Podcast: Brandon Tate interview

[Box_O_Rocks]

Fred makes some good points ... I had taken Tate off my list of players the Patriots might draft because of the stupidity of failing the drug test at the combine. No question, Tate was a 1st round talent before his knee injury ( he was better than Hakeem Nicks who was taken in by NYG in the 1st). Tate doesn't sound intelligent and if I remember correctly, he did very poorly on the wonderlic test.

With all that said ... I still hope that he succeeds, is ready to go for the 1st game because a return man, he is very dangerous!!! Perhaps he has that "football smarts" and instinct that you just can't teach!

Yes, Tate was a surprise pick for me after failing the whiz quiz, but there's no questioning the talent. A majority of WRs seem to be head cases or walking ego trips, but in one sense you have to have that to compete in their job. It is what it is, which is why BB gets the big bucks.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

On the other hand there is a lot of upside to Tate. If he had not gotten injured and had not done the Ricky Williams thing with the weed he might have been first round material. Not bad in round three if it works out.

Saying that I don't want to anoint him the next Randy Moss just yet. He has probably had a free ride with the college enablers for the last three years; now he has a lot to prove.

I would be happy if he turns into David Givens (the most underrated player in Patriots history?). Very happy. In watching old tapes it was incredible how many clutch third downs Givens made.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

On the other hand there is a lot of upside to Tate. If he had not gotten injured and had not done the Ricky Williams thing with the weed he might have been first round material. Not bad in round three if it works out.

Saying that I don't want to anoint him the next Randy Moss just yet. He has probably had a free ride with the college enablers for the last three years; now he has a lot to prove.

I would be happy if he turns into David Givens (the most underrated player in Patriots history?). Very happy. In watching old tapes it was incredible how many clutch third downs Givens made.

D-Giv was a stud.

 

[bbell31]

just wondering..most pats fans dont seem to high on aiken? y is that and what does greg lewis have that sam doesnt?? aiken seems fast and definitely stronger and very solid special teamer..

 

[captain stone]

Brandon Tate, however, has a lot to prove after testing poz at the Combine and then blowing off a Patriots offseason event. You have to be smart to play in the Patriots system, but how smart can you be if you know are going to drug tested at the Combine and you still toke up? Not smart at all. He didn't exactly sound like a rocket scientist in the interview either.

He has to prove that he is not just another Patriots WR throw-away pick. So far it does not look good. Bill should be prevented from ever picking a WR early; he is a master at picking up FA WRs, but not drafting.

QFT.

Tate should not even have been considered until the 6th round.

What the FO should have done is tell Jax that they can keep their 7th-rounder & accept #83 instead of #73, because CB Derek Cox would have very likely been still available at the higher spot. The FO then could have drafted Derrick Williams, who carries a similar skill set with a better track record, and - most importantly - without the injury history & off-field baggage.

If Jax refused to budge, then the FO should have - at the very least - drafted Juaquin Iglesias at #83. While not as flashy as Tate or Williams, he is bigger, stronger, more reliable & more productive.

 

[bbell31]

yes iglesias is a very good possession receiver..great in open field but hopefully we will enjoy b.tate's versatility

 

[captain stone]

The reason we have more busts in rounds 2 & 3 is Belichick is more willing to play the upside on the risk tradeoff. In the first round he takes less risks, after that he's willing to risk a bust for the upside of getting another Branch. 2nd round picks are replaceable; heck, we have 3 for the 2010 draft. I think Belichick would be find having two Chad Jacksons for every one Deion Branch because he can always get a decent player in the spot that the bust would have been through free agency.

If that's his strategy, then his strategy sux.

The strategy should be: Take the best player available at positions of need.

 

[captain stone]

And I bet Belichick is reasonably happy with those picks. Out of three #2s he got 4 good, cheap years out of Branch and should get 5 good, cheap years out of Meriweather. That's a pretty good haul out of three #2s. Not great, not really good but pretty good.

Why are you bringing up Meriweather, who was a 1st-round pick?

 

[captain stone]

I stand by what I said. He has to prove that it was a stupid mistake, not a pattern of idiocy. I am sure that Beichick has told him something similar.

Big WRs have a sense of entitlement, encouraged, no doubt, by fans ready to look the other way. Apparently enabling fans are on this group also.

You got that right.

 

[captain stone]

The reason i am excited about Tate is because he can possibly resurrect our intermediate passing game to the way they were under Charlie Weis. Tate is not overly fast but he is strong and quick enough to create seperation. Looking at him, i envision him playing a role very similar to David Givens= working the intermediate routes 15-20 yards and catching the occasional deep ball.

If you haven't noticed our intermediate passing game is basically gone. I am not talking about those five yard catches that turn into 15 yard gains. Other than Gaffney, we had no real quality reciever that could run an intermediate post over the middle of the field for the past 2-3 seasons. And i drop everything Watson hasn't been up to par catching the type of passes that used to be thrown to Givens.

Lastly, do you guys remember the way Brady would hike the ball and instantly throw is to the receiver like a bubble screen, but they had no blockers and it would be up to the receiver to beat the corner back in front of him for like five or so yards. It kind of felt like the Pats patented that move by how effective it was especially to Givens and Branch. They also did hard slants much like the way Greenbay does it and it worked because Givens was very physical and often stiff armed his man while Branch often juked by his. The Pats tried this with Moss before, but as gifted as he is, he did not possess the needed elusiveness to pull it off and when they tried this to welker it did not fool the defense because he always has someone close to him because he is not usually a deep threat. I am hoping they can bring this back with Tate since he is a deep threat and he was the nation's top punt and kick returner. This is why I am hoping he doesn't disappoint my expectations. His skill set along with Brady's accuracy, barring injury, should bring great things to come for this offense.

I would love to hear other thoughts on how you think he will fit in this offense.

Many good points, though I don't think that what Tate has to offer - such as it is - parallels what Givens did for us. If he ever reaches his potential, then Tate would more closely resemble Branch.

 

[Steamer86]

With only 26 posts, none that add any insight to the conversation.

Already getting into fights with veterans posters. Called out for making stuff up. And his post not only don't seem to be improving they seem to be getting more and more trollish.

I have to say the outlook for Tate is much better than for Fred.

Fred - You need to kiss ***** of all the veteran posters who average 20 posts a day and agree with whatever they say, or else you are a troll....that is the rule number one....

 

[captain stone]

With only 26 posts, none that add any insight to the conversation.

Already getting into fights with veterans posters. Called out for making stuff up. And his post not only don't seem to be improving they seem to be getting more and more trollish.

I have to say the outlook for Tate is much better than for Fred.

May I assume, then that you have actually read all 26 of Fred's posts?

The arrogant, sycophantic, BB-can-do-no-wrong-ever-and-how-dare-anyone-question-him attitude sometimes found on this board is something I would expect from hayseed, inbred Dolts fanboys.

Un-effin-believable.

 

[captain stone]

As Klecko the Younger demonstrated to us, all the passion in the world doesn't matter if you can't get the job done.

Dan Klecko: another lousy draft choice.

 

[bbell31]

tate wouldnt have been there in the 6th round imo, although i love iglesias because ima sooner, i think tate duz have tremendous upside as well, mckenzie is the pick i wonder about and edelman...mckenzie great attributes but i dont c enuf athleticism to b really good...we will c...we dont know as much as we think we do, that is certain..ha

 

[captain stone]

Fred makes some good points ... I had taken Tate off my list of players the Patriots might draft because of the stupidity of failing the drug test at the combine. No question, Tate was a 1st round talent before his knee injury ( he was better than Hakeem Nicks who was taken in by NYG in the 1st). Tate doesn't sound intelligent and if I remember correctly, he did very poorly on the wonderlic test.

With all that said ... I still hope that he succeeds, is ready to go for the 1st game because a return man, he is very dangerous!!! Perhaps he has that "football smarts" and instinct that you just can't teach!

As do I.

I'm not joking, either. I just have very, very serious doubts.

 

[captain stone]

1) You are aware the BB has taken on plenty of problem children, right? Most of them were problem children whose problems were a lot bigger than taking a couple of bong rips.

2) And, from the North Carolina highlights I caught (when I was actually watching for Hakeem Nicks, lol), Tate caught my eye more than his counterpart on the other side of the ball.

1) True enough, though the problem children brought here (Dillon, Moss) were vets who already showed that they were among the best at their positions in the NFL. And I def. agree that there are much, much worse things to do than feed your head - just not right before the Combine.

2) I hope you're right; Tate just didn't do it, as often or for as long as he needed to do it, to justify a top-100 selection...IMHO.

 

[DaBruinz]

Talk is cheap. He has a lot to prove.

As does any rookie. So, what's your point?

 

[DaBruinz]

No, I have a proven track record.

Brandon Tate, however, has a lot to prove after testing poz at the Combine and then blowing off a Patriots offseason event. You have to be smart to play in the Patriots system, but how smart can you be if you know are going to drug tested at the Combine and you still toke up? Not smart at all. He didn't exactly sound like a rocket scientist in the interview either.

He has to prove that he is not just another Patriots WR throw-away pick. So far it does not look good. Bill should be prevented from ever picking a WR early; he is a master at picking up FA WRs, but not drafting.

What off-season event did Tate "blow off"?

As for him testing positive, that is what sources claimed, yes. However, do you know that THC can stay in your system for over a month? Yes. That's right. Over a month. While I don't condone drug use of any sort, I try not to be blind to the facts regarding it. Yes, I did take Tate off my list of draftable players. However, the Patriots clearly felt that it wasn't an issue. Otherwise they wouldn't have drafted him.

Now, as for the Patriots drafting WRs. How many have they drafted since Belichick got here? I'll tell you. Including Tate, (but not Slater since he's not really a WR), Belichick has drafted 6. Bethel wasn't a complete bust as he was a good kick returner. Deion Branch and David Givens lived up to and beyond expectations. PK Sam was a 5th rounder with maturity issues. And Chad Jackson couldn't earn Brady's trust.

So, from where I stand, that is a 40% success rate. Not great by any means. But, what about the rest of the league? How do they rate?

 

[DaBruinz]

Cant everyone be me

No. Luckily for most of the posters in here, they are intelligent and willing to listen to facts on a subject.

 

[DaBruinz]

You wanna place a wager on that? I suspect he will be cut in three years.

Long odds on him; he was a gamble that the blogger seems to love. I don't know what this obsession is with big WRs but all the Patriots blogs seem to have starry-eye fans lusting after the next big WR sensation. But the reality is a little different; for every Randy Moss there are a zillion Charles Rogers. Even among the ones that make it there are a lot of giant egos; senses of entitlement; full length fur coats; and head cases like Terrell Owens. Blecch. The Patriots should stick to FA WRs and stop wasting draft pics on WRs.

I remember all the buzz about Donald Hayes. Tate is also big and slow and you have to also wonder about his mental agility after getting high before the Combine.

Dude - you clearly don't know what you are talking about. Tate isn't slow. You don't put up kick return numbers the way he did and be considered slow.

Donald Hayes actually had an undiagnosed learning disability. Its why he wasn't able to pick up the play book like he'd hoped.. But no one is comparing Tate to Hayes.

You're entitled to your opinions, but don't make sh!t up. You only come off sounding stupid. Especially with the number of extremely informed people on this board.