Cannon to IR

[maineman209]

I suppose Britt will be the backup PR/KR for Dola and Lewis respectively

It's been about 9 years since Britt returned a kickoff in the NFL. He's never returned a punt.

Chung is the only guy on the roster besides Amendola who's ever actually returned a punt for the Pats (though there may be another guy or two who's fair-caught one or two).

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

ok, but when healthy is the key. he's missed 23% of all regular season games in his career. In contrast Nate Solder has missed about 16%.

When healthy sux. I get it. But its also the reason we got him where we did and eventually signed him to a really nice deal for the team.

That's just football though. It's a brutal, crazy sport. And the season is a gauntlt of pain, numbness & most of the time failure bc there's only one winner.

You put together the best team you can. Come up with plans A-Z & when those run dry you patchwork it together as long as you can.

Every team has issues right now.

 

[mgteich]

Now that Hogan is back, perhaps we can afford to have Amendola return punts, and actually try to gain yards.

It's been about 9 years since Britt returned a kickoff in the NFL. He's never returned a punt.

Chung is the only guy on the roster besides Amendola who's ever actually returned a punt for the Pats (though there may be another guy or two who's fair-caught one or two).

 

[Deus Irae]

And Hightower is a top 5 LB.

I don't know that I'd go that far

Kuechly
Lee
Wagner
David
Davis
Miller
Houston
Beasley
Matthews
Mercilus

That's a pretty good group, and I'm not sure Hightower would be top 5 in that group.

 

[supafly]

Now that Hogan is back, perhaps we can afford to have Amendola return punts, and actually try to gain yards.

With our fingers crossed, of course. I never thought I’d want him to take it easy on PR duties, but he seems to have a knack for getting injured on those plays with some unfortunate consistency.

It goes without saying that losing Amendola would be big right now. He’s obviously our main slot WR. Hogan only lined up there about half of what he was prior to the injury, which I believe was somewhere around 47% before he hurt his shoulder. Hopefully, that improves as his health strengthens. Neither Dorsett nor Britt is likely to be able to produce much as the WR3 in his place, and we’d be forced to use Cooks in the slot more than his usual 20% (approx.), even with a healthier Hogan.

It’s a shame that Dorsett can’t return punts. A big shame.

 

[supafly]

That's just football though. It's a brutal, crazy sport. And the season is a gauntlt of pain, numbness & most of the time failure bc there's only one winner.

You put together the best team you can. Come up with plans A-Z & when those run dry you patchwork it together as long as you can.

Every team has issues right now.

Well said, BGC, although no other team is currently dealing with 3 all pros on IR at the moment, either (Cannon, HT, Ebner). There are some with 2, but none with 3.

That also doesn’t account for the losses of Edelman, McClellin, or Bennett. We also have a bunch of young, recent draft picks like Mitchell, Jones, Rivers, Valentine, and Garcia all on IR, which account for 3 of the top 5 draft picks over the past two seasons.

Add in some missed games from key guys like Andrews, Rowe, Waddle, Gronkowski, Van Noy, Branch, and Flowers, and this team is really attempting to overcome a lot of obstacles at the moment. Let’s hope it’s not like 2013 or 2015.

 

[maineman209]

Well said, BGC, although no other team is currently dealing with 3 all pros on IR at the moment, either (Cannon, HT, Ebner). There are some with 2, but none with 3.

That also doesn’t account for the losses of Edelman, McClellin, or Bennett. We also have a bunch of young, recent draft picks like Mitchell, Jones, Rivers, Valentine, and Garcia all on IR, which account for 3 of the top 5 draft picks over the past two seasons.

Add in some missed games from key guys like Andrews, Rowe, Waddle, Gronkowski, Van Noy, Branch, and Flowers, and this team is really attempting to overcome a lot of obstacles at the moment. Let’s hope it’s not like 2013 or 2015.

And then, there's the money.

From Miguel ...

By my numbers 15.26% of the Patriots adjusted cap ($25,671,967) is either on IR or NFI. 4 (Edelman, Hightower, Cannon, McClellin) of the 16 highest cap numbers are on IR.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

I don't know that I'd go that far

Kuechly
Lee
Wagner
David
Davis
Miller
Houston
Beasley
Matthews
Mercilus

That's a pretty good group, and I'm not sure Hightower would be top 5 in that group.

Was speaking more to O.T.B. LB's but everyone has their list. Frankly speaking, at least imo, there aren't many that make an impact & 54 def does.

Btw Wagner should def be in there for dpoy

 

[maineman209]

It’s a shame that Dorsett can’t return punts.

Dorsett had 25 PR and 25 KR in four season at U of Miami, and he wasn't very good at either.

Reedy was a very good KR at Toledo, and also pretty decent in 29 PR. He was also solid on both KR (20.7 avg) & PR (10.2 avg) with Tampa earlier this season. In his 2 games with the Pats, he had 4 PR for only 32 yds total (8.0 avg) and a long of 13. He was, however, scrupulously careful with the football, so that's a plus.

McCarron had only 5 KR in 4 seasons at Iowa, but a spectacular 30.7 avg. He had only 19 PR and didn't do much with those until his senior year when he had 7 for 148 yds (21.1 yd avg).

Cy Jones also had limited return touches in three seasons at 'Bama:
... 10 KR, 25.0 avg ... 8 PR, 7.6 avg as a freshman
... No returns as a Soph.
... 4 KR, 19.3 avg ... 4 PR, 20.5 avg as a junior

The Pats only two legit PRs - Edelman and Amendola - will be 32 and 33 years old in 2018.

BB values the return game, but has also made it clear on more than one occasion that he wants to avoid using a roster spot on a dedicated returner who isn't able to contribute much in other ways.

That's probably mostly why Reedy was let go. OTOH, Reedy was a pretty decent receiver for four years in Toledo and did well running the ball on limited occasions. He also showed a hint of some ability at both earlier this season in Tampa, so he may end up back on the PS in a week or two for further evaluation/development on a futures contract in 2018.

Still, the lack of a legit PR may be becoming an issue, unless Cy Jones can recover from his ACL in 2018, AND improve on his previous performance (or lack thereof). I suspect that at least a couple of BB's 2018 UDFA DBs and WRs will have had some significant college PR experience.

 

[Urgent]

It's not good news. This team has been ravished by injuries.

Ravished? Enraptured & captivated with passion?
Maybe autocorrected from radished? They've been knocked on the head with root vegetables?
Maybe ravaged?

 

[mgteich]

So, we have only Amendola who we really don't want returning punts, and we have no one else. I'll say it. Reedy is more valuable for the remainder of the year than someone. My choice is Grissom.

Dorsett had 25 PR and 25 KR in four season at U of Miami, and he wasn't very good at either.

Reedy was a very good KR at Toledo, and also pretty decent in 29 PR. He was also solid on both KR (20.7 avg) & PR (10.2 avg) with Tampa earlier this season. In his 2 games with the Pats, he had 4 PR for only 32 yds total (8.0 avg) and a long of 13. He was, however, scrupulously careful with the football, so that's a plus.

McCarron had only 5 KR in 4 seasons at Iowa, but a spectacular 30.7 avg. He had only 19 PR and didn't do much with those until his senior year when he had 7 for 148 yds (21.1 yd avg).

Cy Jones also had limited return touches in three seasons at 'Bama:
... 10 KR, 25.0 avg ... 8 PR, 7.6 avg as a freshman
... No returns as a Soph.
... 4 KR, 19.3 avg ... 4 PR, 20.5 avg as a junior

The Pats only two legit PRs - Edelman and Amendola - will be 32 and 33 years old in 2018.

BB values the return game, but has also made it clear on more than one occasion that he wants to avoid using a roster spot on a dedicated returner who isn't able to contribute much in other ways.

That's probably mostly why Reedy was let go. OTOH, Reedy was a pretty decent receiver for four years in Toledo and did well running the ball on limited occasions. He also showed a hint of some ability at both earlier this season in Tampa, so he may end up back on the PS in a week or two for further evaluation/development on a futures contract in 2018.

Still, the lack of a legit PR may be becoming an issue, unless Cy Jones can recover from his ACL in 2018, AND improve on his previous performance (or lack thereof). I suspect that at least a couple of BB's 2018 UDFA DBs and WRs will have had some significant college PR experience.

 

[supafly]

Cy Jones also had limited return touches in three seasons at 'Bama:
... 10 KR, 25.0 avg ... 8 PR, 7.6 avg as a freshman
... No returns as a Soph.
... 4 KR, 19.3 avg ... 4 PR, 20.5 avg as a junior.

Wow, didn’t realize this at all. Kind of goes against the popular thought that he was a special teams beast and signed predominantly for his return skills, despite his smaller stature and mediocre coverage ability.

You’ve somehow managed to piss me off about this selection even more than I previously had been.

 

[maineman209]

So, we have only Amendola who we really don't want returning punts, and we have no one else. I'll say it. Reedy is more valuable for the remainder of the year than someone. My choice is Grissom.

Actually, Chung has been the backup PR for awhile. He hasn't been used very often (hasn't been needed), but he was pretty good in college (Oregon): 23 KR, 23.6yd avg ... 16 PR, 11.3yd avg (1TD).

Also, Slater is a backup KR.

Grissom is one of those "bigger guys" that BB has expressed a preference for in the unglamorous (non-gunner) mid-fielder roles on ST coverage and return units. He's played on all four of those units more often than not (~22 ST snaps/game active). Anyway, that's something Reedy (5076/175) certainly couldn't do.

BTW, size on ST is likely the main reason that they've kept Hollister (6032/245) active on games days, even though he's been a bit of a liability on offense.

 

[maineman209]

Wow, didn’t realize this at all. Kind of goes against the popular thought that he was a special teams beast and signed predominantly for his return skills, despite his smaller stature and mediocre coverage ability.

You’ve somehow managed to piss me off about this selection even more than I previously had been.

LOL!

Well, in fairness, pretty much every one of Cyrus' returns at 'Bama was highlight-reel worthy, and, since there were relatively few of them, most of them actually ARE on his highlight reel. Also, apparently one of the reasons he has so few returns is that he fair-caught a lot of punts. That may be one of the things that BB and the scouts focused on - that cautious judgement. He hasn't really shown much of that caution with the Pats so far - possibly too anxious to "prove himself" and possibly not really realizing how much faster (and bigger) return coverage guys are at the NFL level versus the undraftable scrubs he typically faced in college.

Earlier this season, one of the rare "good questions" from the media gaggle got BB to launch into a lengthy explanation of the huge differences between returning kicks and returning punts for the return units, as well as for the returner himself - differences that most fans (and media people, apparently) rarely consider. All of which plays into the returner understanding what to do and what NOT to do.

Anyway, on his 'Bama PRs, Cyrus looks like a completely different guy than he has so far with the Pats - confident, clean catch - a split-second hesitation to survey the oncoming horde - and then, suddenly ... warp-drive. Seriously, his tape is almost all "Holy ****!" moments. If he can get back to being THAT guy with the Pats, they'll really have something, especially if he can eventually develop into a decent reserve DB.

But, y'know, it's yet another one of those, "We'll see how that goes" situations.