Can Polk be fixed?

[WhatJustHappened]

He's a Patriot, it's already a done deal, so I'm hoping for the best.

With that being said, he REALLY SUCKED, and I don't want to hear any ****in' excuses from Smitty or anyone else for that PATHETIC performance.

He either gets it, or gets shown the fkn door, his buddy Dumbass will even hold it open for him so he doesn't miss the handle.
No fkn excuses, if I did my job half as poorly as he does I'd be living on the street.

Excuses are for losers.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I've said this a few times but as far as I'm concerned whomever was on the roster last year gets a clean slate.

It's obvious Polk had multiple things going on with him. (Over/Under) Confidence, fundamentals, technique, a bit of a 'tude etc. He was a mess.

I think the kid has talent. How much and how the team can best use it i'm not sure.

If he can't get with the Vrabel program, learn the offense, and quit dropping the f-ing football hes gone.

 

[TheRainMaker]

The league has been designed to be plug and play for many years. "Developing players" is the most overused cliché among sports talk. You either have it or you don't. He's not going to wake up one day and become Jerry Rice.

In fact, Edelman has said on his podcast that he spotted future Pats WR busts the day they strolled onto the field. He was referring to Dobson and later Harry.

 

[WhatJustHappened]

Dobson was a Stud compared to Polk, his rookie year he had 37/519/4 and that's with "I hate rookies more than Belichick" throwing him the ball.

 

[rkarp1]

when the offense was pretty vanilla with Brissett, Polk actually played well.
once Maye started to play, and the offense grew week over week, Polk faded.
bad player? or bad coaching? the key role of a WR coach is not teaching a player how to catch the ball. it is teaching a player the game plan, and that players role in the game plan.
the Pats WR coach, Hughes, was a rookie WR coach in the NFL, and never worked with AVP, or coached in a scheme like AVP's.
what should we have expected from a rookie that did not understand the game plan, and what his role in it was?

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Call me crazy, but I don't have hope for the worst receiver in the entire NFL. Hard to root for him when the gulf between his off the field talk and on the field play was so immense.

No “Hope” for Polk. Not only couldnt he catch anything, not even a cold but he was also making dumb mistakes

 

[jimnance]

I'll be damned

 

[PowerRunRevival]

I like to be optimistic, but him having him a good career would be a historical outlier given how he played in year one. He didn't separate and couldn't catch the ball when it hit him in the hands.

Coming out I thought where the Pats picked him was a little early but I thought he was a quality number two receiver. It wouldn't shock me to see him playing up to my original expectations. There were a lot of catches that Polk should have made this past season but didn't. If Polk can complete those catches this year he could very well contribute in a meaningful way.

The Pats should hope for the best but prepare this offseason as if they won't get anything from Polk.

 

[imahobgoblin]

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.

Oh ok. So Polk started playing week 6, right? I thought he played the first 5 games. No? And Maye had to learn the X, Z, and slot? So he was playing WR too? I will tell you what is absurd is saying Maye had to learn those. No, he had to learn from the QB perspective where the X, Z, and slot to be on the field. He didn't become the X, Z, or slot, run the routes, and figure out where he needed to be in the middle of the play. No one is saying the QB and WR are comparable in what they have to learn. They are different positions. Don't be ignorant. Listen to what is actually being said.

 

[PWRxWLF]

Oh ok. So Polk started playing week 6, right? I thought he played the first 5 games. No? And Maye had to learn the X, Z, and slot? So he was playing WR too? I will tell you what is absurd is saying Maye had to learn those. No, he had to learn from the QB perspective where the X, Z, and slot to be on the field. He didn't become the X, Z, or slot, run the routes, and figure out where he needed to be in the middle of the play. No one is saying the QB and WR are comparable in what they have to learn. They are different positions. Don't be ignorant. Listen to what is actually being said.

You really believe Polk had a tougher go of it than Maye? You think Polk had to learn as much as Maye. Have as much pressure on his shoulders each play? At what point did Polk ever show that he was even getting a remote understanding of what he was supposed to do? You can buy into Smiths theory all you want, but I wont. Polk showed no growth at all. But imahobgoblin, I hope your positive outlook is the right one. He is a Patriot and I’d love to see him blow the top off this whole thing years 2-3 and be this amazing success story. I just personally wouldnt bet on it.

 

[stinkypete]

I was once a kid in my early 20's starting a career in a dysfunctional place. I found my place, but it took a whole lot longer when surrounded by instability.

I'm ready to give the kid a chance to earn a place.

 

[imahobgoblin]

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.

Ja'Lynn Polk - 12 receptions 33 targets 87 yards 7.3 avg 2 TD
Chris Carter - 5 receptions NA targets 84 yards 16.8 avg 2 TD

I think Chris Carter recovered. That does not mean Polk will, but Carter did.

 

[imahobgoblin]

You really believe Polk had a tougher go of it than Maye? You think Polk had to learn as much as Maye. Have as much pressure on his shoulders each play? At what point did Polk ever show that he was even getting a remote understanding of what he was supposed to do? You can buy into Smiths theory all you want, but I wont. Polk showed no growth at all. But imahobgoblin, I hope your positive outlook is the right one. He is a Patriot and I’d love to see him blow the top off this whole thing years 2-3 and be this amazing success story. I just personally wouldnt bet on it.

I think you have no intelligent response to the topic. According to you, Maye was out running the plays with the X, Z, and slot receivers because he learned their positions too.

Never once did anyone say Polk had to learn as much as Maye. No one said he had as much pressure. Polk had a really good training camp. Everyone raved about him. When the season started, he got lost and never recovered. I have no idea what happened or why, but I presented a good explanation from Smith. I don't care if you don't like it. It is reasonable, and plenty of others agree with that. No one here is betting on Polk to overcome last season. We all want him to. He will have a fair chance under Josh.

 

[PWRxWLF]

I think you have no intelligent response to the topic.

That’s because Im a big dummy. Derpa derp. Way to go for the personal insults.

 

[PWRxWLF]

I think you have no intelligent response to the topic. According to you, Maye was out running the plays with the X, Z, and slot receivers because he learned their positions too.

Never once did anyone say Polk had to learn as much as Maye. No one said he had as much pressure. Polk had a really good training camp. Everyone raved about him. When the season started, he got lost and never recovered. I have no idea what happened or why, but I presented a good explanation from Smith. I don't care if you don't like it. It is reasonable, and plenty of others agree with that. No one here is betting on Polk to overcome last season. We all want him to. He will have a fair chance under Josh.

The argument was that Polk had it harder because he had to play WHILE learning 3 positions but Maye got to be slowly brought along. I’m saying that’s ********. For one, Polk showed no improvement whatsoever. He had so many more reps and live fire action to learn. He should’ve shown more improvement than he had. Maye had to learn everyones responsibilities, including the WR’s (you know what I meant by that) and he had a mere 6 extra weeks to figure it out. He made mistakes in the field which one would expect of a rookie but he also showed improvement. Polk didn’t. Polk seemed to get worse. If this isnt smarrrt enough for ya, then I’ve got no idea how to dumb it down more. The argument is ********.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Ja'Lynn Polk - 12 receptions 33 targets 87 yards 7.3 avg 2 TD
Chris Carter - 5 receptions NA targets 84 yards 16.8 avg 2 TD

I think Chris Carter recovered. That does not mean Polk will, but Carter did.

100s of other examples that didn't. I hope Polk recovers, but statistically it is unlikely.

 

[ahmed]

We all know how this movie ends.

But even if we did not, WRs who could not get separation in college have no shot in the NFL.

 

[Hyped]

He did not only hit rock bottom...he cratered...

There's no way to go from here but UP....

LFG!!!!

 

[imahobgoblin]

The argument was that Polk had it harder because he had to play WHILE learning 3 positions but Maye got to be slowly brought along. I’m saying that’s ********. For one, Polk showed no improvement whatsoever. He had so many more reps and live fire action to learn. He should’ve shown more improvement than he had. Maye had to learn everyones responsibilities, including the WR’s (you know what I meant by that) and he had a mere 6 extra weeks to figure it out. He made mistakes in the field which one would expect of a rookie but he also showed improvement. Polk didn’t. Polk seemed to get worse. If this isnt smarrrt enough for ya, then I’ve got no idea how to dumb it down more. The argument is ********.

I just love it when others choose to be ignorant so they have something to argue over online. Smith's statements were really good and applicable. You have no intelligent reply to them except, you just want to argue. Try actually watching the video before you sound off. Such a waste of time.

 

[lancerman]

Ja'Lynn Polk - 12 receptions 33 targets 87 yards 7.3 avg 2 TD
Chris Carter - 5 receptions NA targets 84 yards 16.8 avg 2 TD

I think Chris Carter recovered. That does not mean Polk will, but Carter did.

There's a huge a difference. Carter was being developed and was not a starter on the team his first year. He only even played 9 games. Polk played 5 more games and unlike Carter started 7 of them.

Also look the average..... Carter when he did play was more than twice as efficient as Polk. Carter with 5 less games had only 3 less yards.

The other big difference was that Carter had a massive drug problem in Philadelphia and his coaches knew it and were weary of him. They tried to slowly phase him and then got sick of him (and he was still significantly better than Polk during his tenure there)

Really none of the same factors are at play.