Jonas Gray Released [9/14 Update - This Time By Dolphins]

Brady6 said:

Bolden is going to be a big time factor on offense this season. I think he is going to explode this season in the same way that Edelman went from primarily a special teams player to a huge factor on offense when Welker departed.

The way they rest him all but game 3 of the preseason just makes me believe they hold him in a much higher regard than many fans.

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Are you predicting that he will be a 1000yd guy?

MagicMarker said:

Patriots do have an advantage in playing Thursday. They could re-sign Wayne on Friday and not have to guarantee his salary. Everybody else (besides the Steelers) have to wait until Monday.

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You sure about that? I don't think it works that way. I think it's Monday (probably Tuesday) for everyone, whether they play Thurs, Sun, or Mon).

Maybe pats know the wont run the ball during the season:
6 games in the division when the front 7 of those teams is really good
They lost Develin (a key piece in the running game) and rather have a pass catching RB like Cadet instead of Gray (who was behind Blount)

And i dont know if there was an attitude problem with Gray and his playing time since Blount comes back

shmessy said:

.....and what happens if he gets hurt or smokes a joint?

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Same scenario, what happens if Gray forget to set the alarm?

reneluar said:

Maybe pats know the wont run the ball during the season:
6 games in the division when the front 7 of those teams is really good
They lost Develin (a key piece in the running game) and rather have a pass catching RB like Cadet instead of Gray (who was behind Blount)

And i dont know if there was an attitude problem with Gray and his playing time since Blount comes back

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They gotta run the ball a little. Brady's arm will fall off.

4 games in his entire career where he's had 10 or more carries, and some people are acting as if the Patriots just cut Barry Sanders in this prime.

Deus Irae said:

4 games in his entire career where he's had 10 or more carries, and some people are acting as if the Patriots just cut Barry Sanders in this prime.

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Barry Sanders was a poor mans jonas gray

FourierSeries said:

Let's put this in perspective. Gray had one good game against the Colts, a team that we always destroy with the running game regardless of who is running the ball. I am sure the majority of people on this forum could accumulate at least 200 yards for NE against Indy.

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You have obviously never seen me run.

reneluar said:

Barry Sanders was a poor mans jonas gray

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Such a shame that after 9 pages of Jonas Gray talk that this gem of comedic brilliance just now surfaces.

I'm still laughing as this...

reneluar said:

Same scenario, what happens if Gray forget to set the alarm?

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Excellent point. Because being 10 minutes late to a meeting is equivalent to missing games due to injury or drug suspension.....or walking off the field.

Stepping around your silliness, Blount is definitely the better RB. Just as Brady is the best QB on the team. It is critical to have depth behind a player in case he gets hurt. Garropolo is on the roster for a reason.

Bolden showed some good flashes of being a decent rb a few years ago, before they started using him very effectively and more extensively on the ST's. He may have an awful lot on his plate this year.

Biffins said:

I am assuming this is all about his attitude, both last year for being late, then whining and moaning about it in media, and generally having a sense of entitlement after that one game against the colts.

BB clearly feels this is one moron whose ego he doesn't want to deal with.

And.......... I hate this move.

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The situation could be as you describe but any interview I ever saw with Jonus his attitude was extremely positive and I saw no entitlement. Obviously I could be 100% wrong, but for some reason I get the feeling BB didn't like something about his game. He's basically LG minus about 30 lbs. be interesting to see who snags him (if it hasn't happened yet).

Deus Irae said:

4 games in his entire career where he's had 10 or more carries, and some people are acting as if the Patriots just cut Barry Sanders in this prime.

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Yeah , I got a kick out of that too. We could probably suite up Antoinee Smith and he could hang 150'yards on the Colts lame defense.

Brady6 said:

Bolden is going to be a big time factor on offense this season. I think he is going to explode this season in the same way that Edelman went from primarily a special teams player to a huge factor on offense when Welker departed.

The way they rest him all but game 3 of the preseason just makes me believe they hold him in a much higher regard than many fans.

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I can't say that I necessarily agree with your first paragraph, but I do find your second to be quite reasonable. I agree that Belichick and the organization seem to hold Bolden in higher regard than about 90% of the people on this forum.

He's effective on STs, has proven the ability to be a lead back when called upon, and has been able to pick up the blitz. On top of that, he has experience in our system, fits in well, and is cheap. I don't believe that he was ever on the bubble for a second.

I don't get it. Gray didn't take up much cap space. He was making the most of every opportunity last season and seemed determined to accomplish even more this year. He had a lot of upside for a minimal cost........and we never got a chance to see him improve.

Pats fans better pray that Blount can stay healthy all season.

I was rooting for Jonas. I got the sense he had some good football in him (just a sense). He also seemed like a decent guy, Patriot type guy, and he was an underdog. That is why I don't like this cut. But the cold hard truth is not liking this cut has little to do about loss of potential or production. His production was a 100 country miles from established and the puzzle piece he would have been was likely to be the edge of the picture. Bottom line, from a W-L potential the cut of Jonas is a blip.

Does anyone know if he is PS eligible? If so is there is any scuttlebutt on whether BB still maintains some belief in his potential or is this cut a certain signal that BB is moving on from him?

Honestly I think he will move on from us if we even talk to him about the practice squad honestly I could see Pitt signing him and facing him week 1.

fnordcircle said:

Sometimes BB just seems to start ****ing hating a player. I'm not saying it's personal but there's this weird vibe I got from watching and observing BB wrt Jonas Gray that feels similar to Welker.

I think BB just doesn't like something about Gray's focus or character and out the door he goes. Let's trade him to the Colts.

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Interesting take. But doesn't really make sense, when you consider that Belichick actually kept Welker on the the team for several years, and dropped Gray after barely a season.

TheBostonStraggler said:

I was rooting for Jonas. I got the sense he had some good football in him (just a sense). He also seemed like a decent guy, Patriot type guy, and he was an underdog. That is why I don't like this cut. But the cold hard truth is not liking this cut has little to do about loss of potential or production. His production was a 100 country miles from established and the puzzle piece he would have been was likely to be the edge of the picture. Bottom line, from a W-L potential the cut of Jonas is a blip.

Does anyone know if he is PS eligible? If so is there is any scuttlebutt on whether BB still maintains some belief in his potential or is this cut a certain signal that BB is moving on from him?

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He made the cover of Sports Illustrated. Trust me...he's not gonna allow himself to go back on the Practice Squad. More likely than not, some other team will scoop him up.

As to your other point: You're right. There's no drop off on production for the team in losing Gray...but there was plenty of upside for him to offer production in the years ahead.

Think about it. Blount will turn 30 next year...which is just around the time when running backs start to age and wear. So how do you suppose we will replace him when his production starts to decline?

I think we could have had at least another 4 years of production from Gray.

TheBostonStraggler said:

I was rooting for Jonas. I got the sense he had some good football in him (just a sense). He also seemed like a decent guy, Patriot type guy, and he was an underdog. That is why I don't like this cut. But the cold hard truth is not liking this cut has little to do about loss of potential or production. His production was a 100 country miles from established and the puzzle piece he would have been was likely to be the edge of the picture. Bottom line, from a W-L potential the cut of Jonas is a blip.

Does anyone know if he is PS eligible? If so is there is any scuttlebutt on whether BB still maintains some belief in his potential or is this cut a certain signal that BB is moving on from him?

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sure, he's ps eligible

Chiuba E. Obele said:

Interesting take. But doesn't really make sense, when you consider that Belichick actually kept Welker on the the team for several years, and dropped Gray after barely a season.



He made the cover of Sports Illustrated. Trust me...he's not gonna allow himself to go back on the Practice Squad. More likely than not, some other team will scoop him up.

As to your other point: You're right. There's no drop off on production for the team in losing Gray...but there was plenty of upside for him to offer production in the years ahead.

Think about it. Blount will turn 30 next year...which is just around the time when running backs start to age and wear. So how do you suppose we will replace him when his production starts to decline?

I think we could have had at least another 4 years of production from Gray.

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On the first item that is a fair point. He isn't likely to want to step back to the PS -- assuming he does hook up with another team. Wishful(hopeful) thinking on my part I suppose.

On the second, I suspect you're right and he would have produced for four years. The thing about that, however, is the potential production is too unknown for it to be greatly concerning without it. He did have that wildly successful game in addition to 56 attempts for 215 yards. However, he has extremely little receiving production, his pass protection ability, if pressed into it that rare circumstance, would be quite unexpected, and I don't recall any mention he is a ST asset (though I could be mistaken on that).

Put it all together and it equals a young, inexperienced, unheralded player who had a couple of very nice glimpses in the running game. But that simply is not anywhere near enough of a sample to forecast he would have solid production or that we are likely to be harmed by losing it.
Arguably you could say we already have sufficient Jonas Gray type producers. And it is important to note these players have other roles they fill/can fill (filling other roles is most often required for a Jonas Gray type unheralded player on a BB team).