Here's what I don't get from all the "professional" player personnel evaluators, who simply dismiss Wendell as a player.
With all the WR disruption, youth and injuries, With all the OL injuries and disruptions, and the fact we only had our top receiver available for 7 games. The Pats managed to have the 6th best passing attack in the league....NOT the worst. They also gave up 40 sacks, which is number that is much too high, but sacks aren't given up by an individual, they are given up by a unit. A unit that includes TE's and RB's as well the OL.
So in 2013 the Brady was sacked about 6% of the time, up from around 4% in 2012, when we ranked 4th in the league in passing and NO one was complaining about Wendell. In FACT, after the 2012 season Wendell was one of the big surprises. Everyone was happy with him.
Here's the point of all this. In a year when so much changed in our offense. We started 2 rookies, both of whom were hurt during the season. We lost Welker, and his replacement not only missed game, but played hurt all season. Hernandez was in jail and Gronk played only 7 games, so there so for most of the season we had very little productivity from our TE's. And, oh yeah, we lost our 3rd Down RB for several games and he played the rest of the season with a broken wrist.
End result -we were up 2% in sack percentage We threw for about 28 fewer yds/game less. With the biggest difference being 9 fewer TD's than in 2012.
The entire point of this exorcize is to point out that its kind of ludicrous to put the rather minimal declines in passing production at the feet of Ryan Wendell, when SO much else happened in that area.
Finally, and what I still can't understand, is why there are so many blanket negative assessments on a player with so little actual information. How we can pan BB for this signing, all the time knowing he has so much MORE info to base his evaluation on.
Bottom line- I'm not looking for people to change their minds on Wendell. We are all entitled to our opinions, and I can see how they could have reached theirs. I know a LOT of football, and among the most important things I know is, how much I DON'T know, compared to the guys who are doing for a living in the NFL. I'm just looking for those people who want to damn Ryan Wendell, to at LEAST acknowledge that they are making those opinions based on very limited knowledge, while BB is making his, on a LOT more.
BTW- That doesn't make him right all the time, it just makes him more LIKELY to be right.