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After all, if you think about it, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense--it's hard to imagine any personnel grouping where Ventrone at WR would be a top target for Brady (or Cassel or Gutierrez or O'Connell).
That said, I have a hypothesis as to why they might want to try this. It depends, of course, on Ventrone's best skill--his ability to hit like a mule.
If you go back and re-watch some of the games (e.g., Redskins), you'll see that, in the running game, the Patriots frequently deploy Welker as a blocker. Basically, I think the Pats are hoping that Ventrone might be able to fill in that role, so that they don't have to overuse Welker, and can work on running out the clock. The advantage to this is that it doesn't require that Ventrone be better than Gaffney or Jackson, just that he be at least a credible threat.
Yeah, I could just be completely off-base, but, again, it seems like a more plausible explanation than trying to turn Ventrone into "only" an 8th or 9th WR.
Thoughts?
That said, I have a hypothesis as to why they might want to try this. It depends, of course, on Ventrone's best skill--his ability to hit like a mule.
If you go back and re-watch some of the games (e.g., Redskins), you'll see that, in the running game, the Patriots frequently deploy Welker as a blocker. Basically, I think the Pats are hoping that Ventrone might be able to fill in that role, so that they don't have to overuse Welker, and can work on running out the clock. The advantage to this is that it doesn't require that Ventrone be better than Gaffney or Jackson, just that he be at least a credible threat.
Yeah, I could just be completely off-base, but, again, it seems like a more plausible explanation than trying to turn Ventrone into "only" an 8th or 9th WR.
Thoughts?