Why did we sign lafell over sanders?

Considering we signed him to a contract that the steelers matched?

I don't know alot about the cap and what not but it seems considering were well below it as it stands they could of had him.

He was better than lafell before going to Denver and frankly it only looks worse considering how well he's played in comparison.

And Amendola last year.

2006 Patriots lose to Manning in AFC Championship, the offense is terrible, the WR corps is putrid. Patriots bring Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth.


2013 Patriots lose to Manning in AFC Championship, the offense is terrible, the WR corps is putrid. Patriots bring Brandon LaFell.

Oh not this ****

Sanders = 5'10 7/8 Slot Receiver
Lafell = 6'3 receiver

Sanders is being used like Edelman by the Broncos because Welker has been out..

Because Belichick was nostalgic for the Donald Hayes era? Because LaFell is so great at running pick plays? Those are my two best guesses.

BB likes to spend mid level $$$ on WRs that don't make contributions...at least 3 years running. Never jinx a streak

realtime said:

Because Belichick was nostalgic for the Donald Hayes era? Because LaFell is so great at running pick plays? Those are my two best guesses.

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The play today was a bogus call by the refs. Contact is allowed inside of 5 yards.. As has been mentioned, Denver runs that play and the pick is never called.

JMC00 said:

Oh not this ****

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I just saw sanders catch mote plays in one drive than lafell has all season. It's a legit question and I appreciate your amazing contribution.

DaBruinz said:

The play today was a bogus call by the refs. Contact is allowed inside of 5 yards.. As has been mentioned, Denver runs that play and the pick is never called.

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If Denver ran that play with LaFell, the pick would be called every time. It's not an officiating issue, it's an execution issue. LaFell cannot execute the play.

DaBruinz said:

Sanders = 5'10 7/8 Slot Receiver
Lafell = 6'3 receiver

Sanders is being used like Edelman by the Broncos because Welker has been out..

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I understand the pats have had issues with finding receivers who aren't pint size but the talent differential is what should matter. Tall or not he's not better.

Edit

Also his size didn't matter when the pats attempted to sign him the year before.

Lafell is a superior run blocker and actually caught a few passes today. It was amazing when Tom had time he could find lafell. Its a concept most of the fans can't get their heads around. The receivers will be productive if Tom has time. Tom not having time is the issue

Although I think Brady is better than Manning, one area where Manning has it all over Brady is getting receivers acclimated to the offense. Manning has always never had a problem just plugging in a receiver and making him produce.

I bet if the Pats signed Sanders and the Broncos signed LaFell, people would be *****ing why the Pats didn't sign LaFell over Sanders.

realtime said:

If Denver ran that play with LaFell, the pick would be called every time. It's not an officiating issue, it's an execution issue. LaFell cannot execute the play.

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Wrong. Lafell executes the play just fine. The issue is that the Refs don't understand that, inside of 5 yards of the LOS, contact is allowed. Furthermore, the contact today was initiated by the Raiders CB, not Lafell..

Emmanuel Sanders is an okay player who gets to play on a high octane offense that throws the ball all the time and scores touchdowns at historically high rates. Talentwise, he's a poor man's Julian Edelman.

We signed LaFell over Sanders because Sanders had similar positional attributes as two receivers already on the roster: Edelman and Amendola. LaFell brings a different set of skills to the game - size/physicality. They both had essentially identical production in their first four years in the NFL.

festy1986 said:

I understand the pats have had issues with finding receivers who aren't pint size but the talent differential is what should matter. Tall or not he's not better.

Edit

Also his size didn't matter when the pats attempted to sign him the year before.

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The year before, they didn't have Gronk coming in off an arm injury that cost him the entire year. They also had 3 rookie receivers coming in that they weren't sure what they would bring to the table.

This year, prior to signing Lafell, the Pats had Dobson, Thompkins, Amendola, and Edelman as locks (even though Dobson was coming back from a foot injury). And they had an injured Gronk. They needed a tall body for the Red Zone.

I would think that the differing circumstances would be plainly obvious to anyone following the team.

primetime said:

Emmanuel Sanders is an okay player who gets to play on a high octane offense that throws the ball all the time and scores touchdowns at historically high rates. Talentwise, he's a poor man's Julian Edelman.

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BB didn't seem to think so two off seasons ago. He targeted Sanders and let JE hit the market.

DaBruinz said:

The year before, they didn't have Gronk coming in off an arm injury that cost him the entire year. They also had 3 rookie receivers coming in that they weren't sure what they would bring to the table.

This year, prior to signing Lafell, the Pats had Dobson, Thompkins, Amendola, and Edelman as locks (even though Dobson was coming back from a foot injury). And they had an injured Gronk. They needed a tall body for the Red Zone.

I would think that the differing circumstances would be plainly obvious to anyone following the team.

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you're saying alot without saying anything.

Dobson a healthy scratch again. His size doesn't seem to matter to bill. Tompkins is a undrafted free agent.

Whatever you may think the fact remains. Sanders is better and has been better. You rather have lafell?

borg said:

BB didn't seem to think so two off seasons ago. He targeted Sanders and let JE hit the market.

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Two seasons ago. Before Edelman caught 100 balls and emerged as a force.

DaBruinz said:

The year before, they didn't have Gronk coming in off an arm injury that cost him the entire year. They also had 3 rookie receivers coming in that they weren't sure what they would bring to the table.

This year, prior to signing Lafell, the Pats had Dobson, Thompkins, Amendola, and Edelman as locks (even though Dobson was coming back from a foot injury). And they had an injured Gronk. They needed a tall body for the Red Zone.

I would think that the differing circumstances would be plainly obvious to anyone following the team.

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Hindsight is always 20/20 and in hindsight we would have been better off giving Sanders the contract we gave Amendola in 2013 so we would have him and Edelman, instead of Edelman and Amendola. In hindsight I also would take Richard Sherman instead of Dowling, Jimmy Graham instead of Taylor Price, etc. Oh if only I could build a team in hindsight someplace other than Madden.. .