Blount Released

Deus Irae said:

There's no reason for NE to put in a waiver claim, because of how low they are on the list.

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Arizona could certainly use another RB and are lower in the waiver order. Claiming his contract also blocks his ability to sign with someone else or negotiate a new contract before signing (if the current contract is team friendly).

Ben Rothlisberger found out about Blunt's release on the Rich Eisen show. Here's his reaction:

http://now.nfl.com/play/75dc344c-c43f-4136-82f8-db77e42d1953?id=75dc344c-c43f-4136-82f8-db77e42d1953

Clearly crushed.

patchick said:

I'm on board with the "insurance" idea in principle, but isn't a guy who was just cut for throwing tantrums over his lack of playing time the worst possible "insurance policy"? A Gray backup who doesn't contribute on special teams would be a guaranteed gameday inactive as long as Gray is able suit up.

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I don't think he would be inactive. I think he would share carries (at whatever proportion, subject to change) with Gray. When BB has a viable two headed RB option, he likes to use both to keep them fresh.
I think Bolden would be gone. He can easily be replaced on special teams.

Again, this hinges on how he behaved here last year, which could change it all.

mgteich said:

Then I suppose your fine with Bolden and White sharing 20 or more reps if Gray is injured? I want us to put in a claim on Blount, with the expectation of him being inactive barring an injury.

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Bolden + White is not ideal. Fair. But as patchick said above, Blount projects as an inactive as long as Gray is healthy. He was cut because he was unhappy with reps - makes the fit questionable.

mgteich said:

Then I suppose your fine with Bolden and White sharing 20 or more reps if Gray is injured? I want us to put in a claim on Blount, with the expectation of him being inactive barring an injury.

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You wouldn't expect him to compete with Gray for carries?

BradyManny said:

But as patchick said above, Blount projects as an inactive as long as Gray is healthy.

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Where are people getting this theory from? When Ridley was there, Ridley, Blount, Bolden and Vereen were active. Insert Gray for Ridley, and that's likely your new active foursome, with Gray and Blount sharing most of the 'true' RB carries.

BradyManny said:

Bolden + White is not ideal. Fair. But as patchick said above, Blount projects as an inactive as long as Gray is healthy. He was cut because he was unhappy with reps - makes the fit questionable.

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Ridley, Blount, Vereen, Bolden last year. They were generally all active.

Replace Ridley with Gray this year. There's no reason one has to be inactive.

AndyJohnson said:

I don't think he would be inactive. I think he would share carries (at whatever proportion, subject to change) with Gray. When BB has a viable two headed RB option, he likes to use both to keep them fresh.
I think Bolden would be gone. He can easily be replaced on special teams.

Again, this hinges on how he behaved here last year, which could change it all.

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I don't believe he would be inactive because he would become their KR the moment he got here. If he's OK with that and a back-up RB role then I would con sider it I'm just not sure how Belichick feels about him at this point. It may well be that he burned out on him as he did Spikes and doesn't want him around.

Deus Irae said:

Where are people getting this theory from? When Ridley was there, Ridley, Blount, Bolden and Vereen were active. Insert Gray for Ridley, and that's likely your new active foursome, with Gray and Blount sharing most of the 'true' RB carries.

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OK - good point there.

BradyManny said:

OK - good point there.

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Sorry that it seems that I'm targeting you for what others are saying. I'm not, but I can see where it's coming off as if I am.

Deus Irae said:

Sorry that it seems that I'm targeting you for what others are saying. I'm not, but I can see where it's coming off as if I am.

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No worries, didn't feel that way - and I think you've made several good points.

Ivan said:

I don't believe he would be inactive because he would become their KR the moment he got here. If he's OK with that and a back-up RB role then I would con sider it I'm just not sure how Belichick feels about him at this point. It may well be that he burned out on him as he did Spikes and doesn't want him around.

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Heading into the Buffalo game, Blount had 15 KO returns for 349 yards for a tidy average of 23.2. Thus far, Danny Amendola has 6 returns for 148 yards, which is a 24.7 average. Hell, season to date, which includes the wasteland prior to Amendola taking over the role, is only a half yard behind Blount's average.

Of course, the Buffalo game was terrific, so maybe I'm being unfair. But that is Blount in a nutshell. Mostly average with a few memorable bouts of excellence. He would be far from a sure thing to take over at KR.

Why do we need RB depth? I've long been a fan of the always effective inside draw to Vereen.

It would be fun to see Blount returning kicks again. I don't know if they would want to carry five RB, especially considering that they arent even carrying four on the gameday roster most times

Put White on IR and sign Blount.

Get it done Bill

I think if I were BB I would put more weight on how he behaved in the Patriots locker room when he was there than on reports coming out of Pittsburgh. Lots of times people can have interpersonal conflicts - maybe one of the coaches in Pitt had an issue with him, or vice versa. If he was well behaved on our team and if we can get him for the $319K or so which has been reported I would do it. Quality depth. And looking at his YPC from last year's games logs (posted earlier), he certainly had more than one or two good games.

Anyone have a gif of Blount's 7 yard loss on second and goal from the 1 against the Jets two weeks ago?

Oswlek said:

Anyone have a gif of Blount's 7 yard loss on second and goal from the 1 against the Jets two weeks ago?

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Blount has to be the worst short yardage RB per lbs in the NFL.

Deus Irae said:

What's with all the "backup" nonsense? Belichick runs tandems.

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OK, Belichick runs tandems. The tandem is Gray and Vereen at RB. How many carries have Bolden or White had this entire season?

I do agree that we might consider having Blount being active, if he is the kick returner.

However, I would note that Belichick has favored 2 active RB's this year, plus STer Bolden.

Sign him please!!