Dennard to IR, Boyce to 53

BelichickFan said:

As I've said a few times over the year, though, the fact that no-one picked him up from our PS is sobering to those of us who like him. .

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...and sobering for him too. It also says that his value around the league was non-existent.

robertweathers said:

...and sobering for him too. It also says that his value around the league was non-existent.

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Or it says that he turned down people attempting to sign him to stay with the Pats..

robertweathers said:

With one year left on his deal, seriously doubt he'll be back. Ala Ellis Hobbs III.

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Still hate that trade to this day, in case you cared. EHIII had his limitations, but he also had a role. To take it one step further, he produced on KORs as well.

I want to see Boyce run the jet sweep

Perhaps we need to re-visit all the posts with regard to how all our starters should play at least one half against the Bills.
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As some of us said almost immediately after this game became meaningless, this is similar to the 4th preseason game.
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I'm surprised that Dennard wasn't sent to IR a bit earlier. I'm also surprised that Swanson was cut from the Practice Squad when Dennard having issues. Of course, Swanson is now back.

I guess we really needed the roster spot for a WR. Congrats to Boyce.

What really sux about these roster moves/injury reports, is that many players whom we wanted to be inactive will now be forced to play.

Brady6 said:

Dennard was never really right this season. He and Dobson better spend their offseason at Gillette working their asses off.

It is nice to see Boyce earn his way back onto the roster. He can stretch the field.

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When you say earn do you mean Boyce actiaved for a meaningless last game of the season, where any other WR with an injury will not play, and warm bodies will be needed to catch passes mostly from JAG?
If that's what you mean by earned then I agree.

I'd love to see Boyce step up and become productive, just really catch fans/coaches/BB's eye with some solid play. However, this 'promotion' is not likely an indication of that wishful impending breakout. The promotion is an indication that warm bodies are needed to fill in for guys who actually will be catching passes in the post season. Just is what it is......

TheBostonStraggler said:

When you say earn do you mean Boyce actiaved for a meaningless last game of the season, where any other WR with an injury will not play, and warm bodies will be needed to catch passes mostly from JAG?
If that's what you mean by earned then I agree.

I'd love to see Boyce step up and become productive, just really catch fans/coaches/BB's eye with some solid play. However, this 'promotion' is not likely an indication of that wishful impending breakout. The promotion is an indication that warm bodies are needed to fill in for guys who actually will be catching passes in the post season. Just is what it is......

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I'm afraid that I agree with your take on things in terms of the word "earned." That said, there have been some hints that he's improved in certain areas, so let's hope for the best as it pertains to his continued (hopefully) progress.

mgteich said:

I'm surprised that Dennard wasn't sent to IR a bit earlier. I'm also surprised that Swanson was cut from the Practice Squad when Dennard having issues. Of course, Swanson is now back.

I guess we really needed the roster spot for a WR. Congrats to Boyce.

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Does this help to clear things up in regards to Dennard's season, or does it make the waters even muddier? I suppose that's going to depend on the poster's opinion.

This is a good time to remember that if you have any kind of injury affecting your gait, it can make you more susceptible to the next injury. I'm guessing Dennard just failed to be effective in playing through whatever injuries he had, and eventually got a more serious one in addition.

But yeah -- Dennard seems like a Randy Gay level of talent, who for his second contract should and will go to the highest bidder, which is unlikely to be the Patriots.

Fencer said:

This is a good time to remember that if you have any kind of injury affecting your gait, it can make you more susceptible to the next injury. I'm guessing Dennard just failed to be effective in playing through whatever injuries he had, and eventually got a more serious one in addition.

But yeah -- Dennard seems like a Randy Gay level of talent, who for his second contract should and will go to the highest bidder, which is unlikely to be the Patriots.

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Technically, he has one more year here under contract for 2015 first. Some believe that he may not even see that as a Patriot.

supafly said:

Technically, he has one more year here under contract for 2015 first. Some believe that he may not even see that as a Patriot.

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Dennard has been injured. He is scheduled to paid $1.5M next year. He will need to show that he is worth that kind of money. I expect to see him in camp. I don't see the downside. Unless we have someone unavailable for Game One again, it may be difficult to justify Dennard's salary unless he is ahead of both Ryan and Butler on the depth charts. To be clear, I think that Ryan will make the team. He is inexpensive and is a good special teamer, good qualities for a #4 or #5 CB (or even #6 CB).

It would appear that spending the offseason in jail is not as good for players as spending time in the Foxboro offseason program...

supafly said:

I'm afraid that I agree with your take on things in terms of the word "earned." That said, there have been some hints that he's improved in certain areas, so let's hope for the best as it pertains to his continued (hopefully) progress.

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Sup, my post was not a panning of Boyce. He may have gotten better -- I hope he has of course -- but the timing and situation makes it almost certain this is a short lived promotion (barring injury). Boyce has little game experience, was not ready for prime time in that previous game experience, has no meaningful game experience in 2014, and it's the last game on the schedule with the high stakes playoffs approaching. Can't see how that equals upcoming meaningful playing time unless BB/JM are shifting their thinking to a greater WR spread on offense (considering Boyce has almost no chance to unseat Edelman, LaFell, Amendola, and I believe Tyms is a solid ST contributor, isn't the currently non existing WR#5 spot the only real spot open for him?).

IMHO, again barring injury. this will be the lone game appearance for Boyce in 2014. Yet I hope the hints are true and he is approaching being ready to compete in 2015 (if he lights it up against Buff and earns the 2014 eye of BB/JM, I'll gladly say I was wrong).

hwc said:

It would appear that spending the offseason in jail is not as good for players as spending time in the Foxboro offseason program...

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To be fair though, he and his attorney had already worked out a deal that sent him to jail for what? 3 weeks? That was during the offseason's downtime, when even the hardest workers like Brady take a rest.

Dennard was out of jail long before OTAs and any offseason programs began.

Let's just hope that he didn't hurt that shoulder while he was fending off some love machine in the county lockup

I hope Boyce catch for 100 yards tomorrow so we can trade him for a 1st

TheBostonStraggler said:

Sup, my post was not a panning of Boyce. He may have gotten better -- I hope he has of course -- but the timing and situation makes it almost certain this is a short lived promotion (barring injury). Boyce has little game experience, was not ready for prime time in that previous game experience, has no meaningful game experience in 2014, and it's the last game on the schedule with the high stakes playoffs approaching. Can't see how that equals upcoming meaningful playing time unless BB/JM are shifting their thinking to a greater WR spread on offense (considering Boyce has almost no chance to unseat Edelman, LaFell, Amendola, and I believe Tyms is a solid ST contributor, isn't the currently non existing WR#5 spot the only real spot open for him?).

IMHO, again barring injury. this will be the lone game appearance for Boyce in 2014. Yet I hope the hints are true and he is approaching being ready to compete in 2015 (if he lights it up against Buff and earns the 2014 eye of BB/JM, I'll gladly say I was wrong).

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Oh, I wasn't meaning to be argumentative in the least. I was just attempting to throw some optimism in there as well, that's all. I envision some attackers reminding me how Boyce has supposedly made strides, so I figured that I'd address it beforehand. And hey--if they're true, that's absolutely great. We sure could use one of those 3 rookies to step up and contribute.

I fully agree with you 100 percent. Boyce has been a terrible disappointment so far, and the word "earned" is being thrown around way too loosely.

varjao said:

I hope Boyce catch for 100 yards tomorrow so we can trade him for a 1st

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A good game from Boyce tomorrow coupled with a long offseason, and this could seriously be a hot topic from some.

I can see it now: "hey, he went in the top of the 4th round, and with 2 yrs in our super-system, he could be worth even more."

OR (simply)

"Charlie Whitehurst....."

supafly said:

To be fair though, he and his attorney had already worked out a deal that sent him to jail for what? 3 weeks? That was during the offseason's downtime, when even the hardest workers like Brady take a rest.

Dennard was out of jail long before OTAs and any offseason programs began.

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True. It still had to be a stressful offseason mentally. I'm as puzzled as everyone else. I thought Dennard had established himself as at least a decent JAG-level starting CB in the NFL. Heck, he was the starter on opening day. He's really fallen off a cliff.

hwc said:

True. It still had to be a stressful offseason mentally. I'm as puzzled as everyone else. I thought Dennard had established himself as at least a decent JAG-level starting CB in the NFL. Heck, he was the starter on opening day. He's really fallen off a cliff.

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Yeah, it will be very interesting to see how much the injury factored in. He has definitely been one of the stranger cases on the team, perhaps even the entire NFL, when you factor in his starting status and postseason success on some level.