Howe: Patriots considering placing Easley on IR

captain stone said:

Easley = Bill's worst 1st-round pick since Stomper Meriweather.
Those who questioned using said 1st-rounder on an undersized DT with serious knee issues have been
proven correct, again.

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Let's calm down shall we? He was a project to begin with. The fact that we've gotten any production out of him is great. Yes, his play leaves a little to be desired but I see no reason why that can't happen next year when he's fully healthy barring any other significant injury.

We really need to wait 3 years before declaring Easley a bust.

I am sure bb fell in love with the suddenness and burst that Easley has, and I am also sure that bb knew in the back of his mind that getting 16 games our Of Easley was not going to happen this season.

Ochmed Jones said:

We really need to wait 3 years before declaring Easley a bust.

I am sure bb fell in love with the suddenness and burst that Easley has, and I am also sure that bb knew in the back of his mind that getting 16 games our Of Easley was not going to happen this season.

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I'd rephrase that as BB knew there was an excellent chance Easley wouldn't contribute much this season.

Salva135 said:

How many first rounders that the Pats themselves drafted are actually healthy and currently starting for this D right now? Wilfork, McCourty... that's it, right?

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Healthy or not:

1st rounders: DE Dominique Easley, LB Dont’a Hightower, DE Chandler Jones, LB Jerod Mayo, S Devin McCourty, CB Darrelle Revis (Jets), OL Nate Solder, DL Vince Wilfork

Interesting that only one is on offense. Mankins was a 1st rounder.

Question for you: so what? How many teams in the NFL with more first rounders still on their roster have a) more wins than the Patriots, and b) more wins since 2001, and c) won more Super Bowls this century?

Oswlek said:

Solder.... Chung was taken first in 2009 and Collins was first in 2013..... are you really trying to say that Chandler Jones and Hightower had injury concerns coming out of college?

If you are trying to make a legitimate point, I'm not seeing it. Could just be me.

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Chung and Collins were 2nd rounders and both have played well this season. Collins is really developing into a front line LB/DE versatile player. Chung has been a wonderful surprise addition after looking bad in Philadelphia. Chung is not a DB who can be the leader of a secondary, but he is thriving as a 2nd/3rd safety with the talent around him in 2014.

You are absolutely right. Draft position is meaningless once the games begin. If draft position was a determinant, the Raiders and the Redskins would be the top seeds heading into the playoffs.

Oswlek said:

I was hoping they'd use their newfound depth at DT to give him a couple weeks off.

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Hes been off for 14 weeks.

Brady6 said:

You can quote me on this – Dominique Easley will be one of the best DL in the NFL by 2015, I am talking poor man’s JJ Watt type production. If you expected something from Easley this season you were not looking at the situation properly.

In 2015 this defense will lineup with

34 RDE – Easley
34 ROLB – Jones
34 WILB – Collins

All coming off the right side of the OL and they will just devastate OL and QBs. Assuming good health, Revis resigning, and 2-3 solid draft choices the 2015 defense has a chance to be historically great in my opinion.

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Hightower and Mayo are a 1st rounders, too. The 2015 LB corps will all be 1st rounders, or with Collins, the first chosen in the draft (2nd round).

4-3 LBs Collins, Mayo, Hightower
4-3 DL Jones, Easley, Wilfork, Ninkovich

Patriots will probably draft OL in first round in 2015, unless a guy like Stork is there who will fall to them later. Stork, by far, was the gem of the 2014 draft.

VJCPatriot said:

We rarely bust in the first round. So I hope that's not the case. Too early to tell. Hopefully he can have a bounce back sophmore season.

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Moroney, Merryweather, Danny Graham never really developed.

It is too early on Easley.

Triumph said:

Moroney, Merryweather, Danny Graham never really developed.

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Maroney was fine here. You could argue that he didn't fully live up to his draft position. He ripped up his shoulder in 2008 and bounced back fine in 2009. The issue with him was that his running style was more hole picking than straight line running. That doesn't fly in Foxboro.

Graham? He was also fine here. He caught some balls and was on par with Gronk as the best blocking TE in Pats history. Pats tried to extend him but he wanted to test FA.

Merriweather? I agree on him. He had all the physical tools and was pretty productive here but on occasion took bad angles and free-lanced way too much back there.

Triumph said:

It is too early on Easley.

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I agree. The guy had ACL surgery last fall. Some people heal and rehab better than others. If he continues to have knee issues and is for the most part unproductive in 2015 then we have our answer on him.

I thought Easley was mostly healed up at draft time. He worked out pre draft and was said to look good.

zipster9 said:

Why not have Easley rest till playoffs? This gives him 3-5 wks to recover on his issues.

Should do this for Chandler as well.

Phins, Jets, Bills are not a huge threat that would require Chandler and/or Easley's services.

IMO

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If jones is ready he has to play. I dont want him coming in cold during the playoffs. He needs to knock the rust off.

captain stone said:

Easley = Bill's worst 1st-round pick since Stomper Meriweather.
Those who questioned using said 1st-rounder on an undersized DT with serious knee issues have been
proven correct, again.

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This is a ridiculous statement captain. Most (or at least many) people were expecting nothing at all from him this year. So he managed to get himself on the field and try to contribute, and actually looked good at times, and now the injury we all knew existed is slowing him down so he's a bust?
For all we know he could be a bust, or he could be defensive MVP in 3 years. The most likely scenario is somewhere in between. But it is definitely too early to label him either way.

supafly said:

He was added to the active roster in Chicago.

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Precisely. The Pats were considering Easly to IR as a way to make room for Fales. When the Fales move fell through, the Pats decided to wait on the Easly to IR move, which is why it hasn't happened yet.

Meanwhile there's been a lot of criticism of wasted second round picks. These were low pick plus some trade downs from low 1sts so BB could gamble on risky, maybe injured players hoping to hit the jackpot on a couple.

Well, with Collins blooming into a top 15 type pick (argument?) Gronk easily a top five or ten and Chung looking like as good a strong safety (yeah, I said it) as most teams have did his strategy work out after all?

Remember we had zero high or mid round 1sts to trade down from and we ended up with two very high picks, if their was a draft do over, a solid starter and some busts, injuries, Spikes. The shot gun approach starting with low 1sts, might have worked well.

RayClay said:

Meanwhile there's been a lot of criticism of wasted second round picks. These were low pick plus some trade downs from low 1sts so BB could gamble on risky, maybe injured players hoping to hit the jackpot on a couple.

Well, with Collins blooming into a top 15 type pick (argument?) Gronk easily a top five or ten and Chung looking like as good a strong safety (yeah, I said it) as most teams have did his strategy work out after all?

Remember we had zero high or mid round 1sts to trade down from and we ended up with two very high picks, if their was a draft do over, a solid starter and some busts, injuries, Spikes. The shot gun approach starting with low 1sts, might have worked well.

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People are happy to tear shreds off the Patriots for their perceived misses but rarely do you read the same crowd applauding the Patriots for their many major hits.

Sure, the Patriots miss but IMO, they are one of the better drafting teams in the NFL.

ausbacker said:

People are happy to tear shreds off the Patriots for their perceived misses but rarely do you read the same crowd applauding the Patriots for their many major hits.

Sure, the Patriots miss but IMO, they are one of the better drafting teams in the NFL.

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I think it is difficult to argue against this considering their record over the last 15 years. Of course that wont stop people from saying they suck at drafting and cherry picking a few "bad" picks as evidence.

ausbacker said:

People are happy to tear shreds off the Patriots for their perceived misses but rarely do you read the same crowd applauding the Patriots for their many major hits.

Sure, the Patriots miss but IMO, they are one of the better drafting teams in the NFL.

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I started a thread ausbacker. Love to see what you think. "Round two do over"

Despite the overly optimistic projections of some around here, Easley's history with his first ACL injury made it likely that this would be an unimpressive season:

Easley to be considered a disappointment by many, because of his late start and bounce back time

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http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...pcoming-2014-nfl-season.1111090/#post-3865796

It's certainly been that, but next year was always going to be the year to start evaluating this kid anyway.

Triumph said:

Moroney, Merryweather, Danny Graham never really developed.

It is too early on Easley.

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Graham was a good player. He just wasn't Gronkowski. But he was an absolutely devastating blocker who could catch the ball some. 10 year career in the NFL is nothing to sneeze at.

Ochmed Jones said:

We really need to wait 3 years before declaring Easley a bust.

I am sure bb fell in love with the suddenness and burst that Easley has, and I am also sure that bb knew in the back of his mind that getting 16 games our Of Easley was not going to happen this season.

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How about 6 years. Pat chung rule.