Smith vs. Yeatmen should be a good battle

[Synovia]

4 TE's makes a lot of sense.

No, it really doesn't. Smith can only back up Yeatman. He can't do any of the things that Hernandez or Gronk do.

If we need a 4th TE, it should be a guy who can run and catch more than a blocker guy. IE, someone who can run some of the plays Gronk or Hernandez do.


If Yeatman goes down, we can just stick in the last tackle on the roster. If Gronk goes down, not so much.

 

[patchick]

I swear to God, BB stole his tricycle.

The Cap'n is really big on this idea of maximizing abstract "draft value" based on when HE believes players would have been available. We've already gone some rounds on Ridley, who he felt was a terrible pick regardless of how good a player he turns out to be, because Cap'n was sure nobody else would take him before round 5. :confused2:

It seems to me that the Pats are in an enviable position with their block-first TE position. They dedicated just a 5th-round pick to the position, and have two good-looking young players to choose from. But that's just me.

 

[bagwell368]

No, it really doesn't. Smith can only back up Yeatman. He can't do any of the things that Hernandez or Gronk do.

If we need a 4th TE, it should be a guy who can run and catch more than a blocker guy. IE, someone who can run some of the plays Gronk or Hernandez do.


If Yeatman goes down, we can just stick in the last tackle on the roster. If Gronk goes down, not so much.

I was talking about 4 TE's, and with Mills or someone else in the mix 4 TE's does make a lot of sense - in particular if Morris is done, which has been coming for some time - or Yeatmen or Smith is a killer blocker out of the formations they would be looking for Morris to block out of.

A back-up for Gronk? Gronk is probably one of the 7 best catch/block TE's in the NFL. He might be top 3 after this year. Replacing him isn't really possible with one player, so what do you want? A rec or a blocker?

Smith, Yeatman, Mills and whomever BB decides to check into will be what we we have. Could it be Gronk, Yeatmen, AH, and Mills? Sure. The point I was making is that 4 TE's is quite possible, and if Morris is done and/or say Yeatmen is a better blocker out of the FB, then 4 TE's it is.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

No, it really doesn't. Smith can only back up Yeatman. He can't do any of the things that Hernandez or Gronk do.

If we need a 4th TE, it should be a guy who can run and catch more than a blocker guy. IE, someone who can run some of the plays Gronk or Hernandez do.


If Yeatman goes down, we can just stick in the last tackle on the roster. If Gronk goes down, not so much.

{....snip....}

It seems to me that the Pats are in an enviable position with their block-first TE position. They dedicated just a 5th-round pick to the position, and have two good-looking young players to choose from. But that's just me.

Precisely.

Actually, and this is something that you brought up in another thread Patchick, which makes a ton of sense.

I think that we all scratched our heads a bit yesterday when we picked up Mills. But this morning it was brought up that because he only as a certain amount of games, he's still PS eligible..........

Yeatmen and Smith really play the same roll, and they take on the roll Alge did. Whoever BB selects, the other likely won't clear waivers, but in the end....... we really only need at least guy to fill that role. Smith/Yeatmen are more in the Gronk mold, so that if (god forbid) Gronk went down.... could fill that spot (we'd just be down a TE). Hernandez is an invaluable offensive weapon too, and there is noone in back of him if he goes down. We certainly don't need 3 blocking TE's, do we?

Anyways.... Mills can be brought in as an emergency back up to Hernandez, as that more the roll he can fill. Plus with Chilly out of the league , changes are good he'll pass through waivers this time and we won't have to use an active spot on him. We can just stash him on the PS.

What this all could mean is that we intend on having 4 TE's at our disposal to start the season, but the odd man out would likely be Smith or Yeatmen.... Probably Smith at this point I'd say....

I say we're only keeping 3 active TE's at the final cut (Gronk, Hernandez and Yeatman), with Mills headed to the PS and possible Smith (if he passes waivers - which he won't)........ Book it

 

[TheSolderKing]

Great Article on Yeatman his background/story etc
I love how RAW he is... hasn't played a lot of Football in his life either.

TE Yeatman sporting some interesting credentials for Patriots - The Boston Globe

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

No, it really doesn't. Smith can only back up Yeatman. He can't do any of the things that Hernandez or Gronk do.

If we need a 4th TE, it should be a guy who can run and catch more than a blocker guy. IE, someone who can run some of the plays Gronk or Hernandez do.


If Yeatman goes down, we can just stick in the last tackle on the roster. If Gronk goes down, not so much.

That's one reason why BB signed Garrett Mills, a potential TBD Hernandez backup that he once again will try to stash on the PS.

 

[mgteich]

Give it a few more days, and Mills will be a lock for the 53 man roster.

QUOTE=PatsWickedPissah;2643532]That's one reason why BB signed Garrett Mills, a potential TBD Hernandez backup that he once again will try to stash on the PS.[/QUOTE]

 

[Clonamery]

Give it a few more days, and Mills will be a lock for the 53 man roster.

QUOTE=PatsWickedPissah;2643532]That's one reason why BB signed Garrett Mills, a potential TBD Hernandez backup that he once again will try to stash on the PS.

[/QUOTE]

Don't recall, can he play special teams?

 

[Synovia]

I was talking about 4 TE's, and with Mills or someone else in the mix 4 TE's does make a lot of sense - in particular if Morris is done, which has been coming for some time - or Yeatmen or Smith is a killer blocker out of the formations they would be looking for Morris to block out of.

A back-up for Gronk? Gronk is probably one of the 7 best catch/block TE's in the NFL. He might be top 3 after this year. Replacing him isn't really possible with one player, so what do you want? A rec or a blocker?

Smith, Yeatman, Mills and whomever BB decides to check into will be what we we have. Could it be Gronk, Yeatmen, AH, and Mills? Sure. The point I was making is that 4 TE's is quite possible, and if Morris is done and/or say Yeatmen is a better blocker out of the FB, then 4 TE's it is.

Oh, 4 TE's is possible, there's just absolutely no way that Smith and Yeatman should both be on the roster.


Gronk isn't replaceable, but finding a player who does the same sorts of things he does (just not as well) certainly is. There are plenty of backup quality well rounded TEs around.

 

[captain stone]

Thanks Captain Hindsight.

You're welcome, though whenever you've visited the draft forum, you might recall that I and some others were asking for such positions as CB (Chykie Brown), Safety (Tyler Sash), C/G (Brandon Fusco) and DE/OLB (Chris Carter) before yet another TE.
And keep in mind that prior to #159, Bill had used only one of his six draft picks thus far for defense. Some of us were getting pretty antsy, recalling the offense-heavy draft of 2006.

 

[captain stone]

Cap'n, draft "value" and "rounds" aren't abstract constructs. Look at the facts of the specific draft before deciding that Smith "would have been available later."

The Patriots needed a replacement for Crumpler. The draft was thin in that kind of player, and by round 5 Lee Smith was far and away the best option. What's more, he's lived up to his billing. Smith has had a solid camp and belongs on an NFL roster. The pick would look mighty good indeed if Yeatman weren't stealing the spotlight.

But the fact that a solid draft pick being outplayed by a UDFA who was universally regarded as undraftworthy is awesome! This is an embarrassment of riches, a fabulous piece of luck, not an indictment of the draft choice.

Why did we need a replacement for Crumpler? Was his cap hit that onerous?

 

[Shelterdog]

Why did we need a replacement for Crumpler? Was his cap hit that onerous?

It would have been about $2.4 which is a lot for a blocking TE. Plus he had off-season shoulder surgery so we don't even know if he can play right now. He's also 33. Off-season conditioning has also been an issue for him in the past.

 

[captain stone]

Oh, 4 TE's is possible, there's just absolutely no way that Smith and Yeatman should both be on the roster.

I agree. If all of our TEs remain healthy, I would be shocked if both Smith & Yeatman made the final 53. I'd rather use that spot on a true FB (not Sometimes Sammy, but perhaps a healthy Leonard Weaver, unless Garrett Mills has somewhere learned to block) or a backup C/G with size & experience.

 

[captain stone]

It would have been about $2.4 which is a lot for a blocking TE. Plus he had off-season shoulder surgery so we don't even know if he can play right now. He's also 33. Off-season conditioning has also been an issue for him in the past.

Fair points.