Could the future for Greg Salas be bright?

[Claremonster]

I watched his Rams highlights and some were comparing him to AH. I just don't see it. There's nothing that sticks out to me about that guy other than the fact that he seems to have reliable hands for a young guy. Plus like 90% of the snaps he saw in that Rams offense are plays for Welker/AH in ours so i'm not sure where he is going to fit in and on the Rams board they were saying that he can't play outside.

He wouldn't be Welker's replacement or nothing like that.

 

[Linda_The_Pats_Fan (She was NEM)]

Impressive video

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

He can at least look forward to Cross and Criqui pronouncing his name "Salsa" every preseason that he's in NE.

 

[DocHoliday]

Players like Ogletree were nobodies for 3 years while they played marginal roles and learned to play.

The Patriots are VERY impatient with WRs. Players like Slater who have been playing ST and quietly building up WR skills are useful as they can occasionally breakout and be great!

Victor Cruz was a preseason flash in the pan for a couple seasons before he became a starter.

Our WRs get cut and replaced by 'dependable' players who have reached their peak.

 

[woolster22]

Players like Ogletree were nobodies for 3 years while they played marginal roles and learned to play.

The Patriots are VERY impatient with WRs. Players like Slater who have been playing ST and quietly building up WR skills are useful as they can occasionally breakout and be great!

Victor Cruz was a preseason flash in the pan for a couple seasons before he became a starter.

Our WRs get cut and replaced by 'dependable' players who have reached their peak.

Very true. Also the problem of fielding a championship contending team year in and year out. Roster spots are at a premium on this team, and they can rarely afford to sit on a developmental wr for a couple years. Factor in Brady's trust factor and it gets all the more difficult.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[Deus Irae]

Players like Ogletree were nobodies for 3 years while they played marginal roles and learned to play.

The Patriots are VERY impatient with WRs. Players like Slater who have been playing ST and quietly building up WR skills are useful as they can occasionally breakout and be great!

Victor Cruz was a preseason flash in the pan for a couple seasons before he became a starter.

Our WRs get cut and replaced by 'dependable' players who have reached their peak.

Please feel free to give even one BB-drafted WR who has failed in New England, been cut loose quickly, and gone on to do anything in the NFL. Here's the list of drafted WRs*:

2012 7 28 235 Jeremy Ebert Northwestern
2010 3 26 90 Taylor Price Ohio
2009 3 19 83 Brandon Tate North Carolina
2008 5 18 153 Matt Slater UCLA
2006 2 4 36 Chad Jackson Florida
2004 5 32 164 P.K. Sam Florida State
2003 2 13 45 Bethel Johnson Texas A&M
2002 2 33 65 Deion Branch Louisville
2002 7 33 244 David Givens Notre Dame

I'd argue that the problem is mostly a lack of attention to the position in the draft, along with some questionable choices in recent years.



*Brandon Tate is the only one on the list currently active for any team in the NFL (non-Patriots), so he has a chance to show something this year.

 

[randomk1]

He wouldn't be Welker's replacement or nothing like that.

Where have i heard that before?

 

[signbabybrady]

He's referring to Salas as the possible #3 and I'm in agreement.

Slater is rarely used. We will utilise us speed once every so often with play action (we like to have him in on successive run plays and then try one deep) but it isn't used very often. Once in a blue moon. Only time it worked was against Miami in week one last season I think it was.

I think if the Pats agreed he'd done enough to develop he would have got reps in preseason. I don think he got many (if any at all).

We also overrate Edelman.

Salas is a guy who can pay outside. Make no doubt about it given his size.

As I admitted I dont really know Salas my analysis is on the other 4.

Lloyd and Welker being the starters and Edelman being Welkers back up and Slater being Lloyds. If you stop there one could decide Slater being better then Edelman and boom he is your three. Now I was kind of just playing devils advocate or just looking from another angle.

Glad to hear Salas can play outside the numbers but I will wait to see something from him before I move him up the depth chart was really all I was saying.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Whether the receiver is young or old, a star or a washout, we've seen that when they come to the Patriots, past performance is no guarantee of future rewards. It's all about how they connect with Brady.

We all remember the failed experiments, but the effect can work in a positive direction, too. Remember that Gaffney was originally signed off the mid-season scrap heap. And of course there was no way Miami was going to match the Pats' offer sheet for a guy like Wes Welker, who was a nice little player but no big deal.

So for Salas...I like his hands, size and body control, am dubious about his speed, and ultimately have no clue whatsoever.

Actually the Pats avoided the offer sheet route with Wes Welker. Instead they threw in a 7th round pick along with the 2nd rounder and made a trade with the Dolphins for him.

Salas in my opinion is our Welker backup. He has excellent 3 cone speed which suggests that his short space agility should be very high. He also reportedly has excellent hands. I'm not saying he will be the next Welker, that's doubtful, but the Pats have a contingency plan in place in case Welker walks next season.

 

[Jimke]

As a rookie, he had 27 catches in 6 games before he was injured. No too shabby.

 

[lamafist]

Actually the Pats avoided the offer sheet route with Wes Welker. Instead they threw in a 7th round pick along with the 2nd rounder and made a trade with the Dolphins for him.

Salas in my opinion is our Welker backup. He has excellent 3 cone speed which suggests that his short space agility should be very high. He also reportedly has excellent hands. I'm not saying he will be the next Welker, that's doubtful, but the Pats have a contingency plan in place in case Welker walks next season.

He also had a higher vertical leap and faster 40-time at the combine than Brandon Lloyd did at his. And like Lloyd, he gets his highest praise for hands and body-control.

There's nothing in his physical makeup that would prevent him from being every bit the outside and/or downfield receiver that Lloyd is. So it's not that he "can't" play outside, it's that he "hasn't" played outside much. But with just 6 games in the NFL under his belt, that doesn't mean a whole lot -- I mean, it's not like he's switching from QB to WR or anything.

 

[stcjones]

Just remember Taylor Price, Chad Jackson, and Brandon Tate had great "Highlight Reel" videos too... I hope the kid does great and sticks here....but am keeping my expectations tempered.....

Greg Salas 2008 2010 Hawaii Warriors - YouTube

I was just looking at some tape on greg salas from Hawaii and the kid looks good. Before everyone says but thats college and not the NFL, yea duh. But if he can at all translate the way he played in college to the nfl, he could really become a staple of this offense. He has good speed and hands. He's also pretty hard to bring down and always goes for the extra yard. Again i know that players in the nfl will tackle better than those at the college level but the potential of this kid can hopefully be unveiled with the patriots... Happy to have the kid on board.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Actually the Pats avoided the offer sheet route with Wes Welker. Instead they threw in a 7th round pick along with the 2nd rounder and made a trade with the Dolphins for him.

True, but that was only to prevent hard feelings and possible future poison pill retribution. Welker's days in Miami were over as soon as they slapped the second-round tender on him.

 

[patchick]

Players like Ogletree were nobodies for 3 years while they played marginal roles and learned to play.

The Patriots are VERY impatient with WRs. Players like Slater who have been playing ST and quietly building up WR skills are useful as they can occasionally breakout and be great!

Victor Cruz was a preseason flash in the pan for a couple seasons before he became a starter.

Our WRs get cut and replaced by 'dependable' players who have reached their peak.

Hmm...it's true that the Pats tend to have a quick hook (at most positions, not just WR). BUT. First off, as Deus pointed out, nobody the Patriots cut has yet to make an impact at their next destination, which argues against the "impatience" hypothesis. Secondly, I'm not convinced that any of your examples hold water.

On Cruz, I believe you're simply mistaken. He spent much of his rookie year on IR, then caught 82 passes in his second season. No patience at all required there.

Slater has never really been a receiver, in college or the NFL. He has 1 career catch in 4 seasons, and was a complete non-factor at WR in camp and preseason. (0 preseason catches.) I see no evidence at all that they've been grooming him to be more than what he is, a top-flight gunner and ST captain.

And Ogletree just had ONE good game.

Meanwhile, for a counterexample, may I present WR Julian Edelman, now entering his 4th Patriots season despite the impatience of fans, not management?