LaFell is a huge loss; Pats front office makes rare mistake

LaFell will have a hard time getting back in front of Dobson on the depth chart...there, I said it.

Make no mistake, this offense runs through the duo of Gronk/Edelman. Once those two were together in 2013, the offense was dominant again. It didn't matter who was around them (Thompkins, Dobson, etc.).

Lafell is a nice piece to the offense, but Gronk & Jules run the show. We'll be fine.

50-yard-line said:

LaFell will have a hard time getting back in front of Dobson on the depth chart...there, I said it.

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Make sure you sanitize the bong afterwards.

If I was to predict the 2015 top receivers for Patriots, I would have said Edelman, Gronk, LaFell, Chandler, 3rd down back, Amendola. That's 6 legit targets and normally only 5 see enough catches to matter. We still have Dobson and Harper that can contribute. LaFell will be missed for awhile but we enough talent for now to get by barring another major injury.

patsinthesnow said:

Make no mistake, this offense runs through the duo of Gronk/Edelman. Once those two were together in 2013, the offense was dominant again. It didn't matter who was around them (Thompkins, Dobson, etc.).

Lafell is a nice piece to the offense, but Gronk & Jules run the show. We'll be fine.

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Exactly. People think this is Madden here. LaFell saw 100+ targets last year which is important but he was the THIRD option in the offense. With his absence, no question that they lose the outside the numbers/mid-field threat but as I said in an earlier post, between Chandler, DA and Dobson (who has produced in this offense) they should fillthe cracks make up short-term for the production from LaFell in 2014.

last time i check miguels numbers we were going to be about 80k over the cap. So oh mighty arm chair GM, where are you going to get the cash to add a starter caliber WR from?

3 TE set.....Gronk spread out wide pulling a LB with him. RAM IT UP THE MIDDLE on the ground.
Next play, same set.....Lewis swing pass out in the flat.
Pats will be dictating the oppositions LB positioning and then exploiting it...YEEEEE Haaawww

Those idiots - how dare they let LaFell get injured and a player decide to retire.

They should have signed the nobody else that was available who can come in and start and contribute on a high level right away!

JackBauer said:

I honestly think they'll be fine with what they have until LaFell returns.

Depth is certainly a concern, though. Just send some good thoughts Edelman's way.

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Yeah, I remember two years ago where they used him up the first half of the season while Dobson and Thompkins were dropping everything thrown to them. I would hate to see that or an over reliance on Gronk. LaFell being out is a survivable in terms of wins and losses, but at what cost might those wins come?

This is not a bad thread despite what people say. A zillion good WRs have come out the last 2 years. Many of us who follow the draft were begging the Patriots to prioritize the position.

Jordan Richards may be that rare safety so hard to find.

But if you look at those draft threads, I promise you there are a lot of people who badly wanted guys like Tyler Lockett or Sammie Coates who went in the 3rd round.

I'd love to have either of them right now over Richards.

Brady6 said:

Unlike many I am confident that Dobson can serve as our X-WR until LaFell returns.

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But why? Look, you could turn out to be absolutely right, and I would be the first to own up to what I said and give you props for being right. But what has Dobson really done to this point to make you so confident? And allow me to clarify by saying I really want this kid to succeed and I am glad he made the final 53. If you read some of my posts from the past few days, you will quickly realize this. However, I am not confident of anything right now with him. He seems afraid to catch the ball because he is clearly afraid of contact. He juggles EVERY catch, except the ones he drops. He does not seem to fight for the ball. He did make a few plays in the preseason, which clearly shows the potential we all see, but he has yet to put together a full quarter of football even. I don't know. I guess I would simply describe myself as more hopeful than confident.

Ever since he was signed, I've thought Cadet would be cut. With injuries, retirements, and cuts, a role is emerging for him... if he can take it.

Can we please have this conversation next Friday?

I am still enjoying the death of defamegate.

Last year at this time we had Edelman. That's it . Gronk was still in preseason mode. Amendola was still recovering from a nutsack tear. Lafell was still trying to get on the same page as Brady. The offensive line was still disorganized. How did that turn out??

This year we have Gronk, Amendola, Edelman, Chandler ready to go. I think we will be alright.

PatsBoy12 said:

But why? Look, you could turn out to be absolutely right, and I would be the first to own up to what I said and give you props for being right. But what has Dobson really done to this point to make you so confident? And allow me to clarify by saying I really want this kid to succeed and I am glad he made the final 53. If you read some of my posts from the past few days, you will quickly realize this. However, I am not confident of anything right now with him? He seems afraid to catch the ball because he is clearly afraid of contact. He juggles EVERY catch, except the ones he drops. He does not seem to fight for the ball. He did make a few plays, which clearly shows the potential we all see, but he has yet to put together a full quarter of football even. I don't know. I guess I would simply describe myself as more hopeful than confident.

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I really like Dobson but understand the lack of confidence people have in him. I know it's still unproven but I am hoping he becomes that deep ball threat. He has shown the potential. We will see.

as long as the gronk is out there we'll be fine!

It's September.

Tony2046 said:

I really like Dobson but understand the lack of confidence people have in him. I know it's still unproven but I am hoping he becomes that deep ball threat. He has shown the potential. We will see.

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Brady can't throw the deep ball so who cares?

Two consecutive years of drafts deep in the WR position, and Bill chooses a grand total of…Tiny Gallon.

Un-feckin-believable.

And the OP is correct: LaFell's loss is huge. Safeties will be able to clog the field and leave precious little room for Gronk, Edelman & Amendola to operate.

captain stone said:

Two consecutive years of drafts deep in the WR position, and Bill chooses a grand total of…Tiny Gallon.

Un-feckin-believable.

And the OP is correct: LaFell's loss is huge. Safeties will be able to clog the field and leave precious little room for Gronk, Edelman & Amendola to operate.

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WTF!! Holy cow. I'm glad we "lucked" into a super bowl victory after all those horrendous draft picks.

Yes LaFell will be missed. No doubt. But that does not mean we are going 0-4.

Can you guys, the freaken debbie downers, please wait until friday before we start this doom and gloom BS?

Disclaimer: This post in no way is intended to state or otherwise paint the picture that LaFell is the second coming of Randy Moss.

With that said, I feel some of you are selling LaFell extremely short. I guess the focus is on catches and stats. Well, the stats do not tell the whole story (though he put up very good numbers). LaFell is an excellent blocker on the perimeter. He springs RB's and WR's free for bigger gains after the catch. And that's another area where he shines brighter than anyone except Gronk. He breaks a lot of tackles and gets tough yards after the catch. In fact, it is one of the things that Brady specifically mentioned earlier in the season when talking about how LaFell earned his trust (and targets). He is a physical receiver who could get off the line against physical corners in man coverage.

Now, I admit that he did seem to disappear a bit down the stretch (and I mean in comparison to his output during the midseason run), but that could easily be chalked up to a bum shoulder and foot . . . a foot he sustained in the third quarter of the meaningless final game when I could argue he should have sat by that point. In fact, I said it during the game so this is in no way hindsight. Oh, and he showed that he could stretch the field. Robweathers joked about Brady's deep ball, or lack thereof. All I'll say is there is always a little truth to every dig.

Overall, I'm saying that the loss of LaFell will be felt. Maybe I'm wrong and it is not nearly as tough as I think it may be. But I just feel that he had intangibles that Dobson does not seem to have and that we do not know if any of the young kids have yet. And as they say, it only takes one injury. Edelman and Amendola are not exactly shining examples of durability.