Patriots Trade For Rams WR Greg Salas

[West Philly Patriot]

At 24 only a year removed from his rookie season still has potential to grow as a player. Ran a decent 40 and was a very productive college player in Hawaii's spread offense. There is the Josh McD effect so there's that, and he is as of now, our second biggest WR.

Cons are that he is a slot receiver that has decent quicks but not a burner or strong enough to beat the press. Not a threat to break one and won't put pressure on the D downfield. Having that said I like the pickup he is good depth which we have none of currently.

 

[Finnishfan]

make room for >

1mGreg A. Bedard‏@GregABedar
Patriots signed former Redskins WR Sam Kirkland to the practice squad. Ridiculous 45-inch vertical.

Wow. 45" actually ties for NFL record.

Even though he is "only" 5-11, that vertical more than makes up for it. Basically its even better than a 6-5 guy who jumps 39", becouse safeties would have hard time estimating his catch height when covering him over the top.

He definitely qualifies as a deep threat based on that vertical alone, but there must be flaws in that package becouse he failed to make the cut..

 

[WhiZa]

JMD was the OC there. Not every WR in the league demonstrated an ability to learn his offense. Salas must have.

If that's true then shouldn't he have scored a TD by now?

 

[Deus Irae]

There exists a double standard with the New England Patriots organization that I don't really care for. If Gaffney gets injured, Gaffney gets cut. If Shiancoe gets injured, Shiancoe remains on the 53 man roster.

You have no idea about the inner workings or the thought process behind the decisions, so this sort of comment is completely ignorant.

 

[Haste]

Being from St. Louis, the Pats are getting a Wr who still has potential to grow and will be able to perform. The offense should be a breeze to learn with McD.


Fisher has always been a fan of bigger WRs and Pettis looked to catch some balls this year leaving Salas not getting time in the offense during preseason. He basically was the odd man out.

 

[Big-T]

I'll believe it when I see it. Right now, you're just making up crap!

Erm no, I'm offering an opinion on what MIGHT be done, not ranting for the sake of it because you have some irrational hatred of Shiancoe.

Did he steal your lunch money or something?

 

[Sciz]

If that's true then shouldn't he have scored a TD by now?

To be fair, there were only 9 receiving TDs on the Rams all of last season, and Lloyd had 5 of them.

 

[ATippett56]

Erm no, I'm offering an opinion on what MIGHT be done, not ranting for the sake of it because you have some irrational hatred of Shiancoe.

Did he steal your lunch money or something?

How about we agree to disagree?

I'd rather have Gaffney on the 53 man roster than Shiancoe!

 

[Big-T]

I'd rather have Gaffney on the 53 man roster than Shiancoe!

But it was never Gaffney v Shiancoe was it?

Gaffney will most likely be back and contribute, Shiancoe might even play next week and contribute as well.

Anyone who can contribute to the team is fine being on the roster for me whether it be a TE or otherwise.

 

[Finnishfan]

You can be a deep threat without blazing speed, but I never meant it was his bread and butter, but that he could do in a limited way. I just meant he was more versatile than just a slot WR.

Well in my books, deep threat means a guy who can beat CBs with speed or athleticism, and therefore command extra attention from DC's and safeties.

But you are correct. Strength (to beat jams), agility (to beat bumps and make sharper cuts), ability to read longer passes and adjust your routes accordingly are also just as important. As are the fundamentals of playing on the outside.

After all, even pure wideouts run inside routes such as slants, drags and curls.

But that is not what I'm hoping we will get from this guy. I hope we get a guy who can beat CBs, whatever their coverage scheme is, when we need him to.

 

[Sciz]

How about we agree to disagree?

I'd rather have Gaffney on the 53 man roster than Shiancoe!

Let's make this easier. From now on, you're going to assume that Shiancoe is already on short-term IR, even though he won't be for another 3 days. That way, you can stop making a fuss about something that you don't understand.

 

[DaBruinz]

The record speaks for itself.
...
However, I stand by my point that the Patriots are terrible at evaluating talent in general at WR. This is probably because the offensive complexity, timing, and chemistry with Brady. Whatever the reason is they are not good at it.

Since 2000, when Belichick took over, the best WR they've drafted is Deion Branch. Deion Branch? I doubt there is another team in the NFL that has failed to draft any receivers in the last ten years that haven't had at least ONE 1000 yard season. Yes, I may be nitpicking, as he fell two yards short, but the point is that is their BEST WR draft pick.

If you look at the top 3 WR receivers in the Brady era, it's Moss, Welker, Branch. What about after that? Troy Brown was good for a few years but was a holdover from Parcells. David Givens? Stallworth who was okay for one year? Caldwell? Gaffney? We're literally talking about, in the last ten years for guys they've brought in:

-Two all-pro receivers (Moss, Welker)
-One borderline #1 receiver, who most would say is a #2 (Branch)
-A couple of decent, but not great #2 WRs (Stallworth, Gaffney). And just for a year or two at that
-A bunch of guys that would struggle to break the starting lineup anywhere else

All teams have plenty of busts at every position, but the list of failed experiments is very high:
-Chad Jackson
-Bethel Johnson (Isn't as big of a failure as you make him out to be. Injuries happen and can't be accounted for prior to their drafting someone)
-Reche Caldwell (How can you say he was a failure when he led the team is yards and receptions the year he was here? Maybe it's your evaluations that are a problem... )
-Sam Aiken (Sam Aiken was only ever a special team player. Not sure why you list him here as a "failed experiment".)
-Taylor Price
-Brandon Tate
-Joey Galloway
-Torry Holt (The fact that you list Torry Holt is pretty funny considering he never made it out of Training camp due to INJURY and not an inability to learn the play book)
-Chad Ochocinco
-And this is why I say if you add the summer of '12 to this list (which may turn out to be not so bad, but as of our knowledge at this moment, I see more bad talent evaluation.)

*-Brandon Lloyd- I hope he makes me eat my words.

The problem with these busts is that they aren't even decent enough to get on the field, let alone be playmakers. This entire list is just filled with horrendous results. Not guys who just didn't excel, but guys who couldn't even make the roster.

It would be foolish to say the overall production of the Patriots offense has failed expectations in any way, and it hasn't. But I can still make a point that it could be better, and as the whole Pats organization would say, there's always room for improvement.

You whine worse than a dog who thinks it hasn't been fed enough.. Seriously.

You mention David Givens, but really don't acknowledge what a great find he was for the Pats..

And half the guys you claim are failures, you mis-represent them to begin with . Like Aiken who was a special teams ace prior to coming to NE. And that was the primary reason for bringing him here. NOT to be a receiver.

Brandon Tate was a similar example. The Pats drafted what MANY teams though was 1st round talent in the third round because he was recovering from an injury. He was a kick and punt return ace in college and the Pats were hoping for at least that and him to develop as a receiver. Re-injuring his knee didn't help matters.

You act like the Pats have used high picks on WRs every year and have nothing to show for it. The reality is that they've used very few picks on WRs and have a decent amount of success. Same with the free agents they've signed.

 

[DaBruinz]

How about Shiancoe to injured reserve, finalize injury settlement, and boot his no practice no show arse from the New England area?

Rumor has it that Shiancoe will be given the IR Exemption..

 

[Deus Irae]

You can be a deep threat without blazing speed, but I never meant it was his bread and butter, but that he could do in a limited way. I just meant he was more versatile than just a slot WR.

 

[DaBruinz]

Technically, the New England Patriots have six tight ends under contract:

Gronkowski
Hernandez
Fells
Shiancoe
Ballard
Silvestro

Six tight ends is complete overkill considering the New England Patriots will at most dress three on game day.

Silvestro is on the practice Squad, not the team roster. Ballard is on the PUP and probably headed to the IR. So, that leaves 4.. And I CAN see the Pats dressing 4 TEs on gameday to keep Gronk and Hernandez fresh. Especially if Hernandez lines up more as a wideout than a TE.

 

[Big-T]

Rumor has it that Shiancoe will be given the IR Exemption..

So just to clear it up using that:

Shiancoe got injured but because he practiced he could not be placed on the PUP list.

Gaffney also got injured after practicing so could not be placed on the PUP list.

Difference - Gaffney's injury will probably be fine in the next couple of weeks so using the new IR exemption on him would be pointless, but Shiancoe needs that extra time, hence him staying on the roster and Gaffney getting a hand shake agreement for when he's healthy.

I hope that covers it for ATippett56?

 

[Ring 6]

I specifically remember watching this guy at the combine last year. While I'm no expert, even my wife (who isn't really an NFL fan), said to me: "He reminds me of Wes Welker."

There is no question in my mind that this is a potential Welker succession plan, or at least a shot in the dark to see if it works.

Meanwhile, Gaffney and Branch can't be happy right now, and I wonder if their loyalty and "Patriots only" mantra will start to fade fast. All I can say is the Patriots are the worst evaluators of talent at WR and CB in the NFL- fortunately, they are still the best organization in sports and no team hits 100%- but seriously, if this means Gaffney, Branch, Stallworth, and Gonzalez were all just bad moves, they need to bring someone in who knows the position.

This isnt a Branch/Gaffney replacement, it is an Ebert replacement.
Gaffeny is still our 54th player.

 

[moosekill]

Torn ligaments in ankle = injured reserve

If Gaffney was cut due an injury so should have Shiancoe.

You have made some of the most moronic posts I have ever seen over the last few days. Do you actually think the NFL has to be fair? Do you really believe that if a team cuts one injured player it should cut another? You can't actually be serious right?

You get that this isn't Pop warner football, these aren't 7 year old kids and this is a multi billion dollar business.

You do realize that some injuries heal faster than others, right? Also if you have a player signed to a multi-year contract you just might want to put him on injured reserve so you can keep his rights, while if you have a player signed to a one year contract there really isn't any reason to keep him if he won't be able to play again this year.

Time to click that old ignore button, WOOHOO!!

 

[DaBruinz]

How exactly would this work? What set?

The Pats use plenty of 2 and 3 TE sets. It's called ROTATING the players.. Keeping them Fresh. Mismatches against the defense.. :bricks:

 

[DaBruinz]

Yeah I am with you. I actually just remembered when I saw your post Ballard was PUP'ed so he could possibly return between weeks 6-9. I see no need for Shiancoe here and I am disappointed we are using a roster spot on him. A hamstring injury is a sign of not being in great shape a lot of times especially when it occurs after your first practice.

Absolute BS on your part. You've never played sports, have you? Some of the best athletes in the world who have years of practice and experience get hamstring injuries. It happened in the Olympics. And I guarantee that it wasn't from not being in great shape..