Patriots sign Raiders S Obi Melifonwu

robertweathers said:

Just reading up on this guy and I'm not getting that excited.

I'm reading "freak athlete" but also "so-so football instincts".

Is he supposed to be our sideline to sideline LB and cover RBs and TEs? Where has he shown success doing this?

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All I know is they said Richards had great football instincts...

mosi said:

All I know is they said Richards had great football instincts...

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Ha. Looks like BB is pulling a Costanza and doing a complete opposite of conventional thought.

RelocatedPatFan said:

A Safety?, this is why I don't try to guess what BB is going to do

Sizable guy at 6'4"

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Maybe to cover tight ends?

mosi said:

All I know is they said Richards had great football instincts...

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So, that means Obi doesn't?

AndyJohnson said:

Special teams.

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That makes sense to me. I can't see this guy getting a ton of snaps on D right now.

condon84 said:

I see the force is strong in this one.

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When it comes to covering speedy RBs, hes really our only hope.

As for who he replaces on the 53, I wonder how badly hurt Nicholas Grigsby is. Obi could have been signed to fill Grigsby’s role.

ivanvamp said:

Not sure why they let him go other than that Gruden seems to be initiating a purge in Oakland.

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More like a Going out of business sale....

RelocatedPatFan said:

A Safety?, this is why I don't try to guess what BB is going to do

Sizable guy at 6'4"

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Perfect for coverage LB. Also can tackle. Led U Conn tackles his senior year.
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ivanvamp said:

Love the signing. May amount to nothing, but the guy is a physical freak. Huge (almost 6'4", 224 pounds), and can fly (4.4 40 time at the combine). Not a big hitter, but tackles well. Had an injury and was put on IR by the Raiders in August. Not sure why they let him go other than that Gruden seems to be initiating a purge in Oakland.

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Now sign Irvin!
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AndyJohnson said:

Special teams.

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Depends how long he's signed for, but if more than one year this is one of those "long range" signings where he'll play ST pretty exclusively year one (maybe show something in playoffs depending on how far he comes in the schema) but will be fully re-evaluated/better utilized in year two of the system.

He's got all the physical tools to be the hybrid Chung successor we all want (or even better a Chung running mate for two TE or Kelce WR types) that can both cover the big guys AND get after the run game and RBs out of the backfield when in nickel/dime alignments.

This is a potential (key word there) counter RPO signing all the way, with ST the short term bonus.

Lots of upside if he can overcome the injuries.

PlanB said:

can he run the ball?

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Can he rush the passer?

I think its a good sign that Melifonwu wants to play on special teams. Let him cut his teeth there while he learns the Pats defensive system.

I always saw Melifonwu as less of a Box Safety/LB and more of the type of dual safety BB had been looking for long term. One that he'd hoped Chung and Richards would fill.. We'll have to see how he pans out.

robertweathers said:

That makes sense to me. I can't see this guy getting a ton of snaps on D right now.

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I’m sure he will work as S4. If any of the top
3 go down they can give him the role that beat fits him because the 3 we have are versatile. So he would be IMO a lb/s on passing downs.

Wordsmyth said:

Can he rush the passer?

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Please read the pressure stats from last night's game - especially the comparison stats. It's like no one realizes there's more to defense than sacks.

(edit) I just realized I think the initial post was sarcasm...if so my apologies for the knee jerk reaction.

UptownPatsFan said:

Yes! Now, stay healthy.

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They got him to tackle Cordarelle Patterson in practices!

robertweathers said:

Just reading up on this guy and I'm not getting that excited.

I'm reading "freak athlete" but also "so-so football instincts".

Is he supposed to be our sideline to sideline LB and cover RBs and TEs? Where has he shown success doing this?

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I know nothing about the guy, but if he's worth anything he'll probably have to show it on special teams for a while first before he'd ever get defensive snaps. My guess.

Deus Irae said:

It seems pretty clear that Gruden is not impressed with what McKenzie had been doing with the Raiders draft, and thinks he needs to completely re-tool that squad. A guy like Mack or Cooper brings back a return, so he trades him. A guy like Obi or Irvin doesn't get you anything in return, so he just jettisons him and looks to replacing him with a player of his own choosing next year, when he'll be drafting high round after round.

For the Patriots, that means a free look at a guy who'll, statistically speaking, probably be gone sooner than later, but who's got the sort of obvious underwear numbers that so often intrigue BB enough to bring a guy in.

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Your latter paragraph is reminding me a lot of Barkevious Mingo, except that BB traded for him.