Grissom and Flowers

[Ivan]

As I read this thread, I keep wondering why I missed the cutting of Chris Long.

Flowers and Grissom don't HAVE TO step up this year. We just MIGHT be very good with Ninkovich, Sheard and Long getting almost all the reps when they are healthy. Sure, if someone is hurt, someone will HAVE TO step up. Even then, Belichick might go with 2 players almost all the time as he did before Sheard arrived.

Long is wait and see for me. He has done literally nothing the past two seasons and at this point is more a reclamation project than a lock starter. I hope he returns to form but he's got to show it.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Long is wait and see for me. He has done literally nothing the past two seasons and at this point is more a reclamation project than a lock starter. I hope he returns to form but he's got to show it.

He is for me too. Hes only going to play 30-40% of the snaps here so maybe that'll help keep the tread on the tires longer and he can just focus on getting to the QB and not deal with playing the run as much.

 

[Ivan]

He is for me too. Hes only going to play 30-40% of the snaps here so maybe that'll help keep the tread on the tires longer and he can just focus on getting to the QB and not deal with playing the run as much.

Agree, he's part of the rotation and who gets the snaps will depend upon performance. I hope Flowers steps up because I want them to move Sheard around and create mismatches, that's worked well for him.

 

[PatsFan2]

Flowers looked like one of the best players on the field last preseason. I was never impressed with Grissom, and I have him off the 53 right now.

Woh! woh! on Grissom there people can we give the guy another year before we condemn him.

 

[Kontradiction]

Long is wait and see for me. He has done literally nothing the past two seasons and at this point is more a reclamation project than a lock starter. I hope he returns to form but he's got to show it.

I think Long is capable of giving the Pats around 5 sacks this season. In all, the Patriots will need to be a pass rush by committee type of team in order to pick up what Jones left when the team sent him to Arizona. They don't have that one guy that can be a dominant pass rusher anymore, but they may have a few guys that are capable of successfully getting after the passer in a rotation to pick up some of Jones' production.

 

[jah]

Woh! woh! on Grissom there people can we give the guy another year before we condemn him.

Qualifying a statement with "right now" is hardly a condemnation. There's only so many roster spots.

 

[IllegalContact]

ninkovich and long have some years on them.......additional depth beyond sheard will be needed

 

[Ring 6]

ABSENT INJURIES
Flowers will get few reps. Ninkovich and Sheard are the starters, and Long is the #3. Grissom may get reps, as he did last year, playing inside on passing downs.

WITH INJURIES
next man up, as always

BB will certainly cut Long if these guys outplay him. That type of thing has happened dozens of times here.

Why would you assume Grissom has beaten out Flowers for a role they will both compete for? He played that role last year by default because Flowers was injured. They are equally capable of playing there.

 

[RobertWeathers]

BB will certainly cut Long if these guys outplay him. That type of thing has happened dozens of times here.

Why would you assume Grissom has beaten out Flowers for a role they will both compete for? He played that role last year by default because Flowers was injured. They are equally capable of playing there.

Yea BB is shrewd like that....even though if cut Long still has $1m guaranteed with his deal.

 

[Ring 6]

Yea BB is shrewd like that....even though if cut Long still has $1m guaranteed with his deal.

Its happened before. BB will do whats best for the team, and won't let a 1mill sb change that.
I expect Long to play really well for us this year, but we have cut numerous aging vets in camp.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Its happened before. BB will do whats best for the team, and won't let a 1mill sb change that.
I expect Long to play really well for us this year, but we have cut numerous aging vets in camp.

Long is a total wild card with me. Nothing would surprise me with him.

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

Yeah, I think the answer is "we just don't know what the ceiling is on these guys". Either one might beat Long outright in training camp, and cost him his job. Either one might get dropped to the waiver wire.

For the camp of fans who never imagine that a player can be great until after he's great (e.g. the people who said Edelman couldnt fill for Welker, or that Collins was a bust after a quiet rookie year, or that Logan Ryan couldn't start on the outside in the NFL until after he did for a whole season), there's no chance that either one could ever fill Jones's shoes. But even Jones couldn't have filled Jones's shoes after his rookie year.

I'm of the camp that this coaching staff can coach just about any NFL caliber players up to an elite level... including guys who should only ever be bench-warmers. Three words to that effect: Tully Banta Cain.

We'll just have to see. I do think all of them, Rufus too, probably has more to offer than we've seen on game day.

Ahhh Collins had a sensational Finnish to his rookie year.

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

Long is wait and see for me. He has done literally nothing the past two seasons and at this point is more a reclamation project than a lock starter. I hope he returns to form but he's got to show it.

I would disagree with saying he "hasn't done anything"
Long was pretty much out for the entire 2014 season. Nothing to really go with there besides he was injured.
In 2015 however, long had 2 sacks and 8 pressures (assists) in the 4 games he started. After that, he was playing with a severely sprained knee and nothing should be taken from it. In that same 4 week time span, chandler jones got 3 sacks and 4 pressures (assists) and all 3 of those came in the same game against buffalo.
The only question mark is his health. His game has always been a technical one, more then a physical one, so it should allow him to produce despite his age. 12.5 sacks, yeah, probably not, but I really don't see a problemswith him getting at least 8, possibly more.

 

[Ivan]

I would disagree with saying he "hasn't done anything"
Long was pretty much out for the entire 2014 season. Nothing to really go with there besides he was injured.
In 2015 however, long had 2 sacks and 8 pressures (assists) in the 4 games he started. After that, he was playing with a severely sprained knee and nothing should be taken from it. In that same 4 week time span, chandler jones got 3 sacks and 4 pressures (assists) and all 3 of those came in the same game against buffalo.
The only question mark is his health. His game has always been a technical one, more then a physical one, so it should allow him to produce despite his age. 12.5 sacks, yeah, probably not, but I really don't see a problemswith him getting at least 8, possibly more.

Fair enough, I didn't realize he was out that much. Hopefully you're right.

 

[mgteich]

Its happened before. BB will do whats best for the team, and won't let a 1mill sb change that.
I expect Long to play really well for us this year, but we have cut numerous aging vets in camp.

Yes, we have.

However, it would very, very surprising if the patriots consider Long not good enough to be one of our 9 or 10 defensive linemen.

I would expect him to stay even if Flowers beats him out for reps.

 

[RayClay]

As I read this thread, I keep wondering why I missed the cutting of Chris Long.

Flowers and Grissom don't HAVE TO step up this year. We just MIGHT be very good with Ninkovich, Sheard and Long getting almost all the reps when they are healthy. Sure, if someone is hurt, someone will HAVE TO step up. Even then, Belichick might go with 2 players almost all the time as he did before Sheard arrived.

Well, anything "might" happen.

 

[captain stone]

Flowers, if healthy, should provide meaningful snaps at DE with Ninko, Sheard & Long.

GeeNo Grissom, on the other hand, is trash.

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Grissom might see more defensive snaps than Flowers, but they may come as an undersized DT role on passing downs. I'm curious to see how big he looks. I could see Belichick developing him into the type of interior pass rusher that Easley was supposed to be.

That's an interesting theory, and if there's some truth there, it may have factored into the release of Dominique Easley. Did Grissom get any reps on the interior last season? I don't remember seeing any.

By the way, isn't it strange that Easley is still unsigned? Talk about damaged goods.

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Grissom has done everything he has been asked to do and is developing OK.

I'm sure they'll ask him to suit up for some Goal-line TE (a la Mike Vrabel) soon.

 

[mgteich]

That's an interesting theory, and if there's some truth there, it may have factored into the release of Dominique Easley. Did Grissom get any reps on the interior last season? I don't remember seeing any.

By the way, isn't it strange that Easley is still unsigned? Talk about damaged goods.

Grissom got lots of reps inside last year.