5 Players Helped By Performance

[mister clyde]

Its possible that we are seeing the Patriots post Brady. Different offense as the running game is emphasized.

Obviously we would need to get the right people in place, which will not happen overnight. That being said, as the league becomes more pass happy every day I could see Belichick transition back to a smash mouth run based offense that would take advantage of the defenses that are more equipped to defend the pass. This could also help to mitigate a dramatic downgrade in the QB position which we will 100% suffer at some point in the next few years.

 

[Hyped]

So he got two targets. One was a hospital ball by Hoyer and the other a deep sideline throw that would have been incomplete no matter what.

Guess Hogan and Edelman were inexcusable then because they were even worse.

The hospital ball was catchable though...it bounced off his hands...

 

[TheRainMaker]

Hill is a great winner to me. Powerful running style and blocking ability makes him better option than Gillislee. Rivers and generally pass rushing looked promising. It is not about sacks but constant pressure causing Redskins' O-line problems.

Hill looked like the guy who ran for 1000 yards his rookie year.

If Hill keeps this up, he will not only beat out Gillislee, but end up the being the #1 back. He is the most complete back of all of them at this point.

 

[Hyped]

Roberts actually looked pretty good as a two-down player with the #1s on defense Thursday night. I'm not all that surprised.

Last season, the lack of health LB bodies forced him to play a "do everything" role for which he certainly isn't suited, and I wasn't egregiously disappointed in him for failing to cover it satisfactorily, especially given his paltry amount of previous NFL experience (272 snaps in a limited 2-down role in 2016 - his rookie season).

I think Roberts suffers in the perceptions of fans mostly for failing to meet unreasonably high expectations.

Unsure why folks are down on Roberts. He is what he is...an early down LB.

BTW, he made one of the BIGGEST plays in SB 51...catching an Atlanta RB from behind (Freeman I think)...that run could have gone to the house...

 

[luuked]

Unsure why folks are down on Roberts. He is what he is...an early down LB.

BTW, he made one of the BIGGEST plays in SB 51...catching an Atlanta RB from behind (Freeman I think)...that run could have gone to the house...

For me it is his inconsistency. Even against the run you see him misdiagnosing a play and taking himself out of it. He gives you highlight plays where he stops opponents in the backfield not often enough to make up for his big whiffs. I'd rather have someone that consistently gives up 3-4 yards than that.

 

[Deus Irae]

Unsure why folks are down on Roberts.

People are down on Roberts because he's not very good.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

I don't want to see Roberts or Richards in a Pat uniform any more...we've all seen what they can bring and it's not much. Our defense will be much improved with these two off the team.

Roberts didn’t look half bad a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, there is not much depth behind Hightower and KVN. Roberts makes the team by default.

 

[maineman209]

For me it is his inconsistency. Even against the run you see him misdiagnosing a play and taking himself out of it. He gives you highlight plays where he stops opponents in the backfield not often enough to make up for his big whiffs. I'd rather have someone that consistently gives up 3-4 yards than that.

Roberts played 272 snaps in his 2016 rookie season, focusing on learning a limited role within the context of a very strong and deeply-experienced front-6.

Then, in 2017, he played another 558 snaps as the #2, "do everything" LB - trying to cover assignments that were way beyond his previous experience (and probably talent) - within the context of an grossly inexperienced, barely viable front-6.

So, in 2018, with the front-6 certainly upgraded a bit and having gained a lot more experience, if Roberts gets the opportunity to return to his original, limited role, perhaps he'll become more consistent.

 

[Angelpats]

Its possible that we are seeing the Patriots post Brady. Different offense as the running game is emphasized.

It’s more likely an evolving offense as Brady gets older.

 

[mcmurtry86]

Unsure why folks are down on Roberts. He is what he is...an early down LB.

BTW, he made one of the BIGGEST plays in SB 51...catching an Atlanta RB from behind (Freeman I think)...that run could have gone to the house...

It's was his blown coverage that sprung Freeman

Nice that he made the play 30-40 yards later but a better LB doesn't allow that to happen in the first place

He's an ok #4-5 LB with little/no special teams ability. I'll be glad when they upgrade

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Roberts actually looked pretty good as a two-down player with the #1s on defense Thursday night. I'm not all that surprised.

Last season, the lack of health LB bodies forced him to play a "do everything" role for which he certainly isn't suited, and I wasn't egregiously disappointed in him for failing to cover it satisfactorily, especially given his paltry amount of previous NFL experience (272 snaps in a limited 2-down role in 2016 - his rookie season).

I think Roberts suffers in the perceptions of fans mostly for failing to meet unreasonably high expectations.

I don't think they're unreasonably high. It's just that he didn't make the second year 'jump' that is expected on this team. It's when the game supposed 'slows down' for them and they are supposed to act on instinct instead of trying to process stuff and it just doesn't seem like it happened for him. Maybe it will this year....

 

[ChessToCheckers]

I thought the OLine was a big winner, especially with Cannon and Wynn not playing. Kept QBs clean most of the night, and the second half running game was superb, albeit against 2's and 3's.
You give Brady that amount of time and we'll be golden.

Agree with Hill and Patterson. I'd also add Lucien.

 

[Tony2046]

The hospital ball was catchable though...it bounced off his hands...

I get being tough going over the middle but that ball had "see you next season after you get out of the hospital " written all over it.

 

[ashley]

Roberts didn’t look half bad a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, there is not much depth behind Hightower and KVN. Roberts makes the team by default.

Tommy, I'm still holding out hope that one of the other lb's can step up and beat out Roberts. If he's on the field, every team will throw to the RB.

 

[doesntmatter1]

I don't like players like Van Noy and Guy. They look the part but fail in crunch time. We all seen how Elandon Roberts struggled last year but statistically Van Noy wasn't much better. Van Noy fails but with style no different than Sam Bradford.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Tommy, I'm still holding out hope that one of the other lb's can step up and beat out Roberts. If he's on the field, every team will throw to the RB.

I don't think any RB on the roster right now is capable of covering RBs in space other than maybe Bentley (haven't seen enough of him tbh). I'm hopeful that Bill will make a move at some point. A number 3 LB and number 2 CB are the most important needs right now. I think we're pretty strong everywhere else.

 

[RayClay]

Unsure why folks are down on Roberts. He is what he is...an early down LB.

BTW, he made one of the BIGGEST plays in SB 51...catching an Atlanta RB from behind (Freeman I think)...that run could have gone to the house...

I like his hustle but, at 223, he's got the body of a large safety and the speed of a 2 down only linebacker

 

[mgteich]

It was the first exhibition game. If that's all it took for Bentley to play his way onto the roster, BB has completely lost it.

Belichick has his college career, and practices until now. Many draftees have made the team over the years as a prospect based on that. So, yes, one game of confirmation could indeed make Bentley be worth making the squad as a linebacker prospect, even if were expect to be inactive most of the year. Of course, some don't think that the roster should include prospects for the future.

 

[mgteich]

I like his hustle but, at 223, he's got the body of a large safety and the speed of a 2 down only linebacker

OK, I'll bite. Why don't we have room for a 2 down linebacker on the team.

 

[maineman209]

I don't think they're unreasonably high. It's just that he didn't make the second year 'jump' that is expected on this team. It's when the game supposed 'slows down' for them and they are supposed to act on instinct instead of trying to process stuff and it just doesn't seem like it happened for him. Maybe it will this year....

I get that, except that his role, and the front-6 situation, radically changed between year-1 and year-2. It wasn't as if he was able to exclusively build on his 2-down run-stopper experience from year-1 (behind a great DL). Suddenly he was being tasked with doing things he hadn't done in his rookie year, at least not as extensively, and to cover those tasks behind a truly crappy DL.

Imagine a guy who was a #4/#5 WR in his rookie season suddenly being required to play TE in his second season - dealing with a whole different set of routes -- and blocking responsibilities. How could you tell whether or not he made any "second year leap"?

Yeah, if Roberts can return to the role (and place on the depth chart) that he played in his rookie season, then we'll have a reasonable comparison with which to judge his progress or lack therof.