Pass distribution first 6 weeks sans Edelman

[Ring 6]

My only wish would be that they get someone else to field punts. With Edelman out, Amendola's healthy is THAT much more important. His offense is far more important than special teams. Sign someone else who can field a punt.

I think it's football and when you start saying you can't put a player on the field because you fear injury it creates a bad situation.

Punt returns aren't any more dangerous than catching passes in traffic.

 

[luuked]

He looks dangerous catching the ball in stride in the middle of the field in the spread. Thought he was gone last game (game before?) but he was just tripped up.

Yep. Chatham got into it a bit but he could be Antonio Brown special in that role. But for some reason something seems to go wrong every time we try it. There were a couple of drops (against Panthers and TB), the shoe string tackle that you mentioned against the Jets (which really was just a rare blocking whiff by Gronk), the Hogan PI that nullified a successful attempt. It is like a curse right now.

I honestly cant wait for it to all come together.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The elephant in the room is Amendola's ability to stay on the field at this rate.

Thats my concern as well.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

You forgot Allen.

who dat?

 

[goheels22002]

You can't expect the same % from cooks who gets throws on low percentage routes as amendola or white who get higher percentage throws.
The deeper downfield you operate the lower your catch % is going to be and it's no ones fault because deeper passes are harder to complete. 60% of cooks route package is very good.

Totally agree on the downfield passes, but it would be nice if the passes that hit him in the hands and between the 1 and the 4 were pulled in. Cooks has dropped passes in an Aaron Dobson-esque way through the first six games. My expectation is that he'll do as good a job as somebody like Deion Branch. We are not there yet.

 

[brdmaverick]

I think it's football and when you start saying you can't put a player on the field because you fear injury it creates a bad situation.

Punt returns aren't any more dangerous than catching passes in traffic.

My point was not in analyzing the risk of injury in punt returns vs offensive plays. My point was just that the more a player is on the field the higher risk of getting hurt. So then it becomes does the risk outweigh the reward. In my opinion it doesn't. The benefit the team gets when he is on the field on offense is clear, but I don't see the reward of him being out there on punt returns (as long as you have another guy who is capable of fair catching). It seems every special teams play has a flag involved anyway and usually is 'null and void'.

And there have at least been a few occasions within the past few seasons in which he has missed time due to injuries suffered on punt returns. So yes, with a valuable player like Amendola who is already injury prone, I think it make sense to put him in his position of greatest value. If limiting his special teams exposure helps him stay on the field, I'm all for it.

 

[luuked]

My point was just that the more a player is on the field the higher risk of getting hurt.

If you mean in the cumulative sense that hits are adding up and taking a toll then I agree. If you mean in terms of risk for a serious injury then I dont really think it has much weight. As we all have been reminded painfully yesterday in the Celtics game something can happen on any given play. You can just have 5 snaps a game and still end up with a season ender.

I think keeping his snap count below 50% should help with the cumulative effect of hits. The other risk will always be there - even in practice..

 

[Ring 6]

Totally agree on the downfield passes, but it would be nice if the passes that hit him in the hands and between the 1 and the 4 were pulled in. Cooks has dropped passes in an Aaron Dobson-esque way through the first six games. My expectation is that he'll do as good a job as somebody like Deion Branch. We are not there yet.

He is already far better than branch. A couple of drops are not a big deal in the big picture.

 

[Sicilian]

Just look at 2013 to see how important and game changing a muffed punt return can be. It's not just about getting a good return, it's also about having someone you trust 100% to make the right decision on a fair catch or field the ball cleanly. Amendola does two things better than anyone else on this team: Make clutch 3rd/4th down catches for firsts, and return punts. Removing him from one of those scenarios because you risk injury is like not asking a girl out because you fear rejection.

 

[Ring 6]

My point was not in analyzing the risk of injury in punt returns vs offensive plays. My point was just that the more a player is on the field the higher risk of getting hurt. So then it becomes does the risk outweigh the reward. In my opinion it doesn't. The benefit the team gets when he is on the field on offense is clear, but I don't see the reward of him being out there on punt returns (as long as you have another guy who is capable of fair catching). It seems every special teams play has a flag involved anyway and usually is 'null and void'.

And there have at least been a few occasions within the past few seasons in which he has missed time due to injuries suffered on punt returns. So yes, with a valuable player like Amendola who is already injury prone, I think it make sense to put him in his position of greatest value. If limiting his special teams exposure helps him stay on the field, I'm all for it.

We will have to agree to disagree.

 

[Tuck]

So far he has been on the field approximately on 40% of the offensive snaps (~31 snaps per game). With the Gronk-free Tampa game being the big exception where he played 75% (55 snaps). I think the team is managing him pretty well.

It's true, they're obviously limiting Amendola's snaps but the elephant is still in the room. The concern is that if he goes down, the offense will stall because it relies on having a guy who can get free quickly and catch the underneath stuff. Im not convinced cooks can do it.

 

[aluminum seats]

Good thread, and great to see how Brady is spreading the ball around.

 

[mgteich]

This is great!

I guess that most poster would like to increase the targets and reception by "everyone else", especially Allan and Dorsett, (and Lewis).

42 targets
33 rec
252 yards
James White


41 targets
24 rec
472 yards
Brandin Cooks

41 targets
26 rec
401 yards
Gronk

41 targets
24 rec
307 yards
Chris Hogan

32 targets
26 rec
307 yards
Danny Amendola

30 targets
21 rec
220 yards
Everyone else


Ball has been spread around almost 100% evenly.

Also only team in the NFL with 4 receivers in the top 30 for receiving yards

 

[Angelpats]

My only wish would be that they get someone else to field punts. With Edelman out, Amendola's healthy is THAT much more important. His offense is far more important than special teams. Sign someone else who can field a punt.

You want the guy with the best hands on the team fielding punts. I still remember losing HFA in the playoffs couple years ago because we had someone other than amendola fielding. As for being injured, if it happens it happens. Watching Hayward break his leg should have confirmed that injuries can happen on any play. Dola can play 100% of the snaps and not get hurt or 1% and get hurt on the next play. Playing less does decrease risk but there's no telling when someone will get injured.

 

[neali]

My only wish would be that they get someone else to field punts. With Edelman out, Amendola's healthy is THAT much more important. His offense is far more important than special teams. Sign someone else who can field a punt.

What's Bethel Johnson doing these days?

 

[maineman209]

Exactly. If Cooks is a disappointment, why isn't Hogan with the exact same catch percentage and 170 less yards to show for it?

One thing to consider is that catch rates for regular "deep threat" receivers typically average in the 57%-62% range, due to the degree of difficulty, obviously.

So, the catch rates that Hogan and Gronk put up last season (65%+) for YPCs of 17.9 and 21.6, respectively, were truly remarkable - Megatron level. There really aren't a lot of teams that end up with even ONE guy (among regular pass catchers) posting a 17+ YPC on a 65%+ catch rate for the season. Having TWO in one season is something very rare.

Anyway, Cooks being at 58.5% with a 19.7 YPC is still pretty durn good.

Also, there may be some carryover effect this year from the accomplishments of Hogan and Gronk from last season, especially with the addition of Cooks, and with the subtraction of Edelman. Catch rates for the pass catchers who run shallower routes appear to be up this season across the board. There are certainly a lot of factors contributing to this, but one may be that defenses aren't quite as focused on covering short area receivers who are not named Edelman.

 

[DarrylS]

Against the Jets there were no passes attempted to Develin, Lewis or Allen. Brady only threw passes to 5 receivers, it would seem that if Brady gave the illusion that there are other targets available the O might be better..

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

You forgot Allen.

Why would Brady throw to Ryan Allen?

 

[Tony2046]

We will have to agree to disagree.

Who is this and how did you hack Andy's account?

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Totally agree on the downfield passes, but it would be nice if the passes that hit him in the hands and between the 1 and the 4 were pulled in. Cooks has dropped passes in an Aaron Dobson-esque way through the first six games. My expectation is that he'll do as good a job as somebody like Deion Branch. We are not there yet.

Considering branch never recorded more than 999 yards receiving in a single season here, cooks is on pace to do more than that. Cooks is on pace to get 1187 yard receiving and his 19.5 YPC is outrageous.

How could you possibly complain about his production? What more do you want of the guy?