New poster question about Chad Jackson.

[ChadJacksonFan]

Chad and I are alumni from Hoover high school. Chad was misused at Florida Zook and Meyer did not have a clue how to use him. Meyer was wrong putting him at the slot instead of being able to use his 4.29 speed at wide out. With the up coming preseason nearly here should Chad get a bunch of reps in the 4 preseaosn games? As soon as he learns the play book he will beat out Caldwell for the #2 spot. He is bigger,stronger, faster, and has better hands than Caldwell. Do any of you think if Deion Branch is back would he play alot in the preseaon or would the new players get most of the reps? If it looks like Chad will get alot of snaps in the preseason we might make the Atlanta game? Chad will be a great player for you and is a kid who will not give you any off the field problems and is very quiet will stay to himself.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

Branch won't be active much in the preseason even if he doesn't hold out. Belichick likes to keep Branch fresh and unijuried. Jackson will get every chance in the world to show what he can do. He will start out behind Caldwell, but that will change if he is truly better. I don't think it will happen right away, if Caldwell looks good. But maybe eventually, he will have to earn it the hard way, thru competition.

Jackson will probably play as big a role as he can handle, given our lack of depth at wideout. I think he might have a good season by default, because we kind of NEED him to have a good season and he will get more opportunities than most rookies on the Pats.

 

[Remix 6]

eh Branch is never active in preseason..hes too fragile..we dont want to risk him an injury but anyways thanks for the input on Chad. i really hope he can become a pro bowler in the future and that he will never cause trouble over any matter

 

[JR4]

........Chad and I are alumni from Hoover high school. ....[/QUOTE]

Since you have been following Chad I have questions. How is his
durability. Has he been out much because of injuries? Can he run
precision routes and has he had much experience with that? Would you say
he is a strong physical receiver or one that needs space to be effective?

We all know he is fast and has great hands but that is just part of what he
needs to be successful.

 

[SunnyDenmark]

Welcome aboard ChadJacksonFan (even if you are more of a Chad fan than a Patriot fan). Must be fun to have seen him play in high school. Even then, was he a 'man among boys' or did he take time (senior year) to excel?? Or was he a star even in his sophmore year? Chad will get lots of chances to play in pre-season. Count on that. Furthermore, with the looks of our current depth at WR, he will probably get many snaps in regular season. But don't expect him to get many catches during the regular season. Don't get me wrong, I think he will contribute and be very productive this year for a rookie - but Brady likes to spread the ball around so don't expect many games where he has 5-7 catches. I will venture he will get 2-4 catches almost every game. You will see typically anywhere from 6-9 different players catching a pass from Brady in a regular season game. The ball goes everywhere: WR's, TE's, HB's, FB's and the occasional LB (Mike Vrabel). But he will get the chances and be able to grow at his own pace. He will not be rushed out their before he is ready which is why I believe you will see him alot in the preseason so BB can try him out in numerous formations and positions (slot, wide out, everything). Believe, me - we Pats fans are THRILLED to have someone with great upside in the WR position to compliment the BEST QB in the league. It could be a great 'marriage'. I just hope he is not the prima donna type of player that needs the ball 6-8 times a game as that is just not gonna happen in this offense. It seems that the best WR's in the NFL also have the biggest egos and the most selfish attitudes. And that just won't fly on a BB team. As BB has said - there is no 'I' in the word 'TEAM'. GO PATS! (I KNOW I ain't the only one looking foward to some porpoise chum this season).

 

[fgssand]

Everything written by above posters is true.

I also am interested in the response to questions posed by JR4.

Let me add, that there is no limit on a BB team for any player. A player will play as much as he can handle and whether he is the best at his position. He has an opportunity to vault to be a #1 from his first game, if he is good enough and can play better than Caldwell and even Branch. I am not saying he will do that, but, were he able to learn the playbook and make all the blocks, run the right routes, sight adjust properly and of course catch the ball - there would be no limit to how far he can go.

 

[patsfan13]

While Brach will not play very much in preseason games for the reasons mentioned by others, Branch will get his reps in camp practices. C Jackson will have the opportunity to earn his PT by his performance in practice like every other player on the team.

A lot of folks here hope C Jackson will become a great player. The impression is that he a smart hardworking guy willing to do what the team needs/asks him to do. That is a good profile for a Patriot.

 

[ChadJacksonFan]

Welcome aboard ChadJacksonFan (even if you are more of a Chad fan than a Patriot fan). Must be fun to have seen him play in high school. Even then, was he a 'man among boys' or did he take time (senior year) to excel?? Or was he a star even in his sophmore year? Chad will get lots of chances to play in pre-season. Count on that. Furthermore, with the looks of our current depth at WR, he will probably get many snaps in regular season. But don't expect him to get many catches during the regular season. Don't get me wrong, I think he will contribute and be very productive this year for a rookie - but Brady likes to spread the ball around so don't expect many games where he has 5-7 catches. I will venture he will get 2-4 catches almost every game. You will see typically anywhere from 6-9 different players catching a pass from Brady in a regular season game. The ball goes everywhere: WR's, TE's, HB's, FB's and the occasional LB (Mike Vrabel). But he will get the chances and be able to grow at his own pace. He will not be rushed out their before he is ready which is why I believe you will see him alot in the preseason so BB can try him out in numerous formations and positions (slot, wide out, everything). Believe, me - we Pats fans are THRILLED to have someone with great upside in the WR position to compliment the BEST QB in the league. It could be a great 'marriage'. I just hope he is not the prima donna type of player that needs the ball 6-8 times a game as that is just not gonna happen in this offense. It seems that the best WR's in the NFL also have the biggest egos and the most selfish attitudes. And that just won't fly on a BB team. As BB has said - there is no 'I' in the word 'TEAM'. GO PATS! (I KNOW I ain't the only one looking foward to some porpoise chum this season).

He did play as a freshman the first time he caught a ball he scored. He started as a soph. and scored a TD in 3 straight 6A title games.

Chad in 2002

Rivals #1 in alabama

Scout #1 in alabama

6A player of the year

6A title game mvp with 300 yards

Birmingham news player of the year.

Alabama/Miss all star game MVP

Alabama offensive player of the year

Alabama first team all star 3 years in a row.

He did all this while playing very little in the 2nd half.

Hoover is one of the top program in the nation we will be ranked 2nd in the preseason USA today poll next month. They have won 5 state titles and are 84-5 this decade 39-1 the last 40. Hoover has 11 kids that will be be given a scolly to play football this year. This decade 48 have signed. Yes Chad was a man among boys from day one. I know alot of this info you NFL guys might not care about but we are proud of Chad.

http://hooverbuc.com/

 

[VJCPatriot]

Welcome to the board. Hopefully we will all enjoy the sight of Chad Jackson in a Pats uni soon. I have been excited about CJ since the time leading up to the draft.

This year he has a good opportunity to shine as the Pats are thin in veteran receivers not to mention Branch is holding out which doesn't really help matters.

Anyways I checked out your school website. I especially liked reading this line.
Hoover Buc Football..Where the Tradition was Earned..Hard Work..Dedication..Respect..Over Time..Not Handed to us on a Silver Platter "It's How You Play The Game"

Hopefully Chad Jackson takes that motto to heart. If he has the work ethic, with his talent he could go a long way, especially when he has such an accurate passer as Brady throwing to him. We'll have to see but hopefully a connection will be built between the two in TC. Would love to hear the announcer say "It's Brady to Jackson for another touchdown!"

 

[maverick4]

I'm a HUGE Jackson fan.

Probably too much so. I think he's going to be Brady's Jerry Rice for the next 10 years.

=D

 

[patsox23]

ChadJacksonFan, Welcome! You are an example of a Newbie who actually has something reasonable to discuss and add to the board. In addition, you're providing fascinating insight. Thanks for the input and don't be a stranger.

 

[CopenhagenPatsfan]

Welcome aboard ChadJacksonFan (even if you are more of a Chad fan than a Patriot fan). Must be fun to have seen him play in high school. Even then, was he a 'man among boys' or did he take time (senior year) to excel?? Or was he a star even in his sophmore year? Chad will get lots of chances to play in pre-season. Count on that. Furthermore, with the looks of our current depth at WR, he will probably get many snaps in regular season. But don't expect him to get many catches during the regular season. Don't get me wrong, I think he will contribute and be very productive this year for a rookie - but Brady likes to spread the ball around so don't expect many games where he has 5-7 catches. I will venture he will get 2-4 catches almost every game. You will see typically anywhere from 6-9 different players catching a pass from Brady in a regular season game. The ball goes everywhere: WR's, TE's, HB's, FB's and the occasional LB (Mike Vrabel). But he will get the chances and be able to grow at his own pace. He will not be rushed out their before he is ready which is why I believe you will see him alot in the preseason so BB can try him out in numerous formations and positions (slot, wide out, everything). Believe, me - we Pats fans are THRILLED to have someone with great upside in the WR position to compliment the BEST QB in the league. It could be a great 'marriage'. I just hope he is not the prima donna type of player that needs the ball 6-8 times a game as that is just not gonna happen in this offense. It seems that the best WR's in the NFL also have the biggest egos and the most selfish attitudes. And that just won't fly on a BB team. As BB has said - there is no 'I' in the word 'TEAM'. GO PATS! (I KNOW I ain't the only one looking foward to some porpoise chum this season).

Ever hear of paragraphs? bare for sjov

 

[SunnyDenmark]

Ever hear of paragraphs? bare for sjov

PARAGRAPHS ? Hvad er det for noget?

Note to moderators: keep an eye out for this CopenhagenPatsFan fellow - he is swearing at me in a foreign language (Danish). If he REALLY was a Pats fan - when he flew from Copenhagen to Jacksonville 16 months ago for the SB - he would have paid the $2000 for a scalped ticket. Any real Pats fan would have paid it after flying all that way.

Concerning Chad Jackson - I have seen some pre-draft scouting reports say he ran good routes while other reports said that this was a weakness. Anybody else also seen the inconsistancies in those reports? Still for a 2nd round pick (= low signing bonus) - it looks to be a steal. He doesn't need to be the next coming of Jerry Rice - just another dependable (Troy Brown) type of player the next 6-8 years would be a big boost to our WR corps. Avoiding injuries would be a big plus as our WR's always seem to be banged up.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

I asked about Chad's rhoutes on another thread. I heard he is not that polished compared to Santa Holmes, but this may be the thing he needs to work on the most. I believe if we made a decent #2 WR out of Givens, we can make a decent #1 out of Jackson (at least by the time he is ready for free agency ). I am sure he will have excellent coaching and be given every opportunity to succeed.

I doubt he will be lazy like Bethel in learning his rhoutes.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I asked about Chad's rhoutes on another thread. I heard he is not that polished compared to Santa Holmes, but this may be the thing he needs to work on the most. I believe if we made a decent #2 WR out of Givens, we can make a decent #1 out of Jackson (at least by the time he is ready for free agency ). I am sure he will have excellent coaching and be given every opportunity to succeed.

I doubt he will be lazy like Bethel in learning his rhoutes.

The thing about Jackson's "route running" and the suggestion that he was "misued" at Florida strike me as effectively the same complaint.

Look at Jackson's highlight videos and you'll see him running routes, coming across the middle, etc. - You don't see as much of him using his speed, going long, beating players deep.

So even though I spent a lot of time talking up Jackson before the draft - especially given our ongoing WR needs - my opinion was based on the potential I saw more than what the videos showed - which was still pretty damn good.

If Myers used Jackson "right" you'd just see highlights of him blowing guys away long with his speed... not so much of him working out of his element running routes across the middle.

It's not surprising to me that his route running isn't as good as his ability to go deep - its an apples and oranges skill comparison.

But the fact that Myers had Jackson work on such plays during game situations helped Jackson become a more well rounded player - and that will pay dividends for the Patriots in the long run as he improves all of his skills.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

I think that his experience in different systems, and at different positions, has to be a positive, because he was able to have a good year playing over the middle of the field, in spite of being in a new system. It shows he can learn and adapt.

 

[rookBoston]

I think Chad Jackson's play this year will make the difference between a good playoff team and a Superbowl favorite.

The talking heads are writing off the Pats based on the loss of David Givens. I dont get it. To me, Reche Caldwell makes up for Givens, and Jackson is a pure wildcard for us. Plus, if Caldwell disappoints, I think the Redskins would ship David Patten to the Pats for a late 7th rounder.

The rest of the team: I think we're solid in the secondary (even without Harrison or Law) and on both lines. IMO the Pats haven't had this much talent at RB ever, and there's no doubt we have the best group of TEs in the NFL. Plus, the best QB in the league.

The only question are kicker, depth at linebacker, starting wide receiver, and the ST coverage unit. Chad, Monty and Gostkowski are the three guys that really have to step us for us this year to be the best team in the NFL. Anything we get from Moroney, Thomas, Mills, O'Callaghan, Smith and Wee Willie is absolute bonus.

It's a nice thing, having all this talent.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The only question are kicker, depth at linebacker, starting wide receiver, and the ST coverage unit. Chad, Monty and Gostkowski are the three guys that really have to step us for us this year to be the best team in the NFL. Anything we get from Moroney, Thomas, Mills, O'Callaghan, Smith and Wee Willie is absolute bonus.

It's a nice thing, having all this talent.

Good post. BTW, though, Jeremy Mincey and Dan Stevenson say hi.