A Blount Discussion

[RobAllan]

Alright, after having a night to sleep on the game I watched last night, I really wanted to make a thread to talk about what we saw out of Blount specifically.

Prior to the game my thoughts were:
-I'd heard he's not a great team player
-I'd heard his energy level/commitment was questionable
-I first heard he'd be a good 3rd down back, then later heard he might only be good on 1st/2nd down (which means, I suppose, nobody knows what he's good for)

What I saw on the field:
-Powerful as advertised
-WAY faster than I thought he'd be
-WAY more energy than I expected given some of the knocks on him
-Seemed to be loving it/enjoying the game a lot

So my question is- we're all talking about him possibly beating out Bolden. But everything I personally saw last night made me wonder if his ceiling isn't a bit higher than that? I know we have 2 excellent draft picks higher up on the roster, but this dude isn't old and should still have plenty in the tank.

Is 3rd the best he can do? My gut is telling me not necessarily. Is this overreaction to one game?

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Alright, after having a night to sleep on the game I watched last night, I really wanted to make a thread to talk about what we saw out of Blount specifically.

Prior to the game my thoughts were:
-I'd heard he's not a great team player
-I'd heard his energy level/commitment was questionable
-I first heard he'd be a good 3rd down back, then later heard he might only be good on 1st/2nd down (which means, I suppose, nobody knows what he's good for)

What I saw on the field:
-Powerful as advertised
-WAY faster than I thought he'd be
-WAY more energy than I expected given some of the knocks on him
-Seemed to be loving it/enjoying the game a lot

So my question is- we're all talking about him possibly beating out Bolden. But everything I personally saw last night made me wonder if his ceiling isn't a bit higher than that? I know we have 2 excellent draft picks higher up on the roster, but this dude isn't old and should still have plenty in the tank.

Is 3rd the best he can do? My gut is telling me not necessarily. Is this overreaction to one game?

If last season is any indication, the better he plays, the more he'll play.

In any case, right now, I'd say (A) he's the primary backup for Ridley, in much the same way that Washington would be the primary backup for Vereen, and (B) if he gives as much as the Pats got from Bolden last season, then a 7th + Demps was more than a fair trade.

 

[Bruins29]

It was a good trade. Who the fak would want someone on the team who's head was not 100% into football and his team. I wouldn't. Jeff isnt even 50% into football.

 

[RayClay]

I think vereen is mostly on passing downs. Plenty of snaps for him and ridley IMO. We talk about beasts, this guy is a beast. He's also some type of incorrigible nut, but there's nothing wrong with an angry running back in my opinion.

Don't know about his blocking or decision making, but the guy can run through NFL defenses, and if he plays along, let's use him.

I also think it's crazy to drop either he or Bolden if the merit staying. That's only four running backs, including a 3rd down specialist. Leon is going to make the team as a KR. I'd love to see him as a change of pace guy sometimes, but that's gravy. He is dynamic.

Blount is a total beast and wild man, watch these vids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_mayV_AFMI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6UGiPWrkXY

 

[RayClay]

It was a good trade. Who the fak would want someone on the team who's head was not 100% into football and his team. I wouldn't. Jeff isnt even 50% into football.

Good possibility we'll be wondering where Blount's head is, but he's definitely a beast.

 

[IllegalContact]

blount caught 50 passes as a rookie.....teams should worry when he's out there on 3rd and short

the RB situation is set with ridley,vereen,blount,washington,bolden.

 

[scout]

I think vereen is mostly on passing downs. Plenty of snaps for him and ridley IMO. We talk about beasts, this guy is a beast. He's also some type of incorrigible nut, but there's nothing wrong with an angry running back in my opinion.

Don't know about his blocking or decision making, but the guy can run through NFL defenses, and if he plays along, let's use him.

I also think it's crazy to drop either he or Bolden if the merit staying. That's only four running backs, including a 3rd down specialist. Leon is going to make the team as a KR. I'd love to see him as a change of pace guy sometimes, but that's gravy. He is dynamic.

Blount is a total beast and wild man, watch these vids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_mayV_AFMI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6UGiPWrkXY

What impresses me from the videos is his speed; he is fast. He is also very big, 250 LBs.

 

[goheels22002]

blount caught 50 passes as a rookie.....teams should worry when he's out there on 3rd and short

the RB situation is set with ridley,vereen,blount,washington,bolden.

If Blount is reliable as a pass catcher, it looks good for filling the Kevin Faulk role with Blount and Vereen.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I wonder why Sciano just seemed to discard him before he traded him?

He is a weapon, but maybe he needed to clear the way for his combo RB. Or he needed a team bad boy to make an example of, using him as a symbol of what he as the new Boss in town was not prepared to accept?

 

[patsinthesnow]

I wonder why Sciano just seemed to discard him before he traded him?

He is a weapon, but maybe he needed to clear the way for his combo RB. Or he needed a team bad boy to make an example of, using him as a symbol of what he as the new Boss in town was not prepared to accept?

The Bucs have a 1 RB show in Tampa, they had no use for Blount. Martin had 1,926 rushing and receiving yards on 368 touches.

To the OP, if 2010 Blount has returned, he could challenge Ridley IMO.

 

[TB12_laser designator]

Blount shocked me with his performance. I haven't seen him play much before he came to the Pats. And with his size, I thought he'd primarily be our bulldozer in short yardage situations in the redzone. But man, he proved me wrong last night. I reckon Bolden is probably desperate now to make a point, after Blount's performance last night. Right now I feel, Ridley, Vereen, Blount, Washington and Bolden will all make the squad.

 

[303PatsFan]

Good possibility we'll be wondering where Blount's head is, but he's definitely a beast.

Why is everyone questioning Blount's work ethic? The only real issue he has ever had was at the end of the Boise State game.

He wanted out of Tampa because he wasn't getting any touches after two about average seasons.

 

[RayClay]

Why is everyone questioning Blount's work ethic? The only real issue he has ever had was at the end of the Boise State game.

That's not true, but you could look it up for your self.

 

[TB12_laser designator]

If you ask me, there was nothing wrong with his work ethic last night.

 

[303PatsFan]

That's not true, but you could look it up for your self.

You're right. I did find an article that states he had low work ethic. I still think that might have to do with his situation in Tampa.

Well, regardless. They always seem to work harder when BB is there coach.

 

[RayClay]

If you ask me, there was nothing wrong with his work ethic last night.

Not my point. If you're going to discuss things and make blanket statements, I think you should at least do the absolute minimum to back up what you say.

There's something called google. Put in the words Blount and work ethic and see what comes up.

This is not directed at you, of course, but I don't think posters that research a bit before they make statements should be required to do simple research for others that just want to make statements based on nothing.

 

[RayClay]

You're right. I did find an article that states he had low work ethic. I still think that might have to do with his situation in Tampa.

Well, regardless. They always seem to work harder when BB is there coach.

My point is not that there was one situation, but that if you looked further, you would find a number of them over his career. that's why we picked him up for the equivlent of nothing, that is a player we were cutting anyway.

Of course we hope he behaves well enough to get by here, because he has massive physical talent.

Good for you for looking it up then. sorry for the rant, but it just gets tiring when posters don't make an effort to back up what they say.

 

[Bruins29]

Good for you for looking it up then. sorry for the rant, but it just gets tiring when posters don't make an effort to back up what they say.

I think we can all agree with that. Also, I think we can all also take solace in the fact that (and the whole point) Blount is on the pats 90 man roster and should make the 53. Demps did not even report to camp

 

[TB12_laser designator]

Not my point. If you're going to discuss things and make blanket statements, I think you should at least do the absolute minimum to back up what you say.

There's something called google. Put in the words Blount and work ethic and see what comes up.

This is not directed at you, of course, but I don't think posters that research a bit before they make statements should be required to do simple research for others that just want to make statements based on nothing.

Don't worry I didn't take if as being directed at me. I've spent enough time on some pretty serious Pats hating forums, so believe me I'm pretty thick skinned. This place is a proverbial sanctuary in comparison. So the bit of patronisation in your post certainly won’t be the end of me I can assure you.

RE: my one line statement..

If you ask me, there was nothing wrong with his work ethic last night.

I think that summarised nicely the body of work Blount produced on the field last night. So I felt that it was a sufficient enough comment to make. Since for me, it summed up his production last night. The post was concise and should have made sense to the reader. Since it clearly refers to what Blount produced last night. And do please tell me, why should I even need to back up that statement? Did not the performance last night speak for itself?

Anyway to elaborate further, this is how I tick. For me, any player that becomes a Patriot starts with a clean slate in my books. I don't really care who said what, when they said it, how they said it or in what article it was said. Yes we can use references to try and illustrate a point we might be trying to make and so on and so forth.

But I tend to base my opinions on what I see on the field with my own eyes. In the first preseason game, I saw a kid that really exceeded my expectations. Yes it's only preseason and it's early days, but he made a damn fine start imo.

Bill obviously saw potential in the kid and Blount is obviously chomping at the bit given his lack of reps with his old team. Getting rid of Demps and grabbing Blount could prove to be yet another master stroke.

So keeping googling Blount and work ethic all you want, personally I prefer to let my own eyes decide. Last night they liked what they saw. Only a start? Yes of course, but an pretty impressive one nonetheless.

 

[RayClay]

Don't worry I didn't take if as being directed at me. I've spent enough time on some pretty serious Pats hating forums, so believe me I'm pretty thick skinned. This place is a proverbial sanctuary in comparison. So the bit of patronisation in your post certainly won’t be the end of me I can assure you.

RE: my one line statement..

I think that summarised nicely the body of work Blount produced on the field last night. So I felt that it was a sufficient enough comment to make. Since for me, it summed up his production last night. The post was concise and should have made sense to the reader. Since it clearly refers to what Blount produced last night. And do please tell me, why should I even need to back up that statement? Did not the performance last night speak for itself?

Anyway to elaborate further, this is how I tick. For me, any player that becomes a Patriot starts with a clean slate in my books. I don't really care who said what, when they said it, how they said it or in what article it was said. Yes we can use references to try and illustrate a point we might be trying to make and so on and so forth.

But I tend to base my opinions on what I see on the field with my own eyes. In the first preseason game, I saw a kid that really exceeded my expectations. Yes it's only preseason and it's early days, but he made a damn fine start imo.

Bill obviously saw potential in the kid and Blount is obviously chomping at the bit given his lack of reps with his old team. Getting rid of Demps and grabbing Blount could prove to be yet another master stroke.

So keeping googling Blount and work ethic all you want, personally I prefer to let my own eyes decide. Last night they liked what they saw. Only a start? Yes of course, but an pretty impressive one nonetheless.

I'm pretty thrilled with Talib's enthusiasm and effort, but I'm keeping an eye on him if things get rough. Just reality I think. One of my favorite patriots was Corey Dillon and he had some baggage, Randy Moss too. As far as I'm concerned, If you give your all on the field and try to be a good team mate off the field I'm with you. I don't care if you're a choir boy.