Positions to fill after roster cutdowns

[PP2]

He'd have to go through waivers, though I imagine he might clear them.

Hemingway has to go through waivers?? Think he's a bit too old to do that.

 

[Kontradiction]

?

The Pats have T. Flowers, Wise, Rivers and Clayborn as a seemingly ready-to-go four-man rotation ..... PLUS Davis, who appeared to be a very good developmental candidate playing with the #1s against Philly ..... PLUS Grissom, who's already a well-established special-teamer and may now (finally) be an adequate deep reserve for scrimmage play.

Grissom should never see the field on defense outside of injuries. He's the Richards of the EDGE. The depth should be absolutely fine at that position without needing to force (to borrow captain stone's nickname) GeeNo Gruesome onto the field in a pass rushing/edge setting role on defense.

 

[luuked]

Just as an FYI, Reiss opined this morning that Austin Carr may be on the bubble in NOLA.

Not sure we will have space on the practice squad for another preseason hero. Maybe a future's contract in January.

 

[jah]

Not sure we will have space on the practice squad for another preseason hero. Maybe a future's contract in January.

He had a much better preseason last year than any bubble WR on this current team is having. Granted, he wasn't my favorite of the preseason stars (I'll always be partial to Brian Tyms), but had he found himself in this competition rather than the 2017 one he'd probably make the team.

 

[mgteich]

I'm not following.

We have 3 safeties. IMHO, we need a backup, even if the front six is improved. I agree that an improved front six reduces the need.

Of course, if the need is less, it is less likely that Belichick will fill the position and will continue to use a special teamer as the 4th safety.

I don't see #4 safety being an issue either. If the run-D has improved as much as many here (including me) think it has, and the LB corps can stay healthy, there may not be any reason for the #4 safety to see the field much at all (in 2016, when the run-D was very good, Richards played only 18 defensive snaps all season). Even the 3-safety nickel might not be used as extensively in the past.

 

[mgteich]

WR, OL, LB and S would all seem like places help is needed. DE depth could be a consideration as well

DE?
It's not happening.

see maineman's post above

 

[mgteich]

Grissom should never see the field on defense outside of injuries. He's the Richards of the EDGE. The depth should be absolutely fine at that position without needing to force (to borrow captain stone's nickname) GeeNo Gruesome onto the field in a pass rushing/edge setting role on defense.

I'm missing your point. Belichick COULD keep special teamers Grissom and/or Richards. Belichick almost always keeps several special teamers who shouldn't be playing defense.

And, of course, Grissom and Richards don't get defensive reps unless there is injury, or perhaps unless there is series or two of garbage time at the end of a game.

That being said, we have lots of DE's this year who are "worthy" of a roster spot.

 

[luuked]

He had a much better preseason last year than any bubble WR on this current team is having. Granted, he wasn't my favorite of the preseason stars (I'll always be partial to Brian Tyms), but had he found himself in this competition rather than the 2017 one he'd probably make the team.

So you have been to all 20+ practices this year and last year to judge this?

Or you doing this because he looked better with JG throwing to him against mostly 2s and 3s last year than our 1s vs. other 1s in two pre season games so far?

Personally I think Berrios is a better developmental prospect than he ever was. He looks so much more natural coming in and out of cuts.

 

[Jimke]

?

The Pats have T. Flowers, Wise, Rivers and Clayborn as a seemingly ready-to-go four-man rotation ..... PLUS Davis, who appeared to be a very good developmental candidate playing with the #1s against Philly ..... PLUS Grissom, who's already a well-established special-teamer and may now (finally) be an adequate deep reserve for scrimmage play.

Davis looked good against Philadelphia and is under contract thru 2020. Part of
the rotation if Flowers leaves?

 

[maineman209]

I'm not following.

We have 3 safeties. IMHO, we need a backup, even if the front six is improved. I agree that an improved front six reduces the need.

Of course, if the need is less, it is less likely that Belichick will fill the position and will continue to use a special teamer as the 4th safety.

That's exactly what I was getting at.

With a potentially reduced need for extensive scrimmage participation by the #4 safety, it then goes back to being a true "backup" position that can be filled by a special-teamer. This includes Richards, since he's been an excellent special teamer. The difference for 2018 is that there may be very little, if any, opportunity for him to demonstrate what a liability he is in scrimmage play.

IOW, it may be more important for Pleasant to beat out Richards on the basis of special teams play.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'm missing your point. Belichick COULD keep special teamers Grissom and/or Richards. Belichick almost always keeps several special teamers who shouldn't be playing defense.

And, of course, Grissom and Richards don't get defensive reps unless there is injury, or perhaps unless there is series or two of garbage time at the end of a game.

That being said, we have lots of DE's this year who are "worthy" of a roster spot.

And last year, Richards had to be forced into action due to a lack of quality depth in front of him mixed in with the amount of big nickel (or the Patriots' variation of it) they were playing. I don't see a need for that this year with Grissom short of a horrific rash of injuries. And hopefully Pleasant knocks Richards off the roster so we won't have to worry about him this season either.

 

[PatsFan2]

Grissom should never see the field on defense outside of injuries. He's the Richards of the EDGE. The depth should be absolutely fine at that position without needing to force (to borrow captain stone's nickname) GeeNo Gruesome onto the field in a pass rushing/edge setting role on defense.

Yeah with Geno Gruesome it would be the Cassius Marsh effect all over again.

 

[Sicilian]

Yeah with Geno Gruesome it would be the Cassius Marsh effect all over again.

A little different I think. Marsh had some physical talent and a good motor, but no discipline. He wanted to rush the QB every time and cared nothing for nuance in his game.

Grissom is a good soldier, he'll do whatever the coaches ask, he just might not have the ability to execute it consistently against regular NFL competition. He's more similar to Richards in that regard: ST player who shouldn't be out on defense.

 

[oceansizer]

DE?
It's not happening.

see maineman's post above

Agree.If we stay healthy I am not worried about DE position at all.These young corp should be at least solid in getting constant pressure on a QB.
Additionally I can see no problem in having 4 safeties on the roster. I am not sure what are the plans for Dawson. In college he was a good tackler and nickel player playing safety role.Maybe that is the point to use him as a safety more than CB.

 

[varjao]

There is no such thing as Richards playing only special teams, if he makes the roster he will play defense, it's a long season, there are injuries and rotation. There's only space for very few "ST only" players. If a player has already played a significant amount of snaps on offense or defense he will step on the field and in this case, we know what that represents.

I will offer a gift to the Gods if Richards get's cut and signed by other team so Bill doesn't get to sign him later like he did many times with Grissom.

 

[goheels22002]

You don't know?

At first glance, Kaepernick is not a good fit based on how he was used in San Francisco, but that was a pretty inept situation after their Super Bowl run in 2012. That was six years ago. He's basically a 60% completion percentage passer, throws few interceptions, and can move around. The year after the Super Bowl he threw for 19 TDs/10 Ints/ 3400 yards and got sacked 52 times. His offense sucked, but he did okay.

Colin Kaepernick Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

There are few franchises that need a QB that could handle the distraction that a Kaepernick would bring, and New England is one of them. He would have to realize that he'd be coming in as a backup and is not in the top 25 guys in terms of setting the tone for this team. If he could do that, and convinces BB that he is here to play football, he could have a shot.

If he came in with an agenda other than to be the best backup QB he could be and to get better as a football player, I'm not interested. I don't know, but Kaepernick is 30 now, so I suspect he would work within what Belichick and McDaniels would want him to do if he got the opportunity.

Is he better than Brian Hoyer? Who knows? He does have many of the same skills that Jacoby Brissett has, and he has big game experience. Doesn't hurt to take a look.

 

[doesntmatter1]

At first glance, Kaepernick is not a good fit based on how he was used in San Francisco, but that was a pretty inept situation after their Super Bowl run in 2012. That was six years ago. He's basically a 60% completion percentage passer, throws few interceptions, and can move around. The year after the Super Bowl he threw for 19 TDs/10 Ints/ 3400 yards and got sacked 52 times. His offense sucked, but he did okay.

Colin Kaepernick Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

There are few franchises that need a QB that could handle the distraction that a Kaepernick would bring, and New England is one of them. He would have to realize that he'd be coming in as a backup and is not in the top 25 guys in terms of setting the tone for this team. If he could do that, and convinces BB that he is here to play football, he could have a shot.

If he came in with an agenda other than to be the best backup QB he could be and to get better as a football player, I'm not interested. I don't know, but Kaepernick is 30 now, so I suspect he would work within what Belichick and McDaniels would want him to do if he got the opportunity.

Is he better than Brian Hoyer? Who knows? He does have many of the same skills that Jacoby Brissett has, and he has big game experience. Doesn't hurt to take a look.

Everyone already hates us. Can you imagine what would happen if Kap is with us. How many picks would we lose. Probably all of them lol.

 

[maineman209]

At first glance, Kaepernick is not a good fit based on how he was used in San Francisco, but that was a pretty inept situation after their Super Bowl run in 2012. That was six years ago. He's basically a 60% completion percentage passer, throws few interceptions, and can move around. The year after the Super Bowl he threw for 19 TDs/10 Ints/ 3400 yards and got sacked 52 times. His offense sucked, but he did okay.

Colin Kaepernick Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

There are few franchises that need a QB that could handle the distraction that a Kaepernick would bring, and New England is one of them. He would have to realize that he'd be coming in as a backup and is not in the top 25 guys in terms of setting the tone for this team. If he could do that, and convinces BB that he is here to play football, he could have a shot.

If he came in with an agenda other than to be the best backup QB he could be and to get better as a football player, I'm not interested. I don't know, but Kaepernick is 30 now, so I suspect he would work within what Belichick and McDaniels would want him to do if he got the opportunity.

Is he better than Brian Hoyer? Who knows? He does have many of the same skills that Jacoby Brissett has, and he has big game experience. Doesn't hurt to take a look.

Kap might've worked out, if the Pats had picked him up in March. Personally, I wouldn't do it now, this late in the process. I think Hoyer is Brady's backup for this season, unless he gets injured, and we're just going to have to live with it.

 

[maineman209]

Everyone already hates us. Can you imagine what would happen if Kap is with us. How many picks would we lose. Probably all of them lol.

Why would the league penalize the Pats for helping them out of the "blackballing" lawsuit?

 

[Froob]

I'm missing your point. Belichick COULD keep special teamers Grissom and/or Richards. Belichick almost always keeps several special teamers who shouldn't be playing defense.

And, of course, Grissom and Richards don't get defensive reps unless there is injury, or perhaps unless there is series or two of garbage time at the end of a game.

That being said, we have lots of DE's this year who are "worthy" of a roster spot.

Richards is probably on the roster because he's on the punting team. We're all going to groan about it again, sadly.