Maybe we already have a solid WR corps?

[VJCPatriot]

No offense to the OP, I'm speaking more in general here, but I can't stand the school of thought that our TE's can be counted as our WR's in place of a real WR tandem. No, no, no. The whole idea of getting a studly 2-TE set was to give the Pats an advantage on offense. Split those two guys out wide and now you've neutralized the advantage a bit. You want the defense to have to account for the WR's AND the TE's. But as of now, it's the two TE's and Amendola. It's really no different than it's been for the last 2-3 seasons. The outside WR who can take the top off the defense is what's missing, and when defenses take away the middle that hole is very glaring.

Agreed. Hernandez is the nightmare matchup because he plays TE/H-back. He's not a wide receiver and putting him out wide would minimize his advantages. AH creates a lot of extra yardage through YAC and his sick open field moves, not by going 30+ yards deep.

Pats still need a lid-lifter WR who is also physical enough to fight for jump balls and provide Brady with another redzone target when Gronk is either hurt or off his game.

 

[NewEngland2001to2004]

Welker > Amendola and the TEs are the same. So, it's now "shut down an easier WR to cover, and the TEs, and you can stop NE." That's not better, that's worse, and the main focus will still be that trio, as of today.

What do you mean the TE's are the same? Of course they are, but now you have more than one receiver to shut down along with the tight ends. Not only TE's, but the two best in the NFL. But back to what I was saying, Donald Jones, Michael Jenkins, and whoever else they bring in or draft I'm sure will have a multiple skillset that is more than what defenses knew Wes brought to the table. And don't forget that on top of those two receivers, Danny Amendola who would be Wes in this situation, is the first person that has to be accounted for. Not only that, but he offers more than what Wes did. Additionally, by no way saying they are better receivers than Wes, but can do more than just kill you in slot like Wes could, which is all he could do better than anyone else but still all he could do. So now that's those two dynamic TE's, a bonafide number 1 and like 3 to 4 other options you would have to defend. Something that hasn't been seen since the times of my screen name.

 

[Deus Irae]

What do you mean the TE's are the same? Of course they are, but now you have more than one receiver to shut down along with the tight ends.

No, you don't, unless you also give that same credit to Lloyd. That must be where you're going off the rails.

Welker > Amendola
Lloyd > Everyone currently on the Patriots WR roster with the possible exception of Amendola

Not only TE's, but the two best in the NFL. But back to what I was saying, Donald Jones, Michael Jenkins, and whoever else they bring in or draft I'm sure will have a multiple skillset that is more than what defenses knew Wes brought to the table.

Gameplanning for the likes of Jenkins and Jones at the beginning of the year will consist of the DCs spending 5 days on Gronk/Hernandez/Amendola and then 5 seconds on Jenkins/Jones. You're talking about 2 receivers who'll probably be lucky to make the team.

And don't forget that on top of those two receivers, Danny Amendola who would be Wes in this situation, is the first person that has to be accounted for. Not only that, but he offers more than what Wes did. Additionally, by no way saying they are better receivers than Wes, but can do more than just kill you in slot like Wes could, which is all he could do better than anyone else but still all he could do. So now that's those two dynamic TE's, a bonafide number 1 and like 3 to 4 other options you would have to defend. Something that hasn't been seen since the times of my screen name.

Are you sure you've watched the Patriots play football in the past few years?

 

[Brady2Moss]

So you have 120 balls that need to be caught and the only name you can come up with is Jones?

That's when you should have hit delete thread and realized it isn't solid.

 

[NewEngland2001to2004]

No, you don't, unless you also give that same credit to Lloyd. That must be where you're going off the rails.

Welker > Amendola
Lloyd > Everyone currently on the Patiriots WR roster with the possible exception of Amendola



Gameplanning for the likes of Jenkins and Jones at the beginning of the year will consist of the DCs spending 5 days on Gronk/Hernandez/Amendola and then 5 seconds on Jenkins/Jones. You're talking about 2 receivers who'll probably be lucky to make the team.



Are you sure you've watched the Patriots play football in the past few years?

My man, there is a reason Brandon Lloyd is no longer here. I think he underachieved tremendously and could've stepped up to the plate more last year while Wes and Aaron were struggling to get open. Don't get me wrong he has had a decent season last year but could've done a lot more in my opinion especially with his athleticism (have to be kidding me) but didn't do so, and it took him a while to finally gain some chemistry with Tom. He didn't cut it for me last year, so lets give others a shot who really want it (again not saying how but he wanted just what appeared on the field at times). And like I said, who knows how good Donald Jones and whoever else is brought in will be so game planning is unknown. He has a lot of upside, and even burned us a few times. Not to mention he was catching passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick. And who was Michael Jenkins receiving from, Michael Vick? Christian Ponder? New places and new faces have worked well for many receivers on the receiving end of legendary quarterbacks and coaching. And as much as I love Wes, he dropped some big game balls and simply COULD NOT get deep. His inside game was legendary but that WAS IT, inside game. Amendola can do both in and out. Maybe not the inside as good as Wes but he still can do both very very well. Its just a matter of him staying healthy. And I remember the days when David Patten was brought in from Cleveland and all you would here was "oh he may not even make the team".. or Reche Caldwell "he will be number two option at best" AFC Championship game and Patten a contributor to 3 Championships. Don't confuse big name or known name and automatically associate it with talent. Kind of like when Chad Ochocinco and Brandon Lloyd were brought in, or perhaps Joey Galloway "oh that guy is a big name, he'll wreak havoc" ... What happened?? The only big name to do that after he came in was Randy Moss. Wes wasn't a big name at all when he was brought in from MIA only as a return man and look what happened.. David Givens wasn't a big name out of ND when he was drafted, nor was Deion Branch out of Louisville a huge name .. but they worked well in the system and with Tom.. the team and system brought out their upside..

 

[Deus Irae]

My man, there is a reason Brandon Lloyd is no longer here.

And you don't know what it is.

I think he underachieved tremendously and could've stepped up to the plate more last year while Wes and Aaron were struggling to get open. Don't get me wrong he has had a decent season last year but could've done a lot more in my opinion especially with his athleticism (have to be kidding me) but didn't do so, and it took him a while to finally gain some chemistry with Tom. He didn't cut it for me last year, so lets give others a shot who really want it (again not saying how but he wanted just what appeared on the field at times).

You're posting this when one of the alternatives brought in has earned the nickname "Molasses Mike", who's best year was 777 yards and has never exceeded 53 receptions.

And like I said, who knows how good Donald Jones and whoever else is brought in will be so game planning is unknown. He has a lot of upside, and even burned us a few times. Not to mention he was catching passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The Bills should know, and they let him walk.

And who was Michael Jenkins receiving from, Michael Vick? Christian Ponder? New places and new faces have worked well for many receivers on the receiving end of legendary quarterbacks and coaching.

He also had Matt Ryan throwing to him, and his career best doesn't even approach Lloyd.

And as much as I love Wes, he dropped some big game balls and simply COULD NOT get deep. His inside game was legendary but that WAS IT, inside game. Amendola can do both in and out. Maybe not the inside as good as Wes but he still can do both very very well. Its just a matter of him staying healthy.

Amendola's season long receptions, since his debut:

25
36
18
56

Welker's season long receptions, since 2005

47
38
42
64
58
35
99
59

And I remember the days when David Patten was brought in from Cleveland and all you would here was "oh he may not even make the team".. or Reche Caldwell "he will be number two option at best" AFC Championship game and Patten a contributor to 3 Championships. Don't confuse big name or known name and automatically associate it with talent.

You have no idea what you're talking about here. I get that you're an over-the-top homer, but seriously.

Kind of like when Chad Ochocinco and Brandon Lloyd were brought in, or perhaps Joey Galloway "oh that guy is a big name, he'll wreak havoc" ... What happened?? The only big name to do that after he came in was Randy Moss. Wes wasn't a big name at all when he was brought in from MIA only as a return man and look what happened.. David Givens wasn't a big name out of ND when he was drafted, nor was Deion Branch out of Louisville a huge name .. but they worked well in the system and with Tom.. the team and system brought out their upside..

Dear God, not this load of crap again...

 

[PatsFan37]

Yes, it is, and it is no more about sulking over Welker than is I.R. Dowling.


Also, should the starting 5 across ever end up as

Gronk
Hernandez
Amendola
Jones
Edelman

I'll find "The Glass Menagerie" to be funny and appropriate there.

Perhaps they should sign a good corpsman.

 

[Sciz]

Split those two guys out wide and now you've neutralized the advantage a bit.

Depends how the defense reacts. If the defense is in base and you split out Hernandez, that means either a safety or linebacker is on Amendola, and that's a win for the offense. If you split Hernandez out and a linebacker goes with him, then the defense has one fewer linebacker in the box and a more than likely a positive matchup with Hernandez with a linebacker in coverage. Lots of really good things can come from splitting a TE out wide like that.

 

[Brady2Moss]

So you have 120 balls that need to be caught and the only name you can come up with is Jones?

That's when you should have hit delete thread and realized it isn't solid.

Wow I'm an idiot wrong thread.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Nah, Legit number one Receiver and landing Sanders is definitely a plus.

 

[Ivan]

I think what is freaking people out is the dire need for WR's with the draft pretty much being the primary option left to the Patriots. The positive is that there are a number of really good options where the Patriots are drafting, and they could get a really good young player if things fall right, however given Belichick's reluctance to use high picks for WR's we could see him look right past them, take a defender, and leave the Patriots looking at a bunch of Jags with Amendola which would be a horrible way to go into next year and would be eerily reminiscent of 2006. Hopefully this isn't the plan or the way it ends up and they add both a 1 and a 2 to go with Amendola before the season begines. I don't care how they do it as long as they get it done.

 

[goheels22002]

Michael Jenkins - Could be just a roster filler, but I know Bill better than that. This guy is brought in for depth, veteran leadership, knowledge and height.

Hmmm. You "know Bill better than that?" What does that mean?

With your knowledge of Bill, what is the next move at WR going to be? They let four guys go - LLoyd, Branch, Welker and Edelmen and have signed three - Amendola, Jones and Jenkins. You suggest they bring Edelman back, but that hardly looks like a starting receiver group.

The only clear starter there is Amendola. My guess is that at least three more guys will come on board to compete for the open receiver positions. Probably a draft pick, maybe Sanders (is he signed to an offer sheet or what?), and Edelman? That's it?

Personally, I wouldn't expend a draft pick at WR. They need to use those precious few picks for #1 DL, #2 OL and one more DB.

Whet we have is an overall downgrade at WR if you ask me.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Maybe is such a broad term. Going into the 2001 season you could have said maybe we were able to piece together a formidable DL and OL this offseason relying on rookies and scrap heap UFA's. Or that maybe our lack of talent at RB and WR/TE would be just enough to reach a SB while relying on our defense/ST which were far from elite at the time anyways.

But would you ideally want to enter the regular season with that roster(without knowing what we know today about Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour, Matt Light, Patten, Andruzzi, Compton, Phifer, Patten etc.) and expect to be a serious threat? Definitely not. And I would ideally not want to enter this season with the set of WR's we currently have. Give me 1 or 2 more proven outside options or a stud prospect like Big Sey was (unlikely since we are not picking in the top half) and I'd say we're good to go. Currently Amendola is the only one who is proven as a capable producer lately and even he is far from a sure thing given the injuries.

 

[scout]

Nah, Legit number one Receiver and landing Sanders is definitely a plus.

When he signed his the offer sheet, someone mentioned we would know in 5 days.....seems like 10 days. Anyone know when day of reckoning is, or was that misinformation?

 

[Sciz]

When he signed his the offer sheet, someone mentioned we would know in 5 days.....seems like 10 days. Anyone know when day of reckoning is, or was that misinformation?

He has not yet signed an offer sheet. That was a false report. He can still do so any time between now and the end of the day on April 19.

 

[scout]

He has not yet signed an offer sheet. That was a false report. He can still do so any time between now and the end of the day on April 19.

Let me get this straight: A thread claimed that Sanders signed a contract, was determined to be a false claim, and the title of the thread changes and runs for at least a week.............THEN, someone posts that he signs? We should have a special place for that member (wtf).

 

[Brady6]

The question is about the WR core. People using the TEs and RBs are just muddling the issue. The WR core isn't solid. It's lousy. It has no OWR1 or OWR2.

The reality is that we've really exhausted every way other than the draft to fill the void at WR X. We've traded for a player (Chad Johnson), we signed a free agent (Brandon Lloyd) and neither of them provided a solution to the problem so that makes it extremely clear to me anyway that the only way to solve the problem at that position is through the draft.

IMO our WR positions should be viewed as 2 separate position and the only one with an ongoing issue has been the X position. Welker and Edelman have filled the Z position without issue for 7 years and I have no reason to believe it won't be up to par in 2013.

 

[NSPF]

All these people saying that the only thing missing is a deep threat... How about the only thing missing is any kind of WR 1 at all? Amendola is the only real option at WR, and he'll be playing in the slot.

 

[Kontradiction]

I think what is freaking people out is the dire need for WR's with the draft pretty much being the primary option left to the Patriots. The positive is that there are a number of really good options where the Patriots are drafting, and they could get a really good young player if things fall right, however given Belichick's reluctance to use high picks for WR's we could see him look right past them, take a defender, and leave the Patriots looking at a bunch of Jags with Amendola which would be a horrible way to go into next year and would be eerily reminiscent of 2006. Hopefully this isn't the plan or the way it ends up and they add both a 1 and a 2 to go with Amendola before the season begines. I don't care how they do it as long as they get it done.

And if that happens, I'm sure Brady would be ecstatic.