David Thomas=Joe Jurevicius ? Plus offense changing ?
 

I see a lot of WR in David Thomas' highlites rather than TE. He can be a very dangerous player, wherever he lines up. Maybe he can be our big posession WR.

This also brings to mind, is it possible our offense is changing ? Big Time change ? With Josh Daniels becoming the full time co-ordinator, is he making big changes to the offense ? With Thomas AND Mills being drafted, and both are more H-Backs than TE's, are we going to change to a somewhat different offense ? I truly see Mills as an H-Back, but who will play some fullback, and Thomas is a Chris Cooley type of TE, more receiver than TE. Mills out of the backfield as a receiver reminds me of the 49er's offense in the 80's and Moose Johnston of the 90's Cowboys. I always remebered thinking how devastating a pass catching FB out of the backfield was, are we heading that direction ?

What I'm getting at, is I really think that we (and opposing defenses) will not be able to predict what the hell will be going on, on most plays, and thats a GOOD thing.

Maybe I'm over reading the potential of what a 3rd and 4th round player's playing time will be, It's quite possible Thomas and Mills will spend most of their first seasons on special teams, but if the play up to their potentials, they can be potent receiving weapons for Brady. To go along with Branch, Jackson, Caldwell, Brown, Watson, Graham, and Faulk & Maroney out of the backfield. Geez, that is a scary group to face. If the O-line plays well, watch out.

I do think there will be some nwe wrinkles iin the offense..defense as well. BB does NOT use the exact same offense or defense year after year..slight variations..so that if one is scouting planning, from a year past..it is changed so it means less. New wrinkles are ALWAYS needed to stay on top..ahead of the field. It is what makes the team great!!

Why does Bill visit various college teams during the off season? That's right, to do draft scouting but he's also there to learn about new offensive and defensive schemes he can incorporate as the Pats new wrinkles! After 31 years in the business he's still a willing student of the game. Gotta love the guy for never being satisfied that he's learned enough. We are so lucky to have him!!

:singing:

Thomas, Graham and Watson are all 6'3 and within one or two pounds of 255. They're all legitimate, big, strong TEs. Thomas comes in with scouting reports that gush about his hands, but he's gotten some good reviews on his in-line blocking. I think we have three good, young TEs, here.

Mills is close to 6'2 and 230 on paper, but seeing pictures of Mills and Thomas side by side, it was hard to tell which was which based on size alone.

They say Mills is a better fit at H-back, and that may be true. But they were talking about Watson as an H-back, too, at this time last season.

All I can say, is we have four big, solid, pass-catching threats in that bunch. I think we're going to be passing out of power formations a lot this season. And why not? We've certainly got the roster to do it.

Start with a base of: Brady, Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Kaczur. Then add any five skill position players.

Power-I: Graham, Watson, Dillon, Mills, Jackson
Big, strong... but could also be a passing formation since all five skill position players have great hands

Four TE: Graham, Watson, Thomas, Mills, Dillon
This is the goalline formation, but if the opposing team tries to matchup LBs against all the TEs, we're going to pass the ball.

Standard: Branch, Jackson, Graham, Moroney, Mills
Put Mills in motion. Is he blocking or receiving? Put Moroney in motion and throw a swing pass out to the flat. End-around to Branch with Jackson and Mills blocking downfield.

I don't know about Jurevicious, but I see a lot of Jay Novacek in him.

Is Mills able to play a traditional Fullback role? Can he block?

I watched a few Tulsa games. I never saw him line up in the stem.

He is an amazing pass catcher. One game in particular, it was obvious on almost every play that the ball was going to go to him, and the defense was just helpless.

To me, Mills is a much better prospect than Thomas.

I like the Jurevicious comparison.But how about Matt Jones (6-6 230lb) of Jacksonville.
After watching the highlite films on both Thomas and Mills...Thomas is a very smooth runner, very athletic for 245 lbs, and seemed to glide down the field. Mills has thick legs and body, especially at only 230 lbs, more of a mudder and thumper. Thomas will out jump the defender while Mills will out muscle.

Thomas is a TE. He is not a WR. We've been through this with Ben Watson - a faster, more athletic TE than Thomas. There is more to being a WR than catching well and, in the case of Watson, running FASTER than a lot of actual WR's. I'll enjoy watching Thomas play TE because that it what he is, period.

Thank you.