Ras-I Dowling?

[Ring 6]

I think it is fair to say that he is a bust through 3 practices. We should have picked our stud pass rushing OLB there. Another in a long line of Belichick mistakes. Lucky for him, most of his mistakes end up working out...

Yeah, I hope he keeps making more of those really smart dumb moves.

 

[Ring 6]

He's hurt,skippy.....What is the name of the "stud" pass rushing OLB that we should have drafted instead of Dowling?.....Was he "stolen" by the Saints when they traded for our 2nd first-rounder?......By the stud-hungry,OLB-needy,NJ Jets*?.......Is he:"The Man With No Name?"

Bodden,McCourty,Arrington,Chung,Meriweather....yup,there sure is an immediate need for the services of one,Ras-I-Dowling!

Relax....kick back....pop in "3 Games To Glory" on your old dvd player...get out of that hot,hot south carolina sun...This team is stocked,just enjoy the ride,brother.:rocker:

I think he was being sarcastic

 

[unoriginal]

He's hurt,skippy.....What is the name of the "stud" pass rushing OLB that we should have drafted instead of Dowling?.....Was he "stolen" by the Saints when they traded for our 2nd first-rounder?......By the stud-hungry,OLB-needy,NJ Jets*?.......Is he:"The Man With No Name?"

Bodden,McCourty,Arrington,Chung,Meriweather....yup,there sure is an immediate need for the services of one,Ras-I-Dowling!

Relax....kick back....pop in "3 Games To Glory" on your old dvd player...get out of that hot,hot south carolina sun...This team is stocked,just enjoy the ride,brother.:rocker:

May want to read his first line and last line again and recalibrate your sarcasm detector.

 

[EJ Blitz]

lol @ judging rookies after 1 practice...

Well there's nothing to judge him on. He was on the walking wounded before we could bat an eye.

 

[Ring 6]

Well there's nothing to judge him on. He was on the walking wounded before we could bat an eye.

Which is why he is laughing at people making a judgment.
Are you saying missing a couple of practices in camp gives you insight into what his career will be?

 

[TheSolderKing]

Definitely was a strange pick so early in the draft, seemed stupid at the time, and moreso now.

My theory is that BB signed him because he wanted to throw folks at Patsfans another player to constantly say is made of glass and start fights over.

He was 1 of the best CB's in the draft. If he was healthy he would have gone in the middle of or late in 1st. You wanted a rusher huh? I liked that Arizona dude who had better 10yd split than Von Miller. In BB I trust. How many ppl last yr questioned the McCourty move? We got Ras to replace Merriweather when he is a URFA and that is soon. BB much like myself look to the FUTURE and plan beyond the current year when assembling a team. I told you Crump was out. I am now telling you Ras is Merry Berry's replacement hen he moves on.

Relax... I did like that Arizona Clay Matthews comparison guy, but I see nothing wrong w/ adding another DB.

 

[patriot lifer]

Well there's nothing to judge him on. He was on the walking wounded before we could bat an eye.

To be fair, it always seems like half our players are hurt at any given time. For example, how many d-linemen are we missing? If we drafted someone else, then they'd be out with some mystery injury too.

 

[The Gr8est]

To me this is the epitome of the kneejerk nature of this fanbase lately. They better put their big boy pants on soon 'cause there are going to be a lot of guys MIA for stretches and dinged up early in camp based solely on the lockout.

The irrational elements of the Pats fan base always seems to need someone who they can point to as a "another stupid pick by BB, he needs to be locked out of the draft room" selection.

The last two seasons it was Vollmer and McCourty, until they, unfortunately, turned out to be studs which took all the wind out of the naysayers' sails.

Now I guess it's Dowling's turn.

Says volumes more about certain fans than it does about the player in question.

To quote a variation of John Boehner's recent depiction of Obama as being someone who "won't take yes for an answer", it seems like there is an element of pats fans who can't accept long term sustained excellence as an answer.

 

[patchick]

The irrational elements of the Pats fan base always seems to need someone who they can point to as "another stupid pick by BB, he needs to be locked out of the draft room" selection.

The last two seasons it was Vollmer and McCourty, until they, unfortunately, turned out to be studs which took all the wind out of the naysayers' sails.

No question, Devin "A %#$@ Special Teamer" McCourty and Sebastian "Ridiculous Reach for a Nobody" Vollmer were two of the most unpopular picks in memory.

But I was still surprised at the negativity toward Dowling. He was my favorite FS/CB tweener in the draft, with an eye toward replacing Meriweather as a starter in 2012. He showed great size, athleticism and skills and off-the-charts intangibles in college.

A TC injury definitely sets him back, especially in this truncated off-season. But Cunningham faced the same last year and came around to be a starter by the end of his rookie year.

 

[crowell33]

Which is why he is laughing at people making a judgment.
Are you saying missing a couple of practices in camp gives you insight into what his career will be?

1. High School Jr year broke his right hand
2. High School Sr year missed time with serious knee injury
3. 2008 Missed season opener Virginia ( Strained Right hamstring )
4. Back injury in North Carolina game 2008.
5. 2010 Right Knee Injury
6. 2010 Fractures Ankle
7. 2010 Sustains right knee injury
8. 2011 NFL Combine, injures right hamstring ( 40 yard dash )
9. 2011 Injured in first NFL practice, not yet returned

Enough Insight ?

I challenge anyone to find an NFL player, ever, in the history of the league, with more injuries prior to his first NFL Preseason game.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Well there's nothing to judge him on. He was on the walking wounded before we could bat an eye.

Which is exactly why you shouldn't judge him in the first place.

 

[strngplyr]

No question, Devin "A %#$@ Special Teamer" McCourty and Sebastian "Ridiculous Reach for a Nobody" Vollmer were two of the most unpopular picks in memory.

But I was still surprised at the negativity toward Dowling. He was my favorite FS/CB tweener in the draft, with an eye toward replacing Meriweather as a starter in 2012. He showed great size, athleticism and skills and off-the-charts intangibles in college.

A TC injury definitely sets him back, especially in this truncated off-season. But Cunningham faced the same last year and came around to be a starter by the end of his rookie year.

Was writing up about how terrible of draft choices McCourty and Vollmer were before glancing up and seeing this post.

I've pretty much given up reading all draft related threads on these forums, they're pointless before the players have even played a single down in the NFL, we're already calling Ras-I a bust.

How pathetic. Can you believe we actually wasted a 6th round draft pick in 2000 on a quarterback when we had the $103,000,000 man at QB? This team is ridiculously bad at drafting!

Ugh, and that injury prone tight end we spent a draft pick on in the 2nd round last year, he missed his entire final season with a back injury. That 4th round TE we picked up missed a few games last season too, we should probably trade him while he still has some value, he's obviously no good to us. ...speaking of injuries and draft picks, that 6th round QB we drafted missed all of 2008 and he's still on the team? Injury prone, hello? Dude has had a bum shoulder since like 2004 ...what the hell is wrong with this team, they should delegate all FO responsibilities through New England Patriots Fans featuring News, Stats, Analysis, Messageboards & Forums, Patriots Blogs, And Salary Cap Information for Fans. - PatsFans.com Maybe we can save this organization from its fate.

 

[patchick]

1. High School Jr year broke his right hand
2. High School Sr year missed time with serious knee injury
3. 2008 Missed season opener Virginia ( Strained Right hamstring )
4. Back injury in North Carolina game 2008.
5. 2010 Right Knee Injury
6. 2010 Fractures Ankle
7. 2010 Sustains right knee injury
8. 2011 NFL Combine, injures right hamstring ( 40 yard dash )
9. 2011 Injured in first NFL practice, not yet returned

Enough Insight ?

As a big Dowling fan, I totally agree that injuries are the red flag with him. He's otherwise a picture-perfect DB prospect. Sometimes players of that description continue to be injured and fail to pan out, like Wheatley; sometimes they stay healthy and become draft steals, like Gronkowski.

 

[TheSolderKing]

1. High School Jr year broke his right hand
2. High School Sr year missed time with serious knee injury
3. 2008 Missed season opener Virginia ( Strained Right hamstring )
4. Back injury in North Carolina game 2008.
5. 2010 Right Knee Injury
6. 2010 Fractures Ankle
7. 2010 Sustains right knee injury
8. 2011 NFL Combine, injures right hamstring ( 40 yard dash )
9. 2011 Injured in first NFL practice, not yet returned

I hope that trend dies. I miss Brooks Reed He was my binky.... I just hope Ras isn't injury plagued here in NE. I hope BB did not sign a JD Drew in Ras

i was fine w/ this selection

 

[crowell33]

As a big Dowling fan, I totally agree that injuries are the red flag with him. He's otherwise a picture-perfect DB prospect. Sometimes players of that description continue to be injured and fail to pan out, like Wheatley; sometimes they stay healthy and become draft steals, like Gronkowski.

Agree, accept comparing Gronk's back injury to the laundry list of Dowling's injuries is probably not being fair to Gronk.

 

[Ring 6]

No question, Devin "A %#$@ Special Teamer" McCourty and Sebastian "Ridiculous Reach for a Nobody" Vollmer were two of the most unpopular picks in memory.

But I was still surprised at the negativity toward Dowling. He was my favorite FS/CB tweener in the draft, with an eye toward replacing Meriweather as a starter in 2012. He showed great size, athleticism and skills and off-the-charts intangibles in college.

A TC injury definitely sets him back, especially in this truncated off-season. But Cunningham faced the same last year and came around to be a starter by the end of his rookie year.

Isn't a guy who can be a big corner as well as a fast safety pretty valuable in a league that continues to revolve mnore and more around the passing game and multiple receiver sets?

With McCourty and Bodden already here, why wouldn't Dowling be able to be used for matchups on more physical receivers, or even play more vs running teams because he is good in run support, in the nickel as a versatile guy who can cover and run support, while also being in the mix in the safety rotation.

The player he is advertised to be would be pretty damn valuable IMO

 

[crowell33]

1. High School Jr year broke his right hand
2. High School Sr year missed time with serious knee injury
3. 2008 Missed season opener Virginia ( Strained Right hamstring )
4. Back injury in North Carolina game 2008.
5. 2010 Right Knee Injury
6. 2010 Fractures Ankle
7. 2010 Sustains right knee injury
8. 2011 NFL Combine, injures right hamstring ( 40 yard dash )
9. 2011 Injured in first NFL practice, not yet returned

Enough Insight ?

I challenge anyone to find an NFL player, ever, in the history of the league, with more injuries prior to his first NFL Preseason game.

#7 should read " Left Ankle Fracture". ( #5 & #7 duplicates )

 

[Ring 6]

1. High School Jr year broke his right hand
2. High School Sr year missed time with serious knee injury
3. 2008 Missed season opener Virginia ( Strained Right hamstring )
4. Back injury in North Carolina game 2008.
5. 2010 Right Knee Injury
6. 2010 Fractures Ankle
7. 2010 Sustains right knee injury
8. 2011 NFL Combine, injures right hamstring ( 40 yard dash )
9. 2011 Injured in first NFL practice, not yet returned

Enough Insight ?

I challenge anyone to find an NFL player, ever, in the history of the league, with more injuries prior to his first NFL Preseason game.

That really boils down to an injury prone Sr season after 3 pretty injury free years and a knee injury in HS, plus a bunch of hyperbole.

Breaking a bone is not an inherent injury prone phenomena.

Many, many players have many muscle pulls in their life.

And we do not even know if or what the injury in camp is.

BTW you hit him twice for the same knee in 2010.

 

[Ring 6]

#7 should read " Left Ankle Fracture". ( #5 & #7 duplicates )

Isnt 6 fractured ankle or are you saying he played on that and broke the other?

 

[strngplyr]

Agree, accept comparing Gronk's back injury to the laundry list of Dowling's injuries is probably not being fair to Gronk.

I think context matters. Was he injured going all-out Bob Sanders style, completely recklessly and just beats himself up too hard for a lot of those? Or did the wind blow his way and he just fell apart?

Wes Welker tore his ACL/MCL planting and making a cut. No contact. Things happen.

If Ras I broke his hand when a 200lb receiver fell on knee first with his full weight I don't really care. If he broke his hand catching a ball then I see an issue.

The hamstrings are a concern however, I wonder if that is just lack of proper stretching and warm-ups. Certain things are teachable to avoid, and you can be sure a pro team's conditioning coaches and medical staff will do whatever to fix that. If he's just frail then I could see the issue.