Patriots Awards: Brady is Team MVP, LaFell is Biggest Disappointment

Deus Irae said:

You just quoted Brady from last year. People are talking about Lafell from THIS year. For whatever reason(s), this year's Lafell has been just a shadow of last man's Lafell, and that includes any toughness comparisons.

Also, pointing to last year's nadir really isn't the place to go when bagging on the fans, because that game was such a train wreck that the G.O.A.T. got pulled.

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It doesn't matter when he said it, he called him the "the toughest guy I've ever played with" and Brady has played with a $%hit load of guys. Now all of a sudden he's soft according to some fans, and lets not forget he missed all of training camp and off-season workouts etc.. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, if he continues to struggle into next season then we can talk.

As far as the Chiefs game, yes it was a train wreck but considering what BB achieved before that (and then winning the sb that season) I think we can safely say that was a huge overreaction and a perfect example of fan fickleness. One thread title I distinctly remember titled "this is all BB's fault" was the cherry on the cake.

gruffypatsfan said:

It doesn't matter when he said it,

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Of course it does.

gruffypatsfan said:

As far as the Chiefs game, yes it was a train wreck but considering what BB achieved before that (and then winning the sb that season) I think we can safely say that was a huge overreaction and a perfect example of fan fickleness. One thread title I distinctly remember titled "this is all BB's fault" was the cherry on the cake.

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Nonsense. If the Patriots hadn't completely turned their play around, they'd have been cooked last year.

Gronkowski123 said:

chandler's a goner. BB failed again looking for the complimentary TE to gronk

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Bring Antonio Gates in on a 1 year contract in the offseason, shouldn't cost a whole lot and he's probably dying for a shot at a ring... which he won't get in San Diego!

Deus Irae said:

Of course it does.



Nonsense. If the Patriots hadn't completely turned their play around, they'd have been cooked last year.

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So in 1 season LaFell has gone from the toughest guy Brady has played with to one of the softest?

There's no point talking about "ifs," you can invent any hypothetical situation you want using ifs.

JarOfMayo51 said:

Bring Antonio Gates in on a 1 year contract in the offseason, shouldn't cost a whole lot and he's probably dying for a shot at a ring... which he won't get in San Diego!

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no thanks to cheater gates.

maybe get jimmy graham when the seahawks cut him. at a discount since he's coming off major injury.

A Defiant Goose said:

LaFell is only a disappointment if your expectations are too high for the 3rd/4th option in our offense

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I guess that might be true to some. And I don't even totally disagree with you. I was expecting something akin to what I saw last season and even more considering the slow start that he had last season while learning the system, and I think that was a reasonable expectation when you consider he's in his second season in the offense. I gave him a pass the first few games because his last meaningful snap before taking the field against the Jets was in the SB. It takes time to get that timing back. So yeah, he definitely disappointed me and that's regardless of where on the depth chart he was at the start of the season. I've seen enough from LaFell to know he is better than what he has shown to this point.

With all of that said, football has been called the quintessential team sport and rightfully so. I think we have to be careful how much we criticize someone playing a game where all of the other moving parts have to be functioning at an adequate level for the whole thing to work. That's one reason why I don't weigh stats as much as other people. I go mostly by what my eyes tell me as I watch (and re-watch) games. He's being asked to do things that are not his strength, like deep routes. He can stretch the field somewhat, but that's not his forte. So of course he's going to look crazy/ineffective when he's not making those plays consistently (that and the fact that the deep ball is not Brady's strength either and never really has been, including '07). So again I say that LaFell has disappointed me, but I also say that knowing that things would more than likely look different if the offense as a whole was functioning better (i.e. less/no injuries).

All will be forgiven if he can make a few key plays in the playoffs. All hands would normally have to be on deck anyway, but these playoffs are emphasized because of the dismal final quarter or so of the season. And it doesn't just fall on LaFell. The other pass catchers have to step it up too. This is going to be one of our tougher playoffs, and I don't care if people disagree. The AFC was weak this year, but it's still professional teams in an elimination game. One bounce of the ball could mean the better team going home with the L . . . like '06, '07 and to a lesser extent '11.

gruffypatsfan said:

So in 1 season LaFell has gone from the toughest guy Brady has played with to one of the softest?

There's no point talking about "ifs," you can invent any hypothetical situation you want using ifs.

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Very true. I would challenge anyone to watch D. Thomas over in Bronco-land and come back and tell me what soft looks like. He is one of the more overrated and overpaid players at his position in the whole league. I'd gladly cut some of his contract and give it to Sanders, if I'm the Broncos. He has shown more grit, more heart and gets open deep a hell of a lot more than D.T. I lament that we could not sign him, though that statement is not a "I'd rather have Sanders than LaFell" statement.

gruffypatsfan said:

So in 1 season LaFell has gone from the toughest guy Brady has played with to one of the softest?

There's no point talking about "ifs," you can invent any hypothetical situation you want using ifs.

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I don't care what Brady said. It's plain to see that LaFell doesn't fight for the ball, he doesn't use his frame to outmuscle defenders, he gives up on his routes and he hasn't won a contested catch all year.

To me Scott Chandler has always been a 500y TE as a starter. So 259y and 4 TDS in it self isn't really that dissapointing to me. That's about what I expect from him as the 2nd TE. But that's with an offense where we have Edelman, Amendola, Lafell from last year, and Gronk the whole year. It's dissapointing that he hasn't stepped up when so many starters have been down, and he has had a chance to get a bigger role. Especially as he has had a couple of really ugly drops.

Username said:

I don't care what Brady said. It's plain to see that LaFell doesn't fight for the ball, he doesn't use his frame to outmuscle defenders, he gives up on his routes and he hasn't won a contested catch all year.

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That's a big difference from last season with him. The quote is from the season before, when LaFell actually played tough and thought for balls. That's made made him good last year, that he could fight for balls, and break out of tackles.

Th3Birdman said:

Better than Dillon?

They're even to me. Dillon would just bury you out there. Lewis will make you miss. Both these guys are the best Pats RBs of the decade... (All time is probably Cunningham).

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In my mind, Dillion hasn't been on the team in a decade, but a google reminds me he was on the team in 2006.

Well lafell will get a chance to redeem himself if the line can pass block. His season won't matter if he shows up and gives us something. I missed Chandler as well. Not good. I can see both guys being gone after this year.

gruffypatsfan said:

There's no point talking about "ifs," you can invent any hypothetical situation you want using ifs.

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Even with all the competition throughout the years, the above quote may be the most ridiculous thing ever posted on this site.

My opinion this year, compared to last year, of LaFell fell.

Article with BB's take on Lafell:

"Well, Brandon's really pushed through," Belichick said. "Being on PUP he had a little bit of extra time in terms of starting right at the beginning of the season. But any time you come into the middle of the year without the full training cycle, the offseason, training camp, all that, you're always playing catch-up. You might marginally close the gap, but it's never the same as having that whole period there.

"Mentally and schematically there, I think that's all caught up. Physically, it's improving. It's certainly good enough to be competitive...

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http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...brandon_lafell_still_catching_up_after_injury

Kind of ironic considering my "too high expectations" comment on page 1 but honestly I feel the bigger disappointments were Mason and Jackson. I understand they're mid-round rookies but a lot of talk from the offseason had me thinking those two were going to dramatically improve the run-blocking. I thought those two would be mowing through teams and give Blount one of his better years. Obviously that wasn't the case, but they are rookies and there have been injuries everywhere on the OL that affected their run-blocking performance too