Whats happened to Meriweather?

[SuperPatsFan]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

veteran teamates wouldn't tolerate them either and might even take matters into their own hands.

See "Harrison, Rodney" and "Bruschi, Tedy."

Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that the kind of cohesion this team once had will ever happen with this defense. We could be faced with a never ending revolving door of "the next big thing" among prospects, and be forced to hear the mantra of "wait till next season" indefinitely. There's no guarantee at all that this D will gel as a unit, even with reps and game experience.

What we had during the SB years was very special, and unique.

*sigh*

 

[upstater1]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

Yes, or trades them. That is what he has become as of late.

Its just my opinion, but it seems to have developed ever since his wife left him. I believe it hurt him quite a bit and has psycholigically effected him.

Just my layman's opinion.

It goes back a lot further than that. He was also abused by priests, but this never impacted him until Tony Dungy brought back bad memories a few years ago.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

Honestly, some of you are ostriches... He told us what the problem was and you still don't want to accept it. You saw the problem in play yesterday and still you don't want to acknowledge it. He has talent. He lacks discipline and maturity. This is a coaching driven, scheme centric league. Doesn't matter how much talent you have if don't execute consistently. Over time all smart coaches reward solid instincts. He's already proven his aren't all that solid. If you guess right 25% of the time, you guess wrong 75% of the time. If you simply do your job as coached the system will get it right that often. Over time great playmakers earn the right to play with instinct because they've proven they can be trusted not to guess wrong and not to guess just because they think they can. Those are also the guys who can lead because they understand the relationship between what they do and how that impacts what everyone around them is supposed to do. And they are unselfish enough to do what's best for the team in any given circumstance even if it doesn't place them in obvious contention for highlight reels.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

Uh, no, actually -- most of us have identified the issue and addressed it.

I don't know what else you expect. He's still a valuable cog in this defense.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

I thought the Spiller TD catch was pretty hilarious.

What the hell was Merriweather looking at? And the angle he took after he saw Spiller make the catch? :ugh:

Oh well, at least he made the play to end the game.

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

Are you implying Belichick is vindictive, and benches players out of spite even if it hurts the team?

It's not necessarily vindictiveness. Belichick wants automatons on the field (meant in a good sense). His mantra is "Do your job". This defense is not predicated on a bunch of players going off script. It's part of why Samuel is in Philly.

They were discussing this yesterday. When you've got a bunch of veterans who've played together long enough, you can let a guy like Rodney do some freelancing, because the other players are capable of adjusting to it. That's not the case with this group.

 

[mr3putt]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

We'll just agree to disagree.

Meriweather would be a terrific safety... on a team with more talent and experience in the secondary. We'll see if that comes to pass soon enough.

Terrific?
Not hardly
Did you watch the Spiller swing pass
Jumped the route and missed his asingment
Poor technique-bad judgement
Not the attributes of terrific

 

[stinkypete]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

I think we're looking at Tebucky Jones v2.0 in Meriweather. Lot's of promise and a few big plays, but the guy just can't seem to fit. Maybe he is best off traded next offseason while he still has value.

I'd like to see Page get some more looks.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

Yes, or trades them. That is what he has become as of late.

Its just my opinion, but it seems to have developed ever since his wife left him. I believe it hurt him quite a bit and has psycholigically effected him.

Just my layman's opinion.

Belichick's been pretty ruthless on the personnel side since the day he got here. Has nothing to do with vindictiveness, everything to do with roster-building and maximizing value. I don't agree with it, a lot of the time (Seymour trade), but that doesn't make it petty.

As for Merriweather, I'm with JackBauer. He's a good safety who takes risks (a lot of the best ones do), but our secondary isn't good enough to afford him that luxury, and should recognize that and stick to the script.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

Terrific?
Not hardly
Did you watch the Spiller swing pass
Jumped the route and missed his asingment
Poor technique-bad judgement
Not the attributes of terrific

Did you even read what I wrote?

 

[STFarmy]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

Meriweather would be a terrific safety... on a team with more talent and experience in the secondary. We'll see if that comes to pass soon enough.

I agree completely. While I agree he hasn't been as good as I thought he might be, he still has those flashes. If he works harder and manages to get some good technique, I think he can be a great safety. The defense in general needs some veteran leadership to get better.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

I think we're looking at Tebucky Jones v2.0 in Meriweather. Lot's of promise and a few big plays, but the guy just can't seem to fit. Maybe he is best off traded next offseason while he still has value.

I'd like to see Page get some more looks.

I think you're right, Merriweather may be shipped off next off-season.

 

[JMarr]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

See "Harrison, Rodney" and "Bruschi, Tedy."

Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that the kind of cohesion this team once had will ever happen with this defense. We could be faced with a never ending revolving door of "the next big thing" among prospects, and be forced to hear the mantra of "wait till next season" indefinitely. There's no guarantee at all that this D will gel as a unit, even with reps and game experience.

What we had during the SB years was very special, and unique.

*sigh*

I never thought Merriweather remotely "fit the mold" of a Patriot-type player. And I'm not talking about character--BB has brought in plenty of players who have had off-field issues or character concerns over the years.

I'm talking more about intelligence, attitude and being a winner. Guys who celebrate after a laying a hit even though they just gave up a big first down drive me completely crazy [Hobbs and Merriweather come to mind but it's sort of endemnic in today's NFL]. Clearly players like this don't get it and I'd rather not have them on the team I root for, I don't care how talented they may be.

I just don't think Merriweather is an intelligent player, which wouldn't be that big of a deal, except that the Pats have been RELYING on him to be one of the main leaders on this young defense. It aint working out at all so far. Hopefully other guys will emerge and become Rodney/Vrabel-type players, and BM can just focus on being a solid safety.

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

We'll just agree to disagree.

Meriweather would be a terrific safety... on a team with more talent and experience in the secondary. We'll see if that comes to pass soon enough.

I think "terrific" is a bit strong, but I do agree with where you're going. He's a talented safety who needs to learn how to play within the parameters of the system while the team is young and inexperienced. When the team becomes more comfortable with what their jobs are (this includes Meriweather himself) and can adjust on the fly, that's when he can freelance.

 

[Patspsycho]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

Its an attitude issue. He thinks he is better than everyone else in the Pats secondary and wants to do things his way and not the Patriot way. I think we have seen the peak of Merriweather's performance unless he has a complete attitude change and has more of a team first attitude.

You actually couldn't be more wrong.

From watching Meriweather on tape, I see someone who is hungry to make a play on D. He wants to win out there, and sometimes allows that to get the best of him. Wilfork does the same thing, he sometimes wants to make something happen so bad that he ends up one-gapping.

Two gapping only works when everyone is on the same page.

Really don't see how anyone who plays that hard, can have an attitude problem.

 

[Patspsycho]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

I think "terrific" is a bit strong, but I do agree with where you're going. He's a talented safety who needs to learn how to play within the parameters of the system while the team is young and inexperienced. When the team becomes more comfortable with what their jobs are (this includes Meriweather himself) and can adjust on the fly, that's when he can freelance.

That's pretty much what it is. I applaud you for being one of the very few voices of reason on this board.

 

[FalconHeavy]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

What happened to the safety that we traded for, Gerrard Page or something. Is that something to do with BM's status ?? But we haven't seen him in the field too. Was he even active ?

 

[JMarr]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

You actually couldn't be more wrong.

From watching Meriweather on tape, I see someone who is hungry to make a play on D. He wants to win out there, and sometimes allows that to get the best of him. Wilfork does the same thing, he sometimes wants to make something happen so bad that he ends up one-gapping.

Two gapping only works when everyone is on the same page.

Really don't see how anyone who plays that hard, can have an attitude problem.

I think Randy Moss is a true professional and for him, winning is the ulitmate goal.

I don't think the same is true of Merriweather. Maybe some day it will be.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

I think "terrific" is a bit strong, but I do agree with where you're going. He's a talented safety who needs to learn how to play within the parameters of the system while the team is young and inexperienced. When the team becomes more comfortable with what their jobs are (this includes Meriweather himself) and can adjust on the fly, that's when he can freelance.

Well, as a Hurricane myself I am unfortunately required to be rather bullish on our products, and that includes Meriweather.

I do really think he could be a very good safety, once the rest of the defense gets established around him.

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Whats happened to Merriweather?

What happened to the safety that we traded for, Gerrard Page or something. Is that something to do with BM's status ?? But we haven't seen him in the field too. Was he even active ?

Pretty much a JAG who is best suited for special teams play at this point. If Meriweather is getting leapfrogged, it's by Sanders.

You actually couldn't be more wrong.

From watching Meriweather on tape, I see someone who is hungry to make a play on D. He wants to win out there, and sometimes allows that to get the best of him. Wilfork does the same thing, he sometimes wants to make something happen so bad that he ends up one-gapping.

Two gapping only works when everyone is on the same page.

Really don't see how anyone who plays that hard, can have an attitude problem.

Unless my eyes are deceiving me, haven't we been playing a good amount of one-gap so far this season?