Gray and Dennard already ruled out of Sunday's game...

[obgod3]

BB's annual lets screw with the injury report....got a hangnail = shoulder, knee, ankle, back, hamstring etc.etc.etc.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

True, the number of snaps Dennard received coincided with Browner getting onto the field once he was ready to go following his suspension.

However, I see it not as Dennard vs Browner or Revis as much as Dennard vs Logan Ryan or Malcolm Butler for playing time. Whether that's special team productivity or performance on defense - or both - Dennard has slipped way down on the depth chart if a lingering injury is not the cause of his lack of playing time.

Bedard wrote a good article on it weeks ago. Pats wanted to move him into more of a slot role. But in a slot role a CB has to worry about a lot more WR moves then covering a WR on the outside and he was having trouble grasping it. I think that played a part in it

Why Arrington is such a good slot guy for us and not an outside guy. He understands all those routes a WR can run off the line in the slot

 

[jmt57]

Bedard wrote a good article on it weeks ago. Pats wanted to move him into more of a slot role. But in a slot role a CB has to worry about a lot more WR moves then covering a WR on the outside and he was having trouble grasping it. I think that played a part in it

Why Arrington is such a good slot guy for us and not an outside guy. He understands all those routes a WR can run off the line in the slot

Interesting; I missed that column. Still, if Dennard was having that much trouble picking up the slot receiver's role then wouldn't it make sense to move him back outside, and try Ryan or Butler in the slot as Arrington's backup?

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/stats/2014/snaps/defense/

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/snapcounts

Ryan has 207 special team snaps, or 46.7% of the team's ST snaps; that's far more than any other corner on the roster and he even has more defensive snaps than Arrington. Dennard has actually logged more playing time on defense (236 snaps, 22.9%) than Butler (138 snaps, 13.4%), but that is because Dennard was a starter early in the season. Since the first Jets game he only has 17 snaps, and has been active only twice; by comparison Butler has 73 snaps and has been on the active roster seven times. Butler contributes very little to special teams (44 snaps), and considering how we have seen him burnt in coverage more than once, it's still a bit surprising to me that the Patriots wouldn't at least activate Dennard on game days as the fifth option at CB, and leave Butler off the 46-man roster.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Dennard had been a healthy scratch most all season. Perhaps it has been a hamstring issue all along that has resulted in him being inactive on game days.

Between this being a meaningless game and the other running backs listed on the injury report there's a god chance James White will take a one-week hiatus off milk cartons in the New England area to make a rare appearance on the field at Gillette Stadium. White, Brandon Bolden and James Develin should get plenty of snaps in this game; there are no running backs on the practice squad to be promoted for one game either.

You Patriots BB haters always accuse BB of not listing injuries on the weekly report

Looking fwd to seeing White Sunday

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Interesting; I missed that column. Still, if Dennard was having that much trouble picking up the slot receiver's role then wouldn't it make sense to move him back outside, and try Ryan or Butler in the slot as Arrington's backup?
.

Not sure I want Ryan anywhere near the field come playoffs and Dennard will never see the outside with Browner/Revis not injured. It's going to be tough to find him a spot going forward..at least THIS year