Bedard: Part of me Wouldn't Be Surprised if They Cut Vereen

[stcjones]

Re: Bedard: "Part of me wouldn't Be Surprised if Vereen Cut"

No offense but have you been watching any of the pre season games? I think vereen has shown a lot of GOOD stuff out there! He was able to make something out of the NOTHING that the horrible OL gave him and get some positive yards. The guy can catch it out of backfield too.....I would think he would stick somewhere here. Now Bolden on the other hand has shown hardly anything this pre season. I could see him go to PS like green Ellis did for first few years and get some work in...if they feel he has what it takes....not so sure he does tho....thx
Only big issue it seems like with this guy is being able to stay healthy....
QUOTE=Armchair Quarterback;3118493]Vereen has not proven he is better than Woodhead as a 3rd down back.
Vereen has not proven he could be a starting RB.
Vereen has not shown anywhere near the explosion that Demps has shown in one game.

I see nothing about his running that makes him special in any way. Maybe it translated to the college game better. Almost like a slower, smaller version of Maroney.

It would be surprising only based on his draft status and being in his 2nd year.

Bolden looks like more of a NFL RB to me than Vereen does.[/QUOTE]

 

[UK_Pat37]

Re: Bedard: "Part of me wouldn't Be Surprised if Vereen Cut"

Bedard just takes shots in the dark, misses on most and hits on a select few.

He seems to be worshipped on this board for some odd reason

 

[supafly]

I would be surprised if Vereen were cut at this point in his career, unless there is something that we don't know about his work ethic or lack of scheme knowledge/understanding.

I'm still expecting either situation (roster or PS) for Bolden, and up in the air on that one. I didn't honestly expect him to make it and I think he can slide to the PS, but with a lack of a FB (don't think Kettani is on the roster) it's possible that Belichick feels more comfortable with 5 and/or not taking a chance at waivers with him.

 

[supafly]

Re: Bedard: "Part of me wouldn't Be Surprised if Vereen Cut"

Bedard just takes shots in the dark, misses on most and hits on a select few.

He seems to be worshipped on this board for some odd reason

I'm with you on the confusion, although I certainly appreciate his contributions.

 

[ausbacker]

Re: Bedard: "Part of me wouldn't Be Surprised if Vereen Cut"

Bedard just takes shots in the dark, misses on most and hits on a select few.

He seems to be worshipped on this board for some odd reason

As a reporter and journalist he does a fine job. As a talent evaluator and play by play analyst he's no better or worse than posters on the board.

I enjoy his work because he provokes thought (either right or wrong).

 

[bagwell368]

After seeing Gaffney and Stallworth both getting cut, I'm thinking the Pats will carry four TE's and five RB's; with only five WRs: Welker, Lloyd, Branch, Edelman, Slater.

I'm not sure why they'd cut Vereen or Woodhead. Like it or not, Woodhead is their best pass blocker, for starters. And who knows, maybe he improves that until it's a point of strength. If he were better at that and more reliable as a receiver, he'd be Faulk 2.0.

I agree with this, although 4 TE's ... I'm not so sure.

If Woodhead can regain his elusive form from 2010 - he's all set. If not...

 

[Off The Grid]

Idiot.

.....

 

[Mainefan]

I think the part of Bedard that wouldn't be surprised if BB cuts Vereen is the part he sits on.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Idiot.

.....

The problem with this ambiguous post as that we don't know which one of us idiots it's intended for.

 

[strngplyr]

Vereen is safe for this year, but his future is anything but certain.

He hasn't come close to living up to the hype surrounding him yet everyone speaks of him challenging for the #1 job here.

4
2
-3
10
19
1
2
4 (TD)

0
1
8
1
2
8
-2

Those are his carries in games that count, all in garbage time of blowout wins. He was about as explosive and Benny in his limited playtime last year and he looks slower than Ridley (not to say Ridley is slow).

Ridley simply appears to do everything we've seen Vereen do ...except he does it better. He looks quicker, faster, stronger, and he actually makes it onto the field.

He actually hasn't even looked good in the preseason outside of the New Orleans game this season where all his carries came against scrubs. He missed 3/4 of the games last year and posted 11 carries for 34 yards with a long of 14 (3.1ypc).

I understand the hype coming out of college, but his skills simply haven't translated into the NFL. Yet, hopefully it's just taking time.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Bedard: "Part of me wouldn't Be Surprised if Vereen Cut"

Bedard just takes shots in the dark, misses on most and hits on a select few.

He seems to be worshipped on this board for some odd reason

If we were all held accountable for every statement that we throw out there on the internet (as in, this board) we'd all look silly from time to time.

"Twittering" is part of his job description. It is what it is - we can't take that stuff too seriously, and Bedard said that himself.

Bedard isn't worshiped, he's just appreciated b/c of the time & effort he puts into his job. Everybody's wrong sometimes, but his weekly game breakdowns are the best thing any media member covering the Patriots has to offer.

 

[Snake Eyes]

I think many are not taking into account the value of a RB who can also function as a true receiver which Vereen is the better at than the other RBs on the roster.

 

[strngplyr]

I think many are not taking into account the value of a RB who can also function as a true receiver which Vereen is the better at than the other RBs on the roster.

Have proof?

 

[PP2]

Have proof?

The fact that they cut both Gaffney and Stallworth seems to suggest yet another evolution in this offense: motioning the RB out to the line to involve him in the passing game, and/or integrating him heavily into the screen game (which we know will figure prominently with Josh being back).

With those two being cut, I am now led to believe we will have five RB's on the team.

 

[BradyManny]

The fact that they cut both Gaffney and Stallworth seems to suggest yet another evolution in this offense: motioning the RB out to the line to involve him in the passing game, and/or integrating him heavily into the screen game (which we know will figure prominently with Josh being back).

With those two being cut, I am now led to believe we will have five RB's on the team.

I'm not convinced we won't see Gaffney back at some point. But in the meanwhile, I have to think you are right.

 

[PP2]

I'm not convinced we won't see Gaffney back at some point. But in the meanwhile, I have to think you are right.

Actually I think you may have a point there, signing Gaffney to a non-guaranteed contract after game 1.

EDIT: But now this makes me wonder, why cut him this early?

Another move I was thinking of was that they retain (for example) Ebert on the roster until after game 1 and then cut him for Gaffney, because at that point the PS squad for most teams are set, and Ebert is a lot less at risk for being claimed off waivers than at this point or on Friday.

 

[strngplyr]

The fact that they cut both Gaffney and Stallworth seems to suggest yet another evolution in this offense: motioning the RB out to the line to involve him in the passing game, and/or integrating him heavily into the screen game (which we know will figure prominently with Josh being back).

With those two being cut, I am now led to believe we will have five RB's on the team.

Gaffney is (was) the 6th receiving option with no special teams value which makes Edelman more valuable on gameday.

Stallworth was never a good WR in the NFL.

Neither of these say anything about Vereen's ability to catch passes in the NFL, which is something he hasn't done yet. Demps has just as many career receptions.

I'd bet he'll be back on the roster though at some point, but BB likes to let vets go earlier to give them a chance to catch on elsewhere before the season starts.

It also makes sense to keep all the young WR's intact for game 4, a game that Gaffney most likely would not have played in anyways, so he can get a final chance to see them before the season starts while you can be pretty confident about what Gaffney does or doesn't bring.

 

[mayoclinic]

The fact that they cut both Gaffney and Stallworth seems to suggest yet another evolution in this offense: motioning the RB out to the line to involve him in the passing game, and/or integrating him heavily into the screen game (which we know will figure prominently with Josh being back).

With those two being cut, I am now led to believe we will have five RB's on the team.

This. I think that BB has evolved to the point where TEs + "Flexbacks" > WRs. Guys like Vereen, Woodhead and Demps can be moved around including moved into the slot or split out wide (Demps obviously has yet to show receiving skills, but I'm fairly sure we'll see this kind of use of him in the future). The TEs can block in pass protection or run protection, and Gronk and Hernandez are obviously elite receiving threats. I've been calling more for integrating the running and passing games and involving the RBs more in the passing game for awhile now, and I think that BB has reached the point where those kind of guys offer more versatility and fit with the TE-based offense than additional backup WRs.

 

[PP2]

This. I think that BB has evolved to the point where TEs + "Flexbacks" > WRs. Guys like Vereen, Woodhead and Demps can be moved around including moved into the slot or split out wide (Demps obviously has yet to show receiving skills, but I'm fairly sure we'll see this kind of use of him in the future). The TEs can block in pass protection or run protection, and Gronk and Hernandez are obviously elite receiving threats. I've been calling more for integrating the running and passing games and involving the RBs more in the passing game for awhile now, and I think that BB has reached the point where those kind of guys offer more versatility and fit with the TE-based offense than additional backup WRs.

This would create more contingencies for the other team's defense to have to plan for, but the best part is that all this uncertainty has the ability to force the other team to reveal because of all the changes that can occur pre-snap, because you now have so many variables (multi-threat TE's and RB's) that you can call for based on what you identify pre-snap (Brady's strong suit).

Brady would now have the ability to create pre-snap movement from anywhere on the field to help identify what is coming, or to counter what he knows is coming.

 

[livinginthe past]

Holy over-reactions, Batman!

Put me down as a guy that hates the type of 'journalists' that openly troll the local fanbase - and the Boston media has more than their fair share of those - but this is a long, looooonnggg way from that.

Personally, I enjoy Bedards column, that along with Reiss are my two go-to options for Patriots news/opinion - we need to back off on the name-calling also.