Solving a mystery

patfanken · Feb 7, 2015

I have a mystery to solve. It's a real "whodunnit" and I don't have a clue.

Whatever happened to Tim Wright?????????????

He came to us with limited expectations, but lots of hopeful promise.....and then he DELIVERED far beyond our reasonable expectations. By mid season he not only had contributed 6 TDs to the offense, he had some kind of outrageous stat, like catching 95% of all balls thrown at him, and ZERO drops

......and then he disappears COMPLETELY from the offense.

I don't exactly know when it happened. I definitely don't know WHY it happened. But over the last 8-10 games (including the playoffs) Tim Wright had become a complete non-factor in the Pats offense. Hooman had more targets and catches than Tim did in the playoffs. Think about all the pregame threads where "This might be the game Tim Wright breaks out" was a common prediction. It never happened. Why?

Well, there are the usual reasons why a receiver loses relevance. "He drops too many balls". Well we know THAT wasn't a reason, the kid was virtually flawless in that regard.. Or there is the old, "he's not on the same page with Brady" reason. But they looked to be fairly in synch in the middle of the season, so wouldn't you think it would only get better as the season went along. Finally, there is the old, "there were inside sources that told of problems the Pats are having with Tim Wright"....and there haven't been a single one. In fact he was on the game day roster, every single game.

Frankly, if you forced me to create a short list of disappointments this year, Tim Wright's 2nd half of the season, including a complete disappearance from the playoffs, would top the list, and I have yet to figure out a credible reason why this happened. So I have come to you. Will you help me solve the "Mystery of the disappearance of Tim Wright".

Bruins29 · Feb 7, 2015

Amendola had gotten hot and they decided to stay with 3WR sets over 2 TE sets. I think Hoo ended up getting the time because he is a superior blocker.

I think its as simple as that.

realtime · Feb 7, 2015

Bruins29 said:
Amendola had gotten hot and they decided to stay with 3WR sets over 2 TE sets. I think Hoo ended up getting the time because he is a superior blocker.

I think its as simple as that.

Exactly this.

Fencer · Feb 7, 2015

When Wright doesn't play, the alternative is usually either Amendola, or somebody who is his acknowledged superior as a blocker (Hooman/Develin/Fleming). By way of contrast, I don't recall Dobson, Tyms, et al. getting many snaps over the period that Wright wasn't getting them either. And Amendola is pretty good.

RobertWeathers · Feb 7, 2015

Due to his size, hes a below average pass blocker so Hooman is preferred and they'd rather have Amendola catching ball than him.

It'll be interesting to see if he has a role here in 2015. Me thinks that they'd love to have another player (not person) just like AH.

Gwedd · Feb 7, 2015

Concur with all the above. It wasn't Tim's lack of ability. but rather looking at opponents and who matched up better at each offensive position. The game plan, situational football, the expected actives on the opponents bench, etc.

There will be a place for Tim Wright come this next year, I have no doubt about that.

jefmblrd · Feb 7, 2015

Wright certainly played a part in the success of this year's team in a limited role and will have a spot next year. A full off season with the team will only help.

Amendola came on strong in the latter part of the season and took some of Wright's snaps. I hope Amendola is with the team next season but at a lesser dollar amount.

The Gr8est · Feb 7, 2015

patfanken said:
I have a mystery to solve. It's a real "whodunnit" and I don't have a clue.

Whatever happened to Tim Wright?????????????

He came to us with limited expectations, but lots of hopeful promise.....and then he DELIVERED far beyond our reasonable expectations. By mid season he not only had contributed 6 TDs to the offense, he had some kind of outrageous stat, like catching 95% of all balls thrown at him, and ZERO drops

......and then he disappears COMPLETELY from the offense.

I don't exactly know when it happened. I definitely don't know WHY it happened. But over the last 8-10 games (including the playoffs) Tim Wright had become a complete non-factor in the Pats offense. Hooman had more targets and catches than Tim did in the playoffs. Think about all the pregame threads where "This might be the game Tim Wright breaks out" was a common prediction. It never happened. Why?

Well, there are the usual reasons why a receiver loses relevance. "He drops too many balls". Well we know THAT wasn't a reason, the kid was virtually flawless in that regard.. Or there is the old, "he's not on the same page with Brady" reason. But they looked to be fairly in synch in the middle of the season, so wouldn't you think it would only get better as the season went along. Finally, there is the old, "there were inside sources that told of problems the Pats are having with Tim Wright"....and there haven't been a single one. In fact he was on the game day roster, every single game.

Frankly, if you forced me to create a short list of disappointments this year, Tim Wright's 2nd half of the season, including a complete disappearance from the playoffs, would top the list, and I have yet to figure out a credible reason why this happened. So I have come to you. Will you help me solve the "Mystery of the disappearance of Tim Wright".

He ignored everyone's advice and foolishly roomed with Danny Amendola?

Bruins29 · Feb 7, 2015

TW will absolutely be here next year. He has a 495K cap hit.

BlueThunder · Feb 7, 2015

Gwedd said:
Concur with all the above. It wasn't Tim's lack of ability. but rather looking at opponents and who matched up better at each offensive position. The game plan, situational football, the expected actives on the opponents bench, etc.

There will be a place for Tim Wright come this next year, I have no doubt about that.

Have to agree as they didn't trade Mankins for a throw away player.

turkeyneck · Feb 7, 2015

Gwedd said:
Concur with all the above. It wasn't Tim's lack of ability. but rather looking at opponents and who matched up better at each offensive position. The game plan, situational football, the expected actives on the opponents bench, etc.

There will be a place for Tim Wright come this next year, I have no doubt about that.

Indirectly, it was TW's lack of ability - to block. If he dedicates himself to becoming a better blocker then he will see a much bigger role

Seacoast Fan · Feb 7, 2015

Bruins29 said:
Amendola had gotten hot and they decided to stay with 3WR sets over 2 TE sets. I think Hoo ended up getting the time because he is a superior blocker.

I think its as simple as that.

Agrred and also , hoomans stats are "padded" in a sense by the "ineligible receiver plays".....that ploy would not work as well IMHO with Wright in there instead of Hooman.
I am hoping for a lot from wright next year.

PATSYLICIOUS · Feb 7, 2015

I wonder, if DA isn't able to be restrucutred and goes elsewhere, whether Wright will have an increased role next year ?

MassPats38 · Feb 7, 2015

I also believe Wright's disappearance had something to do with LaFell's role in the offense. They have comparable builds (6'4" 220 to 6'3" 210), but LaFell became the prominent big body receiver. Add Gronk's return in Cincy, and there just was not a lot left for Wright.

He has shown he can play, and he is a young talent. I expect it was less his play than it was who the Pats played with matchups after Detroit. He was a good addition, and I am sure we will hear more of him next year. Just another weapon in the arsenal.

DarrylS · Feb 7, 2015

TW our 2015 secret weapon...

Fencer · Feb 7, 2015

PATSYLICIOUS said:
I wonder, if DA isn't able to be restrucutred and goes elsewhere, whether Wright will have an increased role next year ?

It's likely. If he improves his blocking strength and technique, it's very probable. If not, then it depends on how injuries and the depth chart play out.

I doubt he'll actually get much better as a receiver until he plays more snaps and has the opportunity to make subtle, correctable live-game errors.

Rob0729 · Feb 7, 2015

Bruins29 said:
TW will absolutely be here next year. He has a 495K cap hit.

Yeah, give him an offseason to really get the playbook and acclimated to system (tough to do on the fly during the season even the entire season) and let McDaniels develop more plays for him to be utilized and see what he can do.

PatsWickedPissah · Feb 7, 2015

I'd thought the same about TW's disappearance in late season & playoffs. Between Amendola's hot hands streak, LaFell contributing in the big body role, and match ups which as we've seen is a BIG part of Pats' coaches game plans Wright had no signature role. And maybe he had too limited a grasp of the playbook so he couldn't fit into the extreme flex roles Patriots receivers are required to fulfill.

I'm VERY impressed and surprised by LaFell's quickly demonstrated mastery of this offense.

Bradyking12 · Feb 7, 2015

Maybe he's better off being a WR if he's not that good at blocking, he was a WR before he turned into a TE so maybe him and Lafell can rotate like Edelman and Amendola

Brady6 · Feb 7, 2015

Bruins29 said:
Amendola had gotten hot and they decided to stay with 3WR sets over 2 TE sets. I think Hoo ended up getting the time because he is a superior blocker.

I think its as simple as that.

Agree 100% I would add that Amendola also had a better understanding of the offense and that allowed them to use more of the playbook.

When you consider all the hype for Julius Thomas it stands out to me that he had 43 catches for 489 yards and 12 touchdowns playing the majority of the Broncos snaps while Wright playing around 15-20% of our snaps had 26 catches for 259 yards and 6 touchdowns. Thomas is likely going to fetch a marquee contract this offseason we have Wright for under $1M next season... Winning!

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