Likely Receiving core: What do you think?

[borg]

Perhaps so but let's look at the alternative ...... drafting an outside wideout instead.

Given this teams poor record of drafting and developing rookie wideout ..... it is also unrealistic to assume that any WR they draft come April will end up performing capably in this offense.

Remember when it was written: "BB doesn't use premium picks on RBs or ILBs"
(After the Maroney debacle, I guess we wish that was true still)

 

[Brady2Moss]

Not to state the obvious - but are you guys still complaining about this teams' wide receiving corp, even after yesterday?

I will be blunt. THE PATS ARE NOT DRAFTING ANY WIDE RECEIVERS as long as Sanders is in New England. And I am one that has advocated for the Pats to take a long look at Ryan Swope, Hopkins, Woods and Patton.

I don't agree with Tony at any point about anything but I will back him up on this one if Sanders does indeed end up in New England.

With Sanders - they will have the following: Hernandez, Gronkowski, Ballard, Hoomanawanui/Fells, Amendola, Edelman, Sanders, Jones, and Jenkins not to mention that it has already been indicated in the media that we are going to see a lot more of Vereen this year and that will certainly include in the passing game.

BTW - since I am sure that many of you didn't watch a lick of Rams games.

Amendola has played both on the outside and in the slot.

Have a good day Armchair GMs.

With Sanders you have Hernandez (Injury prone), Gronkowski (Freak injury prone for all the people that will jump on me for saying it, guy hasn't been there when it mattered 2 years in a row), Ballard (Complete unknown, knee was totally destroyed), Hooman/Fells (Stink), Amendola (Injury prone), Edelman (Injury prone), Sanders (Foot problems, not even on the team), Jones (Camp fodder), Jenkins (Camp fodder). Basically every receiver you have is good but injury prone or stinks. Numbers don't mean OH MAN we can't draft a guy we have too many JAGs at the position.

BTW no one here watches Rams games because.... THEY STINK!! Now that doesn't mean Amendola stinks, but recreating the 2011 Rams offense is probably not going to be good enough to win a Lombardi. Also I've stated he can play outside, but its not his strength. You must be the smartest man in the room assuming that only you have realized that Amendola has played outside before, no one else has ever said that on this board! Also since you know the Patriots draft plan so well I nominate you King Armchair GM.

The brainwashing has gone to new heights, now that we've signed a bunch of guys (many of whom are not good) we are all set at receiver?

 

[Nunchucks]

I'm looking forward to the draft and when the day goes by and each and every wide receiver that is in the board is not taken in lieu of another defensive position, I cannot wait to see the responses....

I'd love to see the Patriots draft a big, athletic WR with speed to play on the outside. I just don't think it will happen, based on the off-season moves, Tom Brady's window, the move to a 2 TE base, and the Patriots M.O. to date.

 

[belichick010405]

I didn't know that you were also a team doctor as well as a General Manager?

With Sanders you have Hernandez (Injury prone), Gronkowski (Freak injury prone for all the people that will jump on me for saying it, guy hasn't been there when it mattered 2 years in a row), Ballard (Complete unknown, knee was totally destroyed), Hooman/Fells (Stink), Amendola (Injury prone), Edelman (Injury prone), Sanders (Foot problems, not even on the team), Jones (Camp fodder), Jenkins (Camp fodder). Basically every receiver you have is good but injury prone or stinks. Numbers don't mean OH MAN we can't draft a guy we have too many JAGs at the position.

BTW no one here watches Rams games because.... THEY STINK!! Now that doesn't mean Amendola stinks, but recreating the 2011 Rams offense is probably not going to be good enough to win a Lombardi. Also I've stated he can play outside, but its not his strength.

The brainwashing has gone to new heights, now that we've signed a bunch of guys (many of whom are not good) we are all set at receiver?

 

[Kontradiction]

I'm looking forward to the draft and when the day goes by and each and every wide receiver that is in the board is not taken in lieu of another defensive position, I cannot wait to see the responses....

See, this is like me saying that I'm looking forward to the playoffs when a defense successfully floods the middle of the field and the Patriots lose because the offense can't sustain a drive and the defense gets gassed. I cannot wait to see the responses....

See how much of an ass I sound like? I'm not going to disagree with you that there are needs on defense. I, among others, have been absolutely hammering that point home since 2008. But there are also needs on offense. I showed you that in my last response to you which, curiously, went unreplied.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

I've said that myself. But he wasn't. Injuries to contributors have cost this team at least one Super Bowl victory. That's why a contingency plan needs to be in place. For the Pats, the best one to have would be that type of WR because he forces the defense to account for every level of the field, taking some of the heat off the TE's and slot WR's. When one of those TE's is injured, that WR would still be able to provide a threat in the red area.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for having contingency plans in place. The reality is BB has to operate without one since limitations (ie max roster spots/salary cap $) doesn't allow for a perfect roster. I'm sure BB would love to have a viable backup plan at most positions on this team.

 

[belichick010405]

I'd love to see the Patriots draft a big, athletic WR with speed to play on the outside. I just don't think it will happen, based on the off-season moves, Tom Brady's window, the move to a 2 TE base, and the Patriots M.O. to date.

I would advocate for it to but as you have said and as Tony has said, this team has moved toward running the ball more and had they run the ball in the 2nd half of the Baltimore game like they had done in the 1st half, all of this talk would be moot.

 

[Brady2Moss]

And they're not. They'll be solid #3, #4 or #5 receivers when on the once every 8 games we go spread for a series or two.

Amendola is locked into one spot, Edelman and Sanders can man the other.

The contingency plan is Ballard, Hooman, and Fells. Not going into 2007 mode and playing 5 WRs at all times.

This moronic belief of "well this player could get hurt on a freak PAT as a blocker where his man doesn't even go hard, therefore we need to sign at least 4 starting WRs" is just beyond any sort of basic logic.

Sorry, we can't have a loaded position at every position of the team. You need to balance and weigh priorities. Right now our WR corps is far better than anything pre-2007 and that is without Sanders. We don't need to invest a ton of money in WRs when you have Brady who can make garbage work.

The goal is not to have Brady throw 50 TDs. The goal is to win a SB and investing a boatload of resources and money into skill position receivers is just stupid stupid stupid stupid. We have very obvious needs on the DL and secondary that need to be handled first.


EDIT:
Wilfork:

Ninkovich is a solid role player. He occasionally gets some splash plays which makes casual fans love him. Sure he'll get you a sack, but that doesn't make up for the other 85% of downs where teams run at him at a 6YPC clip. We were elite at defending the run in all the gaps except off left end. Hmm, I wonder why that might be.

He's a nice role player that has a good story and we all want to succeed but he is horrendously overrated by casual fans.


We have zero depth at CB. Dowling is more likely to be cut than anything this season and Talib will be lucky to play 12 games. On top of that Dennard had a nice season, but we've seen in past years how promising a rookie CB has looked for us, only to be garbage his sophomore year.

CB is a massive liability right now that is riding on a whole lot of "everything has to go perfectly".

Honestly I'd rather put McCourty back at CB and draft a Safety who doesn't suck and isn't either a liability in coverage, takes terrible angles and/or can't tackle. But given the dearth of talent at S and unless Vacaroo falls to us, I don't see that happening.

We need to draft a CB, and the other pick should go to replacing Ninkovich or giving us a long term prospect at DT instead of a stop gap like Kelly.


You win in the trenches, not with flashy receivers. Otherwise the Saints would have been a playoff team last season.

I'm sorry there is just so much fail here to respond to. To think it is moronic to realize that the best receivers on this team are injury prone because the injuries are "freakish" in nature is ridiculous. The tight ends are injured almost every season, you need a big outside receiver that can be a red zone threat to mitigate the loss of Gronk if he gets hurt and to make us even better when he is healthy. Because as pointed out we've been beaten by all the top teams with Gronk in the lineup.

 

[Brady2Moss]

I didn't know that you were also a team doctor as well as a General Manager?

Great job responding to nothing in the post. I'm just not a moron or a blind fanatic to think guys that get injured every year are... prone to injury.

I didn't know you were a moron before this post, but now i do.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

Remember when it was written: "BB doesn't use premium picks on RBs or ILBs"
(After the Maroney debacle, I guess we wish that was true still)

Don't forget, my presumption is that BB uses a draft pick to get a wideout. it just so happens to be a veteran wideout (Sanders) and not a rookie.

 

[Nunchucks]

I'm sorry there is just so much fail here to respond to. To think it is moronic to realize that the best receivers on this team are injury prone because the injuries are "freakish" in nature is ridiculous. The tight ends are injured almost every season, you need a big outside receiver that can be a red zone threat to mitigate the loss of Gronk if he gets hurt and to make us even better when he is healthy. Because as pointed out we've been beaten by all the top teams with Gronk in the lineup.

The Patriots have been beaten by all the top teams with Welker in the lineup, what exactly is your point?

 

[Nunchucks]

The Patriots have been beaten by all the top teams with Welker in the lineup, what exactly is your point?

The point is that the Defense needs to get better and so they will draft defense.

 

[belichick010405]

I am glad that you think that I am a moron. No seriously. I am glad that you think that. Twit.

Great job responding to nothing in the post. I'm just not a moron or a blind fanatic to think guys that get injured every year are... prone to injury.

I didn't know you were a moron before this post, but now i do.

 

[Brady2Moss]

I am glad that you think that I am a moron. No seriously. I am glad that you think that. Twit.

You did nothing to respond to the post besides offer a lame jab that was extremely ironic given that you are acting as much of an armchair GM as everyone else.

And Nunchucks the point is when people say if we had GRONK WE'D BE 2X CHAMPS! It's a bs excuse. We've lost to top teams with Gronk, you can't hold onto ifs and buts as reasons to not improve an area of need.

 

[JackBauer]

It's compelling enough to those of us who feel more confident that we'll see improved health happening long before we'll see an improvement in successfully drafting an impact wideout.

That's a pretty silly position, considering they need a wideout regardless of health, but you're certainly entitled to it.

 

[belichick010405]

No - I am actually posting regarding the moves that the Patriots make and you act like you suffer from ADHD because whatever the Patriots do from a personnel point of view is not good enough for you.

That is why you are a twit.

You did nothing to respond to the post besides offer a lame jab that was extremely ironic given that you are acting as much of an armchair GM as everyone else.

And Nunchucks the point is when people say if we had GRONK WE'D BE 2X CHAMPS! It's a bs excuse. We've lost to top teams with Gronk, you can't hold onto ifs and buts as reasons to not improve an area of need.

 

[Brady2Moss]

No - I am actually posting regarding the moves that the Patriots make and you act like you suffer from ADHD because whatever the Patriots do from a personnel point of view is not good enough for you.

That is why you are a twit.

Actually I said they need to draft a WR and complimented the Sanders move. You clearly do not know how to read and since you were called out for dodging the question are getting defensive by turning to topics of other threads.

 

[Nunchucks]

You did nothing to respond to the post besides offer a lame jab that was extremely ironic given that you are acting as much of an armchair GM as everyone else.

And Nunchucks the point is when people say if we had GRONK WE'D BE 2X CHAMPS! It's a bs excuse. We've lost to top teams with Gronk, you can't hold onto ifs and buts as reasons to not improve an area of need.

Those loses were defensive collapses. The problem with the offense in the playoffs is that it became too predictable and easy to stop by top defensive teams. Because the Patriots did not commit to running the ball, players could not get off the LOS and once the field shrunk, it was much easier to defend Welker...That and the defense couldn't get pressure on the QB and the secondary couldn't cover.

Now, the offense is going to be based around a 2 TE set with a single RB and 2 WRs. Patriots have depth at the TE position, they have their starting 2 WRs if Sanders sticks, and they have some backups.

That offense is much more flexible, able to do many different things, like run the ball in nickel, throw the ball deep to either Amendola or Sanders (both can get deep and get off press coverage) and of course work the middle of the field with the TEs or put Hernandez int he slot.

Again, I agree, to have a big WR that can play jump ball and put the fear of god into DBs about getting beat deep, would be awesome. However, that guy is really hard to find, usually goes in the top half of the first round or doesn't play consistently enough to gain Brady's trust.

 

[Coach42]

I can't see anyway people feel better about the WR/TE than they did last year. Where exactly did they improve? At best ammendola is 75-80% of welker. Who replaces Lloyd's 900 yards? Sanders? I'm skeptical. I think the group has taken a step backwards but that's not to say the offense still won't put up 28+ points a game.

 

[Deus Irae]

Those loses were defensive collapses. The problem with the offense in the playoffs is that it became too predictable and easy to stop by top defensive teams. Because the Patriots did not commit to running the ball, players could not get off the LOS and once the field shrunk, it was much easier to defend Welker...That and the defense couldn't get pressure on the QB and the secondary couldn't cover.

Now, the offense is going to be based around a 2 TE set with a single RB and 2 WRs. Patriots have depth at the TE position, they have their starting 2 WRs if Sanders sticks, and they have some backups.

That offense is much more flexible, able to do many different things, like run the ball in nickel, throw the ball deep to either Amendola or Sanders (both can get deep and get off press coverage) and of course work the middle of the field with the TEs or put Hernandez int he slot.

Again, I agree, to have a big WR that can play jump ball and put the fear of god into DBs about getting beat deep, would be awesome. However, that guy is really hard to find, usually goes in the top half of the first round or doesn't play consistently enough to gain Brady's trust.

Ladies and gentlemen, THIS is how you write good comedy!