Retirement leads to thin at ILB?

[Synovia]

Cousins,
I see Guyton and Mayo in the 3-4 "IF" we use that as the standard defense. After that we have Lenon, Alexander and Ciurciu.

All of whom had passed Bruschi on the depth chart, leading to his retirement. I don't see our depth any worse than it was 2 months ago.

 

[Synovia]

IF Mayo gets hurt, the Pats will go back to a 3-4 (or stay in it) and they will move Thomas back to the middle (or call Tedy out of retirement).

Hold on, so if their best LB gets hurt, they're going to switch to a scheme that requires more LB talent?

 

[PATSNUTme]

Can't we all just get along?

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

he didn't say this year



that's the last ten years, important = higher than a fifth.

so many of one doesn't make sense, mr. box.

So much of what's written in this thread, starting from the top, doesn't make sense. :snob:

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Paris Lenon,after his portrayal of a 6 year old girl playing jump rope (without the jump rope) at the goalline while Campbell made him look stupid should be very happy Bruschi retired because he needed help to make this team and retirement aids his cause,he still does not look like he belongs or is good enough in NE,but who is much better Alexander the not so great?...plllleeeease.

 

[RayClay]

So much of what's written in this thread, starting from the top, doesn't make sense. :snob:

Not my fault, I didn't start from the top. Only replying to that specific post in my own bitter, sarcastic way.

 

[captain stone]

Cousins,
I see Guyton and Mayo in the 3-4 "IF" we use that as the standard defense. After that we have Lenon, Alexander and Ciurciu. Has the speed dial button on Seau been hit yet?
Bill & Junior are going to wait until after Thanksgiving before making the hook-up.

Do you see another ILB/MLB being picked up? Are you happy with what we have backing up Mayo and Guyton?....not me.
Neither am I; but as of now, there's nobody left.

Is a FA like Derek Smith or Teddy Lehman of interest?
Smith's too old and Lehman's too small, even for our version of the 4-3.

This and losing McKenzie with a knee makes not taking a shot at Maualuga a little more of a "what"? in retrospect.
I'm more upset that Connor Barwin wasn't drafted with one of the 2nd-rounders. If Maualuga learns how to be an NFL LB, then maybe we can sign him in 4 years.

How about very good Eagle back up ILB Joe Mays (5'11" and 246lbs) and QB Feeley for Watson and a seventh?
Mays is Gaither's primary backup, so he's not going anywhere. How about Alex Smith for Matt Wilhelm & Feeley?

Back up ILB Bobby Carpenter of the Cowboys is having a spectacular camp. He is young and fast and covers the pass better than most. He is also a top ST guy and his dad played for BB.
Carpenter might be Dallas' first ILB off the bench, so only an overpayment gets him here.

Thoughts?
You Cousins foresee any ILB that could be a numbers cut or tradeable? Do you think we will stand pat?
DW Toys

Let's see what happens after the final cut-downs, because I'm loathe to trade any more draft picks. The last 3 trades of draft picks for vets (GLewis, ASmith & Burgess) haven't exactly set the world on fire, yet.

Food for thought: before the start of Day 2 of the '08 draft, Dallas traded ILB Akin Ayodele & TE Anthony Fasano for Miami's 4th-rounder at the top of the round. To trump that, we would've had to send our 3rd-rounder (#94), who became KOC. Had I known what Miami was doing, I might've called Dallas with a counter-offer.

 

[captain stone]

Your analysis is based off the Patriots playing a 3-4: how much have they played a 3-4 in the preseason thus far? Four drives over two games?

Your analysis would be better if you considered it within the defense that the Pats are actually playing, one that had Bruschi as a second-string MLB in the first three preseason games. In that case, Bruschi has a hard time making the roster without any special teams impact.

In the preseason, the Pats defense has almost exclusively looked like this, excluding injuries:

SLB: Thomas, MLB: Mayo, WLB: Guyton
SLB: Woods, MLB: Bruschi, WLB: Lenon/Crable
SLB: Alexander, MLB: Ciurciu, WLB: (Tank)

Early downs:
LDE: Warren, LDT: Wright, RDT: Wilfork, RDE: Seymour
LDE: S. Williams/(L. Smith), LDT: Pryor/Richard, RDT: Brace/Adams, RDE: Green

Passing downs:
LDE: Burgess, LDT: Green, RDT: Seymour, RDE: Banta-Cain/Ninkovich

I wonder, is Bill trying to fit square pegs (3-4 personnel) into round holes (4-3 fronts)? For instance, the part I bolded would almost have to be the slowest 4-man DL in the league. And can Adalius, Woods & Crable handle playing in the wide open spaces as 4-3 OLBs?

On the bright side, this Steve Williams guy, of whom I have never heard until this TC, has made himself some money, either from the NEP or someone else. All he does is make tackles.

 

[captain stone]

May I suggest that folks with a fatal penchant for idiotic trades that make no sense and have no value follow MLB instead of Patriots football? There'd be like minded company there. Another one star.

Nobody should ever tell anybody else that they should not follow the Patriots, just because they might have a different opinion on a particular position.

 

[captain stone]

DW-
Its pretty Jack Bauer brings more knowledge to this board wiuth just his pinkie than you do in your entire body.

I believe that is almost a physiological impossibility.

 

[Frezo]

Can't we all just get along?

It can happen, if, when a thread gets high jacked due to bickering and has no useful purpose to the forum and is nothing more than a distraction, it gets LOCKED. There is plenty to read here. If a thread or two get locked to prove a point, I'm sure they won't be missed along the information highway.

 

[captain stone]

All of whom had passed Bruschi on the depth chart, leading to his retirement. I don't see our depth any worse than it was 2 months ago.

Then the question becomes: should it be better than it is today?

 

[pats1]

I wonder, is Bill trying to fit square pegs (3-4 personnel) into round holes (4-3 fronts)? For instance, the part I bolded would almost have to be the slowest 4-man DL in the league. And can Adalius, Woods & Crable handle playing in the wide open spaces as 4-3 OLBs?

On the bright side, this Steve Williams guy, of whom I have never heard until this TC, has made himself some money, either from the NEP or someone else. All he does is make tackles.

Thomas and Guyton can, and that's all that matters.

What about Steve Williams' RTP penalty?

 

[captain stone]

Just a little pre-season over-exuberence.

As for Adalius & Guyton, shouldn't their backups also be able to play the 4-3 OLB position?

 

[DW Toys]

Yes, it seems ironic for DW to argue of Maualuga instead of Chung. Now, for me to make the argument for him or Laurinitis instead of Chung is another story entirely. Of course, one of these players could have been unlucky and we would be in the same position.

MG,
I like Chung. It was just a comment of Maualuga if he was available or if the draft fell a different way and we would have kept our number one, would we have still went Butler but in Round one? Or do you think we still take Chung pushed into the first round as our first pick(actually think if we kept the first round it was Harvin)? If our draft went slightly different could we have still gotten Maualuga? Seems like we still needed ILB depth then.

McKensie was a decent pick and I am sorry he got hurt. I would have picked Maualuga over him in the top of the second round but then I am not the Pats F.O. We had a couple shots at Maualuga and we went by twice. We had enough ammo to maneuver.

A little about Chung. I do understand this about Chung. I think the Lions grabbed Delmas by one spot ahead of us and foiled the Pats, who I think might have went with him instead of Chung...just talking. I do like Chung though. I think Delmas was the pick they actually wanted.
It's like #1 and #1a. Both decent.

All of this is a side bar and that is the past. It comes back to the initial question.Some have said McKensie might have played some outside not in, while Maualuga was more of an inside stuffer ILB. I would have enjoyed watching him here but he's not and I think we need some more help inside.

I am saying we are thin at ILB if we go 3-4. I hope we can add some depth.
DW toys

 

[VJCPatriot]

Wow Bruschi is gone. Looks like our other LBers will have to step up. Either that or BB finds another waiver/tc cut vet bargain to fill as a backup.

MG,
I like Chung. It was just a comment of Maualuga if he was available or if the draft fell a different way and we would have kept our number one, would we have still went Butler but in Round one? Or do you think we still take Chung pushed into the first round as our first pick(actually think if we kept the first round it was Harvin)? If our draft went slightly different could we have still gotten Maualuga? Seems like we still needed ILB depth then.

McKensie was a decent pick and I am sorry he got hurt. I would have picked Maualuga over him in the top of the second round but then I am not the Pats F.O. We had a couple shots at Maualuga and we went by twice. We had enough ammo to maneuver.

A little about Chung. I do understand this about Chung. I think the Lions grabbed Delmas by one spot ahead of us and foiled the Pats, who I think might have went with him instead of Chung...just talking. I do like Chung though. I think Delmas was the pick they actually wanted.
It's like #1 and #1a. Both decent.

All of this is a side bar and that is the past. It comes back to the initial question.Some have said McKensie might have played some outside not in, while Maualuga was more of an inside stuffer ILB. I would have enjoyed watching him here but he's not and I think we need some more help inside.

I am saying we are thin at ILB if we go 3-4. I hope we can add some depth.
DW toys

1. Have you ever considered that the Pats just didn't want Maualuga?
2. The Pats were not foiled. Delmas is a FS. Chung is a true in the box SS. Meriweather is undersized to play SS, so he's going to play FS. Drafting Delmas does not make sense in that scenario. Put it this way, would you rather have Sanders or Chung at SS? Down the road, I think Chung will start for us.

 

[mgteich]

Belichick was not in any way foiled. He preferred Chung to both Delmas and Maualuga.

Wow Bruschi is gone. Looks like our other LBers will have to step up. Either that or BB finds another waiver/tc cut vet bargain to fill as a backup.



1. Have you ever considered that the Pats just didn't want Maualuga?
2. The Pats were not foiled. Delmas is a FS. Chung is a true in the box SS. Meriweather is undersized to play SS, so he's going to play FS. Drafting Delmas does not make sense in that scenario. Put it this way, would you rather have Sanders or Chung at SS? Down the road, I think Chung will start for us.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

 

[mayoclinic]

Belichick was not in any way foiled. He preferred Chung to both Delmas and Maualuga.

With all due respect, how do you know BB preferred Chung to Delmas? You state it as though it were an obvious fact. I'm perfectly happy with Chung, but I'm not sure I see the basis for your assertion.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Let's just hope Mayo and Guyton stay healthy. Haven't both showed the ability to take just about every snap in a game before though? And then there is Lenon/Alexander to take some from each. Wouldn't be suprised is Seau is brought in for the stretch.