Holt: Patriots need another receiver

[TheGreatestEVER]

He is correct .

Deion is off injured and even this year he was limping and slow in some games.At this point with his leg injury and hammy we need 1 more guy when he is out or ineffective.

tate - it takes 2 yrs to recover from a fully blown knee and wr in our system is complex to begin with. I expect him to make the 2nd yr leap this year. We do not need more speed then tate has. Once open with ball in his hands how many guys can chase him in the league?.

price- he is more of a givens than a speedster but if he has 30-40 catches i will be thrilled this year.

On your point about Price, i think he was one of the fastest recievers in the combine, he is a speedsters.

 

[jays52]

The issue is that as the receivers are presently constituted they are exclusively separation guys. Branch uses agility and guile, same with Welker. Tate's game is long speed. Price seems like a nice mix of burst and size and may very well grow into the split end they so desperately need. They haven't had a legit x since Givens left. When defenses can gameplan exclusively for separation guys it makes their lives much easier.

The "tall, physical" thing is overrated- especially the fade. The fade is where it's most obvious, but where it really shines is in the body positioning route game. Slants, arrows, sluggos. Let the receiver hack the hands of the jammer, release, gain body positioning, reach out and take the ball. They don't need some 6'4 lanky guy to throw it up to. They need a 6'1 to 6'3 guy with good hand technique who will win body positioning routes. The lone caveat is that unless the guy has plus burst, it's unlikely he'll fit.

 

[RayClay]

Why all the hate for Deion? He's not what he was in 03-05, but he still has that remarkable telepathic connection with Brady . . . in clutch situations, he transforms into Jerry Rice!

Please quote the post (s) involving hating Deion.

Maybe Revis would have totally shut down Rice too, but he shut down Deion. The patriots wideouts were single covered and shut down,which is one of the reasons the jets could gum up all our crossing routes.

 

[DW Toys]

He is correct .

Deion is off injured and even this year he was limping and slow in some games.At this point with his leg injury and hammy we need 1 more guy when he is out or ineffective.

tate - it takes 2 yrs to recover from a fully blown knee and wr in our system is complex to begin with. I expect him to make the 2nd yr leap this year. We do not need more speed then tate has. Once open with ball in his hands how many guys can chase him in the league?.

price- he is more of a givens than a speedster but if he has 30-40 catches i will be thrilled this year.

Tate is like 5'10" although listed at 5'11" 1/2 . Another smurf is not what we need. Tallest WR we have is Price and he does not play.
DW Toys

 

[Deus Irae]

While I agree, I don't think that there is any need for a rookie. We have enough youth in Edelman, Tate and Price.

Rookie, veteran, whatever. They need a deep/speed receiver who can give them more that Tate gave them last year. Let them sign a FA (Vincent Jackson, for example), or trade for a player (Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, for examples), or draft some kid who runs as if he's got a rocket strapped to his ass.


Whatever it takes.

 

[ATippett56]

Re-sign Logan Mankins to a contract extension
Sign Kamerion Wimbley to play one of the 3-4 outside linebacker positions
Sign either Legedu Naanee or Malcolm Floyd or Vincent Jackson

Draft offensive and defensive lineman.

 

[Sciz]

Tate is like 5'10" although listed at 5'11" 1/2 . Another smurf is not what we need. Tallest WR we have is Price and he does not play.
DW Toys

Tate is an eighth of an inch under 6 foot. He's actually taller than 5' 11.5''

 

[mgteich]

You sound frustrated with our 14-3 team, and our #1 offense.

I agree that we need more than Tate gave is in 2010.

I agree that we could use a productive speedster.

You seem to think that we can put down a 1st round pick and expect to get Jackson-type production from a rookie (or Fitzgerald or Johnson). We can hope I suppose. It just doesn't seem likely. A wide receiver takes a couple of years to develop. Tate has played one year, and Price has sat out for one year. Price is certainly a speedster with rocket.

I don't know how much resources Belichick will use on the wide receiver free agents he brings in. Last year it was Patten and Holt (plus a 3rd round draft choice).

Rookie, veteran, whatever. They need a deep/speed receiver who can give them more that Tate gave them last year. Let them sign a FA (Vincent Jackson, for example), or trade for a player (Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, for examples), or draft some kid who runs as if he's got a rocket strapped to his ass.


Whatever it takes.

 

[Shelterdog]

You sound frustrated with our 14-3 team, and our #1 offense.

I agree that we need more than Tate gave is in 2010.

I agree that we could use a productive speedster.

You seem to think that we can put down a 1st round pick and expect to get Jackson-type production from a rookie (or Fitzgerald or Johnson). We can hope I suppose. It just doesn't seem likely. A wide receiver takes a couple of years to develop. Tate has played one year, and Price has sat out for one year. Price is certainly a speedster with rocket.

Well it works in madden!

Unfortunately in real life there's a cap, draft picks don't work out, players get old, the other teams have smart GMs, and you can never be stocked at every position on a team.

 

[jbb9s]

I strongly agree with the last three paragraphs, strongly disagree with the last line. Price, Tate, and Edelman each have the talent to be very good. Heck, we could see them being the #1, #2, and #3 in three seasons or so. With those guys all showing plenty of skill, I don't really see the need for another veteran receiver. These guys are going to be starters eventually. No reason to knock them down the depth chart and impede their growth just because the offense couldn't get the job done in one game.

There are probably +/- 320 wide receivers affiliated with the NFL via current contract, practice squader, IR, hopeful draftee, in and out of the league, camp invitees, back and forth CFL/NFL guys, whatever.

Considering Price has never really played, he can't be in the top 200. Tate is probably around #40. I mean anyone out there who can't name at least 30 other NFL wide receivers they'd rather have rights to is being disingenuous. And the last guy didn't play all season until the star got benched in the playoff game. He started returning punts to help Welker heal up too in the second half of the season but that is a different position than wide receiver.


I bet every other team in the NFL right now has rights to 3 guys now that are somewhere buried on the depth chart but could develop.

I think you are being way too optimistic. Hopefully I am wrong, but there is no depth on the Patriots that is a sure thing beyond the core starters.

 

[JMarr]

Branch is pretty much done. He was a decent stopgap, but brings little to the table, except for having Brady's trust. If we are going to be a pass first team, we desperately need a physical guy that can beat press coverage and get deep on occasion, plus a decent burner to keep the CBs and Safetys honest. I hope the second guy will be Price or Tate but I'm not holding my breath on either.

Having the two TE's creating matchup nightmares for the other team masked pretty deficient WR corps this year.

Like the Jets, teams will figure out how to neutralize our short pass/YAC-based offense.

 

[patsfan-1982]

IMO the pats are pretty good at receiver one of Tate Price or Edelman needs to step up and be that #3 they dont have to be a Moss type just make a few big catchs when Brady needs them

if they need a big physical receiver then Gronkowski, is that guy if they need speed then Hernandez, is the man... Welker will catch 90+ balls next year Branch will be back Woodhead will catch more balls and Faulk may come back nexy year there is just not that many balls to go around, games are won and lost up front the pats have lost 3 playoff games in a row cause they cant keep Brady on has feet if they wanna win they need to up grade the middle of the OL and find a pass rush some how.

 

[Deus Irae]

You sound frustrated with our 14-3 team, and our #1 offense.

I'm frustrated (not the word I'd choose, but I'll go with it just to avoid semantic issues) watching a team that's become easy to defend in the postseason. The record's irrelevant. I'd take a 9-7 team that won the Super Bowl with the #30 offense over what this squad has become.

I agree that we need more than Tate gave is in 2010.

Then the frustrated comment really had no place in your post....

I agree that we could use a productive speedster.

It's not necessarily a speedster, but it's a player who has the ability to get open deep. I talk about speed because that's generally how deep threat players begin. Fitzgerald's not a blazer, but he can threaten deep because he can use his body so well.

You seem to think that we can put down a 1st round pick and expect to get Jackson-type production from a rookie (or Fitzgerald or Johnson). We can hope I suppose. It just doesn't seem likely. A wide receiver takes a couple of years to develop. Tate has played one year, and Price has sat out for one year. Price is certainly a speedster with rocket.

Actually, if the team were to draft a wide receiver with a first round pick, I'd expect something a lot more than Tate, but a lot less than a top receiver. Dez Bryant had 45 catches in 12 games as a rookie this season. Crabtree had 48 catches as a rookie, Harvin had 60, Brit had 42, Nicks had 47, and Maclin had 55 from the 2009 draft. No wideouts went in the first round in 2008. In 2007, Calvin Johnson had 48, Bowe had 70, and Gonzalez had 37 (in 13 games). With the evolution of the game, I don't think it's too much to expect production levels somewhere in that group from a first round WR selection. Tate, who had a season to learn the pro game and had practices and games with the team in 2009, managed only 24 receptions last season.

As for Price, he was far enough away from being ready last season that he was inactive for all but the final, meaningless regular season game.

I don't know how much resources Belichick will use on the wide receiver free agents he brings in. Last year it was Patten and Holt (plus a 3rd round draft choice).

I don't know either, but the team needs someone who can keep safeties honest. They don't have that right now.

 

[stcjones]

I think GREAT KO is a real stretch in regard to Tate....so far he is a decent kick returner and on the bust bubble as a WR....pats need at least one ELITE WR next yr...I do think Price has alot of potential and should contribute more next yr....but they need a larry fitz, Greg Jennings, mike Wallace kind of talent (or two) next yr...


OTE=USCPatriot;2472211]By Mike Reiss

I think this article is 100% correct, don't get me wrong, the receiving core we have right now is pretty darn good, talent wise. Edelman is a GREAT slot guy, really like another Wes Welker BUT I would rather have Welker 9 times out of ten. Then we have Brandon Tate, GREAT kick returner, decent hands, and considering this was his real first year playing he gets a bit of a break. Branch has such great chemistry with Tom, but again, he can really stretch the field, so much has changed since he left. Defenses got better, secondaries got better, he's a great route runner but he's not really a deep threat. With all the good things we hear about Taylor Price, he very rarely seems to hit the playing field.

When they play teams with bad safeties and decent corner backs, a deep threat could really take advantage of that, BUT if all they do is these short dinky passes, the safeties don't really have to put much effort into stopping them.

Anyway, I thought this article was well thought out. Agree or disagree? Discuss.[/QUOTE]

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Holt himself said that player may be on the team already and just hasn't fully developed. Interesting to note that he felt he would have been that player this season if not for his knee, and that was with Moss on the roster...

Not just any Madden/fantasy WR will step in and fit in this offense. Vets have tried and failed. So have rookies. It requires a particular skillset and temperment. Bryant might have avoided injury here as he likely wouldn't have seen as much of the field as Tate due to his unmeasurable deficiencies. That said this team was three missed execution opportunities on offense and ST and a big play stop by a young defense away from advancing to host the AFCC against a Pittsburgh team that was certainly beatable even in their own house. It truly is a game of inches and execution. And given that simply fact and our now youthful rister construction I'd rather stay the course and be in contention consistently than adopt a short term shortsighted goal. Which is what an opportunistic Steelers organization has tended to do to the tune of three trips to the big dance. Have the courage of your convictions and a proven system and schemes and top flight coaching plus a franchise (or in our case even better) QB and you will contend for and even win your fair share of Lombardis. Just understand and accept that for a variety of reasons often beyond your rational control winning them all is not what that fair share entails ever.

Thanks to Bill this could have been our year. As was 2001 and 2003 and 2004 and as 2007 nearly was and 2008 or 2009 coulda, woulda, shoulda been. And so too could 2011 or 2012 or 2013...and beyond. That's why he dominated COTY. Nothing he does in the next 6 months will guarantee any year is though because there are no guarantees. Instead of lamenting 2007 and 2008 or wagging their fingers in apparent frustration, fans here should have learned at least that from those two experiences. Kind of like what Rams fans learned over the last decade after 2001... And JETS fans have been unsuccessfully grappling with for 4 decades now and counting.

 

[zoostation]

Why all the hate for Deion? He's not what he was in 03-05, but he still has that remarkable telepathic connection with Brady . . . in clutch situations, he transforms into Jerry Rice!

Love Deion...but he's injury prone. And he was about 50% for that Jet game and it showed.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I think GREAT KO is a real stretch in regard to Tate....so far he is a decent kick returner and on the bust bubble as a WR....pats need at least one ELITE WR next yr...I do think Price has alot of potential and should contribute more next yr....but they need a larry fitz, Greg Jennings, mike Wallace kind of talent (or two) next yr...

You get a Larry Fitz the hard way and/or pay through the nose for him which impacts the rest of your roster. And the 6' Jennings and 5'11" Wallace took a year or two to develop. Wallace was drafted towards the bottom of the third round in 2009 and his coaches labeled him a one trick pony heading into this season, claiming they needed him to be a lot more. Too many people here think you get to select your WR's in hindsight. And too many people also think what works individually in one offensive system and scheme would naturally work brilliantly in another. That is so not the case... Just ask Deion Branch and Mike Holmgren. And trading for him and losing focus on building the trenches and developing your own skill players probably ultimately cost Holmgren his job.

 

[DarrylStingley]

Holt is right. The Pats do need another receiver.

For one, all of their WRs are on the small side. It would be nice to offset that with a larger WR. Now it's true that Aaron Hernandez ameliorates that problem to a large extent. But he's not on the field more than half the time and I'd prefer if one of their three top WRs had some size.

Also, both Branch and Welker are past 30 and have had major injuries. Another athletic WR would be good to add to the mix.

Edleman is a good 4 or 5 and will never be more than that, in my book.

Tate, I think, is another Chad Jackson/Bethel Johnson type. Good body, good skills....not a good enough route runner or smart enough to click with Tommy.

Taylor Price...well I guess he might be an answer. That he never even got a sniff when Tate was struggling to be productive gives me some pause. BB only looked at him in garbage time. But who knows, Price did look like he belonged when he was out there.

I'd love Fitzgerald but assume that they will not use their chits to get him given their other needs and his contractual demands.

I'd like Chad Ocho on short dollars, but that seems unlikely.

Do something, BB.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Holt is right. The Pats do need another receiver.

For one, all of their WRs are on the small side. It would be nice to offset that with a larger WR. Now it's true that Aaron Hernandez ameliorates that problem to a large extent. But he's not on the field more than half the time and I'd prefer if one of their three top WRs had some size.

Also, both Branch and Welker are past 30 and have had major injuries. Another athletic WR would be good to add to the mix.

Edleman is a good 4 or 5 and will never be more than that, in my book.

Tate, I think, is another Chad Jackson/Bethel Johnson type. Good body, good skills....not a good enough route runner or smart enough to click with Tommy.

Taylor Price...well I guess he might be an answer. That he never even got a sniff when Tate was struggling to be productive gives me some pause. BB only looked at him in garbage time. But who knows, Price did look like he belonged when he was out there.

I'd love Fitzgerald but assume that they will not use their chits to get him given their other needs and his contractual demands.

I'd like Chad Ocho on short dollars, but that seems unlikely.

Do something, BB.

System fit aside...and he isn't, Chad is 33, Welker will turn 30 in May and Branch will turn 32 this summer...

 

[FCB02062]

Well...what they need is a guy like Jabar Gaffney. Have the Patriots EVER, I mean EVER, had a more effective third option at wide receiver? And I don't really count Troy Brown as a third option. How many times did we see Brady/Cassel look to Moss, to Welker, then find Gaffney wide open on the sideline to haul in an 8 or 10 yard pass on 3rd and 7 when everyone else was covered? Gaffney was money, and it's too bad Krafty didn't want to show him the money and keep him around...