The New Guys

[DW Toys]

Keeping score on our FA Pick ups and trades I have some thoughts:

C -Ramon Humber LB >Has started some. Core Special Teams guy. Cheap. Had 50 tackles last season. Fills the Flemming and Dakoda Watson role. Maybe competes with Freeney.
D -Frank Kerse DT > Simply a depth move. Not much production. A camp body
B+ -Kevin Hogan WR> 3 year contract. Up Grade to WR core with speed and size. Will play ST. Protection when Danny's deal expires. Could start.
B -John Cooper G> Massive potential. Injuries hurt his career. Could be Scar's finest work. One year trial and if he walks maybe only a COMP in return.
C+ - Donald Brown RB>Important attribute! Can block at RB and we have not had that. Can catch. More complete back than Blount but not as physical. Abetter back could be found. It opens the door for a Draft pick and perhaps they can trade White for a decent pick.
B+ -Shea McClellin LB/DE> OK, Ninkovich is 32 and on the last year of his contract. He was good last year but down from the last three years. The last few Pats that wore #50 included Mike Vrable, who we got from the Steelers scrap heap who played a hy-brid LB/DE, Rob Ninkovick who now wears #50 and we got from New Orleans as a cast off and made into a hy-brid LB/DE and now McClellan who is also a hy-brid LB/DE but not playing within our defense....who by the way wore #50 in Chicago....Just sayin. They signed him for three years so they are looking at him for the future. Nink or Vrable wre never first rounders. These guys should start a fraternity on the Pats.
A- - Martellus Bennett TE>Maybe the greatest coup of the off season. Can might be a one and done but at worst Pats could end up as a COMP. If he and Gronk can play to potential this is a upgraded AH and Gronk a few years ago. Massive headache for any D coordinator. Could be 60-70 Catches and 12 TDs apiece. Red Zone duo extreme.
B -Chris Long DE> Brings back that vet presence we lost with Mayo. He is a younger Vet pick up than Rodney back then. Team guy. Will at the least help fill in Jones loss until the kids mature like Flowers and Grissom and the Rufus man. Sets the edge perhaps better than Jones did. Holds himself accountable. No excuses. Hopefully an Andre Carter part II revival.
C- -Nate Washington WR> Older talent who might be out of gas. (See Reggie Wayne and Chad Ochocinco). Camp receiver. Hope he proves me wrong. Rather had Anquan Bolden or James Jones. Kind of the head scratcher of aging WRs. Now I know we Draft a WR. See below:

Rank RECEPTIONS DROPS TARGETS CATCH PERCENTAGE DROP PERCENTAGE
15 Brandon LaFell WR NE 37 6 74 50.0% 8.1%
16 Nate Washington WR HOU 47 6 94 50.0% 6.4%

In comparison:

8 Julian Edelman WR NE 61 8 88 69.3% 9.1%

109 Anquan Boldin WR SF 69 2 111 62.2% 1.8%

For laughs:

145 Martellus Bennett TE CHI 53 2 80 66.3% 2.5%
42 Chris Hogan WR BUF 36 4 59 61.0% 6.8%

Jules had more drops but his catch percentage was almost 20% higher than each. Bolden was just plain better than all of them considering who his QBs were. Catch percentage means more. By the way they got Gronk on only one drop. Hogan played with a bad wrist ligament that was operated.

Cooper, Brown, Bennett, McClellan and Long are all first rounders. Take away our first rounders huh?

Nick Fairly DT still makes a whole lot of sense.

DW Toys

 

[signbabybrady]

Keeping score on our FA Pick ups and trades I have some thoughts:

C -Ramon Humber LB >Has started some. Core Special Teams guy. Cheap. Had 50 tackles last season. Fills the Flemming and Dakoda Watson role. Maybe competes with Freeney.
D -Frank Kerse DT > Simply a depth move. Not much production. A camp body
B+ -Kevin Hogan WR> 3 year contract. Up Grade to WR core with speed and size. Will play ST. Protection when Danny's deal expires. Could start.
B -John Cooper G> Massive potential. Injuries hurt his career. Could be Scar's finest work. One year trial and if he walks maybe only a COMP in return.
C+ - Donald Brown RB>Important attribute! Can block at RB and we have not had that. Can catch. More complete back than Blount but not as physical. Abetter back could be found. It opens the door for a Draft pick and perhaps they can trade White for a decent pick.
B+ -Shea McClellin LB/DE> OK, Ninkovich is 32 and on the last year of his contract. He was good last year but down from the last three years. The last few Pats that wore #50 included Mike Vrable, who we got from the Steelers scrap heap who played a hy-brid LB/DE, Rob Ninkovick who now wears #50 and we got from New Orleans as a cast off and made into a hy-brid LB/DE and now McClellan who is also a hy-brid LB/DE but not playing within our defense....who by the way wore #50 in Chicago....Just sayin. They signed him for three years so they are looking at him for the future. Nink or Vrable wre never first rounders. These guys should start a fraternity on the Pats.
A- - Martellus Bennett TE>Maybe the greatest coup of the off season. Can might be a one and done but at worst Pats could end up as a COMP. If he and Gronk can play to potential this is a upgraded AH and Gronk a few years ago. Massive headache for any D coordinator. Could be 60-70 Catches and 12 TDs apiece. Red Zone duo extreme.
B -Chris Long DE> Brings back that vet presence we lost with Mayo. He is a younger Vet pick up than Rodney back then. Team guy. Will at the least help fill in Jones loss until the kids mature like Flowers and Grissom and the Rufus man. Sets the edge perhaps better than Jones did. Holds himself accountable. No excuses. Hopefully an Andre Carter part II revival.
C- -Nate Washington WR> Older talent who might be out of gas. (See Reggie Wayne and Chad Ochocinco). Camp receiver. Hope he proves me wrong. Rather had Anquan Bolden or James Jones. Kind of the head scratcher of aging WRs. Now I know we Draft a WR. See below:

Rank RECEPTIONS DROPS TARGETS CATCH PERCENTAGE DROP PERCENTAGE
15 Brandon LaFell WR NE 37 6 74 50.0% 8.1%
16 Nate Washington WR HOU 47 6 94 50.0% 6.4%

In comparison:

8 Julian Edelman WR NE 61 8 88 69.3% 9.1%

109 Anquan Boldin WR SF 69 2 111 62.2% 1.8%

For laughs:

145 Martellus Bennett TE CHI 53 2 80 66.3% 2.5%
42 Chris Hogan WR BUF 36 4 59 61.0% 6.8%

Jules had more drops but his catch percentage was almost 20% higher than each. Bolden was just plain better than all of them considering who his QBs were. Catch percentage means more. By the way they got Gronk on only one drop. Hogan played with a bad wrist ligament that was operated.

Cooper, Brown, Bennett, McClellan and Long are all first rounders. Take away our first rounders huh?

Nick Fairly DT still makes a whole lot of sense.

DW Toys

 

[DW Toys]

My bad....Chris. Maybe an omen?
DW Toys

 

[jah]

Can Donald Brown actually block? I actually thought it was a weakness of his, probably because of "God damn it Donald!"

 

[RayClay]

Just refound the link to a neat little Canadian site. Always looked for NFL [not college] scouting reports just for guys like Kearse. He's been cut a lot, but picked up a lot too. Classic Journeyman.

Anyway, here's the search page for players including small scouting reports.

Click Bio.

Kearse

Scouting Report
Assets Really clogs the middle. Can be uncommonly stout against physical offensive linemen. Does a nice job of tying blockers up, showing the size and ability to occupy more than one at a time. Also aware and good at picking up the run.
Flaws Doesn't collapse the pocket for sacks like he could. Needs to keep working on his technique in general. Doesn't possess much speed at all in open space.
Career potential Solid, versatile rotational D-lineman.

Donald Brown

Scouting Report
Assets An explosive runner who can really pile up yards in spurts. Elusive, with the burst to get a jump out of the backfield. Has the nose to find holes, and a knack for the end zone. Has shown he's capable of stepping in as a starter without showing any rust.
Flaws Still a bit unpolished as a receiver. Doesn't take advantage of his linemen enough to create plays, and must prove himself as a blocker. Can be inconsistent and injury-prone.
Career potential Depth running back.

I don't know where these reports originate, but for someone like me, who follows the Pats closely, but not necessarily the rest, they're neat little thumbnails.

 

[JayNM]

B+ for Shea McClellin? Because it worked for Nink and Vrabel, who came from different teams and different schemes?
Ninko came with a 0.535 Million year deal in 2009.
I couldn't find the exact value of Vrabel's first contract here. But his 2005 extension was less than a million in the first year.

So, yeah, paying 4M per year for a (so far) mediocre at best player is horrendous.

I believe in BB, however I doubt he would get a 3 year /8 million contract offer from anyone. This contract reminds me more of the whole Arrington deal of years ago. Mistakes can happen

 

[RayClay]

B+ for Shea McClellin? Because it worked for Nink and Vrabel, who came from different teams and different schemes?
Ninko came with a 0.535 Million year deal in 2009.
I couldn't find the exact value of Vrabel's first contract here. But his 2005 extension was less than a million in the first year.

So, yeah, paying 4M per year for a (so far) mediocre at best player is horrendous.

I believe in BB, however I doubt he would get a 3 year /8 million contract offer from anyone. This contract reminds me more of the whole Arrington deal of years ago. Mistakes can happen

Vrabel was going to retire before we picked him up. Cowher talked him out of it.

 

[RayClay]

Can Donald Brown actually block? I actually thought it was a weakness of his, probably because of "God damn it Donald!"

I've watched that video a few times. It's hard to imagine his assignment was to pick up blitzers, but also run over if the tackle gets beat cleanly.

San diego listed as his strong points blitz pickup.

 

[50-yard-line]

B+ for Shea McClellin? Because it worked for Nink and Vrabel, who came from different teams and different schemes?
Ninko came with a 0.535 Million year deal in 2009.
I couldn't find the exact value of Vrabel's first contract here. But his 2005 extension was less than a million in the first year.

So, yeah, paying 4M per year for a (so far) mediocre at best player is horrendous.

I believe in BB, however I doubt he would get a 3 year /8 million contract offer from anyone. This contract reminds me more of the whole Arrington deal of years ago. Mistakes can happen

McClellin got 3 years, 8.95 million, with only 3.5 guaranteed. Basically, he's secure for one years, after which the dead money is peanuts.

it's not 3/12.

 

[BTTA]

I've watched that video a few times. It's hard to imagine his assignment was to pick up blitzers, but also run over if the tackle gets beat cleanly.

San diego listed as his strong points blitz pickup.

Agree. Just because Payton yelled at him doesn't mean he messed up.

 

[Ross12]

I've watched that video a few times. It's hard to imagine his assignment was to pick up blitzers, but also run over if the tackle gets beat cleanly.

San diego listed as his strong points blitz pickup.

I noticed that too - I've seen his blitz pickup praised more than once and I wasn't sure what the deal was.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

B+ for Shea McClellin? Because it worked for Nink and Vrabel, who came from different teams and different schemes?
Ninko came with a 0.535 Million year deal in 2009.
I couldn't find the exact value of Vrabel's first contract here. But his 2005 extension was less than a million in the first year.

So, yeah, paying 4M per year for a (so far) mediocre at best player is horrendous.

I believe in BB, however I doubt he would get a 3 year /8 million contract offer from anyone. This contract reminds me more of the whole Arrington deal of years ago. Mistakes can happen

I was of a similar opinion until I saw the reports of Seattle's interest. Seemed like they were projecting him as a starter to replace Bruce Irvin so it may be that there was another comparable offer out there.

 

[Kontradiction]

Since when can Donald Brown block?