Schefter: Pats sign Brandon Lloyd

[Joker]

very good post...exactly what the masses have been clamoring for...the pats have been one player away from creating havoc on offense.

If Lloyd draws the safety in a double team on deep posts,that means you have SIX defenders committed to the passing game, leaving five to man the gaps and stop runs or screens if they keep the back in. We've seen teams double Gronk, double Welker, double Hernandez...I am looking forward to an entire game of watching Wrecks slam his headset as the three of them run amok in his "amoeba!" defense.

 

[Bella*chick]

This is a bit OT from the topic of this thread, but my biggest concern has very little to do with Brandon Lloyd's diva qualities and more to do with whether or not a team has ever won the Superbowl coming after a SB loss. Turns out its happened twice, a long time ago. I don't know why I just thought of that but it had me googling in a panic this morning.

 

[SpaceOdyssey]

This is a bit OT from the topic of this thread, but my biggest concern has very little to do with Brandon Lloyd's diva qualities and more to do with whether or not a team has ever won the Superbowl coming after a SB loss. Turns out its happened twice, a long time ago. I don't know why I just thought of that but it had me googling in a panic this morning.

History is meant to be broken my friend. No team has ever the won SB with a single digit win record, but that was broken this year. Also, most of the time the SB losers fall into slumps, but the Pats have pretty much the same team intact. They haven't lost any important player to FA and in fact they've upgraded with Lloyd at receiver and defensive signings. We also have cap money left and 4 picks in the first two rounds of the draft. We can use those picks to plug in the porous defense. We're always in the run, especially if we have No. #12 and BB.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

History is meant to be broken my friend. No team has ever the won SB with a single digit win record, but that was broken this year. Also, most of the time the SB losers fall into slumps, but the Pats have pretty much the same team intact. They haven't lost any important player to FA and in fact they've upgraded with Lloyd at receiver and defensive signings. We also have cap money left and 4 picks in the first two rounds of the draft. We can use those picks to plug in the porous defense. We're always in the run, especially if we have No. #12 and BB.

Good post rook

Welcome to the board!

 

[upstater1]

very good post...exactly what the masses have been clamoring for...the pats have been one player away from creating havoc on offense.

If Lloyd draws the safety in a double team on deep posts,that means you have SIX defenders committed to the passing game, leaving five to man the gaps and stop runs or screens if they keep the back in. We've seen teams double Gronk, double Welker, double Hernandez...I am looking forward to an entire game of watching Wrecks slam his headset as the three of them run amok in his "amoeba!" defense.

When all this is going on 10-30 yards downfield, what happens when Vereen ekes out all alone into the flat?

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

When all this is going on 10-30 yards downfield, what happens when Vereen ekes out all alone into the flat?

Nobody throws to him?

Wait! J McD is back!

 

[Tunescribe]

This is a bit OT from the topic of this thread, but my biggest concern has very little to do with Brandon Lloyd's diva qualities and more to do with whether or not a team has ever won the Superbowl coming after a SB loss. Turns out its happened twice, a long time ago. I don't know why I just thought of that but it had me googling in a panic this morning.

The "syndrome" seems to owe more to mental fatigue than anything. I can see how overextending yourself in pursuit of an all-or-nothing goal and then failing might be hard to overcome. Especially when the same effort is required to get to the summit again the following season. I guess this is where coaching comes in. I think 2008 could've been our year with a healthy Brady, though.

The Giants were again proof that a team can struggle in the regular season but get healthy at the end and put it all together.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Nobody throws to him?

Wait! J McD is back!

McDaniels did a really good job with the offense his last stint here but i really think he's going to be even better this time around. Much like Belichick and his Cleveland experience having been the head coach is going to make him a much better coach overall. I'm already looking forward to football and it's only March.

 

[RIpats88]

Lloyd is exactly what we need to solidify this offense.

a WR who can play the sidelines, has great hands and can go deep...

Think of this guys..NO MORE MATTHEW SLATER ON DEEP ROUTES!

the main importance of this signing isnt exactly what lloyd can do himself, but what he can do for Welker, Gronk, hernandez....the last 2 years we had no one who could bring safeties to the sidelines so teams merely jammed our receivers and clogged the middle of the field.

its no coincidence that most of bradys 11interceptions came on tips and throws into a crowded middle of the field. having someone who can play the sidelines will change how teams have to defend us and leave alot more open space for welker/Gronknandez to operate....

 

[patfanken]

I have to admit I haven't read much of the 37 pages of opinions in this thread, so pardon me if anything I say is redundant. Here's my take on Lloyd in 3 parts

1. Lloyd is NOT a speed WR - from what I have read he runs in the 4.6 to 4.7 area. He is NOT super quick like Welker or Branch in his prime. But what he has is a unique set of skills that will allow him to become a different WR threat and force defenses to respect the Pats passing game outside the hashes.

The skills that allow Lloyd to have a 15+ yds ypc average without a lot of YAC are:

A. He can get off the LOS against physical press coverage - As the season wore on the Pats saw this coverage more and more. Lloyd has shown he can consistently beat it. Branch has shown that he consistently can't.

btw- I'm not down on Branch - if every team in the league was forced to play zone defenses, then he'd be a lock on my roster, even at this late date. But that aren't, especially against the Pats. Its not him, its his skill set that no longer fits what defenses are doing to stop him.

B. He has the ability and extreme body control to catch the ball down field even though he is seemingly "covered". He doesn't need the "separation" that a Branch needs to make a catch.

2. Its a decent signing, but I think some of the others will prove to have more overall impact, simply because when you are a top 3 defense to begin with, its hard to show incremental improvement like in points scored and yds gained. In the same vein, when you are a bottom 3 defense, its a lot easier to make those "incremental jumps"

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the signing, but it in the long run, it will make the Pats offense different, and perhaps more efficient, but after over 5,200 passing yds last season, its going to be very difficult to think he'd make it "better".

3. And again nothing against Lloyd and his talents, but given the talent disparity between the offense and defense, I can't help wonder if the over all team would be better served using the Lloyd money to resign Anderson and/or Carter. However if we can, in the end, sign one or both of these guys you can move me into the "thrilled" category on this signing.,

 

[PatsSox363804]

The "syndrome" seems to owe more to mental fatigue than anything. I can see how overextending yourself in pursuit of an all-or-nothing goal and then failing might be hard to overcome. Especially when the same effort is required to get to the summit again the following season. I guess this is where coaching comes in. I think 2008 could've been our year with a healthy Brady, though.

The Giants were again proof that a team can struggle in the regular season but get healthy at the end and put it all together.

They're also proof that you can fumble the ball all you want as long as it bounces directly to your guys it's fine. They won the conference championship because the 49ers pissed it away with fumbles and they won the Superbowl because their fumbles bounced right into their guy's hands. Simplistic I know but really it all comes down to turnovers in the end.

 

[RIpats88]

Lloyd isnt going to make brady throw for 6000yards,

but I think he will make our offense alot more efficient..a much more spread offense taking catches away from Gronk/Welker...as durable Welker/Gronk have been this past season..I dont think getting 7-9targets a game is the smartest thing in a long season..

 

[PatsSox363804]

Lloyd isnt going to make brady throw for 6000yards,

but I think he will make our offense alot more efficient..a much more spread offense taking catches away from Gronk/Welker...as durable Welker/Gronk have been this past season..I dont think getting 7-9targets a game is the smartest thing in a long season..

It helps in games against good defenses in keeping them honest on the outside. Pitt, Baltimore, etc can't flood the middle of the field. against the teams we would have put 30 on either way it doesn't matter so much.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the signing, but it in the long run, it will make the Pats offense different, and perhaps more efficient, but after over 5,200 passing yds last season, its going to be very difficult to think he'd make it "better".

I don't it's necessary to put up more yards to be a better offense. More versatility that forces defenses to cover the whole field, better red zone production and third down production and points with an offense defenses can't figure will do nicely.

 

[Deus Irae]

I'm looking at it like this if the team gets my speedy WR in the draft....

Moss - Rookie WR burner
Gaffney - Lloyd
Welker - Welker
Watson - Hernandez
K. Brady - Gronk
Maroney - Ridley
Faulk - Woodhead
Brady - Brady

I'm seeing a pretty fair resemblance to that 2007 offense in terms of the way it would be able to threaten opponents and how they'd have to defend the offense, with better depth and the obvious improvements/dropoffs (Rookie v. Moss, Gronk v. K. Brady). Lloyd can be more of a deep option than Gaffney was, which should help counter the obvious drop from Moss to, well, anyone. Gronk is miles ahead of K. Brady and Hernandez is much more trusted than Watson. As a passing group, that would probably be as good, or better, at 4 of the 5 positions.

Also, if the Redskins cut Gaffney, I'd hope the Patriots would be all over that.

 

[BigHoss28]

I watched pretty much every game of Harrison Smith's career, and I gotta say, I have no idea why people think he is good.

I literally watched every minute of every game of Smith's career and broke down film of about 70% of those games and Smith is a very, very solid player.

He is fast (4.5 range in the 40 and it shows on the field), athletic (34 inch vertical and 4.12 short shuttle time - outstanding) and he is big at 6'2" 215. Also 19 reps on the bench press, outstanding for a safety.

He's not Ed Reed, but he's rangy, spectacular against the run, a much bigger body who can cover anyone including tight ends and slot receivers.

If you've watched all of his games, you would know he makes insanell athletic plays on the ball in the air and on the ball carrier. He has a knack for avoiding blockers and has the athletic ability to makes plays while doing so.

As I said, he isn't going to pick off 5-7 passes a season, but he'll have 3 or 4 and will have over 100 tackles every year. Sorry, but your assessment is wrong.

Can also play up to the LOS in the nickle if necessary, can also play SS or FS if needed. He's also a solid blitzer who can get to the QB if asked.

One more thing: He was the field general of the ND defense this year and with Manti Te'O battling knee injuries all season, he was arguably the best player on the field at any given time. He's also extremely durable and tough... He was asked to play more within himself this year and in the type of defense Notre Dame likes to run, he was not asked to roam free in the deep part of the field very much, that is the reason he had no interceptions. With the talent in the ND front 7, they didn't need Smith to be a big time playmaker, they needed him to protect against the big play and dominate the run game, which he did extremely well.

Smith made a lot more plays on the ball in 2010 than he did in 2011, that was mostly by design.

No offense to you, I'm not trying to be confrontational, but trust me I am an obsessive Notre Dame fan. I also don't overrate ND's players. The Notre Dame secondary was average and had very little depth, they needed Smith's leadership and intelligence and he came through big time all year. Zeke Motta, the safety who played the most opposite Smith, has a lot of weaknesses and is really a 4-3 OLB playing safety in a 3-4, so Smith had to watch what he was doing a lot of the time.

Also look for Smith's replacement - Jamoris Slaughter - to get a lot of looks in next year's draft.

 

[patsinthesnow]

I'm looking at it like this if the team gets my speedy WR in the draft....

Moss - Rookie WR burner
Gaffney - Lloyd
Welker - Welker
Watson - Hernandez
K. Brady - Gronk
Maroney - Ridley
Faulk - Woodhead
Brady - Brady

I'm seeing a pretty fair resemblance to that 2007 offense in terms of the way it would be able to threaten opponents and how they'd have to defend the offense, with better depth and the obvious improvements/dropoffs (Rookie v. Moss, Gronk v. K. Brady). Lloyd can be more of a deep option than Gaffney was, which should help counter the obvious drop from Moss to, well, anyone. Gronk is miles ahead of K. Brady and Hernandez is much more trusted than Watson. As a passing group, that would probably be as good, or better, at 4 of the 5 positions.

Also, if the Redskins cut Gaffney, I'd hope the Patriots would be all over that.

Interesting. If I were to rank all the targets it'd be:

1. 2007 Moss
2. 2012 Gronk
3. 2007 Welker
4. 2012 Welker
5. 2012 Hernandez
6. 2012 Lloyd
7. 2007 Gaffney
8. 2007 Watson
9. 2007 Kyle Brady
With a potential 2012 rookie most likely being ranked between 7-8.

I'd call RBs a wash. (Ridley=Maroney, Woodhead=Faulk)

The 2012 offense has a chance to be as historic as 2007, and it has close to our better weapons. EPIC.

 

[zoostation]

I'm looking at it like this if the team gets my speedy WR in the draft....

Moss - Rookie WR

I See what you're saying.........but where do we find a rookie WR that is anywhere near the talent Randy was in 2007?

 

[Deus Irae]

I See what you're saying.........but where do we find a rookie WR that is anywhere near the talent Randy was in 2007?

He doesn't need to be a Moss-level talent, because the tight end superiority is so significant. He just needs to be talented enough that he, like Lloyd, demands one of the opposing team's top 2 CBs and teams can't cheat the safety on Lloyd's side (done) and have to really focus on keeping the safety watching the other side (rookie burner) back as well.

If the burner can just force that safety to lag back, that'll put 2 of the Gronk/Hernandez/Welker group up against single coverage even with a 4 man rush, and with the short-middle of the field relatively open, and I think Brady will abuse a team trying that all day and all night.

 

[SpaceOdyssey]

Good post rook

Welcome to the board!

Thanks, appreciate the welcome. I've been a fan for a longtime and lurking in the dark around the forums for a while too, but never bothered to make an account until now.

Back on topic though. I'm stoked for the draft and new season. I mean, you can say the Lloyd hype/anticipation can be compared to Ocho, but the difference is that Lloyd's been in a variety of systems, McDaniels and him are good matches, and Lloyd can run the whole route tree. He's not a moss, but he'll definitely compliment our already lethal offense. I'm also glad that we got him for dirt cheap... It actually even makes me feel bad.