Thanks LeGarrette Blount for the Good times

[shmessy]

Thank you, LeGarette - - you were great on the field and off it for the Patriots.

One of the players I will truly miss......and so will the endzone Minutemen.

.

 

[drewskie]

Blount and the Giants have mutual interest per Rappaport.

 

[Simpelton]

He's still coming back

I want him in the mix. Hell use him in 2 back formations in the place of a fullback. A big heavy guy like that who can hit hard, move the pile and isn't afraid to block? Devellin is awesome but Blount can probably do that work if he needs to.

Blount on one side, Burkhead on the other, Cooks and Edelman and Gronk and Burkhead to throw to, Blount or Burkhead to run with, you can send Blount up the line if they drop too many men back to double team Cooks and Gronk. Or you can play action to Blount and dump to either Edelman or Burkhead. Or you can fake the handoff to Blount and when they stack the line against him, use your blockers to give Burkhead a hole to punch through. What to choose, what to choose.

And then do that formation again with Hogan and Dola and Gillislee and White to make sure all your weapons are rested. Then do it again with Mitchell and Edelman and Devellin and Burkhead. Keep mixing and matching so that your stars are far fresher in the 4th quarter than theirs are.

This is going to be an offense that's damn hard to double team because you can't take anyone for granted, even the second string options are starters on a lot of teams.

 

[signbabybrady]

It would have to be on a cheap deal where he's here to compete in TC, much like the suggestion with WR Floyd.

Injuries happen, of course, but we can safely assume that Gilleslee (4m) and Burkhead (3.15m) aren't going anywhere, and White was just extended. Devlin is a huge piece as a FB and the team wasn't the same without him in '15. That leaves Lewis, Foster, and ST ace Bolden, and it's a pretty safe bet that at least one of them makes it.

Seems like a long shot as there seems to be a growing number of talented backs but they all have some sort of a question on them.

Gilislee & Burkhead haven't been starters yet.
Lewis has an injury history.
Bolden is just a STer
And White is a lock as our 3rd down back but still a lot to prove in consideration of a being a lead back.

Blount has his own short comings too but I don't see a huge problem in having 6 guys compete for 5 RB slots and the various roles.

I think either some other team steps up close to his asking price or he will come back here to compete. And I'm not sure the markets there for him.

Maybe some team steps up if they miss out on a back in the draft but if not why not bet on yourself to beat one of those other guys to come back to a place he clearly loves?

 

[The Brandon Five]

Blount's 1161 yards were 62 % of the total rushing offense. He had 18 of the 19 rushing TD's.

Can anyone guess who had the other rushing TD?

Here were the other contributors to the rushing totals.

(Slater clocks in with a 5 ypa average )
View attachment 16943

Brisket?

 

[neuronet]

He did a really good job here and for very little money. He deserves to be paid more. I hope someone gives it to him. But no, it won't be with the Patriots.

Great Patriot and invaluable in his time here. Thanks indeed!

It depends what he is offered elsewhere though, right?

Wherever he is, hope he does well unless it's against us.

 

[Tony2046]

Brisket?

That's it.

 

[Rusty Coupe]

 

[tasmlab]

From 2013 to 2016 the NEP paid LG $3.5m TOTAL.

Over the 49 games with the team he totalled 2917 yards rushing and 35 TDs scored.

As NEP he was paid $1,200 for every yard earned and $100,000 for every TD he scored.

That is big time Moneyball right there.

I think he collected around $2MM from the Steelers in that time as well.

Great player/great value. I'd like to see him back. Or maybe he can sign with another team, get cut in week 14 after walking off the field during a game, come back when another Pat is injured, win super bowl ring number 3.

 

[scott99]

Blount had been one of my favorite players in the last 10 years. Loved the way he played, also seemed like a great teammate. Unfortunately, I think he's gone. Gonna miss Blount, and gonna miss Bennett as well. Both seemed to have great chemistry with their teammates.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Giants showing a lot of interest in blount. They keep taking our leftovers.

Free agent RB LeGarrette Blount draws interest from the Giants

 

[long distance]

Thanks, Tony, for making this amazing tribute. LGB deserved it. This board deserved it as well.

LGB and RB group were sent off to the season with a lot of scepticism from this board. They exceeded all expectations by a large margin. Most of all they were the first group showing that special bond, camaraderie full of joy for each other's success . and that positive energy slowly but surely inflamed the rest of the team.

As much as I loved to see that - and it remains in my memory - I was looking forward to a new RB approach: faster, more versatile and unpredictable.

Can't wait to see the new O go..

 

[Joey007]

Best since Dillon in 04. Hands down.

 

[Tony2046]

Thanks, Tony, for making this amazing tribute. LGB deserved it. This board deserved it as well.

LGB and RB group were sent off to the season with a lot of scepticism from this board. They exceeded all expectations by a large margin. Most of all they were the first group showing that special bond, camaraderie full of joy for each other's success . and that positive energy slowly but surely inflamed the rest of the team.

As much as I loved to see that - and it remains in my memory - I was looking forward to a new RB approach: faster, more versatile and unpredictable.

Can't wait to see the new O go..

Same here. Watched a lot of Gillislee gameday film and he is definitely faster or more explosive. He is more of an outside RB but can adequately run up the middle. He runs with his shoulders low and gets to the line of scrimmage quick, finds a gap and explodes through it. I think his explosiveness is where he excels. If it's man on man he generally loses in tight spaces but if there's any room to squeeze through he wins. A great example of that is during the @Bills game. Hightower caught him straight on and knocked his ass backwards but later in the game Gillislee ran through Collins for a TD. The difference between the Hightower and Collins run was the amount of space he had to find an angle or leverage to use against the LB.

So he won't be able to replace Blount's size but he will still be able to get the short yardage because he is much more explosive at the line of scrimmage. imo.

 

[resdubwhite]

Thank you OP. Great post.

Thank you LGB

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Great tribute - he had a tremendous season in '16-'17. Hope he comes back for a third tour of duty

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Blount's 1161 yards were 62 % of the total rushing offense. He had 18 of the 19 rushing TD's.

Can anyone guess who had the other rushing TD?

Here were the other contributors to the rushing totals.

(Slater clocks in with a 5 ypa average )
View attachment 16943

Brisette against the Texans!

 

[shmessy]

Opposing defensive players really were not fond of having to tackle LeGarette Blount.

Some of the stats boys here keep falsely looking only at the 3.9 YPC (which is pretty damn good, btw, for a short yardage situation rb) and not seeing the context that Blount was effective as a body puncher for Belichick.

Sure, folks love the knockout punches and that's what gets on Sportcenter, but the body blows are what softens up a defense over the course of a game and he dealt them.

.

 

[letekro]

Blount is arguably my 2nd favorite Pats RB of the Brady era behind Faulk. Could have easily been passed by Woodhead if he were still here though lol

Blount over Dillon?

 

[willard]

LeGarrette Blount top 7 running back wearing a Patriot uniform Evah


When I read one posters comment on the Gillislee thread saying good riddance to LeGarrette Blount it got my blood hot. There have been so many on the board that are quick to dismiss him and I just don't get it.

So step up those who dismiss Blount and name 7 better running backs who wore the Patriots uniform. By this I mean their Patriots career was better than Blount's. Doesn't matter what they did outside of the Patriots.

In the 57 years of the Patriots can you name 7 better backs? I will wager a dollar that at least 1 back on your list is not as great a Patriot back as Blount.