Curran: Amendola gutsy performance quiets critics

[Ivan]

Amendola > Welker.

Amendola played great yesterday but it is truly ignorant crap like this that make his supporters look like complete tools. I hope Amendola's next five years are as exceptional as Welker's last six were but the claim that Amendola is better is ridiculous.


Note to self, the person who said it thinks Tebow > Brady.

 

[Rob0729]

Amendola played great yesterday but it is truly ignorant crap like this that make his supporters look like complete tools. I hope Amendola's next five years are as exceptional as Welker's last six were but the claim that Amendola is better is ridiculous.


Note to self, the person who said it thinks Tebow > Brady.

It is far too soon to say that Amendola is better than Welker, but at the end of the season that may be the case (at least 2013 Amendola vs. 2013 Welker or possibly Amendola vs. the best year of Welker here). In five years, we may be saying Amendola's career as a Patriot was better than Welker's. Or we may be saying that Amendola was a very weak copy of Welker.

 

[borg]

It's all about YAC...yards after catch.
Face it....the Patriots slot receiver has always been a high volume receiver...Troy Brown, WW, and hopefully DA. What will distinguish their rankings, at least for me, is what they do with the ball after the catch. WW was/is a top 5 YAC WR in the league. That can't be argued. For DA to even get mentioned in the same sentence as WW, he not only has to be a pass catcher but a play maker as well.
YAC has only been posted for that Thursday game with WW gaining 25 YAC.....but the end zone prevented him from tacking on more YAC twice......that is a nice trade off.

 

[Zeus]

We'll never know unless we get BB in Gitmo for extensive water boarding.

I have my doubts that this approach would yield any more information than you have right now.

 

[Ivan]

It is far too soon to say that Amendola is better than Welker, but at the end of the season that may be the case (at least 2013 Amendola vs. 2013 Welker or possibly Amendola vs. the best year of Welker here). In five years, we may be saying Amendola's career as a Patriot was better than Welker's. Or we may be saying that Amendola was a very weak copy of Welker.

I like Amendola, and I agree that he has the potential to be a great player for the Patriots, but putting up the numbers Welker has for the last 6 years is a huge task for any player, and claiming that one game makes a guy better than a player who performed at a HOF level during his time in NE is as ignorant as it gets. If for no other reason than durability and reliability Amendola faces a huge challenge to replicate Welker's success. I loved the way he played yesterday and he actually was able to do what Welker brought to this team, but he's going to have to do it for 16 games a year for the next five years for the analogy to have merit. And given the nature of that position staying healthy is going to be a huge challenge, i still haven't figured out how Welker was able to do it and i think his life is going to be marred by the beatings he took. I think Jackie MacMullen had it right, he probably should have retired just to minimize the risk he has put himself at for serious concussion related issues down the road.

I am rooting for Amendola to have a huge year, and if yesterday was any indicator he is poised to have it, but the claims that he is better than Welker just make those making it look like complete idiots.

 

[Rob0729]

It's all about YAC...yards after catch.
Face it....the Patriots slot receiver has always been a high volume receiver...Troy Brown, WW, and hopefully DA. What will distinguish their rankings, at least for me, is what they do with the ball after the catch. WW was/is a top 5 YAC WR in the league. That can't be argued. For DA to even get mentioned in the same sentence as WW, he not only has to be a pass catcher but a play maker as well.
YAC has only been posted for that Thursday game with WW gaining 25 YAC.....but the end zone prevented him from tacking on more YAC twice......that is a nice trade off.

YAC is way overrated on this board. First downs and the actual yards gains mean far more than YAC. If a receiver gets a 15 yard reception, it really doesn't matter if he got it catching it 15 yards down the field or catching it 5 yards down the field and ran it for another 10 yards.

YAC is a good thing to have, but to say it is all about YAC is a little silly. I think the fact that something like 8 or 9 of Amendola's 10 catches were for first downs and 7 of those were on third down is far more important than whatever he got for YAC. It is all about moving the chains for a slot WR.

 

[fnordcircle]

Note to self, the person who said it thinks Tebow > Brady.

I'm so glad there are people like you in this world.

Sometimes I write something and I'm like, no this is too patently absurd, nobody will fall for it, it's not even funny why are you doing this.

And then someone like you comes along and makes my day wonderful.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Welker had a huge drop that was called a catch. Welker is not going to last and manning is not the guy he should be playing with. Manning’s fast ball is gone. He is still a great QB but he throws like Chad Pennington now. Brady would throw it fast and low so Wes could go low and drop if needed. Manning is lofting them in and high. Wes is going to get killed.

Good observation, and it is what the Pats coaches teach.

Brady has mastered it over the years, and Mallett has not as yet. But it results in critiques of Mallett as not being talented enough to throw a 5 yard dink, with out throwing it too low into the dirt.

Some fans just have no capacity to see beyond the obvious...

 

[BrickPat]

YAC is way overrated on this board. First downs and the actual yards gains mean far more than YAC. If a receiver gets a 15 yard reception, it really doesn't matter if he got it catching it 15 yards down the field or catching it 5 yards down the field and ran it for another 10 yards.

YAC is a good thing to have, but to say it is all about YAC is a little silly. I think the fact that something like 8 or 9 of Amendola's 10 catches were for first downs and 7 of those were on third down is far more important than whatever he got for YAC. It is all about moving the chains for a slot WR.

I think BB considers YAC a significant factor otherwise "catch-and-flop" Lloyd would likely still be on the team.

 

[Ivan]

I'm so glad there are people like you in this world.

Sometimes I write something and I'm like, no this is too patently absurd, nobody will fall for it, it's not even funny why are you doing this.

And then someone like you comes along and makes my day wonderful.

It's only absurd if the person posting it isn't likely to believe what they are saying, in your case that isn't so, and regurgitating a claim that has been made repeatedly in this forum doesn't make it look like something that is being said tongue in cheek. Given the fact that you watched Tim Tebow this pre-season and thought they should keep him i don't find it a stretch at all to believe you when you say something as stupid as what you said. Amendola is as good a replacement as anyone will find, but he's going to have to put up over 600 REC and lead the league in YAC and 1st downs a number of times to ever replicate Welker's success in NE, hopefully he does it, then you can say it with something to back it up.

 

[Rob0729]

I think BB considers YAC a significant factor otherwise "catch-and-flop" Lloyd would likely still be on the team.

Two different positions. As an outside vertical threat, YAC is more important.

Not saying YAC isn't important. Typically, if you have a lot of YAC, you are going to convert a lot of first downs and get a lot of yards in general. I am saying people overrate it on this board. There are other things just as important or more important.

 

[borg]

YAC is way overrated on this board. First downs and the actual yards gains mean far more than YAC. If a receiver gets a 15 yard reception, it really doesn't matter if he got it catching it 15 yards down the field or catching it 5 yards down the field and ran it for another 10 yards.

YAC is a good thing to have, but to say it is all about YAC is a little silly. I think the fact that something like 8 or 9 of Amendola's 10 catches were for first downs and 7 of those were on third down is far more important than whatever he got for YAC. It is all about moving the chains for a slot WR.

Brandon Lloyd made lots of first downs but was ranked 125th in YAC last year. He no longer has a job. BB wants more than a catch and fall approach. When the ball is in their hands, he wants play makers. He teaches his D to scoop fumbles and run....because it is a play making opportunity. Absolutely... YAC is a worthy barometer for effectiveness. Possession receivers make catches, play makers tack on YAC

 

[Ivan]

Two different positions. As an outside vertical threat, YAC is more important.

Not saying YAC isn't important. Typically, if you have a lot of YAC, you are going to convert a lot of first downs and get a lot of yards in general. I am saying people overrate it on this board. There are other things just as important or more important.

I'm not so sure about this, the slot guys have to take a short pass and make something out of it, usually a first down, to make it worthwhile, whereas the downfield threat gets them a big chunk simply by catching the pass, even if they go out of bounds on it. Ideally you want them to take it to the house but that's pretty rare on the whole.

 

[Rob0729]

Brandon Lloyd made lots of first downs but was ranked 125th in YAC last year. He no longer has a job. BB wants more than a catch and fall approach. When the ball is in their hands, he wants play makers. He teaches his D to scoop fumbles and run....because it is a play making opportunity. Absolutely... YAC is a worthy barometer for effectiveness. Possession receivers make catches, play makers tack on YAC

Lloyd isn't with the team because he was a headcase, not because he didn't get YAC.

You are oversimplifying things. YAC is an important thing to have, but it clearly isn't the be all and end all measurements. Plenty of HOF caliber WRs were not great YAC guys most notably Marvin Harrison who was basically just a far more talented version of what the Pats got from Brandon Lloyd last year. His career average was 2.2 YAC. Cris Carter wasn't a YAC guy either. His career average was 1.3 YAC.

 

[Rob0729]

I'm not so sure about this, the slot guys have to take a short pass and make something out of it, usually a first down, to make it worthwhile, whereas the downfield threat gets them a big chunk simply by catching the pass, even if they go out of bounds on it. Ideally you want them to take it to the house but that's pretty rare on the whole.

Well, I might have oversimplified it a bit. It really depends on which route each is running. On things like go patterns, you ideal want to hit the outside receiver in stride so they pick up extra yards, but curls and out patterns are not designed for much YAC. Same with slot receivers, things like quick outs and plays where they ask them run a shallow route and sit on it, might not get YAC. But on a screen or a crossing pattern, there is expected to be significant YAC.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

Brandon Lloyd made lots of first downs but was ranked 125th in YAC last year. He no longer has a job. BB wants more than a catch and fall approach. When the ball is in their hands, he wants play makers. He teaches his D to scoop fumbles and run....because it is a play making opportunity. Absolutely... YAC is a worthy barometer for effectiveness. Possession receivers make catches, play makers tack on YAC

I actually think that BB's biggest fault in the personnel selection aspect of his job is that he shuns playmakers for the steady guys. Also, I have to assume BB coaches receivers to get down in certain situations to avoid the risk of fumbling.

All that said, Lloyd didn't work out for a number of reasons, and I don't think his stepping on invisible banana peels was the biggest issue. On paper, Lloyd was a decent contributor, but everyone who watched the Pats game in and game out knows how hollow those numbers were.

 

[English Patriot]

So where are the idiots who criticised myself and others after Welker left to one of our arch rivals? I said 'screw him, Danny is better' and people came after me like i commited a crime.

I really don't care because i know i'm right, he's much better than Wes. All Welker had was consistency, he had no standout skills just an amazing connection with Brady.

Amendola is a PLAYMAKER. He's also a local guy and every time he puts on a Pats jersey he is willing to die for it. That goes a long way for me.

So i'll say it again, SCREW WES. Cannot wait for him to drop a key pass from Manning in the playoffs and on the next play he gets picked off yet again at a crucial time. Meanwhile Danny will be making the big catch to close out the SB....

 

[SeymourTrophies]

Why can't we thank Wes for his contributions and hope Amendola is a great player for us in the same breath?

 

[English Patriot]

Why can't we thank Wes for his contributions and hope Amendola is a great player for us in the same breath?

Why? He jumped ship and made an already formidable offense in Denver even better.

You want a thank you? OK fine, thanks Wes. Now it's time for Spikes to light his ass up when we meet.

 

[Rob0729]

Why can't we thank Wes for his contributions and hope Amendola is a great player for us in the same breath?

To me. No matter what happens this year, Welker is one of my favorite players ever.

But Welker and Amendola for better or worse will be tied together for the the foreseeable future. All we heard after Thursday night was "Bet Brady is steaming that Belichick let Welker go" or "Belichick really blew it letting Welker go" and it wasn't just locally.

People will be comparing the two and tearing one down while elevating the other for a long while.