Brandon Tate's future as a PATRIOT

[Oswlek]

After following this thread I have come to the determination that I now have a positive opinion of Brandon. He led the the team in APY with 1555 on 71 touches for a 21.9 Avg. with 5 TD's. He finished 5th in return Avg. and 14th in KR's and KRyards. I'd say he contributed quite well for a player that was, BY CBA RULES, a ROOKIE.

I would like to thank all of his detractors for swaying me into his corner.

My reason for focusing on his missed year is because of his play on the field. Watching Brandon a few things jumped out at me as areas of weakness:

* Timing with Brady - can't be worked on at all off the field

* Rounding his routes - perfecting techniques also cannot be worked on

* Fighting to get open in smaller spaces - also impossible to work on

* Route adjustment recognition - this can be improved by watching film and improving your knowledge of the system, but I think we all have experience with the enormous gap between mentally knowing something and physically doing.

I'm going to steal from Mayo over on the planet for the rest:

One of the things that stands out with Brandon Tate is that he had almost half of his 24 completions (11) in the first 4 games, during which time he averaged 78% completion. After that his percentage and effectiveness dropped off tremendously. My interpretation of this is that during the first 4 games Randy Moss was the primary deep threat, and Tate was used more on intermediate routes, whereas after the Moss trade (following game 4) Tate become more of a vertical threat and his completion percentage dropped dramatically. That may have more to say about Brady's accuracy in the deep game than about Tate's receiving ability - Tate caught almost 80% of the balls targeted to him when he was being used in less of a vertical threat mode.

It seems apparent to me that Tate went through the process of working on the intermediate game and had a solid grasp of it. But when Moss left and Branch returned, his responsibilities changed in a manner that he hadn't been working on as much, because Branch, Welker and Gronk were all his superior on the short game. Combine that with the fact that Brady isn't the greatest at deep tosses and you see a precipitous decline in numbers. There was certainly an element of him not "stepping up" but that is a smaller part of the bigger picture.

As for Tate not being as good as Hernandez or Gronk, I see no shame in that. They may have been rookies, but they were top 10 receivers each at the TE position. No reason to downgrade Tate simply because he wasn't as good as a pair of guys who look like perenial probowlers.

Now, all that said, I'm still not claiming Tate was good last year. I'm simply stating that he was well within the normal parameters for a young receiver getting his first taste of the NFL, and that loads of receivers have launched very strong careers similarly.

 

[Deus Irae]

If I'm not mistaken a player must appear in 6 games to gain an accrued season. If that is the case then 2010 was, in fact, Tate's rookie year according to CBA rules. Thanks for playin' along kids.

You are mistaken.

Q. What constitutes an “accrued season?”
A. Six or more regular-season games on a club’s active/inactive, reserved-injured or physically unable to perform lists.

NFL Media Answers: CBA Q & A - Niners Nation

 

[Sfpat]

Cut him!!! Cut him NOW!! Put Price in!!

I think most of the arm chair talent evaluators/GM's on this board want to cut Price too.

 

[Deus Irae]

I think most of the arm chair talent evaluators/GM's on this board want to cut Price too.

Who's seriously called for Tate to be cut, in this thread?

 

[OhExaulted1]

You are mistaken.



NFL Media Answers: CBA Q & A - Niners Nation

I stand corrected. I'll still think of this year as Price's rookie season, petty cemantics not withstanding.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Who's seriously called for Tate to be cut, in this thread?

I double-checked, and unless I missed something, pretty sure nobody did. That won't stop him from claiming otherwise, though.

 

[Deus Irae]

I stand corrected. I'll still think of this year as Price's rookie season, petty cemantics not withstanding.

You'll be mistaken, again, and you weren't calling it petty semantics when you brought it up in terms of the CBA because you thought it was in favor of your argument.

 

[patriotscpfc]

I re-watched the Dolphins Week 4 game today on my Sky+ (or DVR in American language), and for me it's his best game as a Receiver for the Patriots bar the obvious Vikings game.

His routes opposite Moss were fluid, he beat the Corner time and time again. A lot of times when Tom looked to Welker, Tate was beating his Corner while Moss was occupied by Davis.

For me, Tate's problem is consistency. But, with the way our offense has changed, he doesn't need to be the 2007 Stallworth/Gaffney, but can he have the Stallworth big plays with the odd, crucial catch that Gaffney used to take.

If Tate could get 40 receptions, 600yds, 4 or 5 TDs, then I think it'll be a successful 2nd/3rd season for him. His Touchdown count isn't going to be that high as he isn't going to be used in the RedZone where Hernandez, Gronk, Crumpler and the Running Backs come to life.

I'm intrigued by Price and I think Edelman makes up part of an equally-talented 3rd-5th Receiver set. IMO, at the minute we have 2 what would be called No.2 WR's in Welker and Branch. Then we have 3 3rd Receivers. Tate can get deep but doesn't run the crisp routes that Tom likes. Price has the speed to get deep as well but I don't know what to expect from him.

Maybe Slater will solve the problem, he's caught long bombs from Mallett and Hoyer In all seriousness, they sent him on 4 or 5 deep routes, but he doesn't have the technique to do anything about if if he's decently covered.

 

[Sciz]

That's a pretty good point. The Pats have two #1 receiving TEs, two #2 WRs, and three #3 WRs :lol2:

 

[OhExaulted1]

You'll be mistaken, again, and you weren't calling it petty semantics when you brought it up in terms of the CBA because you thought it was in favor of your argument.

It's still a petty point. I think I'll respond to some fans now.

 

[BlueThunder]

Not to mention a few RB's with hands.....

 

[BradyFTW!]

It's still a petty point. I think I'll respond to some fans now.

You should probably stop bringing up petty points, then

 

[OhExaulted1]

You should probably stop bringing up petty points, then

Yeah, you're right. It's so easy to get roped in sometimes. My bad. Go Tate! Go Pats!

 

[JoeSixPat]

Its closer to a rookie than a guy with a full years experience

Exactly.

It seems some insist that for Tate, 2010 was a disappointing 2nd season

Others look at his 2010 as a decent defacto rookie season that shows some promise.

I think the kid has potential - but I'm comfortable with whatever Belichick decides.

 

[blackglass3]

FWIW, Draftsharks.com's take on Brandon Tate (I can't link because it is a pay site)

The Patriots rolled the dice on Tate back in ’09. He suffered a torn ACL and MCL during his senior season at North Carolina and wasn’t able to work out for teams leading up to the draft. Once considered a potential 1st-round pick, New England plucked him in the 3rd-round. Tate opened the 2009 season on the PUP list and made a minimal impact after being activated in Week 7. He failed to record a catch and managed just 106 return yards before being placed on IR with another knee injury in mid-November. But Tate returned at 100% in 2010 and started to flash his big-play ability. He was one of the top kick-returners in the league, posting a 25.8-yard average with 2 TDs. But his offensive role remained minor, despite the departure of WR Randy Moss. He was targeted only 46 times all year and managed to haul in just 24 balls. But 3 of those went for scores, and Tate averaged 18 yards per catch. There’s no doubting this guy’s explosive capability. And he’s in a good situation, with only Wes Welker and Deion Branch ahead of him on the depth chart. The loss of OTAs hurts the still-raw Tate, but if he can refine his route-running and gain QB Tom Brady’s trust, he could be one of those 3rd-year guys that come out of nowhere to post a huge season.
Breakout Potential: Medium

 

[randomk1]

This thread is still going on? Didn't we cut Tate already?

 

[goheels22002]

My first gut reaction to this "rumor" was that it was started specifically to light a fire under
Tate. If they really think he's got no potential and are planning to cut him, then this rumor has no use.

But if they think he might be the deep threat WR that everyone seems to think they need, then a little rumor like this might prompt him to use his lockout time wisely to see if he can take it to the next level. He knows there's an opportunity there.

Heck - I've seen these same types of rumors popping up all around the league during the lockout. I'm pretty sure more than a few are contrived just to foster harder lockout workouts.

The notion of lighting a fire under a player during the lockout by planting a rumor with a reporter is possibly a violation of the lockout labor regulations and, worse, a very weird way to motivate a player who has shown zero signs of dogging it or being a miscreant. I think this is nonsense.

Brandon Tate is fine as a #4 receiver/kick returner. He is what he is. If the Patriots can get a better player to fill all the roles he fills at his price, then go for it.

Frankly, I think this player is a good deal at $480,000 this year against the cap. They signed him to four years at $2.5 knowing year one was a recovery year with the knee. So he's played two years, gives them an outside threat in long yardage and is a solid return man. His cap number is locked in. He is an UFA after next year.

Since it's hard to get my head around baseball, Tate is like a 4th-line wing in the NHL - a necessary player who is competent at what he does, plays in specific situations, is cheap, and can be replaced if a better deal comes along. But you don't invest a lot in this position - either in time or money.

The Pats consistently try the geezer free agent route at the skill positions and it doesn't often pan out. Maybe there's a durable return man/4th WR guy out there but Tate knows the system and does his job.

Tate is fine for what he does and with a shortened off-season, why sweat Brandon Tate? There are much bigger fish to fry when the lockout finally ends.

 

[mgteich]

And our passing game has been terrible acquiring old gueezers like Stallworth, Gaffney, Moss, Welker and Branch? Please state where the patriots have placed in passing compared to to other teams over the past 5 years. Please note how much of this success has been by drafted players and how much has been by old geezer free agents. BTW, pointing to free agent failures is irrelevant. After all, we can always bring in several players and cut players that don't work out. The fact is that our production has indeed come from the old gueezers. We've always had youngsters on the squad at WR. Lately, they haven't contributed much.

Thankfully, we have have old gueezers Welker and Branch on the squad!

.The Pats consistently try the geezer free agent route at the skill positions and it doesn't often pan out. Maybe there's a durable return man/4th WR guy out there but Tate knows the system and does his job.

Tate is fine for what he does and with a shortened off-season, why sweat Brandon Tate? There are much bigger fish to fry when the lockout finally ends.

 

[townes]

Brandon Tate - WR - Patriots

NFL Films guru Greg Cosell believes the Patriots "don't think much of" Brandon Tate at this point in his career.
"He runs about three routes," says Cosell, "and the only time the ball comes to him is when a play is specifically called for him." The Patriots offense relies on receivers who excel at pre-snap reads and route running, which simply aren't strengths at this stage of Tate's career. The loss of OTAs hurts his chances of a bigger role in 2011.



we should go after that Notre Dame Receiver in the upcoming draft

we can give a 3

This epitomizes the problem with draftniks, some always end up believing that they can fill a roster with prospects based off of what they read online, which is almost always 1000th hand regurgitation of equally uninformed opinions. The Patriots took Tate knowing he was coming off a major injury with the intent of developing him as a player, and that work is not done yet. If he goes another year or two and isn't producing, or if he isn't doing the work to really improve himself then they will replace him, but thinking that everyone is replaceable by draft binkies is total folly.


I love the draft and follow it every year but in no way do i think that my "knowledge" of prospects, based upon vague regurgitated "analysis" by "draft gurus" is reliable enough to suggest crap like this.

 

[BlueThunder]

Wait, YOU MEAN KIPER ISN"T AN EXPERT ????


Well, just ask him