Jemea Thomas

New England Patriots' projected roster - Aug 18, 2014 - espnBoston

Reiss projects that Jemea Thomas will make the roster over both Chung and Wilson. Huh??

Except at safety, his roster projection seems very straightforward, whether or not one agrees with his guesses about the bubble guys.

Yeah, I can't agree with Reiss on this one.

Maybe J.Thomas is cut and then makes it to the PS, especially with the rumors that we're going from 8 spots to 10 spots. That makes a lot more sense to me, particularly since he's far from contributing anything at all after missing so much time this summer.

To me, Moore over Smith and Worthy for the 9th DL position is almost as much of a reach.

Just tells me Reiss has been very unimpressed by Chung and Wilson this camp.

mgteich said:

To me, Moore over Smith and Worthy for the 9th DL position is almost as much of a reach.

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Eh not necessarily. Last year a lot of people thought Francis and Bernard were locks over Buchanan and Bequette.

JMC00 said:

Just tells me Reiss has been very unimpressed by Chung and Wilson this camp.

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And also that Reiss, (much like any other sports writer) often speculates and is proven wrong. He uses his own personal football knowledge and opinion to come up with some wacky conclusions. Although this is "normal" compared to any other sportswriter, it should be noted.

Fencer said:

New England Patriots' projected roster - Aug 18, 2014 - espnBoston

Reiss projects that Jemea Thomas will make the roster over both Chung and Wilson. Huh??

Except at safety, his roster projection seems very straightforward, whether or not one agrees with his guesses about the bubble guys.

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If somebody is going to make the roster over both Chung AND Wilson, then it is Kanorris Davis, not Jemea Thomas.

supafly said:

Yeah, I can't agree with Reiss on this one.

Maybe J.Thomas is cut and then makes it to the PS, especially with the rumors that we're going from 8 spots to 10 spots. That makes a lot more sense to me, particularly since he's far from contributing anything at all after missing so much time this summer.

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Too Little Too Late. PS and try again next year.

AzPatsFan said:

Too Little Too Late. PS and try again next year.

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Agreed. It's a shame for him, but it happens to rookies all over the league every single year.

If he's invited back to the PS and makes it, he'll still be in the mix for next year. I fail to see what Reiss does from a late round player who never really got it going, and missed the bulk of TC.

I remember coming across Jemea Thomas while fumbling through some Jeremiah Attoachu highlights from Georgia Tech and remarking at what a little buzzsaw this kid was. I knew it was bad news when BB drafted him because usually anytime I agree with a BB pick, it angers the football gods and the player doesn't work out for us.

mrbean said:

I remember coming across Jemea Thomas while fumbling through some Jeremiah Attoachu highlights from Georgia Tech and remarking at what a little buzzsaw this kid was. I knew it was bad news when BB drafted him because usually anytime I agree with a BB pick, it angers the football gods and the player doesn't work out for us.

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You're right! I am angry!! grrrrrr.

JMC00 said:

Eh not necessarily. Last year a lot of people thought Francis and Bernard were locks over Buchanan and Bequette.

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I'll admit I thought Benard was going to make the team last year, so... but I don't see Smith making this roster. He didn't show up in either of the two preseason games and the practice reports on him have not been overly positive. I agree that Thomas is headed for the PS.

Related to the Benard cut, Belichick did say some interesting things about projecting how a player would develop over the course of the year and weighing that against the contributions they could make now, so there's a model wherein he might take a rookie who has had limited time to show what he can do over a veteran on a one-year deal. I tend to think that where the veterans offer strong ST play (e.g., Wilson, Chung) that that is less likely to occur. Buchanan played on 3 of 4 ST last year, which probably helped him beat-out an effective-looking Benard. Does anyone know whether Zack Moore has played any ST this summer?

After the draft, I listed Stork and Thomas as the two rookies I was most excited about.

Sorry about that

mgteich said:

To me, Moore over Smith and Worthy for the 9th DL position is almost as much of a reach.

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JMC00 said:

Eh not necessarily. Last year a lot of people thought Francis and Bernard were locks over Buchanan and Bequette.

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Will smith isn't Francis or Benard.
Top 6 snaps played on DL will be Ninkovich, Jones, Wilfork, Easley, Smith, Kelly not certain of order.

mgteich said:

To me, Moore over Smith and Worthy for the 9th DL position is almost as much of a reach.

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Agreed, Moore seems like a pretty straightforward PS candidate, IMO. I'd prefer for that spot to go to someone who's ready to step into the rotation right now, and that could be either of Worthy or Smith, depending on what part of the line they think needs depth more. Could be both, too.

JMC00 said:

Eh not necessarily. Last year a lot of people thought Francis and Bernard were locks over Buchanan and Bequette.

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I remember a lot of people thinking Buchanan was basically a lock to make the roster. He did play a lot of snaps (considering his draft position) early in the season, so that suggests that he was a pretty easy call for Belichick. He also ended up getting benched for failing so spectacularly at his contain responsibilities, but that's a separate issue.

As for Bequette, I did think he would be cut last year, and as I remember lots of others thought the same. Expecting the same this year.

BradyFTW! said:

Agreed, Moore seems like a pretty straightforward PS candidate, IMO. I'd prefer for that spot to go to someone who's ready to step into the rotation right now, and that could be either of Worthy or Smith, depending on what part of the line they think needs depth more. Could be both, too.

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My strong preference is both if they are physically able.

BradyFTW! said:

Agreed, Moore seems like a pretty straightforward PS candidate, IMO. I'd prefer for that spot to go to someone who's ready to step into the rotation right now, and that could be either of Worthy or Smith, depending on what part of the line they think needs depth more. Could be both, too.

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Worthy and Smith are very different players.
Smith is a 280 lb DE who is stout for the position, not a pass rush specialist, but not a bad pass rusher, who could also play inside in sub.
Worthy is a 300+ DT who isn't playing outside and is more likely to be subbed out than in in nickel and dime.

AndyJohnson said:

Worthy and Smith are very different players.
Smith is a 280 lb DE who is stout for the position, not a pass rush specialist, but not a bad pass rusher, who could also play inside in sub.
Worthy is a 300+ DT who isn't playing outside and is more likely to be subbed out than in in nickel and dime.

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I agree with this. Not sure if you're suggesting that I don't, but I think it goes without saying that Smith/Worthy isn't in any way an apples-to-apples swap.