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You'd put the guy who had 52 regular season snaps and 70 play-offs snaps on defense over the guy who had 383 Regular season snaps and 129 post season snaps on defense.?

Taylor played well in limited snaps, but your statement is just silly.
2026 will be a different season than the 2025 season. So yea reps, snaps, stats will all be different. Crazy stuff
 
2026 will be a different season than the 2025 season. So yea reps, snaps, stats will all be different. Crazy stuff

Yes, 2026 will be a different season.. Yes, the reps, snaps and stats will be different. However, that isn't what you stated. YOU stated that Taylor would make the team over Durden. If the Pats thought the same about Taylor, they'd have given him more than just a Future's Contract (1yr/Vet Min deal w/ no Signing Bonus).

When Taylor was added to the team, he was the 8th DT behind Barmore, Williams, Farmer, Tonga, Durden, Gregory, and Pharms. Yes, he jumped Pharms and Gregory by the end of the play-offs. Yes, he currently sits as the 5th DT on the team based on how last year ended.

Most people have the Pats adding a DT in the draft.. They will likely add 2-3 DTs between the draft, UDFA and Free Agency between now and the start of TC.

Taylor has an uphill battle and is definitely not a lock to make the team. Certainly not to get more snaps than Durden. Durden who outplayed Taylor the entire season.
 
I said I would play taylor over durden or i would keep him on the 53 over durden. Id keep pharms over durden to be honest.
I know how last season played out im concerned with next season. Pats need a 320 plus run stuffer. They need to replace tonga. Gregory is the only player on the roster that has a similar profile.

I think NT might be the biggest need on the whole roster. 46 man game day roster. If pats were playing a game today and I had the chance to add 1 top 5 player it would be a NT
 
I said I would play taylor over durden or i would keep him on the 53 over durden. Id keep pharms over durden to be honest.
I know how last season played out im concerned with next season. Pats need a 320 plus run stuffer. They need to replace tonga. Gregory is the only player on the roster that has a similar profile.

I think NT might be the biggest need on the whole roster. 46 man game day roster. If pats were playing a game today and I had the chance to add 1 top 5 player it would be a NT

No. Here is what you said :
"Id put leonard taylor over Durden too"
You made zero mention of keeping Durden on the 53 in your initial post. You're backtracking to CYA.

Why would you play Taylor and Pharms over Durden? Pharms couldn't beat out Durden all year for a spot on the Pro-Roster. Taylor couldn't beat out Durden for more snaps in the play-offs. You talk about needing a 320lb NT, yet neither Taylor (305lbs) nor Pharms (300lbs) fit that criteria... Durden was, by far, the better player last season by every metric. Including the EYE test.

You think NT is a need because you're still thinking the team is running a 2 Gap system. It's not. It's a 1-Gap system. There is a reason I've mentioned Pat and Kevin Williams of the Vikings. Because that's the kind of interior that Vrabel is going for. Pat and Kevin Williams alternated lining up over center at the "NT" in the Vikings Defense. One would play the NT while the other played the "Under Tackle" lining up between the guard and tackle depending on which side they shifted towards. Neither Pat nor Kevin Williams were over 320lbs. Both were considered "penetrating" D-linemen. Both were excellent against the Run.

Adding a guy like Dexter Lawrence, who is 340lbs, would fill the bill, but he's also a penetrating DT as shown by his sacks and TFLs.
 
I see Farmer as a better fit at NT....but just a rotation guy. He adds 20 lbs and he'll be around 6'3" 335 lb.
 
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Tonga played a NT role. Clearly vrabel & company want at least 1 of those types.
DT- williams, taylor
NT- gregory
DT baremore farmer

I see NT as a huge need. And im confused as why your quoting me. I made it clear I have other players above Durden. Im not walking anything back. He can prove me right or wrong if its the latter then im good with that.
 
I see Farmer as a better fit it NT....but just a rotation guy. He adds 20 lbs and he'll be around 6'3" 335 lb.

I don't think we're going to see that going forward. I think that Vrabel is looking for D-Line to be under 320 unless they have really good 10yd split, SS, 3-Cone, Vertical and Broad.
 
Tonga played a NT role. Clearly vrabel & company want at least 1 of those types.
DT- williams, taylor
NT- gregory
DT baremore farmer

I see NT as a huge need. And im confused as why your quoting me. I made it clear I have other players above Durden. Im not walking anything back. He can prove me right or wrong if its the latter then im good with that.

And yet, Vrabel and Co let Tonga go and haven't filled that role. Something you've refused to acknowledge to this point.
You can list out 3 man fronts all you want, the Pats used them very little last year. Which is also something you refused to acknowledge.

You don't understand why I'm quoting you? Because I was directly debunking your claim. Yes, you are walking back your statement because you initially said you'd put Taylor over Durden and made no mention of keeping Durden on the team.

I stand by the statement that saying you'd keep Taylor over Durden is just silly. You've offered nothing to support your stance.
 
Vrabel has stated he runs his team like a 3-4
Yes, base d is nickle and dime nowadays but a nickle would be a 3-3-5 or 3-2-6
I know its not a bb 2 gap but
I really dont understand why your quoting me last I checked i wasnt on a debate team. Just say what you think I write what I think and we can agree to disagree.
I think taylor will prove to be the better player
As will Gregory but Durden could prove me wrong. Still doesn't make my opinion silly. I guess durden is the safer play cuz he got more snaps last year. Anfernee jennings had more snaps than elijiah ponder too
If the Pats do not have a 320 plus NT type on the week 1 roster ill dunk my own head in the toilet and concede defeat alright?
And vrabes tried to keep tonga at the last minute but it was too late
 
.
If the Pats do not have a 320 plus NT type on the week 1 roster ill dunk my own head in the toilet and concede defeat alright?
And vrabes tried to keep tonga at the last minute but it was too late
No danger
Farmer will be on the team
and perhaps Gregory will gain a couple of pounds and be over your limit for NT's
 
No danger
Farmer will be on the team
and perhaps Gregory will gain a couple of pounds and be over your limit for NT's

Farmer is only 312. Yes, Gregory is 319 and could easily get over 320 by putting his shoes on, but 320lbs isn't a requisite for a NT.
 
my bad
I thought that Farmer was heavy enough for a NT role.
I don't think any are but 25 lbs of Whoppers could do the trick
 
Vrabel has stated he runs his team like a 3-4
Yes, base d is nickle and dime nowadays but a nickle would be a 3-3-5 or 3-2-6
I know its not a bb 2 gap but
I really dont understand why your quoting me last I checked i wasnt on a debate team. Just say what you think I write what I think and we can agree to disagree.
I think taylor will prove to be the better player
As will Gregory but Durden could prove me wrong. Still doesn't make my opinion silly. I guess durden is the safer play cuz he got more snaps last year. Anfernee jennings had more snaps than elijiah ponder too
If the Pats do not have a 320 plus NT type on the week 1 roster ill dunk my own head in the toilet and concede defeat alright?
And vrabes tried to keep tonga at the last minute but it was too late

Yet, they ran a 4-2 almost the entire time last season or 2-4 if you want to say that the Edge Rushers are OLBs..

Of course you don't understand why I quoted you. You initially stated that you'd put Taylor over Durden and made no mention of Keeping Durden on the team. When challenged on that, you said you'd play Taylor over Durden but keep Durden on the 53, but you also claimed you'd play Pharms over Durden despite the fact that Pharms had been unable to beat Durden out for a spot. That's called changing your story..

You think Taylor will prove to be a better player than Durden based on what? What did you see in the 122 Defensive Snaps that Taylor took that you didn't see in Durden's 512 defensive snaps. What I saw was that Durden was better against the run and better against the pass.

Taylor had 3 stops on 55 rushing snaps. (None after week 17). Durden had 18 stops on 248 rushing snaps. (none in the play-offs).
Taylor had 7 pressures in 67 pass rushing snaps (1 per 9.6 snaps) . Durden had 30 pressures in 265 Pass rushing snaps (1 per 8.8 snaps).

Both can and should be upgraded. Neither should be considered safe. But Durden is the better player at this point.

Now your comparing a guy who you say will play a different position in NT to a guy playing DT?

Durden wasn't the "safer" player. He was the BETTER player. All year and in the play-offs. Which is why Durden saw more snaps than Taylor even during the time they were both seeing game snaps.

Comparing the situation of a 6th year pro in Jennings to an Undrafted Rookie in Ponder is you grasping at straws. Jennings was a remnant of the Belichick era. Many were surprised when he wasn't cut last year or traded at the trade deadline. So, it was not surprising that Vrabel cut Jennings with Ponder showing some modicum of success. It was surprising because the Pats depth at Edge is lacking with Landry being a question mark due to his knee.
 
Yet, they ran a 4-2 almost the entire time last season or 2-4 if you want to say that the Edge Rushers are OLBs..

Of course you don't understand why I quoted you. You initially stated that you'd put Taylor over Durden and made no mention of Keeping Durden on the team. When challenged on that, you said you'd play Taylor over Durden but keep Durden on the 53, but you also claimed you'd play Pharms over Durden despite the fact that Pharms had been unable to beat Durden out for a spot. That's called changing your story..

You think Taylor will prove to be a better player than Durden based on what? What did you see in the 122 Defensive Snaps that Taylor took that you didn't see in Durden's 512 defensive snaps. What I saw was that Durden was better against the run and better against the pass.

Taylor had 3 stops on 55 rushing snaps. (None after week 17). Durden had 18 stops on 248 rushing snaps. (none in the play-offs).
Taylor had 7 pressures in 67 pass rushing snaps (1 per 9.6 snaps) . Durden had 30 pressures in 265 Pass rushing snaps (1 per 8.8 snaps).

Both can and should be upgraded. Neither should be considered safe. But Durden is the better player at this point.

Now your comparing a guy who you say will play a different position in NT to a guy playing DT?

Durden wasn't the "safer" player. He was the BETTER player. All year and in the play-offs. Which is why Durden saw more snaps than Taylor even during the time they were both seeing game snaps.

Comparing the situation of a 6th year pro in Jennings to an Undrafted Rookie in Ponder is you grasping at straws. Jennings was a remnant of the Belichick era. Many were surprised when he wasn't cut last year or traded at the trade deadline. So, it was not surprising that Vrabel cut Jennings with Ponder showing some modicum of success. It was surprising because the Pats depth at Edge is lacking with Landry being a question mark due to his knee.
Holy crap dude this is not that tough. Simply put i like taylor and gregory more than durden. For the future. And the pats need a NT to replace the 1 they lost. 2 opinions that many will disagree with. A 2-4 haha ok dude
You know if you acknowledge its a 3-3-5 or a 3-2-6 that means........Nose tackle
I think you wanna argue for the sake of arguing. Or you went to school with Mr durden or something good lord
 
Holy crap dude this is not that tough. Simply put i like taylor and gregory more than durden. For the future. And the pats need a NT to replace the 1 they lost. 2 opinions that many will disagree with. A 2-4 haha ok dude
You know if you acknowledge its a 3-3-5 or a 3-2-6 that means........Nose tackle
I think you wanna argue for the sake of arguing. Or you went to school with Mr durden or something good lord

I get it. These concepts are beyond your limited abilities.
You seem to have issues understanding the nomenclature of alignments. It goes D-Line/LB. If you count the Edge Rushers as being Outside LB, then you'd say 2-4. It's not a hard concept to understand..

Please go ahead and show everyone where I stated that a NT wasn't needed for a 3-3 or a 3-2-6. You can't because it didn't happen. So, now you've resorted to making things up.

Newsflash for you, you can have a NT in a 4-3 Set as well. The Vikings used it all the time with Pats and Kevin Williams. Neither of whom were over 320. The Vikings ran a 4-3 Under where One of either Kevin or Pat would line up over the Center and the other would line up across from a "B" gap. The problem here is that YOU think a NT has to fit whatever characteristics you claim.. They don't.

You're giving yourself too much credit with the claim that you think. What's clear is that you just want to pontificate and not have anyone challenge your posts. Maybe learn how to support your "opinions" with facts and not just expect people to take your word for it.
 
I get it. These concepts are beyond your limited abilities.
You seem to have issues understanding the nomenclature of alignments. It goes D-Line/LB. If you count the Edge Rushers as being Outside LB, then you'd say 2-4. It's not a hard concept to understand..

Please go ahead and show everyone where I stated that a NT wasn't needed for a 3-3 or a 3-2-6. You can't because it didn't happen. So, now you've resorted to making things up.

Newsflash for you, you can have a NT in a 4-3 Set as well. The Vikings used it all the time with Pats and Kevin Williams. Neither of whom were over 320. The Vikings ran a 4-3 Under where One of either Kevin or Pat would line up over the Center and the other would line up across from a "B" gap. The problem here is that YOU think a NT has to fit whatever characteristics you claim.. They don't.

You're giving yourself too much credit with the claim that you think. What's clear is that you just want to pontificate and not have anyone challenge your posts. Maybe learn how to support your "opinions" with facts and not just expect people to take your word for it.
Gregory is the closest thing to a NT on the team. Deal with it
Im higher on taylor and gregory than durden
Your word salad isn't changing that. Have a nice day
 
I see Farmer as a better fit at NT....but just a rotation guy. He adds 20 lbs and he'll be around 6'3" 335 lb.

I don't think Vrabel wants a nose tackle, I think he wants linemen who can penetrate. But if he has a guy who can play nose, and is the better player he will keep them around and use them as fits.
 
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