Thank GOD we didn't Tie Up WoodHead & Vereen a Year Before they left!!

[PatsBoy12]

It's funny how he points out none of us knew Lewis would be so good beforehand, as if he knew beforehand that we'd be hit with all these injuries. Hypocritical much? LOL

 

[rsd]

I'm still mad we didn't resign Curtis Martin

 

[Sicilian]

OTG, I dig your style, but sometimes you just snap, cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of bat-**** insanity.

 

[Galeb]

A few things to add context.

It's hard building depth for every position on a 53 man roster. Besides just salary cap implications, GMs are competing with other GMs to sign talent. For a lot of players, a cushy job is more desirable than winning. BB demands players be both hard working and mentally tough, traits that a lot of young, millionaire athletes simply don't possess. The remaining hard-working players that aren't driven off by harsh winters have to consider the high state taxes in their negotiations. It takes two to tango.

It's pretty clear that to BB, pass blocking is the most important skill of 3rd down backs. White might not be explosive, but so far he appears to excel at blocking pass rushers. Were White the primary 3rd down back, it would be more than fair to criticize BB's stocking of the 3rd down back position. White is easily an adequate backup, and is trying to replace the best 3rd down back in the league. That said, Dion Lewis is far more than just a 3rd down back, and the Pats have been very high on him since he hit the practice field.

@Off The Grid Given your admission that the 3rd down back doesn't demand a huge investment, I think it would be worth your while take another look at your perspective. An adequate backup 3rd down RB backing up easily the best 3rd down RB in the league certainly doesn't deserve the level of criticism you have brought. Perhaps instead of criticizing BB for relying in an "unproven" talent, you should be lauding him for recognizing Lewis's talent. Injuries happen, and the adequate backup 3rd down RB would probably look a little better the if the OL was playing well and there weren't so many injured weapons.

 

[MitchKumstein]

After seeing OTG getting this distraught over the reigning Super Bowl Champion, AFC first place Patriots, I can't help but wonder how he/she handled those 1 and 2 win seasons of the early 1990s

 

[Sfpat]

After Gronk went down with his knee bruise I immediately cussed Belichick for letting Ben Watson leave

and not signing Julius Thomas, not drafting Eifert and not keeping Russ Francis eternally young

 

[IllegalContact]

meh.....I think BB intentionally sets the bar low at RB....that way replacements are easy to find

Lewis did well, but he went down just as he has his entire career

the blount injury was unusual, but it's not like he was anything more than landfill for the appearance to try to run......they can do that with bolden

besides.......we have montee ball

 

[OhExaulted1]

The thing with Vereen is was last year was his 1st and only healthy full season. The previous 3 years he only played in 26 of 48 games (4 out of 7 playoff). With his injury history one can't really blame him for signing with the highest bidder.

His recieving #'s with NYG this year will be about equal to last year and his rushing attempts will be about 75%. The 2.5 cap # this year probably would have been doable but that 4.9 # for the next 2 more than likely didn't fit in Bill and Nicks RB allocation budget for RB. He is what he is. That and chances are he'd be part of the M.A.S.H. unit had he stayed here with our luck.

 

[RobertWeathers]

After seeing OTG getting this distraught over the reigning Super Bowl Champion, AFC first place Patriots, I can't help but wonder how he/she handled those 1 and 2 win seasons of the early 1990s

Pot, alcohol and partying were my coping mechanisms.

I was in college so I would have done that if they won 5 Super Bowls.

 

[Kontradiction]

I don't blame Belichick for not locking up Vereen. Lewis is better by a very large margin. Lewis is, however, small and that kind of size has shown that it typically can't stand up to a full season of NFL style abuse. But the team did have White to back him up and White has at least been servicable.

I do, however, find fault with not trying to find better depth than Brandon Bolden. He's a very good option on special teams but you should never want to see the day that he has to take the lead as the RB1, which the team is about to see. There were plenty of options in the offseason to upgrade his position and the team simply didn't take advantage. The good news is that the team went pass heavy in the playoffs last year against the two best defenses they played with outstanding results and the defense is playing well so, hopefully, this won't be too much of a problem. Fingers crossed...

 

[ivanvamp]

After seeing OTG getting this distraught over the reigning Super Bowl Champion, AFC first place Patriots, I can't help but wonder how he/she handled those 1 and 2 win seasons of the early 1990s

Gauging from his posting style, I doubt OTG was alive then.

 

[BTTA]

3rd in points, 3rd in yards.
Yeah, they're ****ing terrible.

OTG didn't say they were terrible. He said they'd been crippled (i.e. harmed severely) by the situation. He didn't make a comprehensive statement about the offense. He made a specific statement about the impact of one position on the overall performance. And that statement is as much about what is about to happen (with the #1 back just put on IR) as about what has already happened.

I'm not taking sides in the overall argument; just pointing out that you (and several others in this thread) are misrepresenting his point.

 

[Marinlik]

I'm glad we didn't spend $3M on Vereen. He's a nice receiving option. But we lack a real running back right now, and he's simply a bad runner. He gets tackled extremely easily and isn't very good at creating yards on his own with the ball in his hands, except for sprinting down the sideline vs a LB. Vereen to me is simply a receiver lining up in the backfield, and I'd rather have White and $3M to spare to do that than Vereen for $3M. Neither is anywhere close to Woodhead or Lewis at creating yards on their own anyway. I'd love to have kept Woodhead because I view him as much better than Vereen, as Woodhead can create yards on his own in both the passing and running game. Woody is also better at running than White.

I'm not throwing in Lewis here because I don't want to go full captain hindsight. But just for the record, I think that Lewis is much better, and a much more complete player, than Vereen.

 

[patfanken]

I doubt anyone has criticized James White more than me on this board. I'm still not thrilled with his play. even though it has far exceeded my expectations (I set a very low bar for him ). But injuries are injuries. IIRC Danny Woodhead finished at least one of his seasons with SD on IR. Like it's been mentioned already Vareen only had one healthy season with the Pats. Fortunately for him it was in his contract year.

The thing is that the way BB builds his rosters there isn't a lot of room for a back up 3rd down RB's. They are usually the guy who is a healthy scratch on Sundays and only get to play after an injury. White is what he is as far as I'm concerned. Right now he'd be rated as the worst 3rd down RB the Pats have had over the last decade. He will be a decent receiver, a barely adequate blocker, and marginal contributor. He can't run a lick. He is still the guy who gets tackled by the first guy who touches him. He will make an occasional guy miss in the open field, but it doesn't happen consistently enough to warrant him being considered a permanent starter. Gi ven he doesn't have much of a ST's role, I still wonder why he got a roster spot.

If I had a criticism of BB it wouldn't be about what he did in building the initial rosterr. I would only question why he didn't bring back TCadet after Lewis got hurt,

 

[jah]

We still have 1.5 capable receiving backs. Vereen and Woodhead (maybe not Woodhead) would be redundant right now anyway. It's nobody's fault that the top 2 runners on the team are on IR.

 

[varjao]

Not to tout my own horn, but I clearly remember in the 2014 offseason starting a thread advocating we extend Vereen since we'd be "buying low." It seemed we all knew he was solid but injuries had kept his market value really low. I was shocked at how many people disagreed with me, arguing that he should need to prove his durability and full-year production first. Of course, that is exactly what I said would cause him to leave, since we don't pay a lot for those guys. I was thinking maybe extending him for somewhere in the $2-2.5M range over 3-4 years and feared a good season from him would push him up to $4-5M. That's exactly what happened, unfortunately.

On the other hand, Dion Lewis was better than Vereen before the injury, and White is looking decent out there, too.

Vereen is not doing so well in NY, may be a bit premature but it seems he was more a product of our system and GOAT QB than a pure talent capable of excel in any team, Woodhead for instance is the real deal, he picked up in SD just where he left here.

 

[Hael]

Everything Bill does is for a reason. There is really only enough room for two third down backs on a roster. It was Danny and Vereen, then Vereen and White and now Lewis and White.

White is our cheap up and coming 2nd year player so it's really about whether u would want Woodhead, Vereen or Lewis on your team. Now I do think Woodhead is the best 3rd down back in football, but Lewis was right there with him before he got hurt and cost 3 million dollars less salary. To me it's a nobrainer.

 

[Huckleberry1]

It amazes me how many people wanted to "buy low" on Vereen without any regard for his desire to be bought low. I don't remember if there were any reports of whether he was approached about an extension, but if so then he bet on himself and won. I can't blame a guy for doing that.

This Sums it up for me.

 

[Fencer]

I agree. With who? If we win the Super Bowl this will be Brady's defining year. Lost all of his receivers at some point for multiple games, down to a 3rd and 4th string RB and maybe a washout to save the day. It would be truly the cherry on top.

Other than the QBs, who's the best offensive player that's been available for every game? I think it's between Andrews, Chandler, White and Bolden.

 

[Fencer]

OTG, I dig your style, but sometimes you just snap, cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of bat-**** insanity.

We need more Shakespeare references. Lay on, and damned be who first cries "Hold, enough!"