Jabar Gaffney, Austin Collie in for tryouts

[Joker]

oh...did you think I was posting to you???...I cannot make any negative posts now???..is that ANOTHER new rule here??

why don't you post the TRUE PATRIOT FAN HANDBOOK so I can get acquainted with the proper methods of rooting for the Pats.

 

[primetime]

I am talking about the style of receiver they are. Gronk's style is closer to Shannon Sharpe than either Gates or Gonzo.

No way Hernandez are remotely like Sharpe or Coates. Those two lined up at the end of the line and caught balls in traffic over the middle line Gronk. Hernandez lines up in the slot or out wide like Gates and Gonzo did/do.

Gonzalez was always an in-line tight end (and probably the best ever) and Gates has been for most of his career, especially after he found blocking.

I do get what you're going for, though. Hernandez is a new breed of player because guys are just getting bigger and faster. If anything, he's more comparable to a slot wide receiver like Welker than he is to any of the guys you're comparing him to, he just weighs nearly half a hundred pounds more than most of those slot guys. It's not even really fair to call him a tight end.

And, for what it's worth, Gronk's a better downfield receiver than Hernandez is. He's hardly just a 'tough catch over the middle' guy, and nor was Gonzalez in his heyday. Hernandez is just substantially more dangerous after the catch since he can make people miss rather than just trying to rumble over people.

 

[Deus Irae]

oh...did you think I was posting to you???...I cannot make any negative posts now???..is that ANOTHER new rule here??

why don't you post the TRUE PATRIOT FAN HANDBOOK so I can get acquainted with the proper methods of rooting for the Pats.

So much irony...

 

[Joker]

so much azzzholenish...

 

[Deus Irae]

so much azzzholenish...

Yes, you were doing that, too, but I didn't want to mention it. I hadn't complained about your "negative" posts here. I'd pointed out the irony of you complaining about other peoples' negative posts when you were raining them down all over the Tebow thread, nothing more.


Get hold of yourself.

 

[Rob0729]

Gonzalez was always an in-line tight end (and probably the best ever) and Gates has been for most of his career, especially after he found blocking.

I do get what you're going for, though. Hernandez is a new breed of player because guys are just getting bigger and faster. If anything, he's more comparable to a slot wide receiver like Welker than he is to any of the guys you're comparing him to, he just weighs nearly half a hundred pounds more than most of those slot guys. It's not even really fair to call him a tight end.

And, for what it's worth, Gronk's a better downfield receiver than Hernandez is. He's hardly just a 'tough catch over the middle' guy, and nor was Gonzalez in his heyday. Hernandez is just substantially more dangerous after the catch since he can make people miss rather than just trying to rumble over people.

Both Gates and Gonzalez played frequently in the slot as hybrid WRs playing WR roles. If you think either play like Gronk, you aren't watching closely. Gronk is 20lbs heavier than Gonzalez and 12 lbs heavier than Gates. Both Gates and Gonzalez were more faster than powerful receivers like Hernandez. Gronk is a best who takes two and three guys to bring down at times, but not particularly fast.

Gronk's best comparison is Shannon Sharpe. Both were over the middle guys and downfield threats. Yes, Gronk goes downfield, but he gets a majority of his passes over the middle in traffic. That's his bread and butter because he is impossible to bring down. In fact, I would say Grnk is as close to a Sharpe clone as the NFL has seen.

And Hernandez is not a new breed of TE. He is playing a role that Antonio Gates has been playing for years. Gates is closer to Hernandez than Gonzo, but all three line up in the slot quite a bit and even used split out at times.

 

[Rob0729]

As I noted:

You are talking maybe slightly more because probably about 5-10% of everything we learn in minicamp actually translate into the season. Heck, about maybe 15-20% of what you learn in the preseason actually translates into the regular season. I will give you some notable examples.

• In 2003 in the preseason against the Bengals, the Pats' defense absolutely sucked and the offense was slightly better. The defense sucked so bad that Belichick played the starters into the third quarter and they were still being taken to the woodshed by second and third stringers. That defense became arguably the best defenses in Patriots history and probably a top 20 defense in NFL history.
• In 2008, Matt Cassel played so bad in the preseason that not only did people here think he wouldn't be able to take over if Brady took over, but he sucked so bad that he wasn't worthy to be the emergency QB. He led the Pats to 11 wins as a starter that year.
• Bam Childress was always a preseason stud when he was here. He had 5 catches for 39 yards for his career in the NFL.
• The last two times the Pats went to the Super Bowl they were 2-2 in the preseason. In 2004, they were 1-3.
• The first week of training camp in 2011, Albert Hanesworth was a monster. He turned into a turd.

Those are notable examples of how significant things we see in the preseason and training camp doesn't translate into the regular season. So stuff we see in a three day minicamp means even less. Especially when you got an entire WR corp still learning the playbook and getting a feel for playing with Brady.

I have always said we learn absolutely nothing in minicamp and very little in training camp. The coaches learn a lot, but they are looking at it differently and learning different things.

And by the way, Dobson's review wasn't a negative in my eye. A rookie WR who caught everything in college having a few concentration drops (the way Reiss/Yates described them) in minicamp and showing flashes of being a stud is a decent review in my eyes. The concentration drops should vanish as he gets comfortable in the system and with Brady. If that was a review of a veteran, it might be concerning. For a rookie, it is expected. In fact, Reiss/Yates imply that he might be showing he deserves consideration to start opposite Amendola.

 

[goheels22002]

Which one of these guys will get added to the roster now that the kicker was released? I was surprised that there wasn't an update about Gaffney, Collie, or Lloyd this morning.

 

[Rob0729]

Which one of these guys will get added to the roster now that the kicker was released? I was surprised that there wasn't an update about Gaffney, Collie, or Lloyd this morning.

Except there hasn't even been rumors the Pats are interested in Gaffney or Lloyd other than reporters thinking Chaz Schilens was Gaffney.