Has Deion Branch turned into a wuss?

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison used to do the same thing and it probably added a couple seasons to their career. It's the smart thing to do when you're a WR who's not overpowering or oversized.

 

[primetime]

Troy Brown did it too, and Welker occasionally goes to ground when he realizes he's not going to make a move.

 

[Triumph]

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).

Exactly

Thats what Troy Brown and David Patten did in 2001.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Troy Brown did it too, and Welker occasionally goes to ground when he realizes he's not going to make a move.

And it was pretty clear that Deion's hammy wasn't up to any moves at that point.

 

[primetime]

I thought Branch playing on a bum hamstring and still managing to get some good separation was more impressive than anything.

 

[Triumph]

I thought Branch playing on a bum hamstring and still managing to get some good separation was more impressive than anything.

Me too.

He was laboring out there, but still tried to play.

 

[vyrago]

I loved yesterday's game and I guess if I want to continue loving it, I'll avoid stupid threads like this one.

For the record, Branch is being smart. Also he's playing hurt and is smart enough to protect himself from further injury.

 

[RhodyPatriot]

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.

Agree. You could see it when he ran that he wasn't a 100% and was favoring that leg. I give him credit for playing.

 

[TripleOption]

He's done that for years.

He talked about it before; he said that Charlie Weis taught him to do it to save his body. Prior to that he was even more injury prone than he is now.

 

[Garbanza]

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.

Your memory must be failing you. Deion is a good wr - but getting those extra "tough" yards was never his thing.

 

[ALP]

the play you are referring to struck me as well, but i would worry about it

it was not a situation where the extra yards were necessary, it was a long catch i believe of 15ish yards, so he had the 1st down easily, and another 3 yds would not have made much difference, so you might as well go out of bounds

randy did that all the time, and i approved of it...no need to get hurt for a silly reason, you dont need the yards at that specific moment, save your body, we have a lot of games left

 

[KoolAid]

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.

Well put. If he bails before the 1st down marker on a critical 3rd down, then he is a wuss. Smallish wide receivers are smart to miniminize the number of collisions they are involved in as it extends their careers and ability to fininsh the season. We are too used to seeing Welker, who is just not going to ever shy away from contact.

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

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.

For me it has a lot to do with down and distance.

If it is 3rd and 9 and you make a catch 8 yards past the LOS, then you better damn well fight for that extra yard.

Buf if it is 2nd and 5 and the difference between hitting the ground or running out of bounds is 15 vs 16 yard reception, I don't care if you avoid the hit and we don't get the extra yard.

 

[upstater1]

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.

+1

Same old Deion. He avoids big hits when multiple defenders converge. If it's one-on-one, he takes the defender on.

 

[Dagg]

i have noticed it and i dont like it much, not sure since hes been back he has ever even been tackled, he always goes down or out of bounds. sorry if you cant make a move or take somebody on you shouldnt be out there until your healthy, a yard or 3 yards can be the difference in a game (ask the titans super bowl team).

just calling it like i see it.

 

[upstater1]

i have noticed it and i dont like it much, not sure since hes been back he has ever even been tackled, he always goes down or out of bounds. sorry if you cant make a move or take somebody on you shouldnt be out there until your healthy, a yard or 3 yards can be the difference in a game (ask the titans super bowl team).

just calling it like i see it.

He did the same thing when he was here before so...

You wouldn't have wanted the Deion from 2003-2005?

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Sigh. How can anyone ask such a stupid question? So soon folks forget.

Back in the day when The Zombie was The Twig and had missed games due to impact injuries he was coached to go to the ground when catching over the middle with much bigger guys aiming for him full speed. A 5' 9" 190 LB guy is not constructed to take multiple player punishing hits, yet the Zombie continues to go over the middle fearlessly.

And let's not forget that yesterday he was somewhat shall we say 'hamstrung' by an injury. Gets props from me.

 

[ScottieC]

He needs to take care of himself and stay healthy. To that end, I don't care if he slows down at the end of a catch or slides down - As long as he catches the ball and moves the chains.

If you define that as being a wuss - Then so be it. We need him for the entire season.

 

[letekro]

1. He was ALWAYS like this (so easy to spot the new fans-they're the ones who complain about everything).

2. He NEVER takes a dive if he has a chance to make the first.

3. The guy is just such a smart player--he's not going to run over anybody, so why risk injury/fumble when you can just get down?

 

[jaychamp]

Hopefully he starts taking on pointless hits and when he inevitably gets injured, at least he can say he's not a wuss because that's what matters