Props to Jonas Gray

[Bourne Again Christian]

What does Grays contract look like?
It be nice to scratch running back off the draft list with the Carolina back and Hopefully Vareen and or Ridley coming back Gray locked up would make me feel comfortable about the running backs.
The O line is the biggest story hats off to Deglug

 

[wistahpatsfan]

Good to see the Pats offense isn't just black-and-white. There's a huge Gray area.

I loved how they went with Fleming as a 6th lineman and Gray ran to him every time he was in. The Colts knew he was coming and could do nothing about it. I hope Flemiing is OK after getting hurt because that set will be huge in a tight game.

 

[fnordcircle]

New England Patriots Squad Mentally Languid After Mandatory Pre-Game Existentialism Book Club Meeting.

After New England's 42-20 win over Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, former practice squad running back Jonas Gray said his record setting game, consisting of 4 rushing touchdowns, won't stack up to anything in the grand scheme of things.

"200 yards is an arbitrary milestone in a meaningless game," the former Notre Dame running back said, trying and failing to hold back tears. "I mean, it wasn't even 200 yards, it was only 199. Not that that extra yard would have meant anything...nothing does, or ever will."

At press time, Gray was seen clutching a Joy Division t-shirt and pontificating over selections from Jean-Paul Sartre's 1943 nihilistic classic Being and Nothingness.

Credit to /u/noraamitt from Reddit.

 

[mayoclinic]

Peter King had what I thought was perhaps the most impressive stat regarding Gray's performance last night:

In 38 rushes, he had zero negative carries. It’s a pretty big difference in a game when it’s second-and-four or second-and-six consistently—and never second-and-12.

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/11/17/nfl-week-11-jonas-gray-patriots/

0 negative rushes in 38 attempts. That has to make BB very, very happy.

 

[PatsBoy12]

Props to the young kid for having a career night and getting his first NFL touchdowns. We'll need more of that as the weather gets colder and the games begin to mean more. He don't know if he really understands how important he will become at this time.

 

[fnordcircle]

Right in the li'l Sergio.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

What a very pleasant surprise Gray was. The kid sure looked the part last night with excellent vision, decision making and decisiveness. Oh, and very good strength and power to boot. Very good combo.

 

[Brady6]

Gray is a lot more explosive than I thought, he gets throw the hole quickly and runs with power. He is a good RB. I would still draft a RB personally, because I would love to have a top 5 back for Brady to lean on as he wraps up his career.

 

[manxman2601]

Interesting fact. The top four RBs with the most carries yesterday were all rookies: Gray, Alfred Blue (Texans), Tre Mason (Rams) and Jeremy Hill (Bengals).

 

[patchick]

I would still draft a RB personally, because I would love to have a top 5 back for Brady to lean on as he wraps up his career.

I'd certainly draft an RB, but not terribly early. IMO you can no longer lean on ANY running back in the new NFL; in fact, I see a top-5 RB as one of the least impactful top-5 players you can have. Plus none of these guys...

Interesting fact. The top four RBs with the most carries yesterday were all rookies: Gray, Alfred Blue (Texans), Tre Mason (Rams) and Jeremy Hill (Bengals).

...were drafted in the top 50 picks.

 

[JMC00]

I'd certainly draft an RB, but not terribly early. IMO you can no longer lean on ANY running back in the new NFL; in fact, I see a top-5 RB as one of the least impactful top-5 players you can have. Plus none of these guys...

Retaining Vereen, hanging onto Gray (I believe he is a RFA), White with a year learning the system, and Gaffney coming back from injury I think they could be set. Not saying they shouldn't take a RB but I wouldn't take one before the 5th round.

 

[shmessy]

Jeff Howe @jeffphowe
Why stock in RBs is weird: Gray had 199 yds, 4 TDs after 2-plus yrs on P-squads. Richardson has cost teams 2 1st-rounders and had 0 yards.

 

[patchick]

hanging onto Gray (I believe he is a RFA)

FYI this is Gray's first season on a 53-man roster, so he'll be a ERFA for a while yet.

 

[shmessy]

Gray is a lot more explosive than I thought, he gets throw the hole quickly and runs with power. He is a good RB. I would still draft a RB personally, because I would love to have a top 5 back for Brady to lean on as he wraps up his career.

You mean a 1st rounder like a Trent Richardson?

 

[manxman2601]

I'd certainly draft an RB, but not terribly early. IMO you can no longer lean on ANY running back in the new NFL; in fact, I see a top-5 RB as one of the least impactful top-5 players you can have. Plus none of these guys...



...were drafted in the top 50 picks.

I think it depends on the role. I would be unlikely to complain about getting Todd Gurley, who gets AP comparisons, in the top 50 and, because I think he can be better than Vereen, Ameer Abdullah in the 2nd round. After all, seven of the top 10 RBs this year (total rush yards) were still drafted in the top three rounds.

 

[JMC00]

Jeff Howe @jeffphowe
Why stock in RBs is weird: Gray had 199 yds, 4 TDs after 2-plus yrs on P-squads. Richardson has cost teams 2 1st-rounders and had 0 yards.

Well to be fair Richardson did catch a 21 yard pass in garbage time that put Luck over 300 yards so his 300+ yard game streak wasn't broken. That's gotta count for something right?

 

[manxman2601]

You mean a 1st rounder like a Trent Richardson?

Or Marshawn Lynch. It works both ways. And anyway, Trent Richardson is a double first-rounder

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

he's pretty good because he doesn't dance around...he makes his 1 cut..sticks with it and heads downhill. Reminds me a tad of Dillon. Makes 1 cut and just heads strait on down the pipe

 

[mgteich]

We have 3 RB/FB roles: lead RB back, change of pace back/3rd down back, and fullback.

LEAD RUNNING BACK
Going forward, we are fine with Gray as our #1 RB. I would let Ridley walk. With Gray on the squad for at least a couple of years, we have our lead back. We COULD sign Gray to a long-term contract.

CHANGE OF PACE/3rd DOWN BACK
Obviously, we want to re-sign Vereen. White's skill set makes him Vereen's backup.

FULLBACK
I think that we should sign Develin to a long-term contract. But he's an ERFA like Gray, so there is no "need".

OTHERS
We could/should draft another (or sign a free agent) to replace Bolden on the roster. This will be more necessary if Vereen isn't re-signed. I don't look at youngsters on the IR, since we have never had one produce.

BOTTOM LINE
We start the 2015 roster with Gray, White and Develin (and most of our OL). In that context, I think that Vereen is worth a pretty good contract. Vereen is a major part of our passing and running game. The other "need" for the running game is to re-sign Connolly.

 

[patchick]

Going forward, we are fine with Gray as our #1 RB.

Wow. I'm not quite ready to go that far yet.