the best chance of winning, if one of those players is a vet who doesn't need to learn how to be an NFL receiver in addition to being a Pats receiver, then I'm all for it.

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how do I know they will develop? because Dobson was a couple of dropped passes from having a big game and making the big play...he was getting solid separation all game..but just wasnt on the same page with brady in his first NFL game.. once he/brady are on the same page those passes are ones they connect on

if they dont make improvements by week 6, then im sure Belicheck will bring someone in...but right now, who gives us a better chance later in the year? someone like Jenkins? or someone like Dobson?

and help is on the way in the form of Gronk/Amendola

let's panic when these pups still look like trash in week 10. then we can all panic together and start doing mock drafts.

This is probably the case. The wide receivers CHOSEN BY BELICHICK (and trained by our coaches during the preseason) are apparently so bad that he'd rather have Boyce as a backup than one of them.

Oswlek said:

5) Yes he is, which is why I strongly believe they won't add anyone unless we go a few weeks without the kids making any improvement whatsoever. And, frankly, I find that very unlikely.

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mgteich said:

I strongly disagree. When there are injuries, belichick uses the end of the roster positions to bring in players to bridge the gap.

1) I would have been fine (and still would be) with having one more receiver on the roster and one fewer linebacker. Do we really need FOUR special teamers in the linebacking corp? This has to with the 53 from the start.

2) We have a need now. I see little downside in waiving Beauharnais to sign one of the JAG WR's, or Mulligan. if Gronk is ready to play.

4) The only reason that we "are fine at WR" is that we are 2-0. We easily could be 0-2. The situation wouldn't really be any different. However, somehow, I think more would think it prudent to add a WR.

5) I think/hope that we will be fine at WR come Thanksgiving. That is NOT a reason to fail to have backups on the team now. Belichick is much better at roster management than that.

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Your backups are already here (Boyce is just farther down the depth chart, and Amendola and Edelman are already at the top, followed by Thompkins, Dobson, then Boyce etc.) so honestly, that's a pretty good group. They're just inexperienced at the pro level at this point.

You're generally pretty even keeled mgteich, so I'm a little puzzled here - but let me ask you an honest question: Don't you think these rookies are going to become more effective once Gronk and Amendola get back on the field?? I think they'll be completely different players when they're just able to go out and beat one-on-one match-ups against lower tiered corners. Do you disagree?

My biggest issue is that we are all just presuming the rose-colored world where Edelman, Gronkowski and Amendola are all healthy at the same time. We need to be prepared for one of them being out.

My position is that I would prefer to have Underwood (or Jenkins or Hawkins) active instead of Boyce. I don't view this as an extreme position. As was the case with Boyce, this player wouldn't necessarily have gotten any more reps than Boyce, although there would have been opportunity to sit Thompkins for a series or two.

I agree that at least one of Thompkins and Dobson will be much better when Amendola and Gronkowski is back. In fact, I was encouraged by Dobson's first performance. Dobson can get open. I don't think that matchups are the issue. I think that the issue is making the wrong reads (common for rookies) and dropping the ball.

I have little confidence that Boyce will be a factor this year. But that's fine. We need a developmental wide receiver.

Ian said:

Your backups are already here (Boyce is just farther down the depth chart, and Amendola and Edelman are already at the top, followed by Thompkins, Dobson, then Boyce etc.) so honestly, that's a pretty good group. They're just inexperienced at the pro level at this point.

You're generally pretty even keeled mgteich, so I'm a little puzzled here - but let me ask you an honest question: Don't you think these rookies are going to become more effective once Gronk and Amendola get back on the field?? I think they'll be completely different players when they're just able to go out and beat one-on-one match-ups against lower tiered corners. Do you disagree?

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RIpats88 said:

I expect some of the things such as drops to clear up..especially for Dobson...this guy was said to have some of the best hands in the draft and made some circus catches at Marshall

i'll chalk last night up to rookie jitters with the dropsies

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Problem with the jitters excuse is imagine how bad the "jitters" will be in say the Divisional round on the road at Mile High in January in a snow storm. Ughhhh.

I sincerely hope it gets better but I am VERY CONCERNED.

You are worried about the snow? Do you know Brady's record in the snow?

Pats0204 said:

Problem with the jitters excuse is imagine how bad the "jitters" will be in say the Divisional round on the road at Mile High in January in a snow storm. Ughhhh.

I sincerely hope it gets better but I am VERY CONCERNED.

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mgteich said:

You are worried about the snow? Do you know Brady's record in the snow?

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I am worried about our Wide Receivers catching the ball! The snow was simply a reference to the "jitters" excuse for Dobson. If he dropped that many balls from jitters in week 2 at home, imagine when the pressure is dialed up. I sincerely HOPE i am dead wrong about the rooks. I'm just very worried at this point.

mgteich said:

This is probably the case. The wide receivers CHOSEN BY BELICHICK (and trained by our coaches during the preseason) are apparently so bad that he'd rather have Boyce as a backup than one of them.

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Or...

The young wide receivers CHOSEN BY BELICHICK have done enough to warrant optimism instead of needing to panic sign a JAG after the first rookie stumble.

Oswlek said:

Or...

The young wide receivers CHOSEN BY BELICHICK have done enough to warrant optimism instead of needing to panic sign a JAG after the first rookie stumble.

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fair enough

My proposal is that we could have had, should have had, and should have a backup veteran on the 53 instead of a 3rd backup LB/STer.

In that case, we would have a player who was always ready if conditions arose. I would not even have had any issue if the player wasn't active on Thursday, if Belichick truly believed that Boyce was a better option. Given Boyce's reps last week, that might have been the case.

Mine is apparently an unusual view. However, would we really be WORSE off as a team if we had a veteran available (inactive for the first 2 games) who would have practice with the team for the past month, or at least 10 days?

As an aside, Beauharnais will likely be waived at some point anyway, and he will make it to the Practice Squad or not.

I'd like to see us give Boyce more reps at WR and see if he can do any better than Thompkins and/or Dobson has already. Might as well try and see if he makes the most of his chance

wolverinejoe80 said:

let's panic when these pups still look like trash in week 10. then we can all panic together and start doing mock drafts.

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Week 10?!?

Here are some quotes from Bruschi about the new receivers:

“Tom Brady is holding them to a standard that they can’t maintain, and that’s Tom Brady’s standard. He expects them to be perfect because at times he rarely makes mistakes,” Bruschi said. “He has to lower his standards for these receivers right now. The defense is good and will buy him some time.


“I remember back in 2001, we had a quality defense and we had to pick up our weight a little bit more, pick up the slack, because we had a young quarterback by the name of Tom Brady. We had to wait for him. Now he has to wait for them.”

Going from being loaded with receiving threats from 2007-2012 to having the worst receiving corp in the NFL is just cruel.

I seriously still can't believe Belichick let this happen. What the **** was he thinking? We went from legit Super Bowl contenders to whatever the **** this is now.

Pessimistic Pete said:

Going from being loaded with receiving threats from 2007-2012 to having the worst receiving corp in the NFL is just cruel.

I seriously still can't believe Belichick let this happen. What the **** was he thinking? We went from legit Super Bowl contenders to whatever the **** this is now.

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What he was thinking is pretty obvious to figure out. Whether it will work or not, when it didn't really address the elephant in the room (the continued bringing in of players who can't stay healthy), is another question entirely, and we won't know the answer to it for several months.

Deus Irae said:

What he was thinking is pretty obvious to figure out. Whether it will work or not, when it didn't really address the elephant in the room (the continued bringing in of players who can't stay healthy), is another question entirely, and we won't know the answer to it for several months.

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"Amendola will be our new Welker and he will suddenly stop being injury prone" is what he was thinking.

Which is delusional. Any bozo on ESPN could have predicted this happening, yet Belichick seemed to think Amendola would be able to stay healthy.

Pessimistic Pete said:

Going from being loaded with receiving threats from 2007-2012 to having the worst receiving corp in the NFL is just cruel.

I seriously still can't believe Belichick let this happen. What the **** was he thinking? We went from legit Super Bowl contenders to whatever the **** this is now.

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Well, you're definitely living up to your name.

They played against a good defensive team with four days' preparation. Thompkins and Dobson played poorly, but talk like this is so premature that it has to be a joke. Give them a few weeks.

Another awesome thread from Pete :bricks:

We just finished week 2 Pete, relax

Re: Re: Winning with this current receiver corp is not sustainable

Pessimistic Pete said:

Going from being loaded with receiving threats from 2007-2012 to having the worst receiving corp in the NFL is just cruel.

I seriously still can't believe Belichick let this happen. What the **** was he thinking? We went from legit Super Bowl contenders to whatever the **** this is now.

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You're right. Let's give up on the season. There is NO WAY any of these guys can improve EVER! Unsustainable offense and defense! We are on pace for .000 win percentage if we hadn't flukily won those first two games. We're DOOMED!!!!!

The fans that think the Patriots are going in the right direction now are the same people who thought the Pats were going in the right direction in 1999 when they were sitting at 6-2. Although I suspect many of these Kool Aid drinkers weren't old enough to watch and understand football back then. The Patriots had gotten a bevy of draft picks for Parcells and Curtis Martin and they turned into nothing but underachievers and jags - much like the majority of all these draft picks Belichick had in the defensive backfield the last 4 or 5 years. Something was wrong with the team back in 99 and even though they had a good start, things weren't right. Something is wrong with this team - not enough talent on offense - and if the fanboys and fantasy geeks think Messrs Dobson, Boyce (who?), Sudfeld, and Thompkins are going to turn into dependable, reliable ROOKIE receivers, the Kool Aid you're drinking is severely spiked.
Amendola's out for who knows how long, and when and if he comes back he'll surely play a game, then get hurt again. The Patriots were, what, +3 in turnover margin and BARELY beat the farking NYJ...AT HOME????? How can ANYONE take that and think the season's going to go well???? Oh sure, defense has held the mighty Bills and NYJ rookie qb led offenses to 21 and 10 points...yay!