hDisclaimer: I have only read the first and last pages of this 11 page (so far) thread, and it is clear that it has gone from discussing Tim's release to hating on Logan Mankins and who knows what in between, so my comments might seem incongruous to the thread at this point, but I'm not about to read 9 pages of posts to catch up. Sorry about that,. if I'm out of synch.
I have to say I'm a bit surprised by his release and a bit disappointed, but it also points out a key factor to WHY the Pats have been so good so consistently. Tim Wright is a pretty good football player like most everyone is in this league. He had a great rookie season, and was very productive for the Pats, especially early on. IIRC he had 6 TD's in his only season with the Pats and that is a pretty impressive number, especially for a situational player.
However you can' help but notice the precipitous decline of his productivity as the season wore on, and the additions to the position in the off season. which brings us back to the key factor I was talking about that makes the Pats so good over the years. To play for the Pats,
you not only have to be good., you have to keep getting BETTER. If you don't keep on improving your play, you won't get snaps, and consequently won't stay on the team. CLEARLY, Wright's competitive level hit a wall about 2 thirds through the season and hasn't gotten any better.
We as fans sometime miss this subtlety, and are caught off guard when this player or that is released, even after some productive games or seasons. Maybe he didn't improve as a blocker, or maybe he didn't reach some weight or strength goal they had for him, or maybe he just wasn't playing at the level that others at his position were playing at, even at this early part of the season. Clearly they weren't happy with his play at the end of the season, and nothing he did this off season changed their minds. It is THAT competitive in the NFL for the great majority of the players in the NFL.
Tim Wright is a good player, who should be recognized for his contributions with the Pats while he was here, but despite those contributions, he didn't keep improving and now he's gone. Thanks Tim, and good luck. I hope you take the lessons learned here to heart.