Aaron Dobson - underestimated even as a rookie?

[Creative Username]

The only receiver that I ever saw, who ever had a catch like Aaron
Dobson's backhand catch, was Randy Moss. I'm not saying Aaron is Randy but he has the similar size, hands, and good speed; but not elite speed like Randy.

Aaron is brainy too, and Randy was smarter than others gave him credit for being.

Randy agrees with you.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Despite Tippett's rants, as long as BB doesn't get carried away and prematurely ejaculate him from the roster before someone clearly beats him out like he did with Sanders, I'm good

Doubt there's any chance of that this year as it'd provide minimal savings, but next year if I'm reading over the cap correctly we'd save over $2M by cutting him. I seriously hope by then we'll have a proven alternative.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

How did things not change in the secondary? They added Talib, Dennard, Ryan, Adrian Wislon, Tavon Wilson, and Harmon.

On top of that they brought in Cole, Ebner for ST roles, and moved McCourty to safety.

How many changes in the past 15 months would you have liked to see? I just listed 8 new players and one more who's position was changed since April of last season.





Regarding Dowling--why would you want to cut your high 2nd round pick if he's finally healthy and under a cheap, rookie deal?

Cole--may go....that will depend on special teams battles and be up to Belichick, but an argument could be made (although I personally wouldn't agree with it unless none of the new guys can take over the role).

Gregory--what kind of production do you expect to receive from the savings of approx. 700k that you'd get by cutting him. There's a much better argument towards cutting him after this season and using him for a rotational role as a #3 or #4 safety for one more season until the younger players are ready to take over that role.

Pretty spot on, very little reason to cut any of those 3 this soon. I'm hoping by next year Gregory is no longer needed though he'd be a pretty expensive backup, and I pray he's not our starter still at that poitn.

But as of right now, you don't need to 'purge' the position in order to fix it.

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

Tell that to Chad Jackson, Terrence Wheatley, Darius Butler; all former second round draft picks of the New England Patriots cut after two NFL Seasons. What's good for the goose is not good for the gander?

Ras-I Dowling is more talented then all 3.

 

[ATippett56]

Ras-I Dowling is more talented then all 3.

Glass-IR Dowling can't make past week 6 before landing on Injured Reserve.

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

Glass-IR Dowling can't make past week 6 before landing on Injured Reserve.

Tell that to Adrian Peterson, Peyton Manning, Tedy Bruschi, Irvin Fryar, Deion Sanders, Terrell Owens, Willis McGahee and other athletes who have came back from far worst or even life threatening injuries. And how do you know whats going to happen? He could be healthy all season long for all you know. You can't go by injury, when playing your best players. If every NFL team did that, they no one would be successful because they would never know if their player would've been healthy or not. And that very season where they decided to ever cut or sit their player could have been the exact season where their player would have stayed healthy the whole season and helped them win a championship.

 

[supafly]

Then there is no need whatsover for Steve Gregory to be on the roster, especially with the wide receiver depth that will probably be required this season.

If the New England Patriots can survive a wide receiver purge, a Steve Gregory purge is a spit in the ocean.

2 thoughts come to mind:

--As PWP said, no one really wants to see Belichick pull the trigger on cutting him too early before someone else is able to step up. Since we have a decent amount of youth at that position (outside of the obvious in A.Wilson), it may be in the better interests of the team to allow those green players time to fully develop during this season first.

--You'd have to take into account the potential cap savings of approx. 700k and what kind of player we'd be able to get as a replacement when assessing Gregory's play as a rotational 3rd or 4th safety.

With regard to Cole and Gregory, never in my life have I seen more ineptitude in one half of football than these two clowns in the second half of the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens.

I'd think that we would all agree, but you also can't take last year's roster and compare it to this year's, since they are different in terms of the depth of the secondary.

We're talking about a ST only player (Cole) and a rotational backup safety (Gregory), so the likelihood of both of those players being on the field in any important setting is pretty slim; especially with the hope of improved depth.

 

[ATippett56]

And how do you know whats going to happen?

How do you know what is going to happen?

Analysis of 2nd round pick, CB Ras-I Dowling - Extra Points - Boston.com

Problems in regards to injury history. Played just five games in 2010 because of a left ankle fracture, hamstring pull and right knee injury. In ’08 he dealt with a hamstring and back injury. Started all 12 games in ’09. Pulled a hamstring at the combine but had a great pro day. Had a broken hand and a knee injury in high school.

 

[ATippett56]

We're talking about a ST only player (Cole) and a rotational backup safety (Gregory), so the likelihood of both of those players being on the field in any important setting is pretty slim; especially with the hope of improved depth.

Marquice Cole is 29 years old and Steve Gregory is 30 years old. Both have reached their ceilings, which is no higher than the basement.

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

How do you know what is going to happen?

Analysis of 2nd round pick, CB Ras-I Dowling - Extra Points - Boston.com

Him getting injured this year

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

Marquice Cole is 29 years old and Steve Gregory is 30 years old. Both have reached their ceilings, which is no higher than the basement.

Marquice's coverage in the AFC Championship game last year killed us when Aqib Talib got injured.

 

[supafly]

Marquice Cole is 29 years old and Steve Gregory is 30 years old. Both have reached their ceilings, which is no higher than the basement.

My hope is that one of the recent draft picks will be able to beat out Cole, but I am also not an expert of special teams play either. If Belichick keeps Cole it will be due to his contributions on special teams, which is an important attribute here.

Gregory I'm not as sure of, but I also don't want a move to be made too early either. The bottom line is that things should be better than last year, and next year should be even better than that. If Gregory is here for the upcoming year there will be reasons why Belichick made that decision, so we'll have to trust the judgment there.

 

[ATippett56]

Marquice's coverage in the AFC Championship game last year killed us when Aqib Talib got injured.

So what? The Baltimore Ravens lost their best cornerback to injury earlier in the season and still managed to win the Super Bowl. Excuses are for losers.

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

So what? The Baltimore Ravens lost their best cornerback to injury earlier in the season and still managed to win the Super Bowl. Excuses are for losers.

My point exactly, that's because their backup isn't as bad as Marquice Cole

 

[ATippett56]

My hope is that one of the recent draft picks will be able to beat out Cole, but I am also not an expert of special teams play either. If Belichick keeps Cole it will be due to his contributions on special teams, which is an important attribute here.

Kyle Arrington broke into the NFL as a special teams contributor. Special teams does not require a degree in rocket science.

 

[jah]

So what? The Baltimore Ravens lost their best cornerback to injury earlier in the season and still managed to win the Super Bowl. Excuses are for losers.

Let's just hope we have Corey Graham waiting around ready to leap from special teamer to above average starter. Very realistic.

 

[Brady6]

Glass-IR Dowling can't make past week 6 before landing on Injured Reserve.

ATippett56 :cheer2:

 

[ATippett56]

My point exactly, that's because their backup isn't as bad as Marquice Cole

Whose fault is that now?

 

[supafly]

Kyle Arrington broke into the NFL as a special teams contributor. Special teams does not require a degree in rocket science.

No one is saying that is does, but it is a very important aspect of every single game and the ones that do it well like Slater, Cole, etc are there for a reason.

The obvious hope is that one of the rookies or 2nd yr players are able to step in and take over the role, but that certainly isn't written in stone. If it were nearly as easy as you're making it out to be, they wouldn't have such a hard decision making roster cuts, not to mention that guys like Slater and Cole wouldn't have jobs every year.

 

[ATippett56]

Let's just hope we have Corey Graham waiting around ready to leap from special teamer to above average starter. Very realistic.

Funny you should mention Corey Graham. Both Marquice Cole and Corey Graham were both unrestricted free agents in 2012. As a matter of fact, the New England Patriots signed Marquice Cole prior to the Baltimore Ravens signing Corey Graham. The Baltimore Ravens chose wisely.