Report: Tennessee Titans LB Akeem Ayers traded to the Patriots

Urgent said:

So who was released? Did I miss this?
Sounded like the Patriots were sort of pleased with Jonas Gray.

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Urgent said:

So who was released? Did I miss this?

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TheBostonStraggler said:

Player with 3 years experience all of them on a bad team. Player has had one year of solid play and one year largely off the grid with an injury. Player is signed with little cost/cap exposure to a perennially winning team. Player plays a position of need on the perennially winning team.

What's not to like about this? He either comes in and regains his form from his good year, or something approaching satisfactory, or he's let go at some point without any real financial ramifications. This is a very good pickup....

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RIpats88 said:

ya, I think it is a good pickup and if he fits in the system and is healthy...he should be an impact player.

I mean, half this board looked at Blounts stats when we acquired him when he wasnt being used in tamp and said "this is a waste, why pick him up?" and he seemed to contribute just fine. same with Talib who wasnt exactly lighting it up in Tampa at the time

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mayoclinic said:

"Impact player" sounds optimistic, but I like the Blount comparison. Both guys had 1 very good season, and both had fallen off with a coaching change. The big difference is the question about Ayers' knees, but if healthy, I could definitely see him contributing.

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RIpats88 said:

maybe "impact player" was abit much, but I could see him being a contributer rushing the passer and at least better than Skinner or whomever else we have as depth to step up with mayo out

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RIpats88 said:

the thing is, if he is good rushing the passe and is on a short week, you can play him as a DE or a LB rushing. I would imagine he wouldnt have to know "Tons" of the playbook to be able to get after the QB

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"Well, we will see," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said when asked at his Wednesday news conference about what Ayers brings to the team. "Start working with him today. He's played linebacker. He's played defensive end in some sub situations.

"We will see [what he is more suited to play]. I'd say he has some versatility, but we will see."

Ayers is coming off of surgeries on both of his knees to repair patella tendons and has only played in two of the Titans' seven games this season.

"We talked with him about [his inactivity]," Belichick said. "You have the injury reports so you can look at all the injury reports this year."

Ayers was a second-round pick (39th overall) in the 2011 NFL draft out of UCLA. The Patriots scouted Ayers in 2011, when they selected cornerback Ras-I Dowling in the second round (33rd overall).

"Yeah, we did [scout] him coming out of UCLA," Belichick said. "We spend time with a lot players. That was a long time ago. I don't think it's really that relevant."

Belichick discussed the biggest challenges faced with bringing in a new player in the middle of the season.

"The combination of us getting to know him and him learning our scheme, learning our system, evaluating him on the run," Belichick said.

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mgteich said:

My gut feeling that we will very happy with this addition come November. As Collins was last year, he will a great opportunity to help the team. The issue, as he identified, is how long it will take to learn the system.

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mayoclinic said:

I think BB was completely honest with the press when he talked about Ayers:



http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-...ll-belichick-we-will-see-what-akeem-ayers-has

Not very sexy, but pretty honest:

- The Pats scouted Ayers in 2011, but it's probably not terribly relevant right now. They liked Isaac Sapoaga in 2004, and BB talked about that a year ago, but that didn't turn out to be relevant.

- They've talked to him, gone through the injury reports, let their medical people check him out, and have had access to his medical files. Not perfect - they've made plenty of mistakes in the past (Jonathan Fanene, for example).

- Ayers has some versatility. In the past he has shown that he can pass rush, he can play DE in sub packages, he can play OLB in 3-4 packages or as a 4-3 SAM. He can drop into coverage decently, and he may even be able to play inside. Now BB has to figure out which skills are still valid, and which ones he can best use on short notice.

I think this is classic BB operating procedure. He saw an opportunity to pick up a player who could possibly fill a need for minimal cost when there weren't many options out there, just like he did a year ago with Sapoaga. If Ayers can contribute in a specific way, great. He'll find a role, and then BB will explore whether there are other ways to use his skills. If he doesn't contribute, then he'll be a short term rental, and BB will keep on looking, just like he found Sealver Siliga off the scrap heap a year ago.

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scott99 said:

60% of the time it works all the time.

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TommyBrady12 said:

I thought you were just Meh in this trade, no?

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mgteich said:

I liked the trade a lot. I just think that some folks went overboard with regard to what to expect. Belichick secured a LB who has played quite a bit and should be counted on to be an upgrade to Skinner.

Now, we have at least the possibility of playing all of our defensive sets. What we were reduced to against the jets was pretty awful.

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AzPatsFan said:

Snarky,
At least get the percentages right for your humorous snark. its 75% vice 60%.

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