on the positive, Josh Boyce looked good

[scout]

Buster Skrine tried to trip him as a last resort and Boyce still made him look foolish.

Boyce reminds me of one of DeSean Jackson of the Eagles in that he is so elusive.

 

[PatsFan2]

I think Boyce knows the Offense as well as Dobson and Thompkins and that he just got caught up in the numbers game. It's not like we had to throw him to the wolves when we got healthy on Offense with Gronk Vereen and others. He has gotten practice player of the week a couple of times, now with the injuries he getting his opportunities and making the most of them. He made plays against a Legitimate Defense which says something.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I don't think that was a trip attempt as much as him losing his jock strap.

EDIT: I can't remember, but was a flag thrown on that play?

I was looking for a tripping flag but none called as there was no contact. Good non-call.

 

[PlainOldEd]

I agree about Boyce looking good. At one point in the second half I said to my wife "on the bright side Boyce and Jamie Collins look pretty good, too bad no one else does today". Then Collins did have what appeared to be a bad play on that late Browns TD, but that play not withstanding to my untrained eye he looked better than he has so far this year.

 

[jsull87]

Woodhead's been more dependable. Vereen's more explosive and less expensive.

Sorry Deus i can not agree on the "been more dependable".

Vereen has been Brady's go to on big 3rd downs every game he has played.

IMO Vereen is a cheaper more explosive and just as dependable target. That is taking nothing away from Woodhead who i think is a great football player.

 

[Deus Irae]

Sorry Deus i can not agree on the "been more dependable".

Vereen has been Brady's go to on big 3rd downs every game he has played.

IMO Vereen is a cheaper more explosive and just as dependable target. That is taking nothing away from Woodhead who i think is a great football player.

Vereen's in his 3rd season, but he's only played 23 games. Woodhead's played 44 games in that same time period. Woodhead's had the higher ypa in 1 season, they've been even in 1 season, and Vereen's is higher this season. In addition, Woody's had more receptions each year, and he's scored more than twice as many TDs. He's averaged more receptions per game and more carries per game.

Even this season...

Vereen's averaged under 4 yards per carry in 3 games out of the 5 (60%) games he's had carries this season, and averaged over 7 ypc in the other 2.
Woodhead's averaged under 4 yards per carry in 5 of the 12 (42%). Vereen shines in the receptions department, no question, with higher ypc and a higher number per game, but woodhead has him beat in the run game and when it comes to durability.

It may change moving forward but, to this point. Woodhead's been the more dependable player.

 

[Calciumee]

Boyce was one thing I was very positive about in the game!

Looked good, and great in space!

 

[supafly]

Boyce was one thing I was very positive about in the game!

Looked good, and great in space!

You must be referring to his 22 yard gain on the bubble screen, but once again we have to credit the insane blocking of Danny Amendola who absolutely destroyed CB Buster Skrine by blowing him up like no one's business. He was flipped on his back with a viscous leveling.

Amendola hasn't produced nearly what we'd have hoped for (then again, no one predicted Edelman on pace for almost 100 catches either) and he isn't earning his contract through the first year of the deal, but his physicality and excellent blocking are refreshing to see from a WR. That's a definite plus.

Boyce obviously has a great deal of potential, and will be in the mix for more looks next season, but he was beaten out by the other 2 rookies for a reason. He wouldn't have seen the field again on many WR plays had it not been for injuries to both Dobson and Thompkins, as his overall knowledge of the system and route running problems seemed to be more than obvious at times this year. Sure, he's going to make some plays from time to time, but he isn't our best option at the position right now, so let's hope for Dobson and Thompkins to return quickly.

In the meantime, maybe they're able to get Boyce the ball in space some more on an end around, another bubble screen, or a couple of mid level throws. I'm sure he'll do something to make us appreciate his athleticism again very soon, but my concern is his ability to be on the same page as Brady/making Brady start over at scratch again like he was forced to do with both Dobson and Thompkins.

 

[captain stone]

Boyce - as well as Edelman & Vereen - had an inexcusable 1st-quarter drop, and he really
should've caught that pass in the EZ anyway.
I feel that while he doesn't have the bust potential that Aaron Dropson still has, let's not
fit him for a bust yet, either.

 

[RIpats88]

Boyce - as well as Edelman & Vereen - had an inexcusable 1st-quarter drop, and he really
should've caught that pass in the EZ anyway.
I feel that while he doesn't have the bust potential that Aaron Dropson still has, let's not
fit him for a bust yet, either.

Are you really calling him Aaron dropson after the few big weeks he had before injuring his foot? Not sure how you can say he has bust potential he's already shown he belongs in the nfl

 

[JMC00]

Are you really calling him Aaron dropson after the few big weeks he had before injuring his foot? Not sure how you can say he has bust potential he's already shown he belongs in the nfl

He's just another troll that needs to be eradicated from this place.

 

[Christian]

Excited about Boyce. Think he has the chance to be a player here. What an offense we could have been looking at had everyone been healthy.

Love that Boyce is getting a chance though. I think, in the next 2 years...if Gronk comes back healthy...our offense is going to be through the roof if these guys develop.

Dobson, Thompkins, Boyce all look like players who can be difference makers. Depth is essential and we have it.

Definitely going to need to draft/sign a couple OLinemen though. Would love to see us draft a capable TE high.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Excited about Boyce. Think he has the chance to be a player here. What an offense we could have been looking at had everyone been healthy.

Love that Boyce is getting a chance though. I think, in the next 2 years...if Gronk comes back healthy...our offense is going to be through the roof if these guys develop.

Dobson, Thompkins, Boyce all look like players who can be difference makers. Depth is essential and we have it.

Definitely going to need to draft/sign a couple OLinemen though. Would love to see us draft a capable TE high.

I do think that all 3 rookies need to spend the offseason doing what David Givens did after his rookie season, work that Juggs machine a couple hours a day. Givens became an incredibly dependable receiver hands wise after that. I would not mind drafting another receiver next season, maybe a big receiver (look at Chicago with TWO big receivers in Alshon Jeffrey and Brandon Marshall, and Arizona with Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd). Having 2 BIG receivers causes such mismatches. Maybe Rutgers WR Brandon Coleman (6'6" 230) or someone similar.

 

[captain stone]

He's just another troll that needs to be eradicated from this place.

I need to be eradicated from this place because you disagree with me? Wow.

I'm now eradicating your posts from any threads I read, m'kay?

 

[jsull87]

9 yards though

I always thought the general consensus that woodhead was the better running back of the two.

General consensus from who? you and your friends?

What point were you making with "9 yards though" ?

IMO it seems like you are trolling. Vereen has a 4.3 ypc career so i don't understand why you are saying he can't run.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Wow when I mentioned David Givens, I forgot how good he really was. Not only did he work on his hands after his rookie season, he worked on his footwork, really good at keeping his feet in bounds. He was also a big physical receiver. Not tall, I think 6'0" or 6'1", but around 210 or 215 pounds. He had a RB's body instead of what is considered a WR's body. Boyce reminds me of that at 5'11" or 6'0" and 205 pounds. Irving Fryar was like that too. Here's some great video of David Givens, reminds you how good he was (and clutch, 2 SB TD catches).

David Givens Highlights - NFL Wide Receiver - YouTube

Hopefully Boyce can become as good as Givens was. Kudos to Givens, he was a 7th round steal.

 

[jsull87]

Vereen's in his 3rd season, but he's only played 23 games. Woodhead's played 44 games in that same time period. Woodhead's had the higher ypa in 1 season, they've been even in 1 season, and Vereen's is higher this season. In addition, Woody's had more receptions each year, and he's scored more than twice as many TDs. He's averaged more receptions per game and more carries per game.

Even this season...

Vereen's averaged under 4 yards per carry in 3 games out of the 5 (60%) games he's had carries this season, and averaged over 7 ypc in the other 2.
Woodhead's averaged under 4 yards per carry in 5 of the 12 (42%). Vereen shines in the receptions department, no question, with higher ypc and a higher number per game, but woodhead has him beat in the run game and when it comes to durability.

It may change moving forward but, to this point. Woodhead's been the more dependable player.

Sorry Deus are you talking dependable as in "doesn't get injured" or dependable as in "we need to getthis 3rd down" or :we need a play" dependable?

Because if it's the latter i disagree and i don't understand what YPC e.t.c matter because the stat that would matter would be thrown to on 3rd down and the percentage converted. Also percentage of balls thrown to on third down total.

That to me is what dependable means. If you are saying that Vereen has been injured more that's fair enough. But having a larger RPC or YPC is not what i consider dependable.

 

[Deus Irae]

Sorry Deus are you talking dependable as in "doesn't get injured" or dependable as in "we need to getthis 3rd down" or :we need a play" dependable?

Both, and Woodhead wins out in each.

Because if it's the latter i disagree and i don't understand what YPC e.t.c matter because the stat that would matter would be thrown to on 3rd down and the percentage converted. Also percentage of balls thrown to on third down total.

That to me is what dependable means. If you are saying that Vereen has been injured more that's fair enough. But having a larger RPC or YPC is not what i consider dependable.

I don't really understand your issue here, so I don't really no what more I can say on the topic. The numbers are what the numbers are. Woodhead is more dependable, but Vereen is more explosive. The numbers bear that out, as does any eye test over the past 3 years.

BTW, Woodhead's rushing 1st down % this year is higher than Vereen's rushing 1st down % this year, so even that metric favors the little man.

 

[JMC00]

BTW, Woodhead's rushing 1st down % this year is higher than Vereen's rushing 1st down % this year, so even that metric favors the little man.

Not by much though.

Woodhead 25%
Vereen 23.6%

Receiving
Woodhead 41.5%
Vereen 52.5%

 

[Deus Irae]

Not by much though.

Woodhead 25%
Vereen 23.6%

Receiving
Woodhead 41.5%
Vereen 52.5%

No, not by much, and the numbers are obviously fluid. Moving forward, Vereen could certainly become more dependable overall. Obviously, as Patriots fans, we'd love that.