Chris Harper released

zydecochris · Nov 30, 2015

SVN said:
Bill Belichick on D&H: There will be plays we see different from officials

Seems more like a regular roster move than a cut due to the play.

Good point. The Pats have a slew of key contributors with (hopefully) non-IR injuries healing up that require roster spots, Amendola, Edelman, Gronk, Williams, Hightower, Collins, Coleman. The good (really, great) news is that all of them will hopefully be back. However, that means we need some temporary fill-ins at WR, TE, LB, and maybe CB for the next couple of weeks. I suspect that BB is looking for reliable fill-ins for the next few weeks until these key contributors heal up.

Joey007 · Nov 30, 2015

Him and Brandon Bostick should share war stories some time.

Ross12 · Nov 30, 2015

Hopefully this just means Bill plans on having Amendola back this week and figures having him, Martin and LaFell is enough, and needs the roster spot for depth elsewhere while they manage injuries.

Joey007 · Nov 30, 2015

Props to the guy who got heavy dislikes for the cut Chris Harper thread. I mean it did end up being an accurate result

memento · Nov 30, 2015

When was the last time a Pats player was cut this soon after a big mistake in the regular season?

QuantumMechanic · Nov 30, 2015

People saying Harper cleanly fielding that punt "would have iced the game" are out of their minds.

I checked the official play-by-play. When the ball was snapped for that punt there was 14:26 left in regulation. No way catching that ball ices the game, especially the way NE was playing in the 2nd half.

Angelpats · Nov 30, 2015

Feel bad for the kid. He had a chance to show everyone what he had and messed it up. Sometimes you only get one chance in life.

PatsBoy12 · Nov 30, 2015

I just watched the muff again. Man, Ebner was so close to recovering it for the team. SO CLOSE!

BlueThunder · Nov 30, 2015

BlueThunder said:
I was on the Harper bandwagon...tough break for the kid.....

Hmm..seems a "fan" here that has posted 36 messages and has given out 31 dislikes on posts needs some TLC at home......

Galeb · Nov 30, 2015

QuantumMechanic said:
People saying Harper cleanly fielding that punt "would have iced the game" are out of their minds.

I checked the official play-by-play. When the ball was snapped for that punt there was 14:26 left in regulation. No way catching that ball ices the game, especially the way NE was playing in the 2nd half.

A 14 point lead in the 4th quarter with the ball in good field position against a crappy offense might not technically be icing, but it's pretty close. Calling people "out of their minds" for thinking so is pretty weird tho.

PatsBoy12 · Nov 30, 2015

QuantumMechanic said:
People saying Harper cleanly fielding that punt "would have iced the game" are out of their minds.

I checked the official play-by-play. When the ball was snapped for that punt there was 14:26 left in regulation. No way catching that ball ices the game, especially the way NE was playing in the 2nd half.

It would certainly not have iced the game like some are maybe implying (I haven't really read or heard anyone explicitly say it), but it did swing momentum. NE had finally put a drive together, so maybe they take that and string together another one that either a) leads to points (ideally) or b) keeps it a game of field position for a few possessions. Denver was doing nothing offensively consistently enough to doubt the D's ability to continue to hold them off. Momentum is funny like that. The muff punt all of a sudden reminded the Broncos that they actually moved the ball well at times in that game and it apparently made the refs realize the Broncos would still need help to win the game.

DShero · Nov 30, 2015

Ross12 said:
NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo.......

raduray · Nov 30, 2015

Deus Irae said:
Ignorance of the requirements would explain a legitimate failure to understand that mental toughness is by no means the only reason one would take one's eye off the ball on a punt.

Making a joke would, obviously, explain your comment.

Trolling would also, obviously, explain your comment.

I did not attack you personally, or your character, in any way, so there was no ad hominem attack on my part.

I agree that calling it an ad hominem attack may not have been technically correct. Sorry about that. I was reacting to being called a troll which, lacking any additional substance, I consider a gratuitous attack.

But if you're going to call me a troll or a joker, you might as well call Belichick one as well, as he's the one who lost trust and dumped Harper. Harper had not established a reservoir of good will, he was a marginal player to start with, and his muffed punt reinforces that he's a PS player at best, for now.

fnordcircle · Nov 30, 2015

I'm sure he'll be back on PS - you guys crowing over a rooking who screwed up are probably the same sort of dummies who were calling for Kevin Faulk's head after his fumble against GB.

Galeb · Nov 30, 2015

PatsBoy12 said:
It would certainly not have iced the game like some are maybe implying (I haven't really read or heard anyone explicitly say it), but it did swing momentum. NE had finally put a drive together, so maybe they take that and string together another one that either a) leads to points (ideally) or b) keeps it a game of field position for a few possessions. Denver was doing nothing offensively consistently enough to doubt the D's ability to continue to hold them off. Momentum is funny like that. The muff punt all of a sudden reminded the Broncos that they actually moved the ball well at times in that game and it apparently made the refs realize the Broncos would still need help to win the game.

I'll put it into perspective. If the Patriots fielded the punt, then kneeled each down and punted for 3 possessions they would burn over 10 and a half minutes. Sure, it's possible Osweiler could have scored 14 points in 4 minutes to tie, but the chances are very small. Yeah, it's technically not icing the game, but it's pretty damn close.

Edit: The contents of this post are inaccurate. The math was way off.

PatriotSpy · Nov 30, 2015

I heard some people say that Harper muffing the ball was a rookie mistake. Not catching a ball is not a rookie mistake, especially for a WR returning kicks. Running the wrong route, not coming back to the ball, not getting 2 feet in bounds...all rookie mistakes. Not catching the ball when that is the ONLY thing being asked of you is just plain falling asleep at the wheel. For a Special Ops like team like the Pats, that's unforgivable.

Adios Harper! Enjoy the Jests practice squad.

raduray · Nov 30, 2015

QuantumMechanic said:
People saying Harper cleanly fielding that punt "would have iced the game" are out of their minds.

I checked the official play-by-play. When the ball was snapped for that punt there was 14:26 left in regulation. No way catching that ball ices the game, especially the way NE was playing in the 2nd half.

Maybe not ice, but surely it changed the momentum. Life's not a controlled experiment, so we'll never know what the results would have been otherwise, but a possible Patriots scoring drive was aborted and changed into a Broncos TD.

Mr. Plow · Nov 30, 2015

Can Steve Grogan's number go back into unofficial retirement now?

Galeb · Nov 30, 2015

PatriotSpy said:
I heard some people say that Harper muffing the ball was a rookie mistake. Not catching a ball is not a rookie mistake, especially for a WR returning kicks. Running the wrong route, not coming back to the ball, not getting 2 feet in bounds...all rookie mistakes. Not catching the ball when that is the ONLY thing being asked of you is just plain falling asleep at the wheel. For a Special Ops like team like the Pats, that's unforgivable.

Adios Harper! Enjoy the Jests practice squad.

Muffing punts happens. Not calling a fair catch in the 4th quarter when defenders are close when you're up by 14 in the 4th quarter is a huge mistake.

Ross12 · Nov 30, 2015

DShero said:

LOL that's exactly what I was thinking when I posted!

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