After 53 cutdown thoughts

[captain stone]

Rumor has it that they want to activate another OL.

Dante certainly thinks that there's another OLman coming to the 53.

I hope he's right...and I don't mean Cole Croston or especially Thanksdad Ferentz.

 

[Mack Herron]

Lazar film breakdown on Hansen:

Film Review: Can the Patriots Unlock the Cal Version of WR Chad Hansen? | CLNS Media

 

[DaBruinz]

It shouldn't be a real shock: Vinnie was way, Way, WAY over-drafted, especially when one realizes that if the Emperor was looking at DTs at the end of the 3rd round, then the far superior Andrew Billings, Hassan Ridgeway & Willie Henry were all still available. Vinnie shouldn't have been drafted until the 7TH round, at the earliest. Yet Another waste of a top-100 pick that Nobody projected as a top-100 pick; but that's Little Billy for you, always trying to prove that he's the smartest guy in the room.

So, MR. I know more than Belichick, Please answer the following questions about the 3 guys you mentioned..

- Able to learn the Patriots play-book
- Have the ability to learn how to two-gap.
- Be able to be Patriots-type players.


You whine about guys who get injured, yet you over-look the fact that Billings missed his entire rookie season.

Ridgeway? He's having some success in the Colts 1-gap system. How do you know he could two gap?

Valentine showed promise. Yes, he's taken a step back from his rookie season, but we'll see what happens.

But it's absolutely F'in ridiculous of you to keep throwing out BS scouting numbers of what round a player should go in when 99% of them are wrong.

 

[DaBruinz]

You feel threatened by Captain Marshmallow? Day drinking?

No. I leave the drinking to Captain Stone.

When are you going to offer something meaningful?

 

[zoostation]

Flowers cut maybe but I didn’t watch much preseason
And
Somehow cut dual threat DE5? Bill has lost it.

LB - Tre is still on the roster

 

[DaBruinz]

More likely the mock drafts and draft expert ratings are effected by the opinions of front office personnel around the league. The Mayocks and McShays spend as much time talking to personnel people as they do watching film and making their own evaluations. Thus, those mock drafts and rankings reflect the consensus of the league as much if not more than the evaluations of the draft “experts”.

I’ve been a draftnic since 1977. One observation I’ve reached over the years is conventional wisdom of a player’s draft ranking is usually pretty reliable. You usually don’t do yourself a favor by significantly “reaching” for a player.

The mock drafts and draft experts are affected by the Independent Scouting services that many teams in the NFL use. The problem is that they are about as accurate beyond the first round as a monkey throwing his out feces at the stock pages.

The only "Draftnik" that was worth his weight was Joel Buschbaum. And even his scouting missed things.

You have numerous teams in the league now that don't use the Scouting Services and, therefore, have their own way of evaluating players. Particularly when it comes to the intangibles. Which they get from their own interviews with players. And I guarantee that plays a bigger role in how they view players than it does with the Scouting Services..

 

[Oswlek]

I'm guessing Bolden and McCarron will be on the 53 by week's end, and these new WRs will be on the practice squad if they show anything (we already know that 30 other teams weren't interested in claiming them).

I'll be shocked if McCarron is on the 53 this week. I watched him as closely as the broadcast would allow and he was lousy... at pretty much everything.

 

[TomPatriot]

Dante certainly thinks that there's another OLman coming to the 53.

I hope he's right...and I don't mean Cole Croston or especially Thanksdad Ferentz.

Croston seems to have made some progress but I’d like an upgrade if possible.

 

[Mack Herron]

I'll be shocked if McCarron is on the 53 this week. I watched him as closely as the broadcast would allow and he was lousy... at pretty much everything.

Not as confident. He had some issues in games but had impressed in practice and still the only PR on the roster who actually knows the plays as WR4. I would not be surprised to see him dress vs. Texans.

 

[DarrylS]

Not sure if I counted correctly, but I get 12 new faces on this team this year.. which seems to be about average for the NEP... stagnant roster is not a great value for BB....

If you look at the average ages of each of the teams, the Pats come in at#26 at avg. age of 26.45.. the youngest team in the NFL are the Browns at avg. age of 24.24.....

 

[maineman209]

Not sure if I counted correctly, but I get 12 new faces on this team this year.. which seems to be about average for the NEP... stagnant roster is not a great value for BB....

If you look at the average ages of each of the teams, the Pats come in at#26 at avg. age of 26.45.. the youngest team in the NFL are the Browns at avg. age of 24.24.....

With the two new WRs, I get 13 new faces - 6 on offense, 7 on defense.

BTW - The Pats roster and coaching staff also have higher much higher IQ numbers than the Browns.

 

[luuked]

Not a big surprise.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Pats have a very strong practice squad

 

[luuked]

Ended up pretty much like what most of us would expect. No straight pay cut but incentives.

Also looks like his agent wanted a little bit more leverage for Allen next offseason with that roster bonus. So they don't end up in a situation where Allen might work through the entire offseason only to end up in another negotiation where he might get zero out of it. 500k is at least something. Also forces Pats at least a bit to commit, talk contract or cut around FA time which is better for the player than being on the streets midway through / after camp.

 

[maineman209]

Pats have a very strong practice squad

Needs one more WR (perhaps one of Hansen/Darboh) and probably an LB to round out the scout team.

 

[Thelonious]

My 2 cents (if that):

1) Especially over the first 4 weeks, with this oddball offensive roster, it's going to be really fascinating to see what Josh/Bill come up with in scheme/playcallingwise It'd be nice to have beautifully balanced roster of all stars, no doubt, but maybe not as interesting.

2) In thinking about the PR "problem," I wonder what the difference in return average is between a so-so returner and a "standout" one. I bet it isn't that much. Maybe PR is a less important position in empirical terms than it seems to be because of the play's entertainment value.

3) I'm glad Etling is back. He isn't the next Dan Marino, maybe, but he is a worker, he seems able to think on his (stumbling) feet, and I like his arm. I'd like to see him develop to a point where Hoyer, that dead-end cold fish, is expendable.

4) What would be a good date to schedule Ivan Fears appreciation day?

 

[maineman209]

I wonder what the difference in return average is between a so-so returner and a "standout" one.

I haven't actually done the math, but I'd estimate that an "average" punt return might be somewhere around 6 yards.

The baseline for the guy who's back handling punts is to not eff it up. He needs to be able to judge when to let the punt go and when it absolutely must be caught (and have great ball-security). Even if he only fair-catches everything the must be caught, at least he's not turning it into a negative play. If he can safely gain 5-10 yards every so often, that's kind of a bonus.

The "standout" returners are the guys who can average >10 yards/return over the course of a season on 20+ attempts. Nice to have, but not necessarily critical.

 

[Thelonious]

I haven't actually done the math, but I'd estimate that an "average" punt return might be somewhere around 6 yards.

The baseline for the guy who's back handling punts is to not eff it up. He needs to be able to judge when to let the punt go and when it absolutely must be caught (and have great ball-security). Even if he only fair-catches everything the must be caught, at least he's not turning it into a negative play. If he can safely gain 5-10 yards every so often, that's kind of a bonus.

The "standout" returners are the guys who can average >10 yards/return over the course of a season on 20+ attempts. Nice to have, but not necessarily critical.

So, skill and brains, enhanced by cultivated technique, over dazzling "athletic" skills, here as elsewhere. That's in line with the way Bill thinks anyway.

 

[signbabybrady]

4) What would be a good date to schedule Ivan Fears appreciation day?

I'd say sometime back around '03.

 

[Thelonious]

I'd say sometime back around '03.

I see. Apparently both your short and medium term memories are shot. Maybe try ginkgo biloba.