Braxton Berrios...My Binky

[Family]

On the one long catch over the middle vs. DET, the ball got to his body. But I don't see that consistently happening on his game tapes from UM or practice catches.

On a punt return too.

That's what I care about the most.

 

[PP2]

Berrios is in competition with Edleman

Son, I don't know what you're sniffing, but it must be pretty potent.

 

[Ivan]

I think Meyers is the one wrapping up that back up slot receiver role. IIRC, wasn't most of Meyers production came out of the slot position?

Also remember Edelman isn't always used in the slot in recent years. Given the current TE situation, we may see more 4 wide formations on passing downs than we usually see.

I don’t see Meyers as having the quickness to play the slot. I see Berrios in the mold of Welker and Edelman

 

[Patsgofor4]

I agree, in training camp practices Gunner’s quickness is noticeably better than Braxton and Harris. Due to his high potential, Patriots might consider keeping on the 53.

+1 on Team Gunner. His short area burst makes you sit up and take notice both in practice (watched two of them in pads) and in the game versus the Lions. That’s not to say that he has a better chance of making the 53 this year but to me he is the more interesting prospect with a higher ceiling. The mere fact that he does not look out of place playing a totally new position coming from a D2 school is pretty remarkable.

Maybe he will change my mind over the next three games but at this point Berrios is still ‘meh’ to me.

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

Son, I don't know what you're sniffing, but it must be pretty potent.

Son. I hope you taking me out of context by just quoting a snippet of my comment is a way of joking with me. I love Jokers.

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

I don’t see Meyers as having the quickness to play the slot. I see Berrios in the mold of Welker and Edelman

I definitely don’t see Myers having that type of quickness. He did play the slot in college a lot and catch a lot of quick slants. I would compare his role on the field more in the Amendola role. Good hands and finds a way to get open

 

[TheRainMaker]

Wiki has Troy at 6ft...I have never stood next to him so not sure myself, but always pegged him as taller.

Wiki gets a lot of stuff wrong. He has always been around 5’10”.

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Wiki has Troy at 6ft...I have never stood next to him so not sure myself, but always pegged him as taller.

Profootballreference and NFL dotcom both list Troy Brown at 5-10. He's likely shorter based on photos of he and Deion Branch, who had great chemistry with Brady and is 5-9. Berrios is not in the class of any of the past receivers being discussed in this thread.

 

[patfanken]

On the one long catch over the middle vs. DET, the ball got to his body. But I don't see that consistently happening on his game tapes from UM or practice catches.

You can see it practice as well. It's not on every catch, and it is clear that he's worked on it a lot over the last season. But he definitely lets it get to his body on occasion.

You know looking at the gloves that everyone wears now days got me thinking about them. In my days, I was the definition of "stone fingers", not the greatest thing for someone trying to make it as a SS. But later on in late 80's when catching gloves were just starting to come into vogue, I wore them for the tag football team I played on then. They made a remarkable difference in my ability to catch the ball.

I'm sure that the technology used in gloves these days is light years ahead of what they had 30 odd years ago. So 2 thoughts come to mind.

a. The league gets bent out of shape anytime some uses even relatively benign things like HGH and Adderall, claiming it gives a player an "unfair advantage", yet gloves that allow the ball to stick to them, ISN'T an unfair advantage??????

b. The easiest method to get the offense and defense back into a semblance of balance would be to simply make receivers catch the ball wearing only their skin. QB completion rates would drop by 10-15% immediately. Just an idle thought.

I don’t see Meyers as having the quickness to play the slot. I see Berrios in the mold of Welker and Edelman

I think we have all gotten used to a certain "type" when thinking about slot receivers, with Brown/Welker/Edelman being the archetypes. However I'm thinking the Pats are looking at Meyers as a different type of slot guy. Someone who wins on size, scheme. and catch radius more than short area quickness.

Of course that's just a guess that's based on the fact that Meyers, who isn't that quick, was very productive working out of the slot in one preseason game. I can't think of anyone right off hand, but there have been other "big" receivers who had success from the slot.

 

[Ivan]

I think short area quickness’s and the ability to get open immediately is the priority for their slot receivers, as they use them to give Brady an immediate release option if defenses are getting to him quickly. Nothing exemplified this for them more than the 2014 win over Seattle in the SB, where the Seahawks were coming hard at Brady on down after down but couldn’t stop Edelman. It’s been the staple of their offense whenever they face a team that can get great pressure on the QB, as we saw again in last year’s SB.

 

[PP2]

Son. I hope you taking me out of context by just quoting a snippet of my comment is a way of joking with me. I love Jokers.

Somewhat, yes. And I think you meant to say they're all in competition for the slot- but Edelman is not a true slot specialist. He lines up all over the field.

There isn't anyone on the team, receiver-wise, that remotely possess Edelman's skillset, offense knowledge, intuition, and football IQ. We talk about Gronk being an unicorn (the kind of player that comes around once every few generations) but we actually have another, in Edelman.

 

[Sicilian]

Just a reminder: WR4 and WR5 are as much about STs as they are about receiving.

Normally I would agree, but who we've had at TE the last decade has been a huge factor in that. You don't need your 4 and 5 WR's to be big receiving threats when you're using TE's and RB's so much in the passing game. #5 will probably still need some ST value, but I could see us wanting to keep 4 legit WR's, at least so long as we're without Watson.

Berrios has an uphill climb. Edelman and Harry are locks. Dorsett isn't, but would be a surprise cut IMO. Meyers still has a ways to go, but seems to be trending upwards. That leaves Harris, Inman, Berrios, and on a longer shot Gunner fighting or that 5th spot. I don't know if Berrios' PR ability is good enough to win him that job, especially since we know Edelman is the most dynamic one we have, and Chung has been used as a "safe" backup option before.

 

[Zuma]

Berrios showed an extra gear on returns against the Lions that wasn’t there as a receiver. He probably needs a bit to get to that gear. Let’s see what he does against the Titans.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

I can't think of anyone right off hand, but there have been other "big" receivers who had success from the slot.

There seems to be a lot of guys 6'2" or taller doing well in the slot these days.
Larry Fitzgerald 6’3”
Adam Theilen 6’2”
Kennan Allen 6’2”
Cooper Kupp 6’2
Tyler Boyd 6’2”

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

Somewhat, yes. And I think you meant to say they're all in competition for the slot- but Edelman is not a true slot specialist. He lines up all over the field.

There isn't anyone on the team, receiver-wise, that remotely possess Edelman's skillset, offense knowledge, intuition, and football IQ. We talk about Gronk being an unicorn (the kind of player that comes around once every few generations) but we actually have another, in Edelman.

I fully agree with you on Edleman. Yes I was just referring to whom Berrios would have to beat out to make the team. Edleman is a lock and Myers look’s solid. So uphill battle for Berrios.

Your a smart intelligent guy in the future please don’t snippet misquote. It’s a bad look

 

[Ivan]

There seems to be a lot of guys 6'2" or taller doing well in the slot these days.
Larry Fitzgerald 6’3”
Adam Theilen 6’2”
Kennan Allen 6’2”
Cooper Kupp 6’2
Tyler Boyd 6’2”

I’m not saying taller players can’t play the slot, I’m saying the Patriots use their slot as Brady’s safety valve when a Brady is facing intense pressure, so quickness and short area change of direction ability are priorities for them at that position.

 

[BradyFTW!]

There seems to be a lot of guys 6'2" or taller doing well in the slot these days.
Larry Fitzgerald 6’3”
Adam Theilen 6’2”
Kennan Allen 6’2”
Cooper Kupp 6’2
Tyler Boyd 6’2”

Jordan Matthews also had some success a few years back with the eagles out of the slot, and he's 6'3". Might help explain why the Pats gave him a shot last year.

 

[bormio]

There seem to be a fair number of positive quotes coming from BB and team members about Berrios, his improvement, his work ethic etc. A NESN article tonight refers to him as like a veteran (which is funny, but still). Sure, ability to make plays is big - but also is versatility, ability to be coached, ability to take coaching and apply it, work ethic etc. How the fans and the media see training camp and preseason game performances and how the coaches do can differ a fair amount. I do sense we have some young talent they like, and we are about to get younger at the position.

 

[pheenix11]

He’ll make the team along with Meyers. Take it to the bank.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Meyers was reportedly fielding punts today. Isn't supposed to have the necessary lateral quickness, but bears watching.