Too many receivers?

[WhiZa]

Id think Crumpler's spot would be in jeopardy, but he is the best blocking TE the patriots had last year, and lee smith isnt going to be better than him, plus with as good as Gronkowski and Hernandez were last year, you'd want him to mentor lee smith as well through the season, and also keep Gronk and Hernandez on the up and up.

Impo:

4 TEs: Gronk, Hernandez, Crumpler, Smith

5 RBs: BJGE, Woodhead, Vereen, Ridley, Morris

6 WRs: Welker, Branch, OC, Price, Tate, Edelman

3 QBs: Brady, Hoyer, Mallet

I think that's a good prediction. Maybe PUP Crump initially to see what Smith gives you and if it's anything good you could probably cut Alge since he doesn't have many more years left.

 

[Deus Irae]

I'm amazed at how quickly so many have soured on Edelman.

I haven't soured on Edelman, and I wasn't pimping him as Wes Welker's replacement last year, either. He is who he is, which is the team's WR4. The question is whether or not the team thinks it needs to upgrade that spot. Johnson just arrived, so they're not looking to upgrade him. Welker's the best slot WR in the game, so you can't upgrade there. Branch was brought in last year via trade, so it's not likely that they're looking to dump him.

Tate/Price/Edelman, on the other hand, are still unproven commodities.

 

[Reckedtrek]

How is it too many? Slater sucks, Tate and Price are not ready considering the best player is throwing to them. The TE's were not even used in the biggest game so I think we are fine. If there is any issue it is how are these old linemen going to protect Brady in the playoffs.

Vollmer (RT) 27
Connelly (RG) 28
Koppen (C) 31
Mankins (LG) 29
Light (LT) 33
or
Solder (LT) 23

Old linemen? If Light goes, the oldest will be Koppen at 31, the rest are under 30. Or were you just being sarcastic to begin with, because if you were it wasn't very obvious.

 

[DaBruinz]

I'm amazed at how quickly so many have soured on Edelman.

Well, you got certain people who take a comment about Edelman that was made in week 14 and referenced weeks 12 and 13 and they blow it out of proportion to encompass the entire season while ignoring the fact that Edelman wasn't used much other than on punt returns because he was behind Welker, Moss/Branch, Tate, Gronkowski, Hernandez, and Faulk/Woodhead when it comes to receiving.. I mean, when you're 7th on the receivers dept chart, you should be putting up 40-50 catches and 700 yards because TFB is throwing the ball.. didn't you know that??

 

[unoriginal]

One would think Ocho Cinco competes most directly with Brandon Tate in terms of offensive role. It is also worth noting that Price still has practice squad eligibility, if the Pats end up cutting him.

 

[mgteich]

Price wouldn't last two days on the Practice Squad. He is a fine 3rd yound prospect who hasn't been given a chance yet.

One would think Ocho Cinco competes most directly with Brandon Tate in terms of offensive role. It is also worth noting that Price still has practice squad eligibility, if the Pats end up cutting him.

 

[skri65]

One would think Ocho Cinco competes most directly with Brandon Tate in terms of offensive role. It is also worth noting that Price still has practice squad eligibility, if the Pats end up cutting him.

I mean no offense, but have you watched Ocho Cinco in the last couple years? He is more of a possession receiver than a burner these days. I'm not saying that in a bad way, it's a skill that I wish Tate had more of. But he's not going to be running go routes, he's going to be running routes more similar to Branch than to Tate.

 

[serifyn]

That's 18.
So pick your six, maybe seven OL.

Light, Mankins, Koppen, Connolly, Vollmer, Soldor, Wendell, Cannon, Levoir, Orhnberger, Welch.

you need a minimum of 8 linemen imo, which leave you with room for 14-15 skill players.


8 OL - Light, Mankins, Koppen, Connolly, Vollmer, Soldor, Cannon, Wendel (or Levoir)

5 RB - BJGE, Woodhead, Vereen, Ridley, Morris

6 WR - Welker, Branch, OC, Price, Edelmen, Tate

4 TE - Gronkowski, Hernandez, Crumpler, Lee

3 QB - Brady, Hoyer, Mallet

who on this list can we afford to lose?

 

[skri65]

Light, Mankins, Koppen, Connolly, Vollmer, Soldor, Wendell, Cannon, Levoir, Orhnberger, Welch.

you need a minimum of 8 linemen imo, which leave you with room for 14-15 skill players.


8 OL - Light, Mankins, Koppen, Connolly, Vollmer, Soldor, Cannon, Wendel (or Levoir)

5 RB - BJGE, Woodhead, Vereen, Ridley, Morris

6 WR - Welker, Branch, OC, Price, Edelmen, Tate

4 TE - Gronkowski, Hernandez, Crumpler, Lee

3 QB - Brady, Hoyer, Mallet

who on this list can we afford to lose?

Morris. You release the guy and pick him up mid-season if there's an injury. No one else would pick him up I don't think.

 

[serifyn]

so you go into the season without a fullback hoping Ridley develops into one? Morris knows the playbook and also plays on special teams. Morris spot is safer than you think.

 

[primetime]

Morris isn't a fullback. He'll occasionally play as an up-back, but he's not a plus blocker and not particularly great at quick inside handoffs either. I appreciate Sammy's contributions in the last few years, but he's coming to camp to train his replacements. Ridley's already a better up-back than Morris has ever been.

I bet they keep 4 TEs and 4 RBs. 9 OL is too few. Cannon will likely be PUPed or even IRed for the year, so Wendell and Levoir will both likely make the team.

 

[sbpatfan]

What's with the fullback talk? Did they even use a fullback last year? I thought the TEs pretty much picked up that job..

 

[Triumph]

Whether or not Slater makes the team has no bearing on the WR issue. When's the last time he took a snap as a WR?

My first guess is that Edelman and Tate may both have some reason to be worried.

Then youre getting rid of young guys in the pipeline.

Ocho, Branch and Welker are all old.

 

[serifyn]

Is it possible OC and Branch are fighting for the same spot?

 

[Fencer]

Chad, Wes, and Deion are near-locks. They're also the top 3 receivers.

There's no clear need to have a "burner" on the roster.

Edelman has a very clear backup role -- ultimate-quickness WR who can take hits (I'm not saying "slot" because Welker isn't a pure slot receiver). I don't see the other WRs, Woodhead, or anybody else in the role.

So probably Price and Tate are competing for one roster slot.

 

[VJCPatriot]

They'll commence tomorrow, I assume. Can't see them keep all 3 top receivers in a 2-TE offense.

(And I've changed my prediction to the Rams. Get Welker back with McD and get Bradford some much-needed help.)

Pfft. Only if we get the Rams 1st round pick in return. Welker is key to keeping this offense a juggernaut. You simply don't seem to understand how good he is. Julian Edelman is not there yet. Not even close.

 

[TPL]

Training camp is just underway.
Let's see who's still healthy after the last preseason game before we start worrying if we have too many at any position.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Maybe I should have been here earlier after this deal to catch the giddy reactions... gotta say, surprised to see reactions like this one... I'm not sure I can imagine any other fanbase picking up Ochocinco, and having a thread called "Too many receivers" that day or a day later

 

[mgteich]

I have 25 offensive players on my roster projections, including returners.

My roster includes 25 offensive players. This is one more than normal because of the 3 QB's. Usually, we include a ST-only player among the WR's.

3 QB

5 RB (they get injured early and often)

5 WR (we use THREE; our TE's are our #3 and #4 receivers, Woodhead is #5, our #3 WR is #6 and Green-Ellis is #7). Our #4 and #5 WR's are fighting for reps and are likely to be the #8 receiver and #9 receiver on the team. A sixth wide receiver makes no sense at all.

3 TE (Crumpler may start on the PUP list or not; in any case we don't need 2 blocking TE's)

4 OT (the norm)

5 OG/C (the norm)

We have returners in the WR group as well as among the running backs. It is possible that we will carry 6 WR's if 2 roster spots are dedicated to returner-only positions.

Light, Mankins, Koppen, Connolly, Vollmer, Soldor, Wendell, Cannon, Levoir, Orhnberger, Welch.

you need a minimum of 8 linemen imo, which leave you with room for 14-15 skill players.


8 OL - Light, Mankins, Koppen, Connolly, Vollmer, Soldor, Cannon, Wendel (or Levoir)

5 RB - BJGE, Woodhead, Vereen, Ridley, Morris

6 WR - Welker, Branch, OC, Price, Edelmen, Tate

4 TE - Gronkowski, Hernandez, Crumpler, Lee

3 QB - Brady, Hoyer, Mallet

who on this list can we afford to lose?

 

[Fencer]

I have 25 offensive players on my roster projections, including returners.

My roster includes 25 offensive players. This is one more than normal because of the 3 QB's. Usually, we include a ST-only player among the WR's.

3 QB

5 RB (they get injured early and often)

5 WR (we use THREE; our TE's are our #3 and #4 receivers, Woodhead is #5, our #3 WR is #6 and Green-Ellis is #7). Our #4 and #5 WR's are fighting for reps and are likely to be the #8 receiver and #9 receiver on the team. A sixth wide receiver makes no sense at all.

3 TE (Crumpler may start on the PUP list or not; in any case we don't need 2 blocking TE's)

4 OT (the norm)

5 OG/C (the norm)

We have returners in the WR group as well as among the running backs. It is possible that we will carry 6 WR's if 2 roster spots are dedicated to returner-only positions.

Makes sense, although you should have added "gunner" to "returner".