After todays game...Ocho cinco, keep him or cut him?

[rivers983]

Mike Reiss says Ocho was only on field for 7 snaps today.

I don't recall any other target than the one where there were 4 bunched up receivers on the opposite side and Ocho ran in instead of out, but I may be mistaken.

Either way, keep him.

 

[RIpats88]

Mike Reiss says Ocho was only on field for 7 snaps today.

I don't recall any other target than the one where there were 4 bunched up receivers on the opposite side and Ocho ran in instead of out, but I may be mistaken.

Either way, keep him.

wow, 7 snaps is probably his lowest of the season...

I wonder whether its that he just doesnt get the offense, or the Pats havent found a suitable role for him to be used in considering we run a heavy 2 TE set...either way, the pats interest in Brandon lloyd doesnt spell much confidence in ocho.

I think well find out more during/after this bye week

 

[serifyn]

look at the all of the players ahead of him.

1. Welker - Playing out of his mind, among top 3 WRs in the league right now.

2. Gronkowski - Invaluable player for receiving and blocking, easily the most versatile offensive player, huge matchup problem in receiving game

3. Hernandez - Elite Receiving skills and speed with size mismatch, good chemistry with Brady

4. Deion Branch - Great chemistry with Brady, understands the playbook and what the patriots are trying to do, great at understanding the situations, left matched up with teams 3rd or 4th best defensive backs often.

5. The Runningbacks - With the runningbacks in, it creates the threat of the run, which by itself causes more matchup problems for defenses, most of this teams runningbacks are also receiver threats against the linebackers covering them.

6. Ocho Cinco

When the patriots originally signed Ochocinco, i dont think they believed all of the talent surrounding brady would be as good as it is. unfortunately, Hernandez is a more explosive player and branch is a smarter player and both have excellant chemistry with brady, this puts them much higher on the depth chart. ocho cinco cant produce if he cant get on the field, and do you really want to pull out Hernandez or branch for Ochocinco right now?

What Ochocinco gives you is a fantastic 5th option when running the ball is not an option, but being the 5th option also means he is the 5th read, so unless Hernandez or Branch get hurt, Ochocinco isnt going to gain a bigger role unless they carve one out for him, and Dan Gronkowski is a better option to replace Hernandez if god forbid he goes down again because he is another tight end.

in short, the patriots would be dumb to drop chad now. i hope ive shed some light on this subject.

 

[bostonia3333]

Ochocinco is the guy in class that studies all the time but never gets As. I never realized his natural instincts were so poor --he thinks too much and dwells on his mistakes---thats his biggest downfall. I don't like guys like that on the Pats. Time to cut the fat....heck Richochet Caldwell was much better and....to make matters worse Doug Gabriel was able to contribute more than 85

 

[Haley]

I fear that if the number of snaps he plays are this low, the writing may already be on the wall. Sometimes things just don't work out the way you want them to. 7 snaps is a pretty foreboding number.

 

[LetsGoPats36]

What do we gain by cutting him?

He hasn't been a distraction, just hasn't been producing much. He could become valuable down the stretch if we take some injuries to the WR corps. Branch hasn't exactly been the most reliable guy staying healthy throughout his career.

 

[Mossachusetts]

wtf would cutting him accomplish? Are there better receivers sitting around at home waiting for a phonecall?

Dare i say it? Randy Moss

 

[Joker]

I got IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cut Ocho...and trade our first three picks to the Jets for Santonio Holmes!!!!....BB will make him a captain and we'll never lose again!~!!!!

...OK...now that I "got it"...how do I get rid of it???...

 

[VJCPatriot]

Cutting Ocho now would just be a knee jerk reaction. Right now it's hard to picture Ocho becoming a big part of this offense though. If we got Lloyd on the cheap, then Ocho becomes expendable IF Lloyd actually works out. But for now, I see no harm in keeping him, its not like we have anyone better to plug in.

 

[BKBroiler]

Now I'm not defending how Ocho has played to this point (some okay and some bad plays), but I have two issues with people screaming to cut Ochocinco:

1) If Ocho was to be cut / traded, then who would replace him?
- Taylor Price? Besides two good preseason games, what has Price shown? Similar to 85, he's been out there the past few weeks and pretty much hasn't even seen a ball thrown his way. Personally, I'd like to see him get a shot, but it's hard to argue against Brady throwing it to the guys he seems to trust.
- Brandon Lloyd or some other WR in a trade? If 85 is having a hard time picking the offense up after 8-10 weeks with the team, how could anyone expect a new player off the street to be productive right away or within a few weeks? Over the past few seasons, very few players have shown the ability to pick up the system quickly (a few of the ones I can think of are Welker, Gaffney, and Moss).

2) People's expectations seemed to be set way too high entering this season. Ocho is the 3rd WR and usually 5th option on the field for Brady. With the shortened offseason and Brady's familiarity with Branch/Welker/Gronk/Hernandez, expecting 7 catches for 100 yards from the 5th option was pretty unrealistic despite his past performances with the Bengals as a 1st/2nd option. I think 2-4 targets per game is what we should be expecting the rest of the season unless there is a good matchup or some injury.

 

[RIpats88]

7 snaps is just rediculously low though...and down from his usual 20-30..you would think that if Belichick/brady were confident in him that he could produce, then he would get more snaps than that...much like we switch snaps between woodhead,green-ellis, ridley im sure the idea was for him to rotate with hernandez, branch etc. and play a bigger role..

but the loss of snaps and pats interest in Brandon Lloyd is telling IMO.

if the pats dont find a role for him after the Bye, it may be time to end the experiment and move on....until then, hopefully he can find a way to produce and the 7snaps was just part of the gameplan that they were going to use against the cowboys.

 

[Mossachusetts]

Randy Moss? :bricks:

 

[goheels22002]

Irony is not lost on me.

The biggest irony is that Chad Ochocinco has made more news by not tweeting than for anything he's not done on the field. With Chad it's all about what he does not do.

 

[85Ocho85]

A good coach and QB would know how to use Ocho in any system. A horrible organization knew how to use him. .........

 

[Uncle Rico]

Not that it necessarily validates the existence of this discussion, but a couple of Patriots writers weighed in 0n the saga of 85 after the game:

Greg Bedard, Globe, under "3 things to worry about":

Chad Ochocinco: We’ve stayed off the beat-him-up bandwagon, but he clearly fell out of favor with Brady when he barely got off the line and then didn’t make a basic route adjustment in the third quarter. At least try to appear that you have a clue. They really don’t need Ochocinco until late in the season, and we were willing to give him until after the bye week, but we’re beginning to wonder what’s the use?

Patriots 20, Cowboys 16: Postgame report - Extra Points - Boston.com


Mike Reiss, ESPN.com/Boston:

In terms of playing time this season, Ochocinco is third among Patriots receivers and offers insurance in the event of injuries to Welker or Branch. But based on some of the struggles he's had getting on the same page as Brady, it seems fair to ask how good that insurance policy is for the offense.

Spotlight on Ochocinco's role - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

 

[RayClay]

It really doesn't matter. With the bye, he should take Hoyer out to dinner and get him to throw him about 500 footballs in the next two weeks. Either the lightbulb goes on, or it doesn't. if he's not ready to contribute down the stretch, use the roster spot.

You have to laugh at how BB continues to be the same guy, yet we are amazed. I was sure we had great young depth at safety, but maybe noodle brain would be traded and somebody moved in (Ras)? Instead, Sanders stale, overpaid, Meriweather used up BB;s patience, boom, get someone who wants the job. He's brutal, but that's how we end up with FAs like Welker and BJGE (giving props, sure happy to see a guy who doesn't fumble in today's game).

Kosar doesn't have the stuff in Cleveland? Boom. doesn't give a **** if the whole town wants to string him up.

Blows my mind sometimes, but i don't think players on our team try to play mind games with the coach, do you?

Ochocinco's old, it's up to him if he wants to go out this way. I was never a fan of his act, so Ocho fans, does he have the cajones to overcome adversity? I hope so, he's a talent.

 

[RayClay]

A good coach and QB would know how to use Ocho in any system. A horrible organization knew how to use him. .........

You'd rather have a horrible organization?

 

[patsfan-1982]

i said keep him because there is no one better to take he's place Price can't get on the field so why cut ocho

 

[Deus Irae]

At this point, I think the question has to be whether the team is playing so many plays in 2 TE because of the solid play of the TEs or because of the weakness at WR3. If it's the former, there's no need to make any move with Johnson or the other backups. If it's the latter, it may be worth it to bring in someone like Lloyd, who's got a familiarity with the offense from the McDaniels days in Denver.

Not being at Patriots practices, I don't know where Johnson stands with regards to getting the offense, ability to get open over the course of a game, etc..., so answering the OP question definitively isn't really possible.

 

[BlueThunder]

The only play I recall seeing Ocho in yesterday was a route he took inside and Brady threw outside......I have a feeling Tom knew which way the break was supposed to be..and Chad took the wrong route......he only was in on 7 total plays.....not a good sign..

D&C talking about getting Brandon LLoyd and would Ocho be history?


Big Question....does BB give Chad the next 2 weeks to get his Sh#t together or get Price in synch with Brady...or are both busts?

I thought Ocho was Branch insurance, now I have my doubts.....

Pats run D looked better yesterday...Pass D still has a LOOONG way to go....

Why is Guyton out there????????????? Hurry back Mr Mayo...please, I'm beggin ya