Slater to Return in 2023

[Steve102]

This whole thread.

 

[RobertWeathers]

This whole thread.

Larry Legend agrees

 

[ivanvamp]

Reading this thread for the first time. It's incomprehensible to me that ANYONE would be upset at this news that Slater is returning. He may not be prime Slater at this point, but he's still, at worst, a GOOD special teams player. There's no legitimate argument to the contrary. He's hardly making anything, and aside from good (if not great) play on the field, he's a premier team leader, by ALL accounts.

There's nothing to not like about this deal, and it's insane that people would think otherwise. Is this deal going to "move the needle" for the Patriots? No. Is it good to have Slater back? Yes, absolutely, 100%.

 

[h0c2000]

Are you serious?

The man has played in almost 250 NFL games and logged ~4500 snaps.

Your opinion of the man's body of work is based on one game?

Jesus.

Not his career, specifically Super Bowl 53. Jesus.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Not his career, specifically Super Bowl 53. Jesus.

Jesus what? I'm not a mind reader. You said you are indifferent towards Slater returning and was not impressed with his SB performance. What are posters supposed to take away?

If you want to say Slater was awesome except the SB and was mediocre last year you've then clarified your position.

 

[h0c2000]

You watched this multiple times, you watch Slater ”not being blocked” because he beat his blocker so badly that you can still see the bruises 4 years later, and therefore you determine it was an easy job because he was “unblocked”?

Using that logic, Randy Moss wasn’t anything special on the Patriots. Anyone can get open deep if they run 45 yards “unblocked,” that’s an easy job.

Not going to respond to your other points since it‘s quite clear that you have a binary view of things. One thing happened, one person is responsible for it. Football is not baseball, there are no binary events in football. Everything is correlated, the actions one person takes impacts the actions another takes. There’s a reason why all coaches view things this way, not just Belichick.

You are impressed that the Rams were protecting the inside and Slater "beat" his man who was playing in his last game in the NFL. I expect a vet ST to do that.

Using your logic, Randy Moss who was uncovered because the defense chose to do that is super impressive when he makes that catch.

 

[crawhammer]

Again, Allen had the biggest impact on that play, it was about as perfect of a punt as you can get. But Slater had the 2nd biggest impact, and there are a few extra yards there they directly got because of him.

Even if your 2nd biggest impact notion along with the "few extra yards" is accurate (which it isn't)... it's very telling that a 'Slater play' is one where he doesn't even touch the ball, which is the case for 99% of all plays he has ever been involved with. Looking at the full scope of a football game, he doesn't even have a realistic opportunity of being truly impactful.

As for that play, the punt landed on the 1-yard line, bounced backward, and would have come to a dead stop at the 6 or 7 (where it was downed). Give some credit to the long snapper if you want but the punter gets the rest of the credit. Slater didn't do a thing on that play that made any difference.

 

[DaBruinz]

The fact you're dying on this hill "just because others agree with you" doesn't make it any better. If you want to educate yourself and potentially act like you care enough to learn and grow, go look up the statistics when it comes to opposing teams scoring based on starting field position. That stat changes drastically from inside the 17 back, compared to beyond.

So that absolutely matters, and it's why Belichick screwed up Gostkowski's kicking (it messed with his FG mechanics for a bit - if you recall) when the league changed the rules and Belichick had him work on getting underneath it to get the ball higher and short of the end zone on kickoffs so that Slater could get down the field and stop the guy at or before the 15. That's because Belichick understands the key element that you're missing about this entire argument.

Who are these "others" that agree with Crawhammer? Do they even watch the games?

 

[DaBruinz]

I want to chime in on this discussion about Slater. I think that @crawhammer is on the right track with how less of a factor STs are. How many times in a game does Slater even step on the field? Not enough in my mind to even be mentioned for the HOF (which has become a joke anyway). And why exactly is he listed as a WR? Has he ever caught a pass? I see Slater playing a position that could be easily filled with another younger player who's able to do more jobs than Slater.

This thread isn't the place to show everyone how little you know about the game of football.

Slater has averaged 290 Special Teams snaps per season over the 11 years of his career. That's more than 14 snaps per game of the 223 reg. season games.

There is no OFFICIAL "Gunner" position. But Slater plays more than Gunner.
The fact that you think it could "easily" be filled by someone younger who is able to "do more" just reinforces my original sentence.

I'm not giving Slater credit for not being blocked. He ran 45 yards unblocked. He did his job and it was an easy job. There is nothing exceptional about Slater on that play. If the Rams were so concerned about Slater, he would have been double teamed.

The returner quit or was told under no circumstances to field it inside the 10. Again, no credit to Slater for that.

Unless Slater is Allen's golf buddy and taught him the intricacies of punting, Slater had a marginal not 0 but close to it impact on that play in my opinion.

As a gluton for punishment, I went back and watched every punt & kick.
1st Rams kick, moved his man off the play, good pick up on the return, Plus play from 18 for making a block
First Rams punt, slater missed the block, JE11 tacked for a loss
2nd Rams punt, oob, no impact from 18
1st Pats punt, 18 downs a punt that was going OOB. Sure great play but no impact on the play
3rd Rams punt, punt blown dead after ball stopped. No impact from 18
1st Pats kickoff, blocked out of the play, ball return about 27 yards
4th Rams punt, made a decent block on his man, no impact on the outcome of the play
2nd Pats punt, 18 misses the tackle, results in a 12 yard return, negative play from 18
5th rams punt, looks like 18 peels into defender role for trick play, punt downed by Rams, no impact by 18
should have kicked the FG on 4th and 1. Why Bill Why?
6th Rams punt, Pats decide to not return punt. 18 no impact.
END OF HALF
2nd Pats Kick, touchback 18 no impact.
7th Rams punt fair catch inside the 10. 18 no impact.
3rd Pats punt - see above, nothing special - link did not jump here, so I'll cover that below
8th rams punt, don't know wtf 18 was doing, double teaming, his guy ran free. but no impact on the play as it went to opposite side, where it rolled for a good bit
4th pats punt- 18 single blocked made the tackle on the catch, positive play by 18
Jason McCourty Great Play!
5th Pats punt - 18 single blocked at the Rams 45 (this is the play I think you mention) this play is 99% Ryan Allen and 1% slater. Again no attempt by the Rams to field this, 18 had no impact on this play's outcome
9th rams punt, 18 doesn't block anyone but I think this is by design, Pats don't field a return here by design didn't want a penalty
Gronk
3rd pats kick, touchback 18 no impact
Gilmore
Brady, let's kick the ball here, jesus bill not that hard to figure out
Ghost Game
4th Pats kick, touchback, 18 no impact.

If I grade him on kicks and punts, he gets a C. Probably gets a B if he doesn't miss the open field tackle. Sorry color me not impressed. His play was what a 10 year vet should make.

Tell everyone you don't know anything beyond the absolute basics of football w/o telling them you don't understand anything beyond the absolute basics.

This is almost like it's crawhammer all over again, but from behind a VPN...

 

[TheRainMaker]

Not really a blown coverage. McCourty was there, made the tackle but Ertz extended. A blown coverage is where a guy is wide open and walks in.

Agee, it's not a blown coverage, McCourty just tripped and attempted a shoe string tackle. However, McCourty getting isolated on receivers has been his kryptonite his entire career.

 

[Ian]

Agee, it's not a blown coverage, McCourty just tripped and attempted a shoe string tackle. However, McCourty getting isolated on receivers has been his kryptonite his entire career.

Just read your tagline and laughed. You should add "Now, sit up straight" to the end of it if it was long enough.

 

[1960Pats]

This thread isn't the place to show everyone how little you know about the game of football.

And yet you're here.

 

[Pape]

Matthew Slater and Bill Belichick only needed a few minutes to agree he's coming back - ProFootballTalk

When the Patriots announced that special teams captain Matthew Slater will return for his 16th season, coach Bill Belichick said he was thrilled. And that’s all Slater needed.The 37-year-old Slater told TheAthletic.com that he had a very short conversation with Belichick to confirm that both...

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

it took 2 minutes... Nice... Only needs ~ 2.5 years after '23 to be the franchise leader in regular season games played...

here's to Slater and 21...

 

[RobertWeathers]

Who are these "others" that agree with Crawhammer? Do they even watch the games?

No but they all watch Red Zone.

 

[DaBruinz]

You are impressed that the Rams were protecting the inside and Slater "beat" his man who was playing in his last game in the NFL. I expect a vet ST to do that.

Using your logic, Randy Moss who was uncovered because the defense chose to do that is super impressive when he makes that catch.

Every time you post you show that you don't understand the game of football beyond what they teach at the "Intro to football" level of flag football.

 

[DaBruinz]

And yet you're here.

That's because I actually know about the game. Which is more than anyone has ever said about you.

 

[DaBruinz]

You are impressed that the Rams were protecting the inside and Slater "beat" his man who was playing in his last game in the NFL. I expect a vet ST to do that.

Using your logic, Randy Moss who was uncovered because the defense chose to do that is super impressive when he makes that catch.

Nothing like changing the goal posts and not admitting you were wrong to begin with.
You go from claiming that Slater was "unblocked" to saying "ok, he beat a guy who hasn't played in the NFL since". You can't have it both ways.
Sam Shields was no slouch. In fact, he played in nearly half the Rams special teams snaps that year. You acting like he was some schlub that YOU could have beaten it so ridiculous.

I'm not giving Slater credit for not being blocked. He ran 45 yards unblocked. He did his job and it was an easy job. There is nothing exceptional about Slater on that play. If the Rams were so concerned about Slater, he would have been double teamed.

The returner quit or was told under no circumstances to field it inside the 10. Again, no credit to Slater for that.

The Returner "quit" on the ball because he saw that Slater had position on Shields AND because he knew that Shields would be breaking off at the 15. Why would Shields break off at the 15? Because he didn't know WHERE the football was and didn't want it to have it inadvertently touch him and lead to the Pats recovering. The Rams returner throws a block on Slater to try and prevent Slater from downing the ball at the 2. Which was a very good likelihood.

The fact that you don't understand that Slater's play FORCED the returner to make the decision that he did shows your lack of understanding.

 

[Uptown]

The 42-year-old apparently is taking on more responsibility. In a notes column published Sunday morning, ESPN’s Mike Reiss offered insight into Groh’s role in the Patriots recently re-signing special teams ace Matthew Slater.

“When special teams veteran Matthew Slater finalized his previous two-year contract in 2021, Matt Patricia signed it on behalf of the Patriots, a reflection of Patricia’s work in a general manager-type role at that time,” Reiss wrote. “Slater’s most recent one-year contract was signed by Matt Groh, which some around the NFL viewed as a reflection of his growing responsibilities as director of player personnel.”

Groh is a former scout who was heavily involved in New England’s draft process last year and confidently pushed back against criticisms of what, at the time, was a polarizing draft class. He eventually was vindicated, as the Patriots received significant contributions from multiple rookies this season.

Whether Groh and the Patriots will find similar success in the 2023 NFL Draft remains to be seen. But if they do find more impact players, Groh surely will start getting far more credit and notoriety than he currently gets.