This is it for Dobson

patsfan13 said:

Dobson got the #1 CB, Branch the #3 CB, IOW Dobson saw Revis, Branch got Ryan.....

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Are we really going to try pretending that we don't remember how 2013 actually played out with the Gronk, Hernandez, Amendola and Edelman situations, and what that meant about Brady having to force the ball into Thompkins and Dobson? If so, y'all can play that game of make believe on your own.

Bruins29 said:

The problem is that none of that is really true. JE isnt a slot receiver. DA has made some huge clutch plays and turned what would have been "small gains" into season saving plays. I am not even sure where you got small gains. The TDs in the Baltimore and SB were not "small."

The guy made plays when he was asked to and single handily saved us home field advantage. Dobson cant even get on the field and DA is supposed to be the injury plagued one.

Plus DA is a special teams ace and it is crucial for him to be doing as much of that as possible to reduce the wear and tear on Edelman. Dobson offers zero special team value.

Plus DA and JE compliment each other well since they do have different skill sets they can use.

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I'm talking about his overall play, so far has been disappointing. He did little, the little he did of course was very important and clutch and I love him for that, but anyway in 2 years, for his paycheck, little. Clutch moments are important I'm just not sure it's how Belichick assess his players. Not his fault, it just seems like he's playing just a fraction of what he used to play in St. Louis.

He didn't give us home field advantage, the Patriots team earned that through the season.

By small gains I was talking about short yard completions, of course a 7 yard completion for a 1st down is just as important if not more than a 50 yard bomb. Anyway, as I said I like him, I just don't think his production will be much better that what he did so far, that's why I think Dobson can have a better season. Having the same numbers that he put in his rookie season would be enough for that, since 500 yards and 4 or 5 TD's are better than 200 yards and 2 TDs.

I'm not talking about being important or not, 200 yards and 2 TD's might be better if they decide games than 500 yards that ended up in field goals, I'm talking just about pure numbers.

AzPatsFan said:

I see no reason for your pessimism. AD's performance as a rookie was exemplary, cut short by injury. Some criticism was given to him for not being able to return as a Soph, with some questioning his heart but not his talent. This off-season work obviates those concerns.

I expect that he will become another starting caliber WR for the Pats.

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I don't question his heart at all. If anything, what really screwed him injury-wise, as much as the initial injury itself, was that he was willing to go back out there on a clearly-injured foot in week 17 and try to contribute. He was willing to gamble his health to help the team in the late stretch toward a SB, and that gamble did not pay off.

That said, I think you're overselling his rookie production a bit. He was decent when thrust into a starting role due to a critical lack of healthy, experienced WRs. I'd liken his production more to Gary Guyton at ILB during the lean LB years that he started. He was a weak link in the starting lineup at a position where there was no particularly good option.

And that's fine. It's the best you can reasonably hope from a rookie who's pressed into the starting lineup out of necessity, even. But it's not necessarily a sign of good things to come. we've heard people all around the Patriots say that a players' greatest growth period typically happens between the rookie and sophomore season. Dobson missed a really critical year, due to a notoriously hard injury to recover from. Recovery is definitely a possibility, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it. I probably would bet on the opposite, because I can think of a lot of players who showed early flashes of competence/occasional promise then never really amounted to anything after that. ex: Jermaine Cunningham, Jonathan Wilhite, Brandon Tate, Gary Guyton, Brandon Deaderick, Kenbrell Thompkins, etc. When a guy gets some raw stats by offering replacement-level (or slightly above) production at a position of need, it isn't really indicative of future success.

Just isn't going to get much opportunity IMO (barring injury to LaFell or somebody). Probably a reserve this year, gone the next.

I expect nothing from Dobson this year, he hasn't really proved anything since coming into the league and I defended him for 3 years while he continued to disappoint.

He's just a JAG fighting for a roster spot at this point to me until he proves otherwise. I'm not making the mistake of getting my hopes up again for him only to be let down.

If he turns it around and lives up to his draft status then great, but I'm not holding my breath

patsinthesnow said:

They drafted Sammie Coates in the third round too. Their offense is a video game. They have the best WR in football, two deep threats in Bryant/Coates, an elite RB, a great OL, and Wheaton/Miller. The Steelers offense scares me much more than the Colts.

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Sounds like an easy match up for our world class CB squad.

reneluar said:

or he can go to IR 2 more years, pats sign him to a 10 year 1M contract extension and then he plays as a hall of famer the rest of his career.

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Sounds like the most plausible scenario

JarOfMayo51 said:

I expect nothing from Dobson this year, he hasn't really proved anything since coming into the league and I defended him for 3 years while he continued to disappoint.

He's just a JAG fighting for a roster spot at this point to me until he proves otherwise. I'm not making the mistake of getting my hopes up again for him only to be let down.

If he turns it around and lives up to his draft status then great, but I'm not holding my breath

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First, he's only been in the league two years.

How does an injured player disappoint you? Try to walk without crutches? ?

Not too many rookies have 37 catches with a 14.0 apc. I consider that far from disappointing as a
rookie season. Heck, Jamie Collins didn't do much until the Indy playoff game his rookie year.

patsfaninpa said:

First, he's only been in the league two years.

How does an injured player disappoint you? Try to walk without crutches? ?

Not too many rookies have 37 catches with a 14.0 apc. I consider that far from disappointing as a
rookie season. Heck, Jamie Collins didn't do much until the Indy playoff game his rookie year.

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Oh yea? Well maybe I was defending him before he ever even got drafted!

Not really, I had no clue who he was until they announced the pick.

I hope he's great. I expect nothing.. but just maybe!

Damn you Dobson, you be hurtin my heart too much! Be great! But I don't expect you to be, but just do it!

OK I'm done

JarOfMayo51 said:

Oh yea? Well maybe I was defending him before he ever even got drafted!

Not really, I had no clue who he was until they announced the pick.

I hope he's great. I expect nothing.. but just maybe!

Damn you Dobson, you be hurtin my heart too much! Be great! But I don't expect you to be, but just do it!

OK I'm done

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No prob. He may not make it, or be healthy enough to. This is a make/break year for him. If he's healthy, I believe he'll contribute. Not saying he stars. Just helps.

JarOfMayo51 said:

I expect nothing from Dobson this year, he hasn't really proved anything since coming into the league and I defended him for 3 years while he continued to disappoint.

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I am positive that Chad Jackson will prove me right this year...

It's nice if Dobson suddenly produces. Whee. Every weapon brings something different (and when you're talking about catches for TEs vs. Receivers, one more receiver worthy of the description is always nice... a "good" Dobson lets you do different things). But I don't see any special reason for optimism.

Deus Irae said:

Your post is an example of someone using numbers and not bothering with context. Branch's season was much better. It's not even close. Dobson only got his numbers because he and Thompkins were the only receivers available to catch the football, and he STILL didn't equal Branch's numbers.

And using yardage when Branch was a shorter area receiver with more receptions?

To repeat what I noted earlier:

The same year Dobson had 39 catches, Thompkins had 32 catches. That's how barren the receiving corps was, and how much the team was forced to use the two rookies.

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This is very simple to understand.

By your own admission Branch was # 3 WR on the depth chart therefore drawing the defenses 3rd best DBs since the defenses best 2 DBs were on Brown and Patten. By your own admission, Dobson was forced into service because of injuries to the top of the WR corps. Dobson matched up vs the defenses 1st or 2nd best DBs.

Dobson faced better players. Dobson scored twice the TDs that Branch had. Dobson ypc was a better 14 ypc vs Branchs 11.4 yard ypc. Dobson did so playing 1 less game than Branch. Crowing about 43 receptions is a prime example of just blindly looking at numbers and ignoring the big picture. Dobson could have easily had at least 2 -3 more receptions if he had played the same amount of games as Branch.

Dobson had the better rookie season. These are the facts.