I'll admit i was wrong - Amendola didn't work

[deters]

Anyone who watches Welker will tell you that he is slower this year than last year. It is pretty apparent. Speed is not a system thing. He doesn't run slower because he is in a different offense.

The guy is almost 33 years old and has taken a lot of abuse over the years. Deion Branch's speed fell off the cliff when he was 32-33 and he didn't take nearly the abuse. It happens to a lot of smaller receivers who play over the middle. Their careers tend to be shorter because of all the hits.

And his drops have been a problem for a few years.

This team would have finished 12-4 and lost in the AFCCG with or without Welker this year. Any game where he would have made a difference on the offense, the Pats won in other ways.

And I think Welker will be playing his last game on February 2nd. So he isn't going to help anyone next year. And if he plays, the Pats can re-sign him because I doubt the Broncos keep him next year with a $6 million price tag.

Welker in a more limited role is still a damn good player. Obviously Minitron has passed him physically but both on the field for us is better than just one.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Amendola is a ??? at this point. We will know the certain answer next year (and will be able to cut him too). This year for sure is not a success for him.
However, THIS single game is a measure of no one. The Patriots, to me, obviously and painfully missed having its Gronk/having its TE (a too familiar story). A big pass catching body to attack a fairly crowded middle and make them pay just as much as he would have paid. Instead we had the thin athletic receivers trying to work a fairly crowded middle. Don't know if I blame any thin body to be reticent about that.
IMHO this game was lost the moment Denver showed it could stop the run and the Patriots were forced to pass often. But there's blame to go around to multiple places -- not just Amendola. Even Brady missed some throws that we just had to have to win this game.

Game's over, we lost, Amendola will be with the team at training camp next year, on to the draft, on to training camp, on to getting a second option to Gronk (PLEASE PLEASE no more virtually TE-less offenses).

 

[Rob0729]

Welker in a more limited role is still a damn good player. Obviously Minitron has passed him physically but both on the field for us is better than just one.

Putting Welker on the field decreases the production of Minitron. Although Edelman can play outside, he isn't really an outside receiver. He wouldn't be nearly as effective playing exclusively in the Y slot. And Welker can't play anywhere other than the slot. So Edelman's production would go down and I don't think Welker's would replace it.

Again, this team needed an outside receiver not another slot. They had three slot receivers playing various positions. I think Lloyd in a lot of ways was missing more than Welker.

And we can only speculate, but I don't know what Welker would do drawing the #1 or #2 CB anymore. In Denver, Demariyus Thomas always draws the #1 and Decker usually draws the #2. In NE, Welker drew the #1 a lot. He definitely benefited from drawing the Kyle Arringtons of the world rather than the Talibs or Dennards (and I am not talking scheme fit and whether a Talib could cover a slot receiver, but the qualities of the CBs).

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Welker in a more limited role is still a damn good player. Obviously Minitron has passed him physically but both on the field for us is better than just one.

Would WW have helped in general? Yes. Would we still have lost? Yes. A slot good receiver is not what this team was missing today. WW would have been equivalent to having a second Blount. What is brought to the table just wasn't going to fix what was needed (IMHO what was needed was that POS sitting in jail as well as Gronk).

 

[Rob0729]

Would WW have helped in general? Yes. Would we still have lost? Yes. A slot good receiver is not what this team was missing today. WW would have been equivalent to having a second Blount. What is brought to the table just wasn't going to fix what was needed (IMHO what was needed was that POS sitting in jail as well as Gronk).

And don't forget a healthy Dobson. I think if the Pats had the Dobson of right before his foot injury, he would have exploited the weak secondary of the Broncos.

 

[fumbrunner]

Putting Welker on the field decreases the production of Minitron. Although Edelman can play outside, he isn't really an outside receiver.

I don't think we could say that for sure. We saw flashes of Edelman playing well on the outside between the various injuries he has had.

I'm not arguing that Edelman isn't a decent replacement for Welker. He has proven that he is. But the team has struggled so mightily on the outside that the team had to rely on a walking concussion to play the position (Collie).

The team would have been stronger with Welker in the slot (possibly with Edelman spelling him from time to time) and a WR on the outside that Brady trusts. Outside of Edelman, we don't have anyone that fits that description.

 

[Rob0729]

I don't think we could say that for sure. We saw flashes of Edelman playing well on the outside between the various injuries he has had.

I'm not arguing that Edelman isn't a decent replacement for Welker. He has proven that he is. But the team has struggled so mightily on the outside that the team had to rely on a walking concussion to play the position (Collie).

The team would have been stronger with Welker in the slot (possibly with Edelman spelling him from time to time) and a WR on the outside that Brady trusts. Outside of Edelman, we don't have anyone that fits that description.

Edelman is not an outside receiver. He is a slot receiver who can play outside. It is a big difference.

I don't think he could play outside exclusively or they would have put him there today because that s what is missing.

Welker might have helped on a far more limited basis than he has been in the past, but I think people are just expecting him to go on like he has until he retires. He has been showing signs of slowing down for a year or two now. Last year it was mostly the drops, but this year he is moving slower and the drops.

And who knows what all the concussion have done to him. Part of me wishes he wins in two weeks so it makes it easier for him retire for his own health sake.

 

[deters]

Would WW have helped in general? Yes. Would we still have lost? Yes. A slot good receiver is not what this team was missing today. WW would have been equivalent to having a second Blount. What is brought to the table just wasn't going to fix what was needed (IMHO what was needed was that POS sitting in jail as well as Gronk).

we had a lot of short third downs today where he would have helped immensely

 

[Brady6]

All the Amendola hate... but did you guys see Welker this year? He is clearly on the decline.

Yeah Welker at 32 years old with 2 concussions and the 3rd or 4th option on the Broncos out performed Amendola in every conceivable aspect of the game.

 

[Brady6]

I have absolutely nothing to justify. I want to wait and see what happens next year. I'm not sure what it is about that that you are failing to understand.

You said I was wrong about my assessment of Amendola so you actually have to justify that statement. You constantly make bold assertions about what's right and what's wrong with absolutely nothing to support it except for your personal belief. I respond with stats, player comparisons, strengths and weaknesses of his game and much more you offer nothing. You're being stubborn and irrational if you want to take a stance on something that is fine but don't say I am wrong, simplistic and premature when you have offered ZERO to support anything that you've posted. Then when I ask questions you flip to I want to wait and see.

Why don't you just say the truth you hope Amendola will do well because you're a fan of him but you have nothing to support your belief other than the hope that his best games can become an ever week occurrence for a full 16 game schedule; that's basically what you're wishing for and if it doesn't happen you will say I never said that I said let's wait and see, way to commit Manx. Don't tell me I'm wrong when you lack the fortitude to even pick one direction and stick with it. I might get some slack but at least I stand behind my positions and own my mistakes.

If you think Amendola is going to be so great in 2014 that we should all cut him some slack provide some reasoning because honestly your user name isn't enough for me to buy into it.

 

[patsfan-1982]

its not that it didn't work his just not a star and he never was

 

[BradyFTW!]

Amendola absolutely didn't work this year. But he's back next year for better or worse, so we just have to hope that he stays healthier. Not healthy, since that won't happen, but jugs no-season-long-debilitating-injury.

 

[ATippett56]

Interesting how the Denver Broncos drafted a number one wide receiver (first round), number two wide receiver (third round), and a tight end (fourth round) in a two year span:

Draft Finder Query Results - Pro-Football-Reference.com

Denver Broncos, 2010 NFL Draft, Josh McDaniels, 2 Wide Receivers

 

[randomk1]

Just cut him. This guy is so fragile he ain't going to get better.

 

[Deus Irae]

Just cut him. This guy is so fragile he ain't going to get better.

» Over the Cap- Danny Amendola Salary Cap and Contract Page

 

[BradyFTW!]

Just cut him. This guy is so fragile he ain't going to get better.

So eat an extra couple million dollars in a cap-strapped year then have to pay his replacement on top of that just to prove some kind of point?

They'd be better off making him a healthy scratch every week.

 

[DocHoliday]

-he played without one of his groin muscles connected.
-costs more to cut

We should spam the above every time someone suggests cutting him.

 

[supafly]

Amendola would instantly become a major focus should someone offer Edelman an offer that we can't match, so I'd be a little more patient until we know what's going on for 2014.

As many have mentioned 1,000x over, he'll be here throughout the 2014 season no matter what due to his dead cap hit anyway, so this discussion is a bit pointless in my opinion, aside from the fact that he did not contribute as much as many (including myself) expected.

A better group of WRs would do wonders with a chain reaction down the board, so the hope there is that we retain Edelman, see growth from Dobson/Boyce, and ADD another viable option worth a damn.

 

[ripatsfan91]

Kenny Britt will be in training camp next year for the pats on veteran's minimum salary, bank on it.

Hopefully that guy can resurrect his career here

 

[bostonia3333]

Amendola is a player I want to see cut this offseason. Poor separation ability, can't run crisp routes, poor catch radius, poor hands,...should I go on?? He'll never be healthy, it's always something with this guy. We really needed him to step up in this game and he couldn't even catch one pass against a poor secondary?! Simply inexcusable.