Anyone have any inside scoop on Kelly, Talib and Amendola?

[CelticPatriot]

you mean other than week 1 catching 10 balls for 104yards, and 9 first downs? he looked a heck of alot like welker in that game...but alas he went down with the groin injury

thats what we need from Amendola(well maybe not that, but 5-6 catches for 60-70 yards and a TD would be nice)

so, the plan should be to instead play an EVEN MORE injury prone player who is one hit away from ending his NFL career?

Everyone is one hit away from ending their career

 

[Patjew]

NESN is reporting that Amendola and Talib look like a go for Sunday and that Carter is working with Chandler Jones. It would be nice to see Carter on the field on obvious passing downs with Ninkovich and Jones to add an extra pass-rush dimension.

Danny Amendola Could Suit Up on Sunday After Practicing All Week for Patriots | New England Patriots | NESN.com

I'll be pleasantly shocked if Talib plays.

 

[supafly]

I'll be pleasantly shocked if Talib plays.

Which leads me to wonder if the better approach would just be to hold him out for our final game before the bye next SUN vs the Steelers too?

That would give him a total of 5 weeks of rest and rehab, as opposed to bringing him back for next week's game where he'd only have gotten 2 weeks or so.

We all know the obvious importance of having him as healthy as possible for the stretch run of the season and playoffs. If he can't go vs Miami this Sunday, I'd be good with waiting until week #11 to give him the extra rest of a period without stressing the injury for one game.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Which leads me to wonder if the better approach would just be to hold him out for our final game before the bye next SUN vs the Steelers too?

That would give him a total of 5 weeks of rest and rehab, as opposed to bringing him back for next week's game where he'd only have gotten 2 weeks or so.

We all know the obvious importance of having him as healthy as possible for the stretch run of the season and playoffs. If he can't go vs Miami this Sunday, I'd be good with waiting until week #11 to give him the extra rest of a period without stressing the injury for one game.

The only thing that worries me about that philosophy is that their offense basically consists of Roethlisberger-to-Brown. If you can shut Brown down--and Talib can--then you can virtually guarantee a win against the Steelers. It's certainly interesting to weigh that against the benefit of extra rest to ensure that Talib is 100%

 

[ausbacker]

Amendola said he feels great today. So he'll probably go. Talib was supposedly hobbling still, according to reporters at the practice and Kelly hasn't practiced so those two probably won't go this week.

Great must be a wide expanse in the Amendola household. Hopefully he's got some of his explosion back as I'd like to see a Pats O with Gronk and Amendola operate before Vereen returns. Brady will welcome 3 targets who can create separation in a matter of seconds.

 

[simpletruth]

Which leads me to wonder if the better approach would just be to hold him out for our final game before the bye next SUN vs the Steelers too?

That would give him a total of 5 weeks of rest and rehab, as opposed to bringing him back for next week's game where he'd only have gotten 2 weeks or so.

We all know the obvious importance of having him as healthy as possible for the stretch run of the season and playoffs. If he can't go vs Miami this Sunday, I'd be good with waiting until week #11 to give him the extra rest of a period without stressing the injury for one game.

He is needed against the receivers the Dolphins have. He has to be the one on Mike Wallace or you should expect a big day for Tannehill.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

you mean other than week 1 catching 10 balls for 104yards, and 9 first downs? he looked a heck of alot like welker in that game...but alas he went down with the groin injury

thats what we need from Amendola(well maybe not that, but 5-6 catches for 60-70 yards and a TD would be nice)

so, the plan should be to instead play an EVEN MORE injury prone player who is one hit away from ending his NFL career?

Yes he played well against the Bills, but he's been injured the other games,he's not an every game kind of guy. As far as Collie, he has a history of concussion as well as a history of success with Manning so i want to see Brady go to him more. Collie hasn't gone down yet so maybe we should take advantage and see if he got something left in the tank.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

If you don't think he's valuable, then you shouldn't really care if he gets hurt again anyway.

And I suggest you look into Collie's history if you think he's a better alternative because Amendola's too injury prone. That's like going with cardboard because plywood isn't strong enough.

My expectation of Amendola is simply very low.If healthy he should be on the field obviously, but if he gets hurt than no one should be surprise.I'll be holding my breath Sunday for every hit he takes.

 

[goheels22002]

I'll be pleasantly shocked if Talib plays.

Tx for a hip pointer is 1-2 weeks. See: Hip Pointer Injury - What Is a Hip Pointer Injury

 

[upstater1]

Tx for a hip pointer is 1-2 weeks. See: Hip Pointer Injury - What Is a Hip Pointer Injury

He has a hip flexor, not a hip pointer. The flexor refers to pulled muscles, where the pointer is a bone injury.

 

[Dingleberry]

I do have an inside scoop.

Amendola will play Sunday against Miami

Talib will sit this week and return against Pittsburgh

Kelly will be out until after the bye, likely returning Week 11 against Carolina.

 

[supafly]

He is needed against the receivers the Dolphins have. He has to be the one on Mike Wallace or you should expect a big day for Tannehill.

Sure, he's "needed" against every single NFL team that we face, but he has a very, very chronic condition that has cost him time in the last 4 consecutive seasons.

I would much rather have him rest for 5 full weeks and return healthy for the last 2 months of the season/playoffs. You just have no idea when it's going to pop up again, so that's the concern. If we can't beat teams like MIA and PIT without Talib, then we better hope and pray that he sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber every night or we're completely screwed.

Interestingly enough, it warrants pondering whether or not the Patriots would make him have surgery/treatment in the offseason if he would be retained, although I don't know the ins/outs of the condition itself, and whether getting surgery would improve or potentially aggravate the situation.

Talib will sit this week and return against Pittsburgh

As BradyFTW points out, it's certainly worth questioning if it'd be better to keep him out for one more game next week due to the bye, as it would assure him 3 extra weeks of rest/treatment.

Yes, he's needed against the Miami and Pittsburgh teams, but if we can't beat those teams without him then we're basically pinning our entire hopes on Aqib Talib, which may be a very serious problem due to his insane injury history.

We'll have to see how it plays out, and we're all optimistic that he'll come back healthy, but I think I'd rather see the injury taken care of now as opposed to half-healing it and seeing it pop up again.

 

[goheels22002]

He has a hip flexor, not a hip pointer. The flexor refers to pulled muscles, where the pointer is a bone injury.

Well that sucks. These guys say "a few weeks" to six weeks: Summit Medical Group - Hip Flexor Strain

 

[reflexblue]

Amendola said he feels great today. So he'll probably go. Talib was supposedly hobbling still, according to reporters at the practice and Kelly hasn't practiced so those two probably won't go this week.

So we can count on him for at least a quarter or two then.

 

[simpletruth]

Sure, he's "needed" against every single NFL team that we face, but he has a very, very chronic condition that has cost him time in the last 4 consecutive seasons.

Awesome. BB seems to have a real skill for adding players that are highly likely to miss time due to injury. Especially those that typically you would count on to be out there in the battles.

I wouldn't say every team. I wouldn't include teams that are weak at qb and/or don't have at least two very good receivers that need top notch corners to cover. For instance the Jets, Raiders, Titans, Jags, Bucs, Vikings, Rams, Cardinals, Redskins, etc...

My point was there are particular teams that have at least two very very good wide outs and he is needed in those games the most. Especially when they have a QB you know can get those wide outs the ball.

Additionally this is a very important game. Very. A loss can really damage the long term prospects of the season. The Dolphins are susceptible to pass rush and blitzes, neither of which the Pats are good at. Now if BB comes up with a whole new game plan that includes a lot of stunts, blitzes and zone coverage they can contain the Fins offense, but playing man to man without Talib and rushing 4 is not going to cut it.

 

[Deus Irae]

Supposedly Amendola is ready to return. Somehow I'm not too exited about that since he's an injury waiting to happen. I'm more concern with Talib, I haven't heard anything other than he was practicing.

They can't keep them all soft and cuddly inside bubble wrap forever. Sooner or later, injured players have to get back on the field. It sounds like this may be the week, and I'm sure Brady would be thrilled to have Amendola and Gronkowski on the field at the same time, even if they still need time to get in sync.

Which leads to a pair of questions...

 

[Deus Irae]

If all the WRs are healthy, I figure Amendola is the WR1. That leaves the trio of Edelman/Thompkins/Dobson.

Who's the WR2 in two WR sets?
Who's the WR3 in three WR sets?

 

[supafly]

Awesome. BB seems to have a real skill for adding players that are highly likely to miss time due to injury. Especially those that typically you would count on to be out there in the battles.

I wouldn't say every team. I wouldn't include teams that are weak at qb and/or don't have at least two very good receivers that need top notch corners to cover. For instance the Jets, Raiders, Titans, Jags, Bucs, Vikings, Rams, Cardinals, Redskins, etc...

My point was there are particular teams that have at least two very very good wide outs and he is needed in those games the most. Especially when they have a QB you know can get those wide outs the ball.

Additionally this is a very important game. Very. A loss can really damage the long term prospects of the season. The Dolphins are susceptible to pass rush and blitzes, neither of which the Pats are good at. Now if BB comes up with a whole new game plan that includes a lot of stunts, blitzes and zone coverage they can contain the Fins offense, but playing man to man without Talib and rushing 4 is not going to cut it.

Believe me, I definitely hear exactly what you're saying. I think the problem is attempting to manage the injury now as opposed to sometime in Dec/Jan.

As we know, this happened last year in Dec too, and then reared its ugly head once again at the most inopportune time of the entire season in the AFC championship game vs Baltimore when we were totally shutting them down.

I think we all realize the importance of the 2 AFC east games (last week vs the NYJ, this week vs MIA) and the 3 AFC conference games in a row when you count next week's Steelers game too. The issue is just allowing him to rest and heal properly to try and avoid having to deal with this again down the road this season. It's this reasoning why I think holding him out for next week's game too (if he doesn't play tomorrow) may be the best course of action, as it would allow him a full 5 weeks or recovery.

Last year it was not managed properly if you remember, as he'd miss a couple of games then come back for a couple of quarters, then sit out again, then come back...so on and so forth. Then of course we saw it pop up and block our chance of going to the SB again in the final test vs Baltimore. It's almost maddening for such a talented player when healthy, and I'd hate to see how we'd deal with it in the playoffs again.

 

[supafly]

If all the WRs are healthy, I figure Amendola is the WR1. That leaves the trio of Edelman/Thompkins/Dobson.

Who's the WR2 in two WR sets?
Who's the WR3 in three WR sets?

At this point it would seem as though Thompkins is still going to get many more reps than Dobson is, as AD received only approx. 50-55% (44/79) snaps last week, and that was even with Amendola out of the game.

I think that they feel more comfortable with Amendola, and Thompkins...then Edelman as the WR3 in three wide sets.

In my opinion at the moment, Dobson is still a WR4 who comes in and plays in certain 3 wide packages. Of course that changes when Amendola is out, which is likely why we saw him a lot more lately.

 

[goheels22002]

If all the WRs are healthy, I figure Amendola is the WR1. That leaves the trio of Edelman/Thompkins/Dobson.

Who's the WR2 in two WR sets?
Who's the WR3 in three WR sets?

I figure it's a down and distance issue primarily, with the rookies platooning if the veterans are effective. Josh would do well to back off on reliance on Dobson and Thompkins unless the matchups are so favorable that one or the other can get separation at will.

In long yardage situations - 7 or more yards - it would seem like it goes Amendola - Thompkins/Dobson - Edelman. In short yardage - 6 or fewer yards - it's Amendola - Edelman - Thompkins/Dobson.

On third and less than five yards, I'd like to see some Collie, Edelman, Amendola sets like the Woodhead, Welker, Edelman smurf patrol sets. How do you stop that?

Gronkowski is an option on all short to medium routes depending on the blocking scheme and his matchup. He poses such a dilemma to opposing defenses, that his best contribution is often taking two defenders with him away from an area that the other guys can operate in.

The guy that this offense really misses is Vereen. His versatility in the passing game as a dangerous option out of the backfield, or split wide where he can just outrun and outmuscle a slot corner sent out to cover him, is tangible. The 3rd down statistics are so grim - worst of the Brady era - because there's no 3rd-down back like Kevin Faulk as a primary target or safety valve.

And I get increasingly angry and resentful about the sheer stupidity and selfishness of Aaron Hernandez playing the role of big bad gangster with his guns and moronic running buddies. His role on this team was critical to how it was assembled and he was rewarded for his unique athletic talents in a life-altering fashion. His murderous, violent behaviors needed attention which he had more than enough money and support to address. He'll never see the outside of a prison now and that's fine. He not only murdered one or more people, he hurt everyone who ever came into contact with him, inlcuding his teammates whose time at the pinnacle of their profession is very short.