Can Polk be fixed?

[mgteich]

Very rarely do guys have a bad rookie year and recover to be good. .

I do not mean to enter this discussion except to say that I this I strongly disagree with this judgement and analysis.

Many all-pros, starters, backups and career bottom of the roster players do not have good rookie years. Giving up on those who have had a poor rookie year is truly awful management.
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I guess that I will comment on Polk. If he were a rookie this year, his prospects would be very promising. Being terrible behind terrible coaching and game planning means very, very little. I see Polk being given all season to develop and for him to come into camp in 2026 to compete for a roster spot if he hasn't clearly become a contributor in 2025.

I understand that some posters want to fire all players who have a poor year. They see a 3-win team and want us to keep a dozen and bring in 40 new players. Surely there aren't more than a dozen that played well enough to show that they deserve to be on the patriots!

 

[mgteich]

Spot on the depth chart is key. Boutte and Douglas are ahead of him and both young still. Baker was behind him last year, but might have better physical tools. Hard to imagine they keep more than 6 WRs and there's a decent chance that Polk could be our 4th best young WR. And of those 4, we don't have a #1 or a #2. With $130M in cap space, have to figure they want to do something there. Maybe multiple guys. I didn't even consider Bourne yet. And it's very possible they like someone in the draft too. The numbers get crowded pretty quick. Hard to imagine we keep 7 WRs.

Draft status would say it's an outlier, but one of Polk and/or Baker are probably in real danger of getting cut. It wouldn't surprise me at all to think we sign 2 starting caliber WRs, cut Bourne, and draft someone in rounds 1-4 (guaranteed roster spot type of pick). Add in Boutte/Douglas and all of a sudden Baker/Polk could be fighting for one spot, and Baker seemingly has better physical tools.

We will/should bring in a #1 and a #2 WR to add to the roster of 5 kids. I don't see any real issues. Let the kids compete in camp, the pre-season and in 2025. One of the 5 kids won't make the 53, but that is pretty normal.

I suppose that there needs to be a decision of when Bourne goes. We could even keep him into the pre-season as insurance, but I expect him to be traded before then, perhaps right around draft time.

 

[State]

Polk, yes; Baker, no.

 

[Steve102]

Don't you make fun of me: Don't you Steve.

 

[rochrist]

Very rarely do guys have a bad rookie year and recover to be good. Polk's rookie year was awful. There is the caveat that Mayo and AVP were the coaches and we do not know how bad they really were, so maybe this is an unusual situation.

Boutte had 2 catches his rookie year, 43 his second. By the end of the year, he was averaging over 5 catches and 100 yards a game. I'd take that as a second year improvement from Polk.

 

[chasa]

He got out performed by more then 4 times the production by a dude who was Literally shot in the chest And missed almost the entire first part of the season.

I don't think there is a way to salvage that.

 

[PatsFan2]

Raps: "When I say I'm option one gee sorry I lied... I'm option one - two - three - four and five"

 

[Joey007]

Here's also a couple going way way back...guys who made the jump.

Isaac Bruce Career Stats - NFL - ESPN

Complete career NFL stats for San Francisco 49ers Wide Receiver Isaac Bruce on ESPN. Includes scoring, rushing, defensive and receiving stats.

www.espn.com

John Taylor Career Stats - NFL - ESPN

Complete career NFL stats for San Francisco 49ers Wide Receiver John Taylor on ESPN. Includes scoring, rushing, defensive and receiving stats.

www.espn.com

Eric Moulds is another one.

 

[DaBruinz]

Smith gives some discussion as to why. Drake was given the tasks slowly. Polk was given the fire hose and expected to learn X, Z, and slot. IHis head was spinning, and he had no idea what to do on the field. They didn't do that to Drake, so why do it to Polk? I know there is a difference in position, but its still an interesting thought. Then Smith criticized the lack of ability to coach the WR room. AVP couldn't even figure out when to run or pass sometimes. There was no communication with Mayo. Tyler Hughes and Tiquan Underwood were pathetic and have no experience coaching WR in the NFL. Smith laughed at Underwood's inability to be a good WR playing out in the Pat's WR room. The dude did get cut right before the Super Bowl. Our WR room all played like Underwood. Polk got confused, was coached poorly, and mentally broke.

While Underwood "had no experience coaching WR in the NFL" he spent 2 years learning how to do just that under Schiano at Rutgers and another 2 at Pitt. He also wasn't the PRIMARY WR Coach. He was an Asst. Smith has no clue how good or bad Underwood was as the assistant. The WR room didn't seem to be any worse off than when Troy Brown was an Asst.

If Polk is "mentally broke" as you claim, there is no fixing him. He has to fix himself.

No. The WR room didn't ALLL play like Underwood. Saying so tells everyone you have no idea what Underwood played like. Mentioning his getting cut right before the Superbowl is nothing but a Red Herring. It has nothing to do with anything.

 

[Vindicate]

If love for Polk to go the typical Patriot route for a developing WR: squeeze yourself into every single unit you can. Find confidence in returning, punt blocking, whatever the **** you can to get a whiff of that turf on gameday. Make your own value in every department, take a seat at every unit meeting you can, and slowly take a bite here and there of some offensive snaps as they present themselves. Even if it's to blindside an LB.

Wanna find a way to the heart of the Patriots? Come in and ****in SLAM a block on a return like Michael Floyd did when we signed him out of despair. They won us over real quick lol. I don't think he even played a snap after that but it was a lovely highlight and had he been a rookie doing that, it would've bought a lot of time to improve.

 

[Ross12]

He got out performed by more then 4 times the production by a dude who was Literally shot in the chest And missed almost the entire first part of the season.

I don't think there is a way to salvage that.

And who was that guy's offensive playcaller? And who was Polk's? Who were their respective WR coaches?

I think the core thing to remember is that Polk had bad coaching. He will now have much better coaching, although the offense will also become a bit more difficult too. I think he can become a productive player if he stays committed. Baker will probably have a harder time, but the same sort of logic applies there.

 

[imahobgoblin]

Because I'm not holding my breath on Polk and Baker. I would like a Combo in FA of either Deebo - Slayton or Higgins/Slayton. We Need Players who can grasp a Playbook: both Polk and Baker Struggled in that aspect. Not good for Rookies who had all TC to get it right.

You missed the point of my post. Its not just that they could not grasp the playbook. Drake was not asked to grasp the playbook. He was slowly guided into it. Polk was given the firehose to his mouth and had to learn three approaches to the playbook = X, S, Slot. Drake learned one new language, but Polk and Baker were expected to learn three? That is bad coaching. Polk got it right in training camp because it was so simple. When the season hit, he could not get all three positions down and he mentally broke. Its really not about grasping the playbook as it is getting confused on the identity of which of the three positions he was supposed to be in at the call of the play. Thats asking too much for a rookie.

 

[imahobgoblin]

While Underwood "had no experience coaching WR in the NFL" he spent 2 years learning how to do just that under Schiano at Rutgers and another 2 at Pitt. He also wasn't the PRIMARY WR Coach. He was an Asst. Smith has no clue how good or bad Underwood was as the assistant. The WR room didn't seem to be any worse off than when Troy Brown was an Asst.

If Polk is "mentally broke" as you claim, there is no fixing him. He has to fix himself.

No. The WR room didn't ALLL play like Underwood. Saying so tells everyone you have no idea what Underwood played like. Mentioning his getting cut right before the Superbowl is nothing but a Red Herring. It has nothing to do with anything.

Fact: Underwood had no experience coaching in the NFL.

Fact: Underwood's CAREER stats were 63 receptions, 1006 yards, 6TD over four seasons.

Fact: The New England Patriots were ranked 32nd in the NFL for passing offense, averaging 176.2 passing yards per game in 2024.

Fact: We had the worst WR room in the league. Part of that is poor coaching.

Fact: Underwood had 3 receptions in 2011 and got cut before the Super Bowl because he was as good as Randy Moss? No, he sucked as a WR.

Fact: Steve Smith voiced his opinion that the Pats WR room reflected their poor coaches.

Fact: It was not my original opinion. I shared it and quoted Steve Smith.

Fact: You are a blowhard who has no right to tell others they don't know what they are talking about just because they refuse to agree with you. I was quoting Steve Smith. He knows more than you no matter what you claim. Your post has nothing to do with anything.

 

[PWRxWLF]

You missed the point of my post. Its not just that they could not grasp the playbook. Drake was not asked to grasp the playbook. He was slowly guided into it. Polk was given the firehose to his mouth and had to learn three approaches to the playbook = X, S, Slot. Drake learned one new language, but Polk and Baker were expected to learn three? That is bad coaching. Polk got it right in training camp because it was so simple. When the season hit, he could not get all three positions down and he mentally broke. Its really not about grasping the playbook as it is getting confused on the identity of which of the three positions he was supposed to be in at the call of the play. Thats asking too much for a rookie.

What are you talking about? Maye had to learn not only all of Polks positions but every other responsibility on the offensive side of the ball. Comparing what a qb has to learn vs a wr is absurd. I expect better observation from Mr. Smith.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Maybe on the Patriots: but on some Teams guys have a rough First Year and make that Second Year jump.

Not a brutal 1st year like Polk had. They have a tough 1st year, but Polk was the worst in the league. I don't know if anyone ever recovered from a 1st year that bad. Maybe you don't understand how bad Polk was.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

That’s not really true, and to be at least somewhat fair to Polk it’s not like he was just being fed the ball constantly and not doing anything with it. Guys like Roddy White and Davante Adams come to mind.

Granted you can find twenty underperforming rookie WRs who do nothing with their careers for every one who turns it around, but there is some hope.

Adams was no where near as bad as Polk. I think you didn't look at the stats. Polk was historically bad.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I do not mean to enter this discussion except to say that I this I strongly disagree with this judgement and analysis.

Many all-pros, starters, backups and career bottom of the roster players do not have good rookie years. Giving up on those who have had a poor rookie year is truly awful management.
========
I guess that I will comment on Polk. If he were a rookie this year, his prospects would be very promising. Being terrible behind terrible coaching and game planning means very, very little. I see Polk being given all season to develop and for him to come into camp in 2026 to compete for a roster spot if he hasn't clearly become a contributor in 2025.

I understand that some posters want to fire all players who have a poor year. They see a 3-win team and want us to keep a dozen and bring in 40 new players. Surely there aren't more than a dozen that played well enough to show that they deserve to be on the patriots!

Polk was historically bad. You are not understanding how bad Polk was compared to the other players whose rookie year was not good. You have to look at how bad the player was, a group of "not great" does not include Polk. Polk was historically bad, and is in a special category.

 

[Nikolai]

Can pigs fly?

I mean, I packed on a few pounds in recent years and just got back from a trip last week (via plane), so....maybe?

It's certainly possible to salvage Polk, and he's probably got one of the better coaching situations in which to learn and improve, but it's up to him. Like so many other things with this team, it's wait and see.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Boutte had 2 catches his rookie year, 43 his second. By the end of the year, he was averaging over 5 catches and 100 yards a game. I'd take that as a second year improvement from Polk.

You have to look at the # of snaps and drops. Boutte had 2 catches on how many reps? How many reps did Polk have for his 12 catches? How many balls did Boutte drop for his 2 catches? How many balls did Polk drop for his 12 catches? You are comparing apples and oranges.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Sure he can be fixed…….





That should make up for his lack of speed.