Gallery retires, Fiammetta leaves squad (merged)

[patsinthesnow]

Patriots super OL depth keeps rolling along, now for Donald Thomas to prove he's worthy for a roster spot.

 

[BananaRepublican]

He is on the "did not report" list.

That's the "did not report because it's not time to suit up yet" list.

 

[patman52]

This is disappointing to me, I thought he was going to be a key reserve. If Waters does not return and Vollmer needs to start the season on PUP- Cannon needs to step up big time.

 

[supafly]

Well alright then that makes sense, still have to hope there is an agreement of some sort otherwise what looked like great depth a few months ago has really thinned out with the health issues of Mankins and Vollmer, Waters not reporting and the decline in play of Gallery and Koppen.

I hear you, ACQB. That is pretty much the reason why I am simply speculating that Belichick may see Connelly as a better fit at the position of guard, and was pretty much a lot of my basis on why Koppen would be (my words) a "lock" to make it on the roster. It wasn't my entire position at all, as I still feel that Koppen does some things very well, but it was a decent part of my theory. The problem is, I did not expect his blocking skills to have deteriorated anything close to what they have, and that's what has thrown me for a loop.

Then again, it's still early too, so time will tell.

I am concerned about Waters too, even though the high majority here feel as though the situation is just fine. Until I see him out there, the worry wart in my is going to come out, but if you're able to read between the lines of Belichickian languages it does seem as though he'll be back.

 

[supafly]

Patriots super OL depth keeps rolling along, now for Donald Thomas to prove he's worthy for a roster spot.

I think that's a great point.

Guys like Thomas, McDonald, Wendell etc have the potential to step up and take their opportunities by the horns.

The depth has been great, and even if there's a dropoff, Belichick has made more out of less. I would imagine that Gronkowski would be staying in to block a bit more/chipping someone to the weaker side.

 

[patsinthesnow]

I think that's a great point.

Guys like Thomas, McDonald, Wendell etc have the potential to step up and take their opportunities by the horns.

The depth has been great, and even if there's a dropoff, Belichick has made more out of less. I would imagine that Gronkowski would be staying in to block a bit more/chipping someone to the weaker side.

The thing I like about Thomas/McDonald over Gallery/Koppen is that instead of two old stiffs, they are 25 and 26 years old.

 

[borg]

Now to the most important issue...do the Patriots get Gallery's $400k signing bonus back?

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

I hear you, ACQB. That is pretty much the reason why I am simply speculating that Belichick may see Connelly as a better fit at the position of guard, and was pretty much a lot of my basis on why Koppen would be (my words) a "lock" to make it on the roster. It wasn't my entire position at all, as I still feel that Koppen does some things very well, but it was a decent part of my theory. The problem is, I did not expect his blocking skills to have deteriorated anything close to what they have, and that's what has thrown me for a loop.

Then again, it's still early too, so time will tell.

I am concerned about Waters too, even though the high majority here feel as though the situation is just fine. Until I see him out there, the worry wart in my is going to come out, but if you're able to read between the lines of Belichickian languages it does seem as though he'll be back.

Connolly could end up at Guard, I just have thought they would be better with him at Center and Mankins/ Waters/ Gallery at guard. Mankins may start the year on an injured list, Waters is unknown and Gallery was done and is gone.

So now the interior line has some sort of combination of Connolly, Wendell, Thomas, Koppen and McDonald with maybe Warren or one of the UDFA's. Koppen and Connolly are the only ones who have started a significant amount and Koppen might be nearing the end of the line.

Without Waters or Mankins, 2 of Wendell, Thomas or McDonald could be in the starting lineup on opening day along with Connolly.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Now to the most important issue...do the Patriots get Gallery's $400k signing bonus back?

Yes and they work out some kind of pro-rated salary payout for the couple weeks he was here.

 

[mayoclinic]

Wow. Nothing happening, took my kids to a movie, and 2-3 hours later ... lot of news.

I can't say I saw this one coming. I had huge hopes for Gallery, at least as depth at guard with the Mankins/Waters situations uncertain, and possibly as a tackle. I know the reports this past week have been that he looked stiff and wasn't moving well, but he was injured last year and I figured there was still some rust. He seemed pretty game during spring activities and eager to earn playing time, so I wasn't expecting him to quit.

As others have noted, Scar is adept at making cheese from mold (or something to that effect), and there are some promising young guys. I'm eager for Nick McDonald to get back, especially with Dan Koppen looking like he's heading in the direction of Gallery. McDonald is my sleeper binky for a long term starting center. Donald Thomas has gotten good reports, and the brief reports on newcomer Darrion Weems have been favorable. Maybe it's time for a youth infusion on an OL that has been getting a bit old.

Regardless, while disappointed about Gallery not working out, I'm a firm believer in a roster tempered by the heat of competition. Those who can't take the heat should get out of the kitchen.

 

[supafly]

Connolly could end up at Guard, I just have thought they would be better with him at Center and Mankins/ Waters/ Gallery at guard. Mankins may start the year on an injured list, Waters is unknown and Gallery was done and is gone.

So now the interior line has some sort of combination of Connolly, Wendell, Thomas, Koppen and McDonald with maybe Warren or one of the UDFA's. Koppen and Connolly are the only ones who have started a significant amount and Koppen might be nearing the end of the line.

Without Waters or Mankins, 2 of Wendell, Thomas or McDonald could be in the starting lineup on opening day along with Connolly.

Right, I am still leaning towards keeping Connelly at guard through Mankins' perceived PUP, in which case he would switch to center once LM returns. Then again, I am certainly not claiming to be an offensive line expert by any means.

I just think that Wendell or even McDonald, who have already proven that they could hold the fort down at center, may be better suited to allow Connelly's awesome potential come out alongside one of them.

Then again, Donald Thomas could step up and make the case moot too. Or one of Wendell/McDonald could also play guard, thus allowing Connelly to play center where he has done very well too.

I never necessarily meant to downplay Connelly's skills at center, I only meant to allow him to play at guard--where I believe he may be better. Of course I could very well be wrong about that too. Luckily we have a very good coach at both the positions of offensive line + HC to make those decisions for us.

I still think that Koppen has an advantage over Connelly at certain nuances of the center position, but if his blocking abilities have gone downhill that much the point doesn't matter anyway. When I was making those arguments, it was perceived that Koppen did have issues, but they were nowhere as bad as his current TC play tells us. Any abilities that he was better at vs Connelly at center may very well not matter at this point anyway, due to his lack of power and ability to hold up the line.

 

[Joker]

Every day it seems there is more of this Waters hysteria...this was covered extensively last week...it's been covered ad nauseum on the airwaves...jeezus, stop sweaty freaking about Waters.

 

[supafly]

Every day it seems there is more of this Waters hysteria...this was covered extensively last week...it's been covered ad nauseum on the airwaves...jeezus, stop sweaty freaking about Waters.

I think the 'hysteria' stems from other factors that have been plaguing the line already. Without Waters, things would be much worse (obviously).

Since we don't know for sure one way or another, there will likely be speculation for both angles of the equation.

I think he's safe personally, but I'll feel much better when I'm able to see him out there.

 

[mayoclinic]

Gallery retiring doesn't surprise me at all. As I noted in another thread, he looked old out there when he wasn't actively playing, and it looked like he had to gear up when it was going to be his turn.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com had this about Gallery's retirement:

The eight-year NFL veteran determined his body wouldn't be able to handle training camp and a full season, a source close to the player said. The source explained that Gallery did his best to get himself into shape before training camp, but he realized his body couldn't get through it. There wasn't one injury that pushed Gallery to retire, the person close to the player said, adding that he had considered calling it quits for the past four or five days.

Robert Gallery retires, leaves New England Patriots thin at guard - NFL.com

Too bad, but it's probably a good thing that he recognized that his body wasn't up to the rigors of another season.

 

[Deus Irae]

Every day it seems there is more of this Waters hysteria...this was covered extensively last week...it's been covered ad nauseum on the airwaves...jeezus, stop sweaty freaking about Waters.

 

[mgteich]

OK, I'll admit it; I'm surprised. This is a big hit on our depth at RT.

INTERIOR LINE
There is little issue. We have Mankins, Waters and Connolly. We have Thomas, and Wendell/McDonald as backups.

TACKLE
Oops!
I had Gallery as our #4 OT. We now have Solder, Vollmer, Cannon and Kopa. We might watch the waiver wire for a backup OT, while keeping Kopa on the Practice Squad.

 

[RayClay]

"Martin was cut by Green Bay on March 2, 2011 and then signed with the Giants on August 13, 2012."

WTF?! We just signed a guy who in 10 days or so is gonna sign with the Jints?

I want Kraft to get the Commish to fine them a #1 pick for this chicanery :rocker:

I'd thought a 198 pound fullback was unusual, but time travels trumps that.

After originally joining the Buccaneers as a rookie free agent in 2009 out of Hofstra, the 5-foot-9, 198-pounder spent some time on the practice squad before joining the 53-man roster. He has played in six NFL games and has carried the ball four times for 11 yards. Huggins was out of football in 2011.

 

[patchick]

I'm eager for Nick McDonald to get back, especially with Dan Koppen looking like he's heading in the direction of Gallery. McDonald is my sleeper binky for a long term starting center. Donald Thomas has gotten good reports, and the brief reports on newcomer Darrion Weems have been favorable. Maybe it's time for a youth infusion on an OL that has been getting a bit old.

Mayo, I'm pretty sure McDonald came off PUP yesterday, which is certainly timely. And given the reports that Thomas had already passed Gallery on the depth chart, there seem to be some decent options at guard and center.

OT, though, is a little scarier. If Vollmer doesn't return by game 1, who's the backup LT?

 

[jah]

I'd thought a 198 pound fullback was unusual, but time travels trumps that.

I was thinking the same thing. What kind of fullback weighs 198 pounds?

 

[lurker1965]

OK, this is callous and weird, but stay with me.


November, line is decimated with injuries and Gallery's issues are stable. Can he come back or is on something akin to IR?

I'm not saying he should forego whatever his issue is for the team. I'm assuming it is OK by then.