Has Deion Branch turned into a wuss?

[GrogansArmy]

I say this knowing I'll probably get bashed by a lot of Branch lovers, but to me it seems that Deion seems afraid to get hit now. I don't know if its he's trying to play smart or what, but it just looks like he'd rather slide to the ground like a QB instead of picking up the extra 3-4 yards that he easily could have.

I don't recall the old Deion doing that before. Heck I think I recall during the Pats/Panthers SB where he literally picked up and threw to the ground one of the panther's CB, ricky something or another. Hmm maybe that was David Givens... I'm sure someone will correct me.

Regardless it just seems Branch is afraid to get hit, I've seen that every game since he came back to us. Today, I saw that he ran out of bounds before a defender was even very close to him. Branch could have easily picked up another 5 yards or so. I don't know, and its probably not a big deal, but it just seems he's scared to get touched.

Maybe he's worried about getting another injury or something, but I'd like to think our players would do whatever it takes to get the most yards. I could never see Welker or Woodhead sliding and not getting every inch they can. Heck even Randy tried to fight for yards at times. I haven't seen that from Deion yet. As we saw last week, 5 yards can be the difference between making a field goal and missing it.

 

[RayClay]

He's nursing a hamstring right now, so it might be wise since he's not likely to get a lot of YAC anyway, maybe aggravate it.

He's always seemed physical, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[ausbacker]

The standard of threads on this board continues to deteriorate to unseen levels.

 

[strngplyr]

Honestly, unless it's a guy like woodhead or welker who can make the move, i'd rather see alot of receivers be smart and just go down before the hit. 9 times out of 10 most of these guys (in my opinion) won't break the tackle unless you can put on some really fancy moves (like woody/welker).

 

[Modest]

I'm going to start counting how many posts it takes for an insult to fly when someone says anything negative about the offense or an offensive player.

 

[GrogansArmy]

Honestly, unless it's a guy like woodhead or welker who can make the move, i'd rather see alot of receivers be smart and just go down before the hit. 9 times out of 10 most of these guys (in my opinion) won't break the tackle unless you can put on some really fancy moves (like woody/welker).

Thats actually a really good point. However, Deion used to be like them. Maybe its just age along with what RayClay mentioned: hamstring. I don't know, its just disheartening to see Deion immediately go to the ground or out of bounds when defenders are still 3-4 steps away. You don't see many receivers doing that, and I can't recall Deion ever doing that before when he was with us.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Hard to be a warrior when your body is not a warrior's body. I don't think it's fair to compare Branch to Welker or Woodhead. It's easy to call a player a wuss from the comforts of a computer keyboard and scren.

 

[GrogansArmy]

Hard to be a warrior when your body is not a warrior's body. I don't think it's fair to compare Branch to Welker or Woodhead. It's easy to call a player a wuss from the comforts of a computer keyboard and scren.

I understand what you're saying, but on the flip side, how many receivers around the league do you see doing what Deion has been doing? Not very many. Most I've seen try to get the extra yardage.

 

[eagle eye]

I've no problem with the guy going down after catching the ball. Its a guy who pulls out of catch rather than take a hit thats a problem. He had a hamstring injury midweek too.

Still he hasn't done much since the opening week, but then again his best days were in postseason so I don't mind as long as the team keeps winning.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

The standard of threads on this board continues to deteriorate to unseen levels.

You got that right. And in this case we're talking about a 6-1 football team. It would seem like some of us are suffering from amnesia about what's gone down the last couple of years with this team.

There are legit areas to criticize. No team is perfect. But that's a world away from, you know, just making **** up or a pathological need to whine.

 

[shirtsleeve]

I'm going to start counting how many posts it takes for an insult to fly when someone says anything negative about the offense or an offensive player.

Two...

 

[Bonzo]

He's nursing a hamstring right now, so it might be wise since he's not likely to get a lot of YAC anyway, maybe aggravate it.

He's always seemed physical, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Precisely. I almost went through the roof when Aikman criticized Branch for his "lost step" without even giving consideration to the injury. The guy was "questionable" to even play the game.

Also, let's not forget that Branch has accumulated a heck of an injury record this past half-decade.

 

[Badluck]

i see nothing to worry about
like others have said hes nursing an injury
plus when he 1st got here he said one of the diffrences between this branch and the branch of old was that hes a smarter player i think this ties into it


OT: its amazing peterson runs the way he does, im not sure how long this guy will be able to do that and stay healthy, a spectacular athlete

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Honestly, unless it's a guy like woodhead or welker who can make the move, i'd rather see alot of receivers be smart and just go down before the hit. 9 times out of 10 most of these guys (in my opinion) won't break the tackle unless you can put on some really fancy moves (like woody/welker).

Unless the Patriots are in need of that extra 2 or 3 yards for a first down or some other critical need, I'd rather DB avoid the hit and go out of bounds/hit the deck. His continued presence on the field is more important than a couple of extra and ordinary YAC. Considering the size of DB,WW,DH.....their health is much more important than a few YAC. Leave it to Hernandez, Gronk (and hopefully Fred back soon) to be the more physical side.

 

[TX_Patriot]

I see what you're trying to say, but this is the same Deion I remember from the Super Bowl years. He rarely takes a big hit and is smart about getting to the sticks and then dropping when someone has their sites set on him. I've got no problems with what Deion did yesterday, since I had no problem when he did in a Pats uniform 6 years ago.

On a side note, everyone thinks Hines Ward is a really physical receiver, right. I saw him avoid a couple big hits last night by hitting the deck. There's a reason these guys are good and play for years.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

I noted the same thing after Branch's first game as a Pat this year. If Randy Moss ever did the lie-downs that Branch does Felger and the other jackals would kill him.

But avoiding the big hit is a Good Thing; it saves his body and frustrates the heck out of the blood thirsty D.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

The hammy was a factor last night. He wasn't on the field as much, and at times was limited (was that why he hesitated for a second on that deep pass from Brady?).

But in general, I have no problem with Twiggy stepping out of bounds after he picks up a first down. Situation matters. He gained a huge chunk of yards, got the first down, stepped out of bounds before getting hammered. It's not like he ran out of bounds short of the marker.

He's never been a big, physical receiver, and he's got an injury history, so if he doesn't have to take a hit there, fine with me, and I'm actually glad to see it. If it was 3rd down and he didn't stretch it out for the first, then we can talk.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I noted the same thing after Branch's first game as a Pat this year. If Randy Moss ever did the lie-downs that Branch does Felger and the other jackals would kill him.

But avoiding the big hit is a Good Thing; it saves his body and frustrates the heck out of the blood thirsty D.

You have to be joking... Branch is asked to make his living going across the middle. He's always played it smart in an effort to avoid getting knocked out of games. Randy was asked to go across the middle occasionally to keep him involved in the offense and he routinely hit the deck rather than fight for yardage because he doesn't like getting hit, period.

Honestly, some of you either have totally selective memory or you weren't around back in the day...

 

[PatsWSB47]

I understand what you're saying, but on the flip side, how many receivers around the league do you see doing what Deion has been doing? Not very many. Most I've seen try to get the extra yardage.

Marvin Harrison did it quite often and Chad Ocho Cinco does it regularly. As a matter of fact I see it all the time all over the league.

 

[Simkin]

Well , its not like Meriweather runnning away of AP, that was hilarious, or Maroney stepping out one yard short in a 3rd down with a 5`7 , 190 lbs CB in front of.