Jermaine Cunningham, Ron Brace, Brandon Spikes?

[strngplyr]

LOL

I guess it's safe to assume brains are not one of your a personal strengths.

...I just found this funny, you should proof read your insults. :bricks:

 

[PATSNUTme]

You think Chung is a home run pick? If so, an explanation of how you're using "home run" would be helpful.

It's when a baseball is hit out of the park in fair territory, but that's not important right now.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

...I just found this funny, you should proof read your insults. :bricks:

Perhaps I did get a lil' too cute.

Pithy retorts are always difficult.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Perhaps I did get a lil' too cute.

Pithy retorts are always difficult.

Almost impossible when you have been banned from the thread.

 

[BelizePats]

If anything this just speaks to our depth!

 

[JackBauer]

You think Chung is a home run pick? If so, an explanation of how you're using "home run" would be helpful.

Oh, I don't know. I guess if you think of a home run as a Jevon Kearse, then certainly Chung wouldn't qualify.

I don't delineate talent evaluation along baseball analogy lines, so there are no singles, doubles, triples, etc. Basically, I view a home run as a successful starter; a guy who doesn't need to contribute right away but improves every year, stays relatively healthy, etc. I realize that's a pretty modest standard, but so it goes.

 

[Deus Irae]

It's when a baseball is hit out of the park in fair territory, but that's not important right now.

Well, then, Chung is clearly not a home run. It's cut and dry.

 

[Rob0729]

It takes three years to evaluate a draft and people are calling Cunningham and Spikes busts two games into their second season. Jeesh!

I have an idea. Let's go over to Spikes' twitter account and overanalyze every one of his tweets. I don't think anyone has tried that yet. I don't know if anyone realize this, but his bio says his location is "Hell on Earth". I would never expect any local media to write an article on this or anything, but I think that clearly means he hates to be a Patriot. I know this theory is so radical and new to you all, so please take a minute to let it set in.

 

[lamafist]

Where are these 2nd round draft pick young studs? I had high hopes for these guys. I don't understand why our young guys get injured all the time. When your young, your supposed to be less injury prone.

I don't have the data to back this up, but my general impression is that injury rate graphed out by year would look like an inverted bell curve, with injuries being more likely in the first couple of years, tailing off, and then becoming more common again as the players approach their mid 30's.

This should actually be expected. By all accounts, the difference between the physical toll of playing in the NFL vs. college is an order of magnitude. Makes sense when you consider that you're now exclusively colliding with the biggest, strongest and fastest 2% of recent college players.

Many players discover that while their bodies held up under the strain of NCAA Division 1 football, they start to break down under the demands of the NFL. I remember one orthopedist quoted, I believe in the Globe, referring to it as the "tissue issue." There's a great deal of variance from person to person in the strength and elasticity of our soft tissues -- our ligaments, tendons, fascia, nerves, etc. that results primarily from one's genes. Environmental factors, like poor developmental nutrition, can have a detrimental effect, but there's really nothing one could do to improve it, short of getting oneself bitten by a radioactive spider.

A lot of players end up washing out of the NFL not because they were unskilled, but because some part of their bodies just didn't have enough tensile strength. I believe, on this board, the common diagnose is being "made of glass." These guys generally wash out of the league in a few years, so as you start looking at 3rd, 4th, and 5th year veterans, you're looking at a population where the innately injury prone have been weeded out, and thus, you'd see a decrease in injury rate... until they get older, and between the amount of cumulative wear on their bodies, and a naturally diminishing healing rate, and the injury rate rises again.

 

[lamafist]

It's when a baseball is hit out of the park in fair territory, but that's not important right now.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit taking banned supplements.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

So are Patsfans ready to label Dez Bryant as "made of glass"?

 

[Ring 6]

I think Spikes might just not be a great fit in a 4-3. I know he played in one in college, but he might just not be fast enough to play MLB at a high level as a pro. If that makes him purely a situational/matchup player, then so be it. I know a lot of people here will complain that he didn't turn into an all pro, but that really isn't a waste of a second round pick, especially since we seem to have a handful of them every year. IMO, it seems like he may have been drafted to be a 3-4 ILB, and for what we're playing now, Fletcher may just be a better fit. That's as much a positive statement about Fletcher as it is a negative about Spikes.

I don't think it is possible to make this judgment yet. He was inactive week 1, very likely because he just wasn't game ready, and week 2 doesnt tell us whether he is #1 or #2 MLB yet.

Brace is one guy that I'm actually kinda curious about. I had more or less written him off after last year, and I fully expect that he'll never make a really significant contribution to the Pats, but we haven't seen him play in the new defense yet. It's a lot closer to what he played in college, so who knows, I suppose it's possible that he might surprise some people.

Brace just has to be healthy. When he played last year he played very well. He really was the starter in the 34 when he was healthy, and does seem better suited to 43 DT than 34 DE. Way, way too early to be giving up on him. Injuries are more often bad luck than an inherent problem.

 

[BaltimorePatsFan]

I thought Brace looked very good against the run in limited action last season but if he can't stay healthy he's a bust.

Spikes is a two-down linebacker at best that doesn't fit the current scheme. I don't see him making the team next year.

Cunningham got a lot of playing time but simply wasn't any good. This year there's more talent at defensive end and OLB, and accordingly he's been ignored by the coaches. Like Spikes, I don't expect him to make the cut next season.

 

[Ring 6]

I thought Brace looked very good against the run in limited action last season but if he can't stay healthy he's a bust.

Spikes is a two-down linebacker at best that doesn't fit the current scheme. I don't see him making the team next year.

Cunningham got a lot of playing time but simply wasn't any good. This year there's more talent at defensive end and OLB, and accordingly he's been ignored by the coaches. Like Spikes, I don't expect him to make the cut next season.

Actually Cunningham played well for a rookie last year. He isn't being ignored, he is injured.
Spikes is on the field playing, don't know why you have him cut next year before the coaches assess his play over the next 4 months either.

 

[pdangle]

It's elementary, my dear Watson! :confused2:

Seriously though, seems like it's possible.

I don't have the data to back this up, but my general impression is that injury rate graphed out by year would look like an inverted bell curve, with injuries being more likely in the first couple of years, tailing off, and then becoming more common again as the players approach their mid 30's.

This should actually be expected. By all accounts, the difference between the physical toll of playing in the NFL vs. college is an order of magnitude. Makes sense when you consider that you're now exclusively colliding with the biggest, strongest and fastest 2% of recent college players.

Many players discover that while their bodies held up under the strain of NCAA Division 1 football, they start to break down under the demands of the NFL. I remember one orthopedist quoted, I believe in the Globe, referring to it as the "tissue issue." There's a great deal of variance from person to person in the strength and elasticity of our soft tissues -- our ligaments, tendons, fascia, nerves, etc. that results primarily from one's genes. Environmental factors, like poor developmental nutrition, can have a detrimental effect, but there's really nothing one could do to improve it, short of getting oneself bitten by a radioactive spider.

A lot of players end up washing out of the NFL not because they were unskilled, but because some part of their bodies just didn't have enough tensile strength. I believe, on this board, the common diagnose is being "made of glass." These guys generally wash out of the league in a few years, so as you start looking at 3rd, 4th, and 5th year veterans, you're looking at a population where the innately injury prone have been weeded out, and thus, you'd see a decrease in injury rate... until they get older, and between the amount of cumulative wear on their bodies, and a naturally diminishing healing rate, and the injury rate rises again.

 

[NEP4Life]

Actually Cunningham played well for a rookie last year. He isn't being ignored, he is injured.
Spikes is on the field playing, don't know why you have him cut next year before the coaches assess his play over the next 4 months either.

Andy, you finally left the "Matt Light the Speed-o Model" thread?

 

[strngplyr]

Actually Cunningham played well for a rookie last year. He isn't being ignored, he is injured.
Spikes is on the field playing, don't know why you have him cut next year before the coaches assess his play over the next 4 months either.

Because this is Patsfans.com, where when your team is forced to punt,your OC should be fired on the spot and Tom Brady should be pulled the first time Matt Light misses a block because he might die.

 

[IllegalContact]

brace is a bust

spikes and cunningham? not yet

 

[Froob]

Cunningham kinda concerns because of inability to tackle the qb and he hasn't played much yet I still think he can get it together though. But, I wouldn't lump Spikes with those two, he played very well last year and he was hurt in training camp I believe. Brace doesn't look like he'll live out his draft status but, he could stick as another body he looked like a half way decent player last year.

 

[jsull87]

It takes three years to evaluate a draft and people are calling Cunningham and Spikes busts two games into their second season. Jeesh!

My problem with calling Spikes and Cunningham busts are that last year we were all saying they were home runs and how amazing it was that all these rookies were starting and what a good job we have done. Suddenly they are busts now because they are injured for 2 games.

People on this board need some perspective