N'Keal Harry seems to have picked the right mentor

[Simpelton]

N’Keal Harry, New England’s first round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, appears to be emerging as one of the team’s top options during OTAs thanks to the help of Edelman’s rigid routine. “Just seeing the types of things he does, seeing the way he prepares before practice, after practice,” Harry said, per MassLive. “Those are going to be the biggest things. He’s helped me a lot so far.

"I’ve seen myself improve on route running already within the first three days. So I’m just going to keep listening to him and keep that same approach and that same mindset coming into practice every day.” The Arizona State product had a team-high six catches during 11-on-11 play at Thursday’s OTAs, according to MassLive.

Read more at: Patriots’ Rookie N’Keal Harry Learning Under Julian Edelman’s Wing

This kid gets it. He's making all the right noises and I'mn happy to

 

[Joker]

let's see when the bullets start flying...everybody's a rock star in May

 

[RobertWeathers]

The kid is in the greatest situation possible.

It's up to him how good he wants to be

 

[BlueThunder]

I wonder if BB finally picked a diamond at the WR position......Sure would be a boost to the offense until/if/when Gordon/Thomas return to the lineup....

 

[Patriot Missile]

The Patriots seemed to have picked the right player.

Think this is starting to look like a match made in heaven. Early yes, but starting to get some serious positive vibes regarding his skill work ethic and dedication.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

There’s the possibility that he’s a diamond, but not in this offense. That’s why they rarely spend high picks on WRs. So unpredictable how a young kid will come in and be able to read/react to coverages within a second, and be on the same page as Brady.

On another note, this goes to show again how simple the Colts offense was with Fivehead. All they needed was elite athleticism and the ability to run the same routes. Fivehead literally ran the simplest offense in the NFL, though with his theatrics you thought he was playing 35 speed chess matches simultaneously.

Hoping for the best.

 

[zoostation]

everybody's a rock star in May

Especially in Buffalo. It seems like the Billdos are in the May playoffs every other year. The Patriots have to settle for being in the January playoffs every single year.

 

[Brick27]

Considering Bill has never ultimately deemed a WR worthy of picking in the 1st round until now, have to at least like the thought of the lone guy who can make that claim as being likely to succeed.

 

[patfanken]

There’s the possibility that he’s a diamond, but not in this offense. That’s why they rarely spend high picks on WRs. So unpredictable how a young kid will come in and be able to read/react to coverages within a second, and be on the same page as Brady.

On another note, this goes to show again how simple the Colts offense was with Fivehead. All they needed was elite athleticism and the ability to run the same routes. Fivehead literally ran the simplest offense in the NFL, though with his theatrics you thought he was playing 35 speed chess matches simultaneously.

Hoping for the best.

I agree with you. There is a reason why no rookie WR in the BB era has EVER had more than 520 yds receiving. BTW- the guy who holds the record is Aaron Freakin' Dobson. So it that doesn't scare you straight I don't know what will. That's a 20 year history we are talking about.

We know that given the fact that Harry will likely get a lot of snaps this season and see his fair share of targets, he DOES have a good chance to break that record. However that being said, some people are talking like a 1000 yd season is more likely than not....and that's CRAZY. 6-700 yds would be a fantastic rookie season for Harry. To think he would actually double the current rookie record is entering yahoo fanship land.

Let the kid be a rookie and lets give him rookie expectations.

BTW- as to your Manning observation. I rarely miss an opportunity to dump on Peyton, but in this case I feel the need to point this out as a former coach. Tony Dungy was a big believer in perfection football. He believed on defense if his players lined up in the same place almost all the time and he simplified their responsibilities and they kept seeing what the offense is trying to do to them, their EXECUTION of those responsibilities would improve as the game went along. If he asked them to do a lot of things that looked great on paper but weren't executed in a game what good were they.

That's a legitimate school of coaching thought. Its a fact that simplicity creates better execution. Dungy won a LOT of games with his Tampa 2 defense, and that same philosophy ran through on the offensive side of the ball. Maybe the Colts ran a limited route tree, but they executed those routes VERY very well. To the point when even when you knew what was coming it was almost impossible to cover it. Manning put up enormous numbers in that kind of system (which I bet was a lot more complex than what we'd like to think. )

It was the same philosophy that made Unitas to Berry such an impossible combination to cover.

Now I'm going to rant a bit.

Now the Pats use a philosophy that is almost diametrically opposed to that....basically. Every week can see them in a completely different game plan on BOTH offense and defense, depending on who they are playing. Makes a lot of sense right? Ever ask yourself why doesn't every other team do the same thing? Why does it seem like its only the Pats that can manage to do it so successfully?

There is a reason, ya know. It's HARD to do. VERY VERY hard! Don't you think others haven't tried this approach. They are certainly trying to do it in Detroit and in Tennessee, and we'll see it up close in Miami this year. And I'm sure there have been many others who have tried it over the last 20 years to varying degrees of success.

I have some slight experience in this. I coached at the smallest school in the biggest school league. The ONLY way we could compete schools like Brockton, Newton, Quincy etc was to be the team that was totally unpredictable. One year playing an Arlington team that sent 4 kids to the big 10, between the our last game and Thanksgiving we put in a true triple option in 10 days. We had well over 300 yds rushing that game despite being totally outmatched on both LOS. We lost the game but we kept it close most of the game until a few fumbles (which were inevitable I guess) took us out of the game. One of my prouder moments as a coach.

But getting back to the point, I can guess what the Pats do to make it happen. While they align all over the place. Once the player gets to his spot, his FUNDAMENTALS and techniques will be the same ones he uses all the time. Easy to talk about, hard as hell to implement, otherwise every team in the league would do it.

HOW exactly Bill has managed to create this ability and make it work over such a long period of time is a mystery. It would be my fondest wish to go behind the scenes and what how it's done. It's not something you can get just hanging for a week or two. I have to believe its more complex than that, and has a LOT to do with the so called "harder than everyone work ethic" we hear so much about.

Now getting back to the point, there are a LOT of ways to coach football successfully. Dungy's ways works. Carroll's way works. BB's way works. They all have some things that one could find consistent in all winning programs. 1. Great leadership - though the visions might be different, the ability to get men to buy into that vision, whatever it is, could be the most important factor in the success of any coach. 2. Consistency - staying on message - having your players know what to expect and giving it to them. And continue to be consistent when you are both winning and when there is adversity.
3. Belief - When your players believe that your game plan gives them the best chance of winning they are more likely to follow your lead. It is especially effective when they lose and see WHY they lost. Where the breakdowns were and how they can get better.

That's another reason why players put up with all the crap they have to go through here. Guys who love the game, never stop wanting to be better at their craft. The prevailing view that most players believe that playing for the NE Patriots will make you a better player.

I'll stop here before this becomes long enough to be a book, I'd love to write about the Pats and this era.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

As an aside . . . in the three games Edelman played without Welker as a rookie, he had 24 catches for 245 yards.

When he broke his arm against TEN, he was playing in a two-WR set with Welker as the other WR.

One of the all-time great Patriots What if?s: what if Edelman didn't break his arm?

 

[RIpats88]

Malcolm mitchell had a great rookie season just 3 years ago in 2016. So it's not necessarily out of the ordinary for a rookie wide receiver to product.

I think all the scepticism is with the patriots past failures at drafting wide receivers. But I feel like Harry besides being a 1st round pick is unlike other receivers the patriots have drafted

 

[PP2]

I agree with you. There is a reason why no rookie WR in the BB era has EVER had more than 520 yds receiving. BTW- the guy who holds the record is Aaron Freakin' Dobson. So it that doesn't scare you straight I don't know what will. That's a 20 year history we are talking about.

We know that given the fact that Harry will likely get a lot of snaps this season and see his fair share of targets, he DOES have a good chance to break that record. However that being said, some people are talking like a 1000 yd season is more likely than not....and that's CRAZY. 6-700 yds would be a fantastic rookie season for Harry. To think he would actually double the current rookie record is entering yahoo fanship land.

Let the kid be a rookie and lets give him rookie expectations.

BTW- as to your Manning observation. I rarely miss an opportunity to dump on Peyton, but in this case I feel the need to point this out as a former coach. Tony Dungy was a big believer in perfection football. He believed on defense if his players lined up in the same place almost all the time and he simplified their responsibilities and they kept seeing what the offense is trying to do to them, their EXECUTION of those responsibilities would improve as the game went along. If he asked them to do a lot of things that looked great on paper but weren't executed in a game what good were they.

That's a legitimate school of coaching thought. Its a fact that simplicity creates better execution. Dungy won a LOT of games with his Tampa 2 defense, and that same philosophy ran through on the offensive side of the ball. Maybe the Colts ran a limited route tree, but they executed those routes VERY very well. To the point when even when you knew what was coming it was almost impossible to cover it. Manning put up enormous numbers in that kind of system (which I bet was a lot more complex than what we'd like to think. )

It was the same philosophy that made Unitas to Berry such an impossible combination to cover.

Now I'm going to rant a bit.

Now the Pats use a philosophy that is almost diametrically opposed to that....basically. Every week can see them in a completely different game plan on BOTH offense and defense, depending on who they are playing. Makes a lot of sense right? Ever ask yourself why doesn't every other team do the same thing? Why does it seem like its only the Pats that can manage to do it so successfully?

There is a reason, ya know. It's HARD to do. VERY VERY hard! Don't you think others haven't tried this approach. They are certainly trying to do it in Detroit and in Tennessee, and we'll see it up close in Miami this year. And I'm sure there have been many others who have tried it over the last 20 years to varying degrees of success.

I have some slight experience in this. I coached at the smallest school in the biggest school league. The ONLY way we could compete schools like Brockton, Newton, Quincy etc was to be the team that was totally unpredictable. One year playing an Arlington team that sent 4 kids to the big 10, between the our last game and Thanksgiving we put in a true triple option in 10 days. We had well over 300 yds rushing that game despite being totally outmatched on both LOS. We lost the game but we kept it close most of the game until a few fumbles (which were inevitable I guess) took us out of the game. One of my prouder moments as a coach.

But getting back to the point, I can guess what the Pats do to make it happen. While they align all over the place. Once the player gets to his spot, his FUNDAMENTALS and techniques will be the same ones he uses all the time. Easy to talk about, hard as hell to implement, otherwise every team in the league would do it.

HOW exactly Bill has managed to create this ability and make it work over such a long period of time is a mystery. It would be my fondest wish to go behind the scenes and what how it's done. It's not something you can get just hanging for a week or two. I have to believe its more complex than that, and has a LOT to do with the so called "harder than everyone work ethic" we hear so much about.

Now getting back to the point, there are a LOT of ways to coach football successfully. Dungy's ways works. Carroll's way works. BB's way works. They all have some things that one could find consistent in all winning programs. 1. Great leadership - though the visions might be different, the ability to get men to buy into that vision, whatever it is, could be the most important factor in the success of any coach. 2. Consistency - staying on message - having your players know what to expect and giving it to them. And continue to be consistent when you are both winning and when there is adversity.
3. Belief - When your players believe that your game plan gives them the best chance of winning they are more likely to follow your lead. It is especially effective when they lose and see WHY they lost. Where the breakdowns were and how they can get better.

That's another reason why players put up with all the crap they have to go through here. Guys who love the game, never stop wanting to be better at their craft. The prevailing view that most players believe that playing for the NE Patriots will make you a better player.

I'll stop here before this becomes long enough to be a book, I'd love to write about the Pats and this era.

IMO, what puts BB in a class of his own, and makes him a cut above the rest is his ability to ruthlessly scout himself, to adapt, to consistently evolve, on and off the field. There's a reason why he's still coaching and Dungy isn't, and Carroll is a mediocre mainstay in the NFC west.

 

[RobertWeathers]

As an aside . . . in the three games Edelman played without Welker as a rookie, he had 24 catches for 245 yards.

When he broke his arm against TEN, he was playing in a two-WR set with Welker as the other WR.

One of the all-time great Patriots What if?s: what if Edelman didn't break his arm?

Bill is on record as saying the only reason Jules didn't play more is because Welker was here.

 

[SBLIII]

Malcolm mitchell had a great rookie season just 3 years ago in 2016. So it's not necessarily out of the ordinary for a rookie wide receiver to product.

I think all the scepticism is with the patriots past failures at drafting wide receivers. But I feel like Harry besides being a 1st round pick is unlike other receivers the patriots have drafted

The expectations are very different though. Mitchell had a decent rookie season but he was the #4 WR and produced as such.

Harry is seen as the #2 WR this year with the ability to make the leap to #1 WR fairly soon in 1-2 years.

 

[Kontradiction]

IMO, what puts BB in a class of his own, and makes him a cut above the rest is his ability to ruthlessly scout himself, to adapt, to consistently evolve, on and off the field. There's a reason why he's still coaching and Dungy isn't, and Carroll is a mediocre mainstay in the NFC west.

He’d be an excellent business leader. Isn’t afraid to try something new, knows when it’s a mistake, cuts bait quickly, and learns from it.

 

[Kontradiction]

FYI, Brady just posted an Instagram pic of him working out with Edelman and Harry with the caption “It’s a family affair.”

 

[SBLIII]

FYI, Brady just posted an Instagram pic of him working out with Edelman and Harry with the caption “It’s a family affair.”

Thanks. That's what I was hoping for. Good news.

 

[RobertWeathers]

FYI, Brady just posted an Instagram pic of him working out with Edelman and Harry with the caption “It’s a family affair.”

Harry is a lot shorter and whiter than I thought.

 

[varjao]

I respect Brady’s rights to not attend OTAs but if wants to develop a rapport with Harry, I think that should be the place to do it, not a private workout. Harry is an asset that belongs to the Patriots organization and a huge investment was made on him, imagine if he gets injured running in a back yard instead of a proper and treated football field. I hope they got BB approval.

Its different with Edelman, he’s a 10 year veteran who knows his thing.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

let's see when the bullets start flying...everybody's a rock star in May

I'd say "I bet Chad Jackson was sayin' that stuff in training camp" but I can't remember whether he was healthy for training camp :/