Armond Armstead signs with Patriots

[VJCPatriot]

6 foot 5, 300 pounds? This guy is no Cameron Wake, for sure. That's closer to Ty Warren's build. Makes me wonder how he fits into the Patriots' defense, since 6 sacks in 18 CFL games doesn't really warrant calling him a pass rush specialist. Maybe more a of a Deaderick type.

Sounds good to me. If he ends up replacing the production that we were supposed to get out of Fanene going forward, then that's a worthy signing and basically a free draft pick.

Are you really saying 6'5 300 lbs is a bad thing when that's exactly JJ Watt's size? Big guys can pass rush too if they are explosive, athletic, and have polished moves.

I know it was just a highlight reel but Armstead showed swim, spin, and bullrush moves as well as pass deflections at the line. He also showed good backside pursuit of the ballcarrier. I think he has the potential to be a complete package at Defensive End.

 

[ausbacker]

The Jack LB will put his hand down in the dirt or stand up the concept is confusion. And you're right we do play different fronts like a 3-4 Under, 3-4 Over, 3-4 Over Stack and 3-4 Odd.

I'm not sure why you're bothering to argue about the Patriots defensive alignment when it's clear as day they play a mix of 3-4 and 4-3 fronts. Belichick loves versatility.

 

[Patriot Missile]

Pats Fans ***** and moan about the defense.

Front Office make a fairly big free agent signing on defense.

and Pats Fans still find a way to turn this into a discussion about WR's.




gotta love it:rocker:

Yeah, we should probably keep that kind of talk in your "Am I the only one who doesn't want Welker back" thread.

 

[RI Patriots fan]

Unless he plays to the point where a team would give up a first round pick for him, the Pats have him for a 4th year as well, thanks to restricted free agency.

(If he lasts that long, of course)

That would depend if they tendered him a qualifying 1st round offer. They could also tender a 2nd round offer or just a right of first refusal offer.


https://images.nflplayers.com/mediaResources/files/PDFs/General/2011_Final_CBA.pdf

 

[Sciz]

That would depend if they tendered him a qualifying 1st round offer. They could also tender a 2nd round offer or just a right of first refusal offer.


https://images.nflplayers.com/mediaResources/files/PDFs/General/2011_Final_CBA.pdf

The expectations are high here

 

[RI Patriots fan]

The expectations are high here

Sign me up

 

[BelichickFan]

Reiss talks to his CFL GM :

Argonauts GM on Armstead - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

 

[1%er]

I'm not sure why you're bothering to argue about the Patriots defensive alignment when it's clear as day they play a mix of 3-4 and 4-3 fronts. Belichick loves versatility.

Your just referring to how it looks I'm referring to actual function and design of the irresponsibility of the player. If you understood the functions of defensive fronts you'd understand what I'm saying.

And the reason I'm pointing it out is because the statement was made in this thread that Chandler Jones is not a 3-4 DE and that is not true as he player 3-4 RDE in the base defense most of the time.

 

[mayoclinic]

Reiss talks to his CFL GM :

Argonauts GM on Armstead - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Great read. Thanks for posting.

“I don’t think it’s very often that an NFL team can get a first-round pick without using a first-round pick".

That's how I've viewed Armstead all along over the past month plus - as a free 1st round pick. I've been holding my breath that the Pats would sign him. He's the perfect combination of size, power, speed and athleticism, with the versatility to play in 4-3 and 3-4 schemes, inside or out. I see him mainly as a LDE that can move inside to tackle, rather than primarily as a tackle, but that remains to be seen.

I also think that the maturity stuff at Barker talked about is very important. I mentioned it a bit. Armstead has been tested on several levels. He's had to deal with the adversity of a medical issue and being somewhat ostracized from his program, of having to work out alone without a support structure, and of being essentially ignored by NFL teams. He chose to go to Canada to prove himself, so he has the desire to overcome adversity and the willpower to overcome obstacles. He's thrived on his own away from home, and being on the road in the CFL is probably vastly different than being a highly prized recruit at USC. I'm sure he wasn't pampered, and he was around older players. I think he's probably matured a lot. It sounds like he's a mature and solid kid, who wants to win, and who has a high motor and strong work ethic. All of that is proven, as opposed to college kids coming out who haven't been tested yet.

Good stuff.

 

[ivanvamp]

The more I read about this kid the more excited I am about signing him. As long as his heart is not an issue (health-wise, not in terms of his character or "drive"), he appears to have serious talent.

Someone else said this already, but here are some players the Pats have essentially picked up for "free" (i.e., not in the draft or by trade) that could potentially be big contributors next year:

Demps
Armstead
Ballard

That's a special teams rocket who could be a big play guy at RB/WR, a potential pass rusher, and a very good TE.

Not a bad haul three months before the draft!!

 

[thenepatsrule]

Reiss talks to his CFL GM :

Argonauts GM on Armstead - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

He’s an above-average pass-rusher

He ended up being named All-CFL as a rookie, which is very rare

 

He just fits the mold of the type of player the Patriots look for – high character, great athlete, still growing into being a great pro football player.

 

Our doctors gave him the go-ahead that he was fine to play and he not only played 23 games, but he never missed a practice

 

[JackBauer]

The more I read about this kid the more excited I am about signing him. As long as his heart is not an issue (health-wise, not in terms of his character or "drive"), he appears to have serious talent.

Someone else said this already, but here are some players the Pats have essentially picked up for "free" (i.e., not in the draft or by trade) that could potentially be big contributors next year:

Demps
Armstead
Ballard

That's a special teams rocket who could be a big play guy at RB/WR, a potential pass rusher, and a very good TE.

Not a bad haul three months before the draft!!

Marcus Benard (IIRC) was on a decent upswing before he got injured.

 

[ivanvamp]

Marcus Benard (IIRC) was on a decent upswing before he got injured.

Benard.....good catch. 7.5 sacks in 15 games in 2010. Injured in 2011. So he has some pass rush ability. Never hurts to add guys like that.

 

[manxman2601]

It's not that I don't like the signing, I do, but Armstead had six sacks in 23 games against pretty weak opposition. On top of that, he only had two sacks for USC. I'm not sure people should be too excited about his pass rush potential albeit he offers more than we currently get from our DT's.

 

[1%er]

It's not that I don't like the signing, I do, but Armstead had six sacks in 23 games against pretty weak opposition. On top of that, he only had two sacks for USC. I'm not sure people should be too excited about his pass rush potential albeit he offers more than we currently get from our DT's.

CFL rules actually make it more difficult to get sacks. 1 yard is between the defense and the ball...

Comparison of American and Canadian football - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[manxman2601]

CFL rules actually make it more difficult to get sacks. 1 yard is between the defense and the ball...

Comparison of American and Canadian football - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yup. Fair enough. Poorly researched on my part.

 

[mayoclinic]

Just to put things into perspective, Armstead is 5 months younger than Chandler Jones. Jones turns 23 at the end of February, Armstead turns 23 at the beginning of August.

 

[Bhelmet]

he offers more than we currently get from our DT's.

That is enough for me.

 

[randomk1]

CFL rules actually make it more difficult to get sacks. 1 yard is between the defense and the ball...

Comparison of American and Canadian football - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rarely ever watch CFL but don't they also allow running starts for the receivers or something?

 

[RIpats88]

this is a great signing, should be able to contribute right away and provide that interior pass rush we are lacking....I expect our pass rush to be better next year

another thing that needs to be mentioned regarding our pass rush being better as well...is that pass rushers like Chandler Jones dont usually come into their own until their sophmore years.

jason pierre-paul had 4.5 sacks his rookie year, and then 16.5 his second...I fully expect jones to have double-digits sacks next year