Aaron Dobson

Oswlek said:

We hear about injuries that weren't disclosed all the time, so I don't think we can put any stock in that phrase, particularly in light of the quotes that came out last week.

Doesn't mean he is injured - or that there aren't reasons to be discouraged under both circumstances - just that a conclusion in either direction is equally uncertain at this point.

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I do not disagree that it's a possibility. As mentioned by many, Dobson could be taking longer to mentally and physically come back from the injury at a level that makes him some sort of asset to have on the field during games. However, I disagree with you characterizing it as "We hear about injuries that weren't disclosed all the time". "All the time" implies it's commonplace for a player to be injured, not be put on the injury report, but his injury is sufficiently disabling that he can't contribute on a level that would make him active (even for a handful of plays over a player, Tyms, who has I think 2 career catches)?
That is not commonplace IME.

I root for your explanation to be right. I hope Dobson is just weeks away from being ready to go on at least a '13 level. However, consider what the simplest explanation (occam's razor) says:
Is it that Dobson, in the opinion of the coaches, simply isn't playing well enough to warrant playing time? Or is the simplest answer that a secretive injury status is hampering him, and the coaches feel compelled to leave it completely off the injury report?

I think Dobson had his foot amputated and they are waiting for it to grow back...at this point, i doubt he plays any meaningful snaps the rest of the way. I hope im wrong

45 pages on a guy with little to zero significance. Amazing. The funny thing is reading all of these articles that offer NOTHING when it comes to actual rock solid information. NOBODY here can tell you why he isn't playing. Is he re injured ? Is he dogging it in practice ? Nobody knows. The crazy thing about the whole situation is, when he FINALLY played the last preseason game, he looked fantastic. How does one go from THAT to invisible ? My guess is he re injured his foot, but the real answer could be something completely different from that. Either way, we will NEVER know what happened.

scott99 said:

The funny thing is reading all of these articles that offer NOTHING when it comes to actual rock solid information.

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I guess if you ignore the last 14 years of how they handle injury information I could see why this would be funny...

fnordcircle said:

I guess if you ignore the last 14 years of how they handle injury information I could see why this would be funny...

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Not ignoring that at all, I know they are tighter about injury news than the Soviet Union during the Cold War. What I am saying is funny (or stupid), is people are writing articles about Dobson, yet they have no freaking clue about why he's not playing. One article wrote about how hard Dobson fights through adversity, yet the article writer doesn't even know what the adversity is. I find that very funny (weird, odd, choose your own word). It kind of only exasperates the issue even more, don't write about something you have no clue about.

I think it simply boils down to that he has failed to show that he is a consistent player and can do the things necessary to get on the field. Look at the Buffalo game for insistence. He catches a pass then he jumps offside. Will he ever be able to become a consistent player that is the million dollar question.

scott99 said:

45 pages on a guy with little to zero significance. Amazing.

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On the contrary. I've found this along with the Amendola thread so scintillatingly edge-of-your seat exciting it's inspired me to start a Danny Aiken thread.

Rarely do the Patriots downplay injuries unless it's Brady. Its usually the opposite, they over exaggerate the injuries. I think Dobson is healthy but he just isn't good enough to play. At this rate he won't be on the roster for the 3rd pre season game of 2015.

Boston Boxer said:

I think Dobson had his foot amputated and they are waiting for it to grow back...at this point, i doubt he plays any meaningful snaps the rest of the way. I hope im wrong

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well i hope its grows back like gronk's bionic arm did after gronks arm was amputated here.

Froob said:

Rarely do the Patriots downplay injuries unless it's Brady. Its usually the opposite, they over exaggerate the injuries. I think Dobson is healthy but he just isn't good enough to play. At this rate he won't be on the roster for the 3rd pre season game of 2015.

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Highly disagree. Just because a player is disappointing in relation to where he gets drafted doesn't mean he's going to get cut. Objectively, he's a young player on a rookie deal. Guys who get cut are usually totally incompetent (he's not) or making to much money. He's cheap labor even if he doesn't improve. I'm still holding out hope that he improves.

This thread sucks. Somebody start a thread on a topic the REALLY matters...like one about Danny Amendola...:bricks:

I think you guys are over examining this way too much

IMO Dobson will take Tyms spot on the active roster soon enough. Tyms may be a better deep threat (marginally if at all) but Dobson is more complete overall.

I don't think Tyms has grasped the playbook either.

Froob said:

Rarely do the Patriots downplay injuries unless it's Brady. Its usually the opposite, they over exaggerate the injuries.

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Not sure that's true in general. For instance, I'm pretty sure they did that with Vinatieri one year. Can't remember which season, but he had a bad year (for him) and he was getting hammered by the press. Found out later he was dealing with an injury all season long (groin?) that affected his distance and accuracy and the Pats never listed him as being injured. I figured that was one of the things that caused him to actively seek free agency, although the Pats offered to make him the highest paid kicker in the league.

TheBostonStraggler said:

However, I disagree with you characterizing it as "We hear about injuries that weren't disclosed all the time". "All the time" implies it's commonplace for a player to be injured, not be put on the injury report, but his injury is sufficiently disabling that he can't contribute on a level that would make him active

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Technically, I didn't say that the injuries were the sole cause of his being inactive, just that it is fairly commonplace that people are more hurt than we realize, even those who aren't even listed on the injury report. In Aaron's case, it is probably an assortment of factors. The limited offseason put him behind, the foot wasn't responding perfectly after his early year snaps, the LaFell's performance and that of the offense in general lessened the need to rush Dobson.

Yes, I might be dealing in fantasyland here. It is entirely possible that he just isn't good enough in practice to earn the snaps, and I'd probably wouldn't even be speculating if not for the insider quote from a few days ago.

CaffeineMan said:

Not sure that's true in general. For instance, I'm pretty sure they did that with Vinatieri one year. Can't remember which season, but he had a bad year (for him) and he was getting hammered by the press. Found out later he was dealing with an injury all season long (groin?) that affected his distance and accuracy and the Pats never listed him as being injured. I figured that was one of the things that caused him to actively seek free agency, although the Pats offered to make him the highest paid kicker in the league.

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It's one of the things that pissed Seymour off as well, particularly after his subpar 2006 season.

Dobson will probably be inactive tonight for the seventh time this season, as others are on the receiver depth chart ahead of him and my sense is that he hasn’t broken through on the practice field, which is where players earn their playing time. In a week where there was a lot of discussion about the level of competitiveness surrounding the team, it had me thinking about how it takes a certain mentality and approach to thrive in this hard-driving environment, and how that is what helped receivers like Julian Edelman and Deion Branch emerge. If Dobson is to make it here, I think that's where it starts.

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http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-...l-5?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Mack Herron said:

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-...l-5?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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Reis's can be so vague sometimes. Did someone tell him that its Dobsons mentality that is holding him back or something? This raises more questions than answers, but it seems as though someone said something to him.

Oswlek said:

It's one of the things that pissed Seymour off as well, particularly after his subpar 2006 season.

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Who didn't know Seymour was injured? Most players in the league are playing through something. No team is going to make up an excuse list for every player, so if you can play,you play, if not you sit.

If you can play through multiple injuries, but not through getting your feelings hurt by message boards and the media, you need to stop reading them.

New England Pride said:

Reis's can be so vague sometimes. Did someone tell him that its Dobsons mentality that is holding him back or something? This raises more questions than answers, but it seems as though someone said something to him.

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It's simple. No job is guaranteed in the NFL no matter where you were drafted. Sometimes you have a wide open opportunity to shine, like Dobson and Thomkins had last year. sometimes you get injured in a year where there's lots more competition and you have to force yourself into the lineup.

In times like that, it's better not to worry about when you were drafted, or the opportunity you had last year and look to players like Troy Brown who outshone many higher draft picks by relentlessly forcing the team to play him more and in more varied roles.

If Dobson takes that attitude and has health, he'll have a succesful NFL career with his physical gifts.