Final thoughts before moving on to the Jags

[The Brandon Five]

This is the new NFL. 3 WRs and a move TE. Mayo was never the greatest cover LB (he was average, but not great) to begin with and with more, and faster, receiving options out there he's now stuck in base situations, goal line, and rotational duties. If his snap count stays at this level, they will ask him to take a pay cut moving forward.

That said, he's also wonderful injury insurance. If you're only playing two LBs and a guy like Mayo is your third, life is pretty damn good.

I thought Mayo was generally considered one of the better coverage LBs? He ran a 4.56 forty for Pete's sake!

 

[BobDigital]

Blount looks old and done

I'd give him another couple of games to make it official, but we need to start running w someone other than Lewis who has power to complement him

Just to be clear about language while i do think Blount has not looked good either in the preseason or in his limited snaps i would be wary about calling him old and done. I am more inclined to think maybe he has an injury issue right now that is slowing him down. His first step acceleration has not been there since preseason game 1 IMO. He had limited work this game but limited work can be telling too (and the fact that it was so limited). I am not saying he is done but I do think something with him does not look right and has not looked right. Hopefully it is some nagging injury he can get over in the coming weeks.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Mayo/Amendola are goners during the 2016 offseason. For now they are good, but highly overpaid depth players that provide good leadership.

According to Miguel's cap page we will get about 11 million in cap space by cutting both next year. That will provide a good cap boost.

I disagree. This is a very YOUNG team, and needs some adults. Plus the Pats have almost all their expensive FAs signed, and get about $15 million in CAP space from ending Revis and other large dead money off of the books.

Don't forget the next Draft will not be expensive, thanks to the Roger too.

 

[AzPatsFan]

If you think Blount is done then that is a weakness unearthed for the Pats. They have not HAD to run in a game yet, maybe they can't. I just think they are holding Blount back, while the young interior line gets some experience. They have enough to learn with Pass blocking. One thing at a time.

Plus their first two opponents were not weak against the run but more vulnerable to the Pass.

Unlike many coaches Belichick doesn't feel the compulsion to prove his manliness by going against their strengths with his weakness. Instead he thinks it is only STUPID.

 

[Brandon_Cox]

As much as I think Gronk is a beast, there may not be a bigger player gap in the NFL this year than there is from Brady/Rodgers to the #3 QB in the league. They're not just on another level. They're in a league of their own.

Big Ben has looked pretty impressive this year. Just saying. No one else is in the conversation.

 

[ALP]

Why are you trolling about Blount? He's only had 2 carries.

A bad two carries

And also saw it in preseason

 

[Deus Irae]

A bad two carries

It was two carries.

Also, given that one of the carries was a nice run against a strong rush, and the other was a carry where the entire Buffalo DL was in the backfield when he got the ball, I'm calling ******** on this one.

And also saw it in preseason

No, you didn't. You saw a guy just getting in a little work before he served a suspension.

 

[MUFC7]

Big Ben has looked pretty impressive this year. Just saying. No one else is in the conversation.

Carson Palmer. Honestly he plays at a very high lvl at the moment and has some great weapons around him. AZ looks like a very good football team.

 

[TommyD4207]

A bad two carries

And also saw it in preseason

Let's pump the brakes on a 28-year-old RB being "old and done" after 2 carries, shall we?

I'm not a huge Blount fan, but this is a pretty big stretch. Let's see how he looks after the Colts game, hm?

 

[rochrist]

From what I could tell, the difference in production had less to do with Butler and more to do with Pitt having a much better QB/WR combo and superior pass pro.



He's looked fine pretty much every time the team has asked him to play significant snaps at one position. I see no reason why he can't be a suitable Vollmer replacement for a while. Oddly, he's a superior starter than a TE/6th OL.



After the Pitt game, Butch Stearns was making a big deal about Mayo's lack of snaps. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why he was so confused. Hightower and Collins are better players and the team plays a lot of sub. It really is that simple. Add in that he is returning from a serious knee injury and Jerod only playing a handful of snaps early on was entirely predictable.

I agree that he isn't likely to be around as an expensive part-timer next year.



Grissom's snaps last week were largely match up related. An extra wide body this week means one less DE and he is clearly the first one to come off. I'd go a step further and say that had Flowers been healthy, Grissom may not have even been that active against Pitt either.



Harmon's pick of Big Ben was very impressive, IMO.



Ditto. I just wish EEI would have guys who understand this basic fact on their post-game shows. Is it that hard to find people who can host a radio show and know what they are talking about?

Yeah, Canon played a lot of that game (50+ snaps) and I didn't notice any breakdowns. The strip sack of Brady came when Solder was in.

 

[pdangle]

Ditto. I just wish EEI would have guys who understand this basic fact on their post-game shows. Is it that hard to find people who can host a radio show and know what they are talking about?

Boo0r-ring!

But no kidding. Not sure if it would be a hit or monster flop with today's listeners.

 

[PScottman]

He ran a 4.56 forty for Pete's sake!

Speed and coverage ability are not synonymous. Quick feet, hip turn, recognition, acceleration, closing, etc, etc are just some of the other skills necessary beyond speed for coverage ability, and while he wasn't terrible, both Collins and Hightower quickly surpassed him in that assignment type. Doesn't mean he CAN'T do it, just that it's not his best skill.

 

[mgteich]

OFFENSE (ZERO ISSUES)
A) I agree that the top three will continue to get most of the receptions (Edelman, Gronkowski and Lewis). And yes, we are fine with Amendola, Dobson , Chandler and LaFell sharing the rest of the receptions.
B) The kiddie OL has performed well. We will be even better when Stork and Wendell are back. BTW, Cannon is being paid a lot to give the other OT's some rest in every game.
C) Lewis was a great addition (as was Chandler).
D) Blount will be need when the snow flies. Also, i wouldn't be surprised to see Cadet getting some reps as the season progresses.

DEFENSE (no issues except at corner)
E) The DL has looked pretty good. Grissom and Johnson were the DT's in the dime package. Grissom is Easley's backup.

F) Flowers really doesn't have much of a role as the 4th DE after NInkovich, Jones and Sheard.

G) The safeties have played well. We'll see if Wilson gets any reps when he is more healthy. Belichick must see a role for him (I don't).

H) Butler and Brown are solid NFL starters. It seems clear that this is a weakness of the team, made up for by the play of the rest of defense. Ryan is our very experienced slot corner. He beat out McClain as the replacement for Arrington in the nickel.

I) So, we're OK with a nickel package of Butler, Brown, Ryan, McCourty, and Harmon. OK, we're fine unless we need to play dime. And we're OK unless there are injuries.

In the dime or if there are injuries, we have Fletcher, Coleman, Chung, Ebner and Wilson to bring in.

 

[Joker]

so far I'm less than impressed with Chandler, MG...he's the softest 6'7" player I've seen up close in years. I was expecting more of a physical presence.

 

[FourierSeries]

so far I'm less than impressed with Chandler, MG...he's the softest 6'7" player I've seen up close in years. I was expecting more of a physical presence.

Still an upgrade at TE2 from last year.

 

[supafly]

BB should look to make a move if possible. Considering my #3 point... I don't think we should object to Mayo being on the market if it gets us a good CB in here.

Bill Belichick would really have to sell low if he attempted to trade Jerod Mayo right now. Who is going to give us anything higher than a 3rd/4th rounder at the moment?

The guy is coming off of some major injuries and hasn't really contributed since 2012. He already restructured in the spring, so I'd find it difficult to imagine anyone running around trying to give up good draft picks for the opportunity to pay him what he's making now.

Belichick probably isn't too concerned about having three quality LB'ers, with two of them on the cheap for 2015. Aside from that, it provides leverage for the next two deals (possibly, depending on the future), while offering both options and depth.

Next year's worries or pay cuts can happen in the spring.

 

[Sticky Caulk]

Big Ben has looked pretty impressive this year. Just saying. No one else is in the conversation.

Seriously, the throws Roethlisberger has been consistently completing these first two weeks are unreal. That team just got Bell back in the passing game and will have Bryant replacing Heward-Bay in a few more weeks. When they were firing on all cylinders last year, Ben had two 6TD games in-a-row. That offense is going to be close to unstoppable if they don't end up with a key injury or two. I am glad New England got them week 1.

 

[meatface]

Up would really like to see pats firmly establish their run game. It would have been ideal to do it in buffalo against a great d-line and with a big lead but I guess we will need to do it against jax

 

[supafly]

I disagree. This is a very YOUNG team, and needs some adults. Plus the Pats have almost all their expensive FAs signed, and get about $15 million in CAP space from ending Revis and other large dead money off of the books.

Don't forget the next Draft will not be expensive, thanks to the Roger too.

1) We don't "get about 15m in cap space" due to the dead money hits being over and done with. It simply means that 2015's issues remain in 2015, and won't carry into next year. In other words, the current dead cap hits are quite a hinderance for this season. That doesn't mean, however, that it frees up money for 2016. There's no additional funds or credits coming back. As usual, there will be some other dead cap hits right there to take their place, just not to the same degree.

I'm not disagreeing with the idea of having more options when compared to this current season, but your wording is tricky and some may take it in a literal way in terms of "getting about 15m in cap space" credit.

2) Whether the team is considered young or not shouldn't have any effect on Bill Belichick and his individual talent assessment or cap management. It's very unlikely that he would continue to pay either Mayo or Amendola in their current roles, so they'll have to take a pay cut or move on. We see this every single year. No one in the front office was concerned with the ages of Revis, Browner, Arrington, or Dennard--who were all experienced.

 

[supafly]

so far I'm less than impressed with Chandler, MG...he's the softest 6'7" player I've seen up close in years. I was expecting more of a physical presence.

I think it's a decent signing if you keep it to what it really is, which is a value upgrade free agency move to improve our TE2, and allow for some additional RZ targets.

Unfortunately, the hype ran deep for Chandler in the offseason, so that may be leading to some disappointment. I share your concerns as well, but I think he'll improve as the year continues, barring injury.