Breakdown of Bennett's per-game use

An interesting piece from Perry:
Why Bennett's playing time has declined

@PP2 posted the same article this morning in the other Bennett thread. FYI.

Q1) If Bennett were available now, would we sign him?

Q2) Is there another available defensive line player who would provide more depth than Bennett?

I think that the answer is a clear "no"

mgteich said:

Q1) If Bennett were available now, would we sign him?

Q2) Is there another available defensive line player who would provide more depth than Bennett?

I think that the answer is a clear "no"

Click to expand...

But could we trade him to possibly strengthen current weakness's on the team that answer is a probably

I think it's worth seeing how Bennett responds to the suspension. If he comes back with a different attitude and starts pushing himself to force the Pats to play him more, he's a great piece. If he comes back and is doing all the same things that were at odds with the team, then we deal him at the deadline. All in all, I'd prefer the first option. Player for player trades almost never happen in the NFL, so the odds of dealing him for an OL, WR, or TE to bolster those areas are slim. More than likely, if we want help in those areas, we're trading a pick, not Bennett.

Sicilian said:

I think it's worth seeing how Bennett responds to the suspension. If he comes back with a different attitude and starts pushing himself to force the Pats to play him more, he's a great piece. If he comes back and is doing all the same things that were at odds with the team, then we deal him at the deadline. All in all, I'd prefer the first option. Player for player trades almost never happen in the NFL, so the odds of dealing him for an OL, WR, or TE to bolster those areas are slim. More than likely, if we want help in those areas, we're trading a pick, not Bennett.

Click to expand...

He basically needs to demonstrate 100% compliance throughout his return to practice on Tuesday all the way through the 10/27 game vs CLE.

If not, by 10/29 he is gone.

robertweathers said:

If not, by 10/29 he is gone.

Click to expand...

He is only gone if they can find a trade partner.

The suspension and lack of snaps will not help much with his value to the point where the only thing you get back is saving about 2.1m for this season. Not sure that amount makes it worth to give up potential depth and scheme flexibility.

What if Collins knocks himself out of the season with some major injury ?

Not sure him being traded is as inevitable as many think.

Nice write up and it shows just how hard it is to find players who can contribute in New England. They need talent but also a willingness to buy into the concepts that make their unit excel. It's a hardest thing to scout.

I don’t see him changing his spots. If we can get value for him in a trade (which we might not be able to), then trade him. We still have Cowart sitting on the bench and other guys’ snaps have also been limited.

luuked said:

He is only gone if they can find a trade partner.

The suspension and lack of snaps will not help much with his value to the point where the only thing you get back is saving about 2.1m for this season. Not sure that amount makes it worth to give up potential depth and scheme flexibility.

What if Collins knocks himself out of the season with some major injury ?

Not sure him being traded is as inevitable as many think.

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If hes being an belligerent, disgruntled a-hole and refuses fall in line he will also be gone and the NEP will cut their losses.

I don't see them wasting a roster spot on guy who is not playing.

Great article. I wish more writers put in this type of effort.

His brother unfortunately has a better attitude...

Gotta keep him, it be a big mistake letting him go because we would be the losers.
He will be gone after this year and we need to get our money worth with him...we already got burned by AB.

Well at least he wants to contribute and play. He can always have the attitude of "I'm getting paid to do nothing, cool..."

In the end, if BillB thinks a 4-3 is better suited against a specific team, he plays...

mgteich said:

Q1) If Bennett were available now, would we sign him?

Q2) Is there another available defensive line player who would provide more depth than Bennett?

I think that the answer is a clear "no"

Click to expand...

It wouldn’t make sense that the answer to both are no would it?

I guess the second doesn't really matter. The open question is whether we would sign Bennett for $2.1M. If not, we trade him for what we can get. The first question is about value.

The second is question to which I don't have the answer. Someone suggested that bennett would provide backup if Collins were injured. I don't see it. If we need depth in the front severn, then we should use a draft pick to go out and get that player.

I guess that it's possible that Bennett provides the best value at $2.1M.

Q3) could we get a 4th for Bennett?

Q4) could we get front seven backup for a 4th? This backup would need to provide better value than Bennett.

Ring 6 said:

It wouldn’t make sense that the answer to both are no would it?

Click to expand...

Still two more games before the October 29th trade deadline and a lot can happen until then. Injuries haven’t been kind to the offense, and no telling if the pendulum might swing the other way.

Postgame on the 27th up to the deadline should be some fun discussion.

So basically a 4-3 DE miscast in a 3-4. Why did Belichick/Caserio trade for Bennett in the first place if they were going to be playing more 3-4 than 4-3? I get that Belichick will morph the defense to play whatever he wants but Bennett has a pretty significant cap. If they weren't sure that Bennett was going to be able to play in a 3-4, they shouldn't have traded for him to begin with. I think it'd be best for both parties to move on. Bennett is a veteran player, he's not going to immediately learn how to play in a 3-4.

Flash said:

So basically a 4-3 DE miscast in a 3-4. Why did Belichick/Caserio trade for Bennett in the first place if they were going to be playing more 3-4 than 4-3? I get that Belichick will morph the defense to play whatever he wants but Bennett has a pretty significant cap. If they weren't sure that Bennett was going to be able to play in a 3-4, they shouldn't have traded for him to begin with. I think it'd be best for both parties to move on. Bennett is a veteran player, he's not going to immediately learn how to play in a 3-4.

Click to expand...

You have the chronology wrong.

Bennett was traded for in March. The pieces that with their unexpected over performance make us more effective in a more 3-4ish look (e.g. Shelton, Collins) were not signed until after the comp pick deadline passed by almost 2 months later.

What you plan for in March when FA opens and what you have on your hands in September when the season starts are two completely different things for a multitude of reasons (injuries, players underperforming/overperforming..).

In this case they identified through camp that something closer to a 3-4 would be the way to get the most cohesion and impactful players out there and went with it. Kudos to the coaching staff for doing that instead of trying to force a square into round hole just because of his contract.

Has Bennet been productive even with limited playing time?