Today and Tomorrow Could Be Very Transaction Busy

[ATippett56]

DEVELOPMENTAL PLAYERS
We are carrying a lot: Francis, Forston, Bequette, Dennard, Hilliard, Bolden and Ebner. I am accepting that Rivera is getting his roster spot because of his special team play.

Once Vereen is cleared for practice, Hilliard seems to be the player deemed expendable. I would add Salas to the list of developmental players, as well.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

DEVELOPMENTAL PLAYERS
We are carrying a lot: Francis, Forston, Bequette, Dennard, Hilliard, Bolden and Ebner. I am accepting that Rivera is getting his roster spot because of his special team play.

Why not accept Ebner, then, too?

He was on the field for five D plays, had two tackles on ST, and is already playing on multiple (all?) ST units.

 

[mgteich]

fair enough

I shouldn't have included Ebner on the list.

Bequette is safe as a rookie 3rd rounder.

So, we have Francis, Forston, Dennard, Hilliard, Salas and Bolden.

There is more than enough roster flexibility in those roster spots to meet our needs.

Why not accept Ebner, then, too?

He was on the field for five D plays, had two tackles on ST, and is already playing on multiple (all?) ST units.

 

[Jimke]

Once Vereen is cleared for practice, Hilliard seems to be the player deemed expendable. I would add Salas to the list of developmental players, as well.

Salas is a developmental player in the Patriot's system. He had 27 catches
in 6 games last year and then got injured. I suspect he will be groomed this year as Welker's replacement. You notice he was among the players active for the game after being on the team for a short while.

 

[ATippett56]

You notice he was among the players active for the game after being on the team for a short while.

I also noticed Salas played zero snaps yesterday. McDonald and Vereen were ruled out due to injury, so Salas may be placed inactive once both the aforementioned players are deemed fully fit to practice.

Offensive snaps: Where's Welker? - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

 

[mgteich]

The Practice Squad is very competitive. We are carrying one WR and that player is Kelly Taylor.

I wouldn't mind them bringing Jeremy Ebert back into the fold. Was he ever picked up elsewhere?

 

[mgteich]

Last year we had Light, Vollmer, Solder, Cannon and Kopa on the Practice Squad.

This year, we have the same unit except Light, as you point out. Why shouldn't we be carrying the normal 4 OT's on the 53 man roster. If Cannon and Vollmer are sharing the RT spot, what happens if Solder is injured?

MY HOPE
That we add a WR, RB/FB and an OT.

I se no need for an OT. They have the same three and Kopa on PS, while getting well. That is what we had last season, less Light.

Did you notice that Marcus Cannon split time with Sebastion Volmer to no bad consequence, just like last season...

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I wouldn't mind them bringing Jeremy Ebert back into the fold. Was he ever picked up elsewhere?

What possible reason(s) for the Ebert obsession?
He showed nothing pre-season and the Pats who know him best obviously have no interest in him q.v. Salas.

 

[Jimke]

I also noticed Salas played zero snaps yesterday. McDonald and Vereen were ruled out due to injury, so Salas may be placed inactive once both the aforementioned players are deemed fully fit to practice.

Offensive snaps: Where's Welker? - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Salas has been with the team about 10 days. Not enough time with Brady.
I expect him to be a heck of a lot better future replacement for Welker
than Edelman. Salas was the leader in career yards at Hawaii while
Edelman was a quarterback.

 

[ATippett56]

Salas has been with the team about 10 days. Not enough time with Brady.
I expect him to be a heck of a lot better future replacement for Welker
than Edelman. Salas was the leader in career yards at Hawaii while
Edelman was a quarterback.

Edelman will also be an unrestricted free agent in 2013. If Salas can also return punts, Edelman may not be on the New England Patriots roster for the 2013-14 NFL Season.

 

[ATippett56]

What possible reason(s) for the Ebert obsession?

He showed nothing pre-season and the Pats who know him best obviously have no interest in him q.v. Salas.

Kerry Taylor's presence on the practice squad speaks volumes about Jeremy Ebert's lack of future with this organization.

 

[captain stone]

I want Gaffney re-signed, or Branch if Gaffney isn't yet ready.

I want Waters here, or Matt Tennant re-signed.

Who would I drop? Lex Hilliard, for one; and Danielle Fells, or HooHoo if Fells suddenly decides
to join the rest of his classmates.

Forston is another I would drop & expect to clear waivers. Bill could then persue a backup LB
who can actually play LB.

 

[DaBruinz]

It makes no sense to carry 3 defensive linemen on your 53 who aren't going to be active on game day. At least one of those guys need to go. Who will replace them? I don't know, but I don't think its going to be a WR. Gaffney and Branch are guys for down the road in case of injuries.

Personally I think our DLstarters played too many snaps as it was on Sunday, I think we need to get one of the DLmen activated if they are good enough, or replace them if they are not. And Hilliard seems really redundant with 3 TEs on the roster who can all line up as a FB

I'm not sure I agree with you PFK. I noticed regular subbing on the D-line. Plus, we had Cunningham coming in in Sub-Packages with either Love, Wilfork or Brace at the other DT position.

I'm curious as to what the breakdown of base packages to sub-packages was.

I'm more concerned about the lack of depth at LB than I am anywhere else.

 

[DaBruinz]

MY HOPE
That we add a WR, RB/FB and an OT.

Two of the 3 we don't need. We don't need another WR. We don't need another RB.

We need someone who can be the lead blocker out of the backfield instead of Connolly.

The Pats have 2 reserve OTs on the PS. They may be fine with that.

 

[DaBruinz]

Branch. Now. Plllzzzzzz...

It was clear that Branch was having problems getting open against 1st and 2nd tier CBs.. So why bring him back? Especially when you have Edelman and Salas on the roster.

OH, I've mentioned it before, Branch is lousy at punt returns, so he offers no special teams value.. The Team needs reserve WRs who bring Special Teams to the picture.

 

[DaBruinz]

Last year we had Light, Vollmer, Solder, Cannon and Kopa on the Practice Squad.

This year, we have the same unit except Light, as you point out. Why shouldn't we be carrying the normal 4 OT's on the 53 man roster. If Cannon and Vollmer are sharing the RT spot, what happens if Solder is injured?

You are over-looking the fact that they spent half the year with Cannon on the PUP. So they only had 3, but they had two guys, Kopa and Hix (until Hix got IRed) on the Practice squad. Which is the situation they have currently.

 

[mgteich]

I agree that we need a FB rather than a running back, presumably to replace Hilliard. However, I don't think that it is out of the question to bring in a backup power back, depending on Vereen's status. Most agree that Boldin could likely make it to the Practice Squad.

Two of the 3 we don't need. We don't need another WR. We don't need another RB.

We need someone who can be the lead blocker out of the backfield instead of Connolly.

The Pats have 2 reserve OTs on the PS. They may be fine with that.

 

[Sciz]

Keep an eye on Mike Person. The Pats put in a claim, but the Colts got him. They cut him today. There are a lot of teams who can claim him between the Colts and Pats, but I expect the Pats are interested still.

 

[MagicMarker]

Danny Aiken had one snap yesterday that Mesko had to move for, but other than that he seemed ok. I was thinking we might see Lonnie Paxton this week.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

fair enough

I shouldn't have included Ebner on the list.

Bequette is safe as a rookie 3rd rounder.

So, we have Francis, Forston, Dennard, Hilliard, Salas and Bolden.

There is more than enough roster flexibility in those roster spots to meet our needs.

Kyle Love is a good example of why it's a good idea to have a spot or two for a development defensive lineman.

By all accounts, Francis outperformed Bequette and has the same positional flexibility. Ask the Jets how well it worked out with Woodhead and McKnight keeping a draft pick over a player who outperformed him.

Dennard's talent makes him worth keeping, If he can't get healthy, he'll eventually end up on IR, he won't get cut.

Bolden backs up Ridley. Garbage time runs into a stacked line to run out the clock are not what he should be judged on.

Salas, who knows, they liked him enough to trade for him but that means little. Might need a while to get up to speed. Nice to see younger legs at the position though. The need for Branch and/or Gaffney is highly overrated IMO.

Hilliard, probably most likely to go but could potentially back up Ridley I suppose. I would think Hester would be an improvement at the position.