Bionic -
You seriously need to take a step back because you are off on many things.
He certainly has. When he was in as an OLB, he just was not getting the same rush he always has. I don't know what else you want me to do, go back on forth about this all day?
I thought this as well. Until I heard that Vrabel was injured coming out of camp.
I don't think AT is gonna be the sack monster he was. I think he'll be a good LB period for us. He'll rotate inside/out alot IMO. I don't see us having the same consistant pass rush we once had, again JMO.
If you are going to use the guy's initials, use the ones HE wants. Which is AD, NOT AT. Also, I think you'd be mistaken because what YOU don't seem to understand is that he was NOT used strictly as a pass rusher with the Ravens. He lined up all over the place. And STILL was able to get all those sacks.
32 IS old for a LB body ya know.
Yet, when Phifer joined the Pats he was 34 years old. OH, and he STARTED at OLB for the Pats that year in the SB. Bruschi was on the bench because Ted Johnson was the starting ILB for the Pats since they were still running the 4-3 at the time.
They never had a dinosaur unit. 04 was three years ago. Everyone was obviously younger back then. My point again is Bruschi and Vrabel are not the same guys they were, thats ALL I'm saying.
That's funny because people have been complaining since 2003 that the Pats needed to get younger at their LB corps. Maybe you haven't paid attention to all the draft chatter and only show up after the fact, but every year since 2003 the fans have been hoping for a good LB in the draft.
I know that, but the point is, Bruschi isn't even much better at this point. In 03/04 we had a stud LB infront of a role player. Now we have an average LB infront of one.
The problem here is that you refuse to understand that Bruschi and Seau should both be role players. I honestly don't think that we'll see Bruschi on the field much on 3rd downs because, in the nickle package, Vrabel, Thomas, and Colvin are the 3 best to have out there
So who on this roster takes Phifer's place? We don't have another cover guy like that, period. Thats all I'm saying. You said this unit was deep/good enough as the 03/04 squad. All I said is they're not. Sorry, holy ****.
Actually, the Pats put Alexander into that role. However, AD is a significantly better coverage linebacker than Alexander and he'll probably be the one dropping into coverage. And, yes, Thomas is a better coverage guy than Phifer ever was for the Pats.
Now, as for whether they are better than the 03/04 squad, I think that you need to be reminded that it was Phifer's holding of Marcus Pollard in the AFCCG that had people whining and crying about the 5 yard contact area and such.
Well, when someone thinks this LB core is as good as the older ones, I'll call them out. I hope I'm wrong, I just doubt I am.
Thomas of 2007 is better than McGinest of 2003 or 2004. Seau is as good as Ted Johnson. Colvin is as good as the Vrabel of 2003/2004. The Vrabel and Bruschi of now are the issues. I have to admit that I don't believe that Bruschi is as good as he was. Vrabel might have lost a half step. But I also believe that Vrabel and Bruschi are better than Phifer, just at different things. Phifer was a coverage LB. Bruschi is still a good WILB, but not a good SILB. Vrabel is also good at the WILB, but not the SILB postion. Seau is very good at the SILB position.
My point is, you said Colvin and AT will be monsters off the ouside. They'll be good. But as good as Vrabel and McGinest was for us? I don't know, I doubt that. Thats what I'M saying.
Yes, I believe they WILL be better than McGinest and Vrabel of 2003 and 2004. McGinest had 5.5 and 9.5 sacks respectively. Vrabel had 9.5 and 5.5 respectively. Colvin has averaged 7.5 sacks over the last 2 seasons. Thomas, with a line on par with the Pats line, has averaged 10 sacks over the last 2 seasons. Why would you think that they would, all of a sudden, LOSE that? The Pats line is as good or even better than the line AD had with the Ravens.
Why do you doubt it? All you have said is basically "because I said so." You don't actually take into account the players themselves.
My only point is, it takes away from the pass rush. Before we had the luxury of keeping our pash rushers in (Vrabel and McGinest) We now take one out and replace him with a slower one. It's a good lineup, my point is not as good as 03/04. again, thats ALL I'm saying.
Sorry, but you aren't making any sense here. Who is the slower pass rusher? I will put money that Colvin of now is faster than Vrabel of 2003 and that AD is faster than McGinest of 2003. So, for you to say that the Pats are taking out one pass rusher and putting in a slower one just doesn't make sense.
Because if Thomas goes down (heaven forbid) we move Vrabel outside. Then Seau, who can't stay healthy, is depended on to play a full season for us. I'm not positive about that myself.
Seau was 100% healthy last year. In previous years, he hadn't been. Last year was a fluke injury. Its not likely to happen again.
As for moving Vrabel outside and having to rely on Seau at ILB, so be it. That is better than any other option the Pats have currently. And having 5 veteran LBers who know the system is a good thing. Also, Pierre Woods showed enough, imho, to make TBC expendable. I think that Woods has the potential to be a solid contributor against the pass AND the run. And he could rotate in for a series or two if he's made the strides that I believe he has. Also, the Pats would go back to relying on Alexander or they'd go to a nickel package that brought either Meriweather or another DB onto the field to cover the TE. Something they couldn't do in the AFCCG because of injuries.
First off, this is a Pats board. Some people will never look at things objectively. Ask anyone outside of Pats land, they too will tell you Vrabel is not what he WAS. Bruschi is ALOT different. First off, he's not close to the coverage stud he once was. Bruschi was a beast in covering over the middle in the 03/04 seasons. For a run stuffer, he was never a huge monster. But he never was getting run over like he was this season. The game that proved this to me was when Travis Henry ran him over a few times. It happens, but the Colts/Titans game kinda exposed Bruschi. But hey, if you think he's not far from what he was I dunno how else to convince you.
I'll be honest, I think it is you who is not being objective. 1st off, when Bruschi was asked to defend the run, he was doing it out of the SILB position with Vrabel at Bruschi's familiar WILB position. They have different responsibilities. The SILB is more the run stuffer. the WILB the coverage guy. Also, Bruschi was never that great in MAN coverage. He was extremely adept at the ZONE coverage underneath.
Look man, I'm not gonna go 10 pages because I don't have the time. But I guess if I don't expect this team to be perfect, I'm a pesimist. No, I doubt this team will have much problems, and I do expect the most impressive squad yet. With that said, I think on a message board I should be able to give my 2 cents without people jumping on me considering me a clueless negative person, but whatever.
People jump on you and consider you clueless if you can't adequately defend your point. You've attempted to bend facts to fit your view, but they don't. If you want to give your opinion, great. But people here are very intelligent and when they believe your opinion to be off kilter, they are going to question you on it. So you should have a good idea of your facts and be able to articulate yourself.
