Are Bru's Skills In Sharp Decline?

[psychoPat]

ProFootballWeekly has this judgment:

We hear the season-ending injury suffered by ILB Junior Seau in Week 12 not only thins the Patriots’ LB ranks, but it places the spotlight squarely on ILB Tedy Bruschi, whose playmaking skills have noticeably diminished. In fact, after Seau left the Pats’ Week 12 win over the Bears in the first half, we hear that the Bears targeted Bruschi with their running plays, calling 10 straight runs directly at Bruschi. Patriots observers have noted that the 33-year-old Bruschi has not been as animated a presence on the field and has made himself scarce to the media off the field, an indication he may be dissatisfied with his play. Though he’s still making plenty of tackles, many of them have come downfield, and he has collected only one deflected interception and 1 1⁄2 sacks, forced zero fumbles and recovered two fumbles. Also of concern to the Patriots is Bruschi’s recent injury history with calf injuries hindering him the past two playoffs and a broken wrist keeping him out of most of the preseason this year.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/The+Way+We+Hear+It/default.htm?mode=afceast

Sounds pretty dire to me.

Hw much of it do you think is true?

 

[Remix 6]

enough of it is true. Bruschi hasnt stood out this year..Seau's outplayed early and now..we cant really blame him too much but hes not taking advantage and making plays

 

[RayClay]

I've said our linebackers are less athletic. We need young blood.

This writer is just silly, though. We have the second best rushing Defense in the AFC.

 

[Remix 6]

I've said our linebackers are less athletic. We need young blood.

This writer is just silly, though. We have the second best rushing Defense in the AFC.

agreed. its a decline as we can tell by the plays they are making but its not a very sharp 1..if u didnt know the LBs and u looked at stats/rankings youd say..good veteran talent right there

 

[taltos]

I don't think that Tedy is as quick to rebound from injury as he was 5 years ago but, if you think about it, this is the second year that he has had to round himself into true game shape after a medical condition or injury. Until Junior was injured, I suspect that there was some defensive planning to cover a little for Tedy until his wrist got right. He will never be as good as he was in his '20's, but lets not write him off completely yet. Still a contributor.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I've said our linebackers are less athletic. We need young blood.

This writer is just silly, though. We have the second best rushing Defense in the AFC.

Exactly - and even if we didn't have the near best rushing D, with BB's schemes its always about keeping points off the scoreboard. Bend but don't break.

The only thing Bruschi needs is a few game winning interceptions as in past years and you don't hear a peep of complaining anymore.

When Bruschi's skills do decline, if there's a guy behind him who can better help the team - Bruschi's probably the first one to tell the coaches and advocate for the guy to start ahead of him.

As of now, Bruschi's still the man.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Can we lock this thread before Mrs B finds it and has a cow?

 

[RayClay]

agreed. its a decline as we can tell by the plays they are making but its not a very sharp 1..if u didnt know the LBs and u looked at stats/rankings youd say..good veteran talent right there

I'm sure I don't need to reiterate my thoughts about refurbishing our LB situation.

We've been skating on thin ice for 2-3 years now. But our DL is sooo good we've become a mauling team rather than an athletic team.

Of course they're athletic for 300 lbs. but our linebackers are more cerebral than physical and our secondary, except for Asante's spurt, isn't causing a lot of turnovers, (Hobbs is a physical little guy and will be playing with both hands soon).

I think we've got enough to make the right play at the right time this year, but players can get old really quick and I don't see how we stay competitive without some young talent at LB and DB next year.

 

[BigMike]

54 is #1...don't ever forget that.

This guy is playing after suffering a major stroke.

Were lucky this guys even playing at a pro level!

 

[RayClay]

Exactly - and even if we didn't have the near best rushing D, with BB's schemes its always about keeping points off the scoreboard. Bend but don't break.

The only thing Bruschi needs is a few game winning interceptions as in past years and you don't hear a peep of complaining anymore.

When Bruschi's skills do decline, if there's a guy behind him who can better help the team - Bruschi's probably the first one to tell the coaches and advocate for the guy to start ahead of him.

As of now, Bruschi's still the man.

I wasn't implying Bruschi was ready to go, just that he's not going to be somersaulting over the line. They need to groom somebody younger to play alongside him as well as a great DE/OLB pass rusher.

Look how Maroney has given Dillon a new lease on life. I think Corey would have been ready to pack it in, but I can see him as a short ydge. and backup for a year or two now.

 

[BelizePats]

What I have notioced this eyar is Teddy's lack of speed. He cannot recover quick enough and has been out of position a fair bit as a result. His quickness used to allow him to get back into plays. I love the guy. I just can't say enough about my level of respect for him.
Father Time catches everyone sooner or later.

 

[rabthepat]

Sad but true....

 

[mcbee]

It is a shame.

Who on the FA market could help?

London Fletcher? Could he play?

Maybe they could get that guy from UNLV back. Wonder how he's doing on the texans.

 

[unoriginal]

London Fletcher? Could he play?

Maybe they could get that guy from UNLV back. Wonder how he's doing on the texans.

London Fletcher is small, but... if he doesn't receive a decent offer elsewhere...

The guy from UNLV was Ryan Claridge. When he was cut in camp for Chad Brown this year no one picked him up. S Guss Scott was claimed off waivers by the Texans at the roster cutdown, but was subsequently waived and is now on the Jets.

 

[PatsDeb]

What I have notioced this eyar is Teddy's lack of speed. He cannot recover quick enough and has been out of position a fair bit as a result. His quickness used to allow him to get back into plays. I love the guy. I just can't say enough about my level of respect for him.
Father Time catches everyone sooner or later.

I love Tedy too, but he's chasing a lot of plays this year.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

Bruschi looked fine in preseason. A broken wrist is normally a long term problem and may make it much more difficult for him to take on and get off blocks. It clearly makes it hard for him to make some of the big plays he used to.

Also, Seau is a HOF level player in at least some people's eyes. He went to a whole lot of pro-bowls, and looked like he deserved to from the old footage I have seen. He is very fast on the field.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

I wasn't implying Bruschi was ready to go, just that he's not going to be somersaulting over the line. They need to groom somebody younger to play alongside him as well as a great DE/OLB pass rusher.

Look how Maroney has given Dillon a new lease on life. I think Corey would have been ready to pack it in, but I can see him as a short ydge. and backup for a year or two now.

I totally agree. If they can put some speed behind those d-linemen, then the sky is the limit on this defense. I think they could be devastating if they add a couple playmakers(linebacker and safety/cb)

 

[alamo]

54 is #1...don't ever forget that.

This guy is playing after suffering a major stroke.

Were lucky this guys even playing at a pro level!

I think everyone grants what you say... but that's not really the point, is it?

 

[RayClay]

Seriously, number two running defense next to Baltimore. I hope they're running at Bruschi, because he'll tackle them.

 

[DarrylS]

This looks like bulletin board material, while some of his skills may be diminishing slightly, his knowledge of the game, experience and overall intelligence makes up for it.

With that being said, I think they need to look a some youth infusion in this area next year.. either through the draft(like the idea of tying someone up for 5 years) or some free agent.