SI: Tape backs up Easley hype

Rob0729 · Jun 9, 2014

Uncle Rico said:
Hah - -hey, hope you're right. To be fair, I was responding to a post saying 2014 would be a learning/getting back year for Easley. No doubting the talent — just trying to give the rookie cushion to get comfortable both physically and mentally. DROY would be fab.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't bet on a DROY honor or even a season worthy of the discussion, but at this point there is no reason not to hope for it. The talent is there that it isn't a completely delusional hope.

Brady_to_Moss · Jun 9, 2014

50-yard-line said:
One of these things is not like the others...

(And no, he wasn't offsides.)

I keep watching videos of him. He takes off like a Ferrari 458

50-yard-line · Jun 9, 2014

Brady_to_Moss said:
I keep watching videos of him. He takes off like a Ferrari 458

Only the center and the DT beside him have begun to move and he's already on the center, driving him backwards. The explosion is insane.

PatsWickedPissah · Jun 9, 2014

CANNOT WAIT FOR TRAINING CAMP

BRING IT!

Kontradiction · Jun 9, 2014

50-yard-line said:
One of these things is not like the others...

(And no, he wasn't offsides.)

Man, I loved watching him do that at UF. Now I hope I get to love watching him do that on Sundays.

patchick · Jun 9, 2014

I was totally conflicted about Easley before the draft. He was tantalizing as all get out, an elite talent with solid intangibles, but his injury history scared the heck out of me. (It was very much the way I felt about Rob Gronkowski once upon a time, come to think of it.)

But after he worked out to positive reviews, I started to feel better. And once the Patriots -- and the Seahawks -- wanted him in round 1, I felt better yet. Not just because I'm a homer, but because I knew they had access to medical info I didn't. Committing the 1st shows that they're optimistic that he can return to form sooner rather than later.

That said, even assuming Easley stays healthy, I'm trying to temper my expectations of what he can do in his first months back.

mayoclinic · Jun 9, 2014

patchick said:
I was totally conflicted about Easley before the draft. He was tantalizing as all get out, an elite talent with solid intangibles, but his injury history scared the heck out of me. (It was very much the way I felt about Rob Gronkowski once upon a time, come to think of it.)

But after he worked out to positive reviews, I started to feel better. And once the Patriots -- and the Seahawks -- wanted him in round 1, I felt better yet. Not just because I'm a homer, but because I knew they had access to medical info I didn't. Committing the 1st shows that they're optimistic that he can return to form sooner rather than later.

That said, even assuming Easley stays healthy, I'm trying to temper my expectations of what he can do in his first months back.

As someone who probably had Easley rated higher than anyone else on this board (he was my #2 overall prospect for the Pats after Aaron Donald, and only behind Donald because of the injury history), welcome to the club.

FWIW, BB openly said that he felt fortunate that Easley lasted until 29:

"The way the board ended up, we felt very good about Dominique being available at 29. He’s been a very good player in a real good program. They’re well coached down there with Coach [Will] Muschamp. You can see him playing against a lot of good players in that conference. I thought Dominque played very well. He’s a versatile guy that’s played different positions along the defensive line. So we’ll just see how it all comes together here, but I’m glad he was able to last that long. I’m looking forward to having him."

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4762605/belichick-easley-an-all-in-prospect

BB also indirectly alluded to the likely interest in Easley from teams such as SF and Seattle (both rumored to have interest in him):

"There are always [trade] conversations, but we felt good about Dominique and there were a couple teams behind us that – we just didn’t want to take a chance on him."

lurker1965 · Jun 9, 2014

Call me nuts, but I think a 5-2 is a definite possibility. Yes, it is nuts, but more DT/NT than LBs. A regular use of a 5-2 has not been done, to my knowledge, since the '50s Browns. (I mean successful team. The 1984 Lions might have used it and gone 4-12.

)

mayoclinic · Jun 9, 2014

lurker1965 said:
Call me nuts, but I think a 5-2 is a definite possibility. Yes, it is nuts, but more DT/NT than LBs. A regular use of a 5-2 has not been done, to my knowledge, since the '50s Browns. (I mean successful team. The 1984 Lions might have used it and gone 4-12. )

I don't think it's nuts at all. We discussed this in detail on the Draft Board prior to the draft:

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england.../my-blueprint-for-the-defense.1097184/page-46

See posts #918, 921, 923, 926 and the related discussion. The Pats used some 5-2 fronts last year according to Reiss' snap analysis (see post #926), and the Seahawks used it a fair amount against power teams like SF.

JoeSixPat · Jun 9, 2014

Rob0729 said:
IDK, the odds of retearing an ACL is very low. In most cases, the repaired ACL is stronger than the original one. Easley said he got extra speed after he replaced the first one. Hopefully, he gets even more after the second one.

I would rather gamble on a guy who tore two ACLs than someone who had a lot of less severe injuries that keeps on taking him out. In other words, I would take an Easley over a Ras-I Dowling type.

I agree (though an ACL repair CAN re-tear, especially if rehab is rushed)

Overall I think Easley, if healthy, has the potential to re-define his position. He's quick, can be overpowering, and plays 30 lbs heavier than he is.

My prediction is that other NFL teams go out of their way to find and utilize a guy like Easley in a few years, adopting yet another copy-cat approach to do what BB does

patchick · Jun 9, 2014

JoeSixPat said:
Overall I think Easley, if healthy, has the potential to re-define his position. He's quick, can be overpowering, and plays 30 lbs heavier than he is.

My prediction is that other NFL teams go out of their way to find and utilize a guy like Easley in a few years

He's an unusual type of player, and it's rarer still to have two of roughly that type (Easley and Donald) in a single draft. I'm trying to think of a veteran comparison...Geno Atkins, maybe? Who else?

Marqui · Jun 9, 2014

patchick said:
He's an unusual type of player, and it's rarer still to have two of roughly that type (Easley and Donald) in a single draft. I'm trying to think of a veteran comparison...Geno Atkins, maybe? Who else?

Justin Smith?

patchick · Jun 9, 2014

Marqui said:
Justin Smith?

Hmm...Smith strikes me as closer to the prototypical DE, a lot longer and leaner. Easley and Donald have the squatter DT frame but in miniature (<6'2", <290 lbs), and achieve their position flexibility via quickness and athleticism, especially their initial burst.

AzorianPats · Jun 10, 2014

patchick said:
He's an unusual type of player, and it's rarer still to have two of roughly that type (Easley and Donald) in a single draft. I'm trying to think of a veteran comparison...Geno Atkins, maybe? Who else?

I've heard Geno Atkins and John Randle.

AzorianPats · Jun 10, 2014

mayoclinic said:
As someone who probably had Easley rated higher than anyone else on this board (he was my #2 overall prospect for the Pats after Aaron Donald, and only behind Donald because of the injury history), welcome to the club.

FWIW, BB openly said that he felt fortunate that Easley lasted until 29:

BB also indirectly alluded to the likely interest in Easley from teams such as SF and Seattle (both rumored to have interest in him):

Mayo, do you think Easley could have been a top 5 pick if it wasn't for the ACL injuries?

DSting · Jun 10, 2014

Very common to tear the ACL in the opposite knee after surgery. Lots of thoughts on why, but bottom line the opposite knee is more vulnerable to tears than the repaired knee for two years. Rates of re-tears depend on a lot of factors, but the structure of the knee is probably one of them. There is a notch in the knee that correlates to high rates of ACL tears, esp. in women. Sometimes, though, the graft is very strong and holds up well. 2 years seems to be the time when injury risk levels back out. No doubt whatsoever that Easley is getting superb rehab, and the Pats may even know his notch width, which affects re-injury risk.

Uncle Rico · Jun 10, 2014

DSting said:
...No doubt whatsoever that Easley is getting superb rehab, and the Pats may even know his notch width, which affects re-injury risk.

Hah -- only a matter of time before a player's "Notch Width" is posted right up there with his 40, three-cone and bench press at the Combine.

BelichickFan · Jun 10, 2014

patchick said:
He's an unusual type of player, and it's rarer still to have two of roughly that type (Easley and Donald) in a single draft. I'm trying to think of a veteran comparison...Geno Atkins, maybe? Who else?

The former Browns fan in me keeps telling me that he reminds me of Michael Dean Perry.

BelichickFan · Jun 10, 2014

AzorianPats said:
Mayo, do you think Easley could have been a top 5 pick if it wasn't for the ACL injuries?

It's very difficult to know how it would have played out, the season, combine, workouts, but it's reasonable to say he would have been competitive with Aaron Donald who went 13th. I think he may have gone ahead of Donald but a reasonably safe assumption is we got a guy who would have gone 10-15 (based on Donald at 13) at 29 due to taking on the injury risk. That's a deal I would take any day as it would take #29 and at least another #1 to get to #13. If he would have gone int he top ten, great, but for me it's a risk worth taking even if he "only" would have gone in the 10-15 range.

mayoclinic · Jun 10, 2014

AzorianPats said:
Mayo, do you think Easley could have been a top 5 pick if it wasn't for the ACL injuries?

BelichickFan said:
It's very difficult to know how it would have played out, the season, combine, workouts, but it's reasonable to say he would have been competitive with Aaron Donald who went 13th. I think he may have gone ahead of Donald but a reasonably safe assumption is we got a guy who would have gone 10-15 (based on Donald at 13) at 29 due to taking on the injury risk. That's a deal I would take any day as it would take #29 and at least another #1 to get to #13. If he would have gone int he top ten, great, but for me it's a risk worth taking even if he "only" would have gone in the 10-15 range.

Agreed. I think Easley would have been top-5 worthy, but who knows if he would have actually gone top 5. I think Chicago at 14 and Dallas at 16 would have been his floor, so the Pats got a top 15 caliber pick at 29. It's certainly not inconceivable that Oakland at 5 or Atlanta at 6 would have fallen in love with him, but who knows.

SI: Tape backs up Easley hype

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