Chris Price: Bengals O-line high on Brace

[Rob0729]

Wilhite says Hi!

I don't think there is a lot of Whilhite defenders (at least not before last Sunday) although I personally think he might redeem himself back in the nickelback position which seems to be better suited for his skills outside.

 

[Rob0729]

Not even close I don't think. Up until now, Brace had done absolutely nothing and was justifiably the target of negative comments.

Late this pre-season he has started to perform damn well and if he keeps it up will win over fans in a pretty quick fashion. The key point is he has to keep it up and play hard, stay injury free, and be productive. Not easy, but if he shows good progress, the fans will buy into him.

Actually Brace played fairly well towards the end of last year in spot duty.

I think Brace will be considered being fat, unconditioned, and lazy by many fans unless he turns into a Pro Bowler. As pointed out, he plays a position that doesn't garner a lot of stats.

 

[mgteich]

When Brace was drafted, most of us thought of him as insurance against us not re-signing Wilfork, and as our backup NT. After all he was the slowest rookie playing the NFL and he weighed over 335 pounds. At the end of the year, he did play OK as an emergency backup NT. This was good news for a rookie defensive lineman in the patriot system.

I thought it expensive to use the #40 pick for Brace, but I understood and understand how important the NT position is to the patriots. Curiously, this year Belichick was able ot find our backup NT without even using a draft choice.

In preseason, Brace has shown himserlf capable to be a solid backup at defensive end, and showed the ability to start as necessary. He is now an integral part of the 5 man defensive line rotation. This is extremely good news. Whether we paid too much is not relevant now (compare his cost to that of Wright and Pryor). A solid backup who can start as defensive end is a valuable asset. We drafted two kids in 2009 to be contributers this year. Both were solid hits. Brace and Pryor are now solid contributers.

Looking back to the 2009 draft, we may have wanted Belichick to draft an OLB as we have for a decade. However, it is clear that the players he drafted are an awesome group.

Congrats again to Caserio and Belichick. Belichick seems to work better with Caserio that he did with Pioli. But then, Pioli was looking forward to bigger and better positions (as his father-in-law taught him).

 

[patchick]

So is it safe to assume that Brace will inherit the "Reche Caldwell Most Polarizing Player on the Patriots Roster" Award from Laurence Maroney?

Funny, I think Brace is one of the players there's the most agreement about.

- His rookie year was largely a washout, with a lot of weeks spent inactive behind the likes of the mighty Terdell Sands. So everybody quite reasonably said "uh-oh, this looks bad."
- Then it was (inaccurately) reported that he failed the conditioning run. So everybody quite reasonably said "uh-oh, this looks bad."
- Then he returned, in visibly fitter shape, and started taking meaningful reps at DE. So everybody watched him play and said "woo-hoo, this looks good!"

I haven't seen any negativity toward Brace since he started taking the field this year. It looks like he worked his butt off (literally) in the offseason and has taken a huge step forward.

 

[efin98]

Wilhite says Hi!

Wilhite wishes he got the flak that Wheatley gets.

If anyone gets the Caldwell Award it's going to be Wheatley.

 

[Off The Grid]

So is it safe to assume that Brace will inherit the "Reche Caldwell Most Polarizing Player on the Patriots Roster" Award from Laurence Maroney?

PLEASE tell me that you're not indicating that Reche Caldwell actually had SUPPORTERS?? :bricks: