We didn't get a tall WR in FA or the draft? Why?

AndyJohnson said:

And, again, what teams have 4th and 5th WRs that have a better chance of panning out?
It just seems like you are stating a situation that exists with every team in the NFL, yet are stating it as if it is a major flaw with the Patriots. Would a 5th round pick added to that group be more likely to 'pan out'?

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I may not be stating my opinion clearly enough. No, I don't believe a 5th round receiver would be more likely to pan out, and I like both Dobson and Gibson. It's more of an insurance stance... If camp goes on and Dobson and Gibson don't pan out, you'd have that 5th rounder to hopefully fall back on too, vs. in the current scenario where you have to have one of them works out because you've got a whole lot of nothing after your top 3 if they both don't.

NG Pats Fan said:

For people who say tall wide receivers are overrated did you watch the Super Bowl? Some journeyman wide receiver with height almost single-handedly beat us by burning our midget defensive backs on jump balls

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That was a situation that came into play because of the circumstance. He was going up against sub 6ft DB's. As soon as a tall and competent DB was placed on him he was shut down.

There is a reason that the scrub didn't have a single catch leading into that game as was most known for recovering an onside kick 2 weeks prior.

Tall receivers are overrated for OUR offense.

strngplyr said:

What team IS in a good spot if they lose their top 3 guys? Why don't we just have Gronk get hurt again too to complete your doomsday scenario.

It sounds like you wouldn't be happy with anything less than Andre Johnson, Larry Fitz, and Brandon Marshall warming the bench in case the top guys get hurt.

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Certainly not, I am just not overly enthusiastic with Brian Tyms being the 4th receiver if Dobson and Gibson don't work.

Don't get me wrong, I like them both, and I am extremely excited about the prospects of Edelman, LaFell, Amendola, Gronk, Chandler, and one of Dobson or Gibson doing decently... Just talking about depth.

Ross12 said:

I may not be stating my opinion clearly enough. No, I don't believe a 5th round receiver would be more likely to pan out, and I like both Dobson and Gibson. It's more of an insurance stance... If camp goes on and Dobson and Gibson don't pan out, you'd have that 5th rounder to hopefully fall back on too, vs. in the current scenario where you have to have one of them works out because you've got a whole lot of nothing after your top 3 if they both don't.

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Dobson, Gibson, Tyms, Boyce to compete to fill the 4th and 5th WR spots, possibly Tim Wright also.
Lets try this. What team has 6th, 7th, 8th WRs that you think would be a great replacement if their 4th and 5th don't pan out? I'm just not understanding how this is an issue beyond the reality that any team would be in trouble at any position if there players didn't pan out of were injured, and then they would be signing FA players to fill the end of the roster.

we're fine at the WR/TE position.

If you look at the NFL as a whole you might find that the big and tall receivers really have not helped their teams win the big show or even make it far into the playoffs for that matter. Moss couldn't do it in the end himself because it isn't about one guy. The Pats have their big guys on the offense already but in the end it was the smaller quick guys that won the show, not mistaking for a minute that defense had to give Gronk lots of attention regardless if the ball was thrown at him or not. Say what you want but the pats have won 4 SB's since 2001 with a fairly average or in better words quicker WR corps. Seems like it works as designed.

AndyJohnson said:

Dobson, Gibson, Tyms, Boyce to compete to fill the 4th and 5th WR spots, possibly Tim Wright also.
Lets try this. What team has 6th, 7th, 8th WRs that you think would be a great replacement if their 4th and 5th don't pan out? I'm just not understanding how this is an issue beyond the reality that any team would be in trouble at any position if there players didn't pan out of were injured, and then they would be signing FA players to fill the end of the roster.

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I know that it would be a problem for any team. I'm just speaking about a worst-case scenario. I thought the team would've wanted more depth to insure against the chances for no production from Dobson and Gibson, and based that opinion on their contact with Stevie Johnson and Brian Hartline in March. Clearly, at this point in time, BB feels okay with his depth.

I realize it's not a likely situation to come up, I'm just saying there's no harm in using a 6th on someone like a Tre McBride. However, it's also possible he felt by the end of the draft that the UDFA class was similar enough, since he did sign two of them.

Ross12 said:

My concern wasn't with getting a "tall fast WR" to start but rather to get better depth. Imagine if Edelman and LaFell were both hurt for a significant period of time... Your starting lineup at this point would be Amendola, Dobson, and Gibson/Tyms/Boyce. Now imagine that brittle Amendola goes on IR quickly after... You see what I mean, I would hope.

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Agreed, but there aren't many teams in the league that are running full throttle down their top two WRs, or even their top three for your Amendola scenario. Frankly, with NE's penchant for spreading the ball around and their depth at TE, they'd probably be better equipped to handle that than most.

But what if Gronk gets hurt too!?

Their guy was probably already gone by the round they wanted to pick him in or they have confidence that the position will experience a 2014 style season in 2015 instead of a season like 2012 or 2013, injury-wise.

Oswlek said:

Agreed, but there aren't many teams in the league that are running full throttle down their top two WRs, or even their top three for your Amendola scenario. Frankly, with NE's penchant for spreading the ball around and their depth at TE, they'd probably be better equipped to handle that than most.

But what if Gronk gets hurt too!?

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Yeah, I'm sure that's true. I'm just talking about why I felt a draft choice was warranted in the later rounds at WR for depth in camp. I'm not upset that they didn't pick one. If anything it's a good thing because it means they are likely confident that the guys they have are progressing.

strngplyr said:

That was a situation that came into play because of the circumstance. He was going up against sub 6ft DB's. As soon as a tall and competent DB was placed on him he was shut down.

There is a reason that the scrub didn't have a single catch leading into that game as was most known for recovering an onside kick 2 weeks prior.

Tall receivers are overrated for OUR offense.

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1. Those sub 6 ft DBs will be our starting cornerbacks this year

2. Completely disagree about your last point. A tall WR in our offense would thrive...especially in the redzone.


People seemed to be brainwashed that all first round WR talents are divas with big egos and low IQ. Couldn't be further from the truth. Short white slot WRs are not the only ones who Can pick up our offense.

scott99 said:

Didn't he miss the last couple of games of the 2014 season due to a concussion ? I believe he had one in 2011 or 2012 as well.

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In 2010 and in 2012 he left one game each season with what were described as " mild concussion" symptoms. I believe in both instances he returned after one series with no restrictions.

rookBoston said:

Gibson is 6'0 205. Gardner is 6'4 218.

That said, the quick and agile iron smurfs play to Brady's strengths as a QB. Super accurate short and intermediate passes, with the coming out quickly. Deep bomb is not his specialty; he's rather mediocre at it for the GOAT.

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I wonder if the upcoming defensive lines in the AFCE are going to make the Pats focus more on those ultra-quick throws that don't require Brady to stand in the pocket for long. It might be strategy too.

OhExaulted1 said:

We still have Julian Edeleman (92 catches, 972 yards), Brandon Lafell (you know, that 6-3 guy we signed last offseason who had 74 catches and 953 yards and 7 TD's) plus Danny Amendola, Aaron Dobson and Brian Tyms on the roster.

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A little off topic, but with Lafell's 953 yards, how come JE11 left him off of his passing t-shirt? Hopefully no feelings were hurt:

http://julianedelman.com/products/the-passing-game

Bombdog said:

Actually we did bring in a tall receiver. Devin Gardner. I know he played QB at Michigan. But he has played receiver in the past. 6ft 4 216 with good speed and a great attitude. There is no pressure for him to start immediately. The Pats will take him and develop him just like they did with Edleman. If it works out it could be steal. If it doesn't what do they lose a UDFA. Its a no lose situation.

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I'm not sure I'd call a 4.65 40 'good speed'. Maybe if you were a LB. But even there, Matt Wells runs a 4.33.

JarOfMayo51 said:

I'd love to believe that Dobson will redeem himself and live up to his potential and draft position, but I think at this point you have to treat him as what he is and plan going forward as if that's all he'll be.

If he rebounds and starts playing the way people thought he was capable of, it's an awesome bonus.. but I don't think you can bet or plan on him being that after 3 disappointing seasons

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His first season wasn't disappointing for a rookie in the Pats system. His second season he was injured. He hasn't HAD a third season.

AndyJohnson said:

Arguably you hurt him by drafting 1st round WRs. Brady gets his job done almost regardless of who you play at WR. That means you strengthen the rest of the team by not wasting high picks and big contracts at WR. In other words, the incremental improvement of spending big on a WR is less than other positions because Brady gets so much out of limited guys anyway.

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I was gonna say this. The Colts spent so much time drafting moar weaponz that they forgot to draft a team. Hence, one somewhat flukey SB win in 14 seasons.

strngplyr said:

What team IS in a good spot if they lose their top 3 guys? Why don't we just have Gronk get hurt again too to complete your doomsday scenario.

It sounds like you wouldn't be happy with anything less than Andre Johnson, Larry Fitz, and Brandon Marshall warming the bench in case the top guys get hurt.

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Got that covered. We've got FIVE TEs now, including Baby Gronk!

scott99 said:

My disappointment doesn't necessarily come from not drafting or signing a BIG receiver, it's that that position was virtually ignored when the last 2 drafts were FULL of top notch receiver talent. Two of the DEEPEST WR drafts we may ever see. Just in the 5th round alone, there were way better talents/value picks at WR than we will ever see than a deep snapper that might night play for two years. Same goes for the 2014 draft, picking guard Halopia (spelling) over some receivers who produced and have excellent talent.

I love Edelman, Amendola and Lafell. But Edelman might already have concussion issues, and Amendola is wildly inconsistent. The depth behind those guys are HUGE question marks. God forbid injuries strike, we are pretty much ****ed.

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Who were these guys that they could have picked up in 2014 that produced?

Actually my post said 6ft 4, 216 lbs. I don't know what his 40 time was