Reiss' September 4 2015 roster projection

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-england...w-england-patriots-53-man-roster-projection-2

• 10 OL
• 6 DE (Rufus Johnson)
• 4 LB (that's where he skimps)
• Still 6 S and 4 CB
• Harper over Dobson

Meh, Dobson won't be cut, one of Ebner and Tavon Wilson will have their journey ended within 24 hours.

hmm 4 corners seems light to me.

I feel like people just "predict" Dobson will be cut just to sound shocking. They're not going rush cut a 2nd round pick.

Doug Kyed and Mike Giradi both feel that there's too much depth at DE for Rufus to make the team. But Reiss seems to feel differently. And I hope he's right!

I would love to see Rufus make the roster

Does anyone have a breakdown or analysis of Rufus's play this summer? I keep hearing good things, but haven't seen him in games or any clips (or GIFs) specifically about him like I have with Easley or others. He sounds really promising, but haven't seen much written on him beyond "he continues to impress".

Dagg said:

hmm 4 corners seems light to me.

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Me too, but the team might be inclined to use more safeties in N/D situations. Wouldn't be shocking.

Reiss' post won't load for me, but I'm assuming Nink is a DE, which I think provides a bit more LB depth, plus I expect 2LB formations to outnumber 3LB ones this year. If that's the case, keeping Rufus isn't squeezing LB too much.

Simple Jack's Brother said:

Does anyone have a breakdown or analysis of Rufus's play this summer? I keep hearing good things, but haven't seen him in games or any clips (or GIFs) specifically about him like I have with Easley or others. He sounds really promising, but haven't seen much written on him beyond "he continues to impress".

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He was beating NY's first round OT consistently last night. Very quick off the snap, long arms and he holds his ground very well. The only problem I've seen is that if he gets engulfed he has a hard time getting out of it.

Put it this way, had he been a second round pick, people here would be thrilled with where he stands. It's only the fact that the team brought in 3 locks at DE this offseason that makes his situation even remotely tenuous.

Oswlek said:

He was beating NY's first round OT consistently last night. Very quick off the snap, long arms and he holds his ground very well. The only problem I've seen is that if he gets engulfed he has a hard time getting out of it.

Put it this way, had he been a second round pick, people here would be thrilled with where he stands. It's only the fact that the team brought in 3 locks at DE this offseason that makes his situation even remotely tenuous.

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Appreciate the info. Hope to see some of him in the regular season when we're blowing out teams as part of our scorched earth policy.

I feel like Dobson has done enough to stick, so hope he's wrong there.

Yeah, probably no more than one of Dobson/Harper make it. (I'd guess Dobson, but w/e.) But if there was any doubt before, Wayne is in. That one catch was so slick - TB's kind of receiver.

I'm not so sure about Ryan. I'd be deeply concerned about getting those kinds of reps in those spots in THAT game...

Oswlek said:

Reiss' post won't load for me

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Me neither. Is it there?

Why would you even keep Dobson. He is just a reminder of players such as Chad Jackson,Crable, Bequette, Bethel,... Keep, keep, keep and nothing every comes of them.

Oswlek said:

He was beating NY's first round OT consistently last night. Very quick off the snap, long arms and he holds his ground very well. The only problem I've seen is that if he gets engulfed he has a hard time getting out of it.

Put it this way, had he been a second round pick, people here would be thrilled with where he stands. It's only the fact that the team brought in 3 locks at DE this offseason that makes his situation even remotely tenuous.

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He had a couple of snaps when he did a crap job setting the edge. He didnt stay square and kinda was upright. A bit of a nit-pick. Other than that hes been a very pleasant surprise. No question he has skills. He can absolutely play at an NFL level.

Pats have a surplus of edge rushers...who woulda thunk it.

farn said:

Why would you even keep Dobson. He is just a reminder of players such as Chad Jackson,Crable, Bequette, Bethel,... Keep, keep, keep and nothing every comes of them.

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I'd suggest you go back and look at his rookie year up to Game 12 before he snapped his foot. He was on a pace to be statistically the most productive rookie WR in Pats history.

You can argue that he isn't playing at a high level and is on the bubble but to say he has never produced just isn't accurate.

robertweathers said:

I'd suggest you go back and look at his rookie year up to Game 12 before he snapped his foot. He was on a pace to be statistically the most productive rookie WR in Pats history.

You can argue that he isn't playing at a high level and is on the bubble but to say he has never produced just isn't accurate.

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Unfortunately, part of being a useful player is being available. Ras-I might have been talented as well. I'd love for Dobson to be useful - I do not believe he ever will be. Also, "most productive rookie WR in the BB era" doesn't inspire me as he was not competing against much.

farn said:

Unfortunately, part of being a useful player is being available. Ras-I might have been talented as well. I'd love for Dobson to be useful - I do not believe he ever will be. Also, "most productive rookie WR in the BB era" doesn't inspire me as he was not competing against much.

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You said that nothing ever came of Dobson.

I am pointing out that you are not accurate.

Ras-I never did anything here. That is accurate.

If Dobson played 6 games he would have had better rookie years than every WR in Patriot history which includes Stanley Morgan, Irving Fryar, etc. You can argue that he had a better rookie year than Deion Branch.

Is he better than them? Of course not.

robertweathers said:

If Dobson played 6 games he would have had better rookie years than every WR in Patriot history which includes Stanley Morgan, Irving Fryar, etc. You can argue that he had a better rookie year than Deion Branch.

Is he better than them? Of course not.

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While I think that Dobson makes the team (and hopefully Harper goes to PS), I would guess that Belichick takes the entire 2013 WR corps, or lack thereof, into consideration. In other words, people were high on Kenbrell Thompkins that year as well, and you see how well that worked out.

I don't think we should give up on Dobson just yet, but I also don't understand those who continue to make statements regarding his awesome talent either. He may benefit from the injury to LaFell, and the fact that he knows the system better than Harper/Wayne, but there's definitely still some uncertainty to his situation. All we can do is hope that it works out.

Oswlek said:

I'm assuming Nink is a DE, which I think provides a bit more LB depth, plus I expect 2LB formations to outnumber 3LB ones this year. If that's the case, keeping Rufus isn't squeezing LB too much.

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Correct. Reiss, as do I, divides the "Front Seven" into three groups -- DT-style DL, unarguable LBs, and edge rushers. Of the edge rushers, Ninko is of course the one who's actually played a bunch of LB for the Pats.

Marqui said:

I feel like people just "predict" Dobson will be cut just to sound shocking. They're not going rush cut a 2nd round pick.

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While I agree with you that Dobson will not be cut, I would not say they're rushing if they did. He has been given opportunities to show his stuff. He has not been on the field to do it enough and not very impressive when he has been. I know that may be what you mean by "rush" but you have to cut and move on at some point.

Honestly, the thing that frustrates me about him more than the injuries is the fact that he never seems to catch the ball cleanly (always a juggle) and he seems soft. He seems to not like contact. He never seems to fight for the ball when there is tight coverage. I don't know. I don't want to see him cut. That's the truth. I just feel really frustrated with him, though. Give him one more season and cut his ass if he shows nothing.