Winning with this current receiver corp is not sustainable

[ATippett56]

IMHO, we have about the same basic components as last year.

A) Edelman is as good as Lloyd.

Edelman is not a proven "X" wide receiver. Edelman was also on the roster last season.

B) We had one pro-level TE in 2012, except for three games.

The New England Patriots are down to Sudfeld and Hoomanawanui at the tight end position for the interim.

D) This year's Thompkins will likely produce more than last year's Branch. And that doesn't count on any production at all from Dobson and Boyce. This is unproven talent. However, Branch didn't exactly produce at a pro-level last year.

Thompkins needs to replace Brandon Lloyd's production not Deion Branch. Dobson or Boyce need to replace Deion Branch's production.

 

[mgteich]

In 2012, WR's not named Welker totaled 112 catches, a total of 7 catches per game.

Edelman and Thompkins totaled 11 catches yesterday.
===============================
Lloyd 74 (4.6 per game)
Other 38 (2.4 per game)

Yesterday, Edelman more than matched Lloyd's average. Thompkins came close to Lloyd's average. Both greatly exceed Branch/Edelman 2012. Both were here only for part of the year, so I added them together.

Edelman is not a proven "X" wide receiver. Edelman was also on the roster last season.

The New England Patriots are down to Sudfeld and Hoomanawanui at the tight end position for the interim.

Thompkins needs to replace Brandon Lloyd's production not Deion Branch. Dobson or Boyce need to replace Deion Branch's production.

 

[Deus Irae]

In 2012, WR's not named Welker totaled 112 catches, a total of 7 catches per game.

Edelman and Thompkins totaled 11 catches yesterday.
===============================
Lloyd 74 (4.6 per game)
Other 38 (2.4 per game)

Yesterday, Edelman more than matched Lloyd's average. Thompkins came close to Lloyd's average. Both greatly exceed Branch/Edelman 2012. Both were here only for part of the year, so I added them together.

You're kind of shading things with the Edelman maneuverings. Edelman is WR2/WR3 this year. Edelman started as WR2/WR3 last year. The comparison isn't Edelman v. Lloyd or Edelman v. Branch, because Edelman is Edelman.

What you're basically saying is "I hope Edelman doesn't get hurt again, so we don't have to rely on a Branch (Dobson/Boyce) this year, if he goes down again. I think most people would agree with such a stance.

 

[mgteich]

well said.

You're kind of shading things with the Edelman maneuverings. Edelman is WR2/WR3 this year. Edelman started as WR2/WR3 last year. The comparison isn't Edelman v. Lloyd or Edelman v. Branch, because Edelman is Edelman.

What you're basically saying is "I hope Edelman doesn't get hurt again, so we don't have to rely on a Branch (Dobson/Boyce) this year, if he goes down again. I think most people would agree with such a stance.

 

[Ring 6]

Really? Come on, you're a better poster than to go there. Whether I WANT him to be a success story has nothing to do with it.

Your post suggested the Patriots feed the ball to Thompkins so can learn how to play in this league. They will not do that. He either makes plays or sits.

One of the reasons receivers kept washing out of here in the last few years, in my opinion, has been because Brady hasn't needed to develop any chemistry with them. He had other guys. He doesn't now.

This makes no sense to me.

You go ahead and find them and I'm right with you there.

Look at the roster. Hopefully Dobson is healthy enough to go Thursday.

Neither was my anecdote.

OK, thats what it sounded like.

The throw to Sudfeld was into tight coverage and he stumbled - something I saw a lot yesterday on that field (Thompkins, Ridley being the most obvious).

He was open, it was a good decision and good throw.

You can sit Thompkins down and put Boyce in there - and he'll make rookie mistakes. You can sit Boyce down and put Dobson in there and he'll make rookie mistakes.

They weren't 'rookie mistakes' they were poor WR play.

Unless you want to call back Lloyd or work some trade somewhere, this is it. They develop one or two of these guys to play that outside position, or we'll be in the playoffs with Amendola, Gronk and Edelman (if none are hurt).

If Thompkins does not play better than yesterday, he will no be part of that.
Your post suggested the team make sacrifices in order to make sure Thompkins gets every opportunity and ignore the fact that he played poorly because you expect a rookie to play poorly.

Personally, I don't care is it's Simms, Thompkins, Boyce, or Dobson out there. Heck, I don't care if it's Lloyd, if he's the best choice. Someone's got to be out there, and unless they bring in Lloyd, some rookie's got to get some work to develop out there, or this season is toast.

It will work out, my objection was to your approach that the team needs to be Thompkins-centric whether he can play or not.

 

[Ring 6]

Re: Winning with this current receiver core is not sustainable

Agreed, I liked what I saw from the defense. Except from the safeties.

What was wrong with the safeties? We allowed 140 passing yards.

 

[Joker]

Re: Winning with this current receiver core is not sustainable

What was wrong with the safeties? We allowed 140 passing yards.

I think it goes to the coverage on that first Buffalo TD...some fans thought Gregory was late coming over to cover but in reality, he was covering another receiver...that was a mistake by Talib thinking he had safety help.

 

[Deus Irae]

According to Zolak, on the radio just now, Thompkins was at the wrong depth on 10 of his 14 targets, and that he was rounding off his cuts way too much. That means that he ran a bad route on 10 of the 14 throws Brady made to him. That's one example of why just tossing out the raw catch/yards numbers without context is useless. Thompkins was lousy in the game.

The good news is that route depth and cuts are things that can be improved.

 

[PatsFan2]

According to Zolak, on the radio just now, Thompkins was at the wrong depth on 10 of his 14 targets, and that he was rounding off his cuts way too much. That means that he ran a bad route on 10 of the 14 throws Brady made to him. That's one example of why just tossing out the raw catch/yards numbers without context is useless. Thompkins was lousy in the game.

The good news is that route depth and cuts are things that can be improved.

Dan Dierdorf mentioned he looked confused on where to line-up Thomkins even got in Edelman's way on a play close to the EZ. I hope his problems are first game jitters related and not Football intelligence. I was surprided he was targeted as much he did.

 

[JackBauer]

They weren't 'rookie mistakes' they were poor WR play.

In this case, a distinction without a difference.

 

[Mack Herron]

With Amendola not present at the walk through today and Sims released from PS, we could be looking at Edelman, Thompkins, and Boyce as our WRs.

 

[JackBauer]

With Amendola not present at the walk through today and Sims released from PS, we could be looking at Edelman, Thompkins, and Boyce as our WRs.

Dobson?

............

 

[Mack Herron]

Dobson?

............

Dobson was not active Sunday due to injury. He may or may not be ready Thursday of course, although he has been our least consistent option even if ready.

 

[Oswlek]

Dobson was not active Sunday due to injury. He may or may not be ready Thursday of course, although he has been our least consistent option even if ready.

Dobson's injury smells of "give him a reason to sit for a while" to me. With the receiving weaponry in shambles, it seems likely that he'll at least be active.

 

[Ring 6]

In this case, a distinction without a difference.

Not at all. Rookie mistakes are due to inexperience. Poor play can also, and more likely, be due to a lack of ability.

 

[JackBauer]

Not at all. Rookie mistakes are due to inexperience. Poor play can also, and more likely, be due to a lack of ability.

Of course when you look at the mistakes Thompkins was making, it becomes pretty darn likely it was, as I said, a distinction without a difference.

 

[MTM558]

How successful this season will be is going to be directly tied to the rookie Wide Receivers and how they develop. Gronkowski's setbacks and Hernandez's arrest were unexpected, yes, and that has been bad for this team, but Welker signing elsewhere and the release of Lloyd were a clear design to redo the Wide Receiver group.

Dobson and Boyce were drafted to contribute this year, to compliment Amendola. The only problems so far is that Dobson and Boyce have shown nothing of substance and Amendola could be looking at a year long groin injury. And who knows how well Gronkowski will be when he returns.

There is no viable receiving threat on this team. Amendola and Gronkowski, sadly, can't be counted on to be there. Edelman is nothing special. With nobody at Tight End and only wide-eyed rookies at Wide Receiver, I could very well see a season of turmoil.

 

[Mack Herron]

Dobson's injury smells of "give him a reason to sit for a while" to me. With the receiving weaponry in shambles, it seems likely that he'll at least be active.

I agree and would not be surprised to see him active. I just don't think it will make much difference as I believe he is the least ready to contribute of our WRs (not counting Slater here).

 

[JMC00]

With Brady, Dobson could easily have a 5-6 rec 70-80 1 TD game. Ya he's not going to take over the game but do they really need him to? He just needs to contribute.

He can't be more unready than Thompkins was on Sunday. He also maybe brings in one of those TD Thompkins didn't.

 

[Mack Herron]

With Brady, Dobson could easily have a 5-6 rec 70-80 1 TD game. Ya he's not going to take over the game but do they really need him to? He just needs to contribute.

He can't be more unready than Thompkins was on Sunday. He also maybe brings in one of those TD Thompkins didn't.

He was clearly less ready than Thompkins all through pre-season. It would be miraculous for him to catch 5-6 balls.