Tyquan Thornton Having a Tough Camp

[Toofy]

Bill O'Brien inherited a 2 win Texans team, he immediately went 9-7 the next two seasons and had them in the playoffs by season three. Rick Smith his GM was his worst enemy because for some reason he didn't believe offensive line play was important. Deshaun Watson actually led the entire NFL in sacks, eventually the GM was fired and Obie took over that role and pieced together a line, but time was running out for him. In short he won his division four times, his team was one of the least penalized teams in the NFL and he left with the winningest record in Texans history.

What O'Brien did down at Penn State in the wake of the sex abuse scandal was nothing short of amazing. He picked that program up off the mat during it's darkest period. He collected the most wins for a first-year head coach in school history and was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by both the media and the coaches. He was also named the national coach of the year by ESPN and was awarded the 2012 Paul "Bear" Bryant College Coach of the Year Award.

O'Brien interviewed for the head coaching position with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. However, he decided to remain at Penn State, stating: "I'm not a one-and-done guy. I made a commitment to these players at Penn State and that's what I am going to do. I'm not gonna cut and run after one year, that's for sure." Shades of what happened last year with him at Alabama, despite interest from New England.

At Alabama he oversaw the #1 then #2 offense in the SEC, I suspect he learned a lot about the college game and will be able to incorporate a lot of it into his new job as a pro. He was a young coach his first time around in the NFL, and he's a lot more experienced now than he was then.

Patricia was a disaster, Obie by default with get them a lot closer to 2021 levels of efficiency at a minimum, but should be able to exceed it assuming they stay healthy.

Wow.. that's some pedigree out there. Thanks for this post . Really detailed and efficient . Do we think Bob becomes our coach ahead of Mayo or will Bob agree to be OC with same salary as Mayo but with complete offensive control . Bill should retire in a season or 2 so Bills salary can be divvied up between Bob and Mayo , win-win for Kraft. Hope it really works .

Btw disagree on pierce aspect. Feel that he was much superior to Thornton who right now is a single trick pony with poor reception stats , resembles more of dorsett now . It's early, but need a monster season this year to remove the bust label . Wide receivers show growth in first year these days . Meyers as a UDFa had better stats in rookie season despite Brady sidelining him .

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

The sudden fawning over Alec “53% catch rate” Pierce by some here as a vehicle to criticize Thornton, Bill and the Patriots front office is hilarious. I hope that you guys don’t suffer injuries twisting yourselves into pretzels, while trying to come up with a wide receiver, drafted after Thornton, other than Pickens, who had an impressive rookie year.

In fairness to Pierce, he really blossomed during the second half of his rookie year, showing signs of being a true WR1. JK, he sucked.



Can we at least wait for a young WR to actually make an impact for his NFL team before adding him to the “Bill sucks as a GM. We could have drafted…” list.

He definitely didn't suck lol. I get the frustration but as others have mentioned that offense was a joke. The QB didn't fit him at all. I wouldn't be surprised if he was close to their WR1 by years end bc AR15 fits his skill set (strength, vertical - 20% of his targets were on go, 50/50) perfectly. He also had a big impact as a blocker.

Again I understand the frustration but he had a good rookie season especially in context. No one is calling him a bust. We just have expectations and want him to show us something.

 

[captain stone]

Look at his track record.

Maybe he did...

 

[captain stone]

Pickens, eh? I have not seen a lot of him but last year I watched some college highlights and he seemed to taunt the DB after a catch. He might be a priadonna and drama queen in the lockerroom. He seems like the type of player that BB hates. Thornton, on the otherhand from what I saw with him and the kids at Training Camp), seem like a real nice guy and laid back also.

Oh I'm sure BoneyT aced his interview., same as Kneal, Harry did... Still wouldn't have taken him until after Doubs & Shakir were gone however.

 

[Ring 6]

Maybe he did...

Not if that is his response.
Feel free to list everyone you think has a better track record.

 

[mgteich]

I understand that with the OL situation we have the QB situation for tonight. But, dang, I was hoping to start to get some clarity re the WR situation. What a situation.

The stakes in PS game 2 will be huge for the bottom of the WR list.

The next two joint practices will be much more important than the pre-season games.

The bottom of the depth chart WR's will have very few reps with Mac in the actual pre-season games.

I suspect that the coaches care little about Zapp-Boutte or Zappe-Thornton connections. especially when the completions are against 2nd stringers/

 

[turkeyneck]

The next two joint practices will be much more important than the pre-season games.

The bottom of the depth chart WR's will have very few reps with Mac in the actual pre-season games.

I suspect that the coaches care little about Zapp-Boutte or Zappe-Thornton connections. especially when the completions are against 2nd stringers/

Yes, it seems Bill has evolved to value the joint practices at least as much as the games, maybe moreso, what with the situational control and opportunities to repeat. Seems like the games are for the borderliners.

 

[captain stone]

Not if that is his response.
Feel free to list everyone you think has a better track record.

"The following rankings are the points per game scored under Bill O'Brien-led offenses during his tenure in the NFL, in order:
3rd, 14th, 21st, 28th, 17th, 11th, 14th, 18th.

So, there is some variation here. For consistencies sake, let's take out the 2011 season, as that was a very good year for the Patriots' offense and was also likely a bit skewed since the greatest QB of all-time was taking snaps for the team.

The average ranking among points per game from 2014-2020 comes out to 17.57, or the 18th ranked scoring offense during his tenure as the Texans' head coach..."

 

[Ring 6]

"The following rankings are the points per game scored under Bill O'Brien-led offenses during his tenure in the NFL, in order:
3rd, 14th, 21st, 28th, 17th, 11th, 14th, 18th.

So, there is some variation here. For consistencies sake, let's take out the 2011 season, as that was a very good year for the Patriots' offense and was also likely a bit skewed since the greatest QB of all-time was taking snaps for the team.

The average ranking among points per game from 2014-2020 comes out to 17.57, or the 18th ranked scoring offense during his tenure as the Texans' head coach..."

You exclude his best year but don’t exclude the year he took over a 2 win team or the one he list his qb after a few games?
Can’t include Brady but can include Tom Savage years?

What about the years he ran the Patriot offense without the title?

Also he is OC here, not HC which he was in Houston.

Again, feel free to name those with better track records.

 

[captain stone]

You exclude his best year but don’t exclude the year he took over a 2 win team or the one he list his qb after a few games?
Can’t include Brady but can include Tom Savage years?

What about the years he ran the Patriot offense without the title?

Brady was the rising tide who lifted all boats; so yeah I don't include those years.

Also he is OC here, not HC which he was in Houston.

Not sure what difference that makes...

Again, feel free to name those with better track records.

You're right: Bill O'Brien is just the best-est gosh-darned offensive co-ordinator & play-caller in the Whole Wide World!

 

[Patsgofor4]

Brady was the rising tide who lifted all boats;

Brady was the rising tide who lifted all boats;

You are the anti-Brady for this messageboard. It was lovely when you disappeared for a while. The old, biased curmudgeon factor here dropped precipitously. Let’s do that again.

 

[Lansdowne]

Credit where it’s due, nice catch by TT today

 

[Ring 6]

Brady was the rising tide who lifted all boats; so yeah I don't include those years.



Not sure what difference that makes...




You're right: Bill O'Brien is just the best-est gosh-darned offensive co-ordinator & play-caller in the Whole Wide World!

So none in Brady’s orbit deserves any credit for doing anything?

We are taking about the job of OC, not HC.


So you can’t name any?

 

[1960Pats]

Look at his track record.

I have. There's nothing that impressive there.

 

[1960Pats]

So none in Brady’s orbit deserves any credit for doing anything?

We are taking about the job of OC, not HC.


So you can’t name any?

No OC or HC is the key factor. It's about the players. Always has been and always will be. The funny thing is that it's being proven over and over right before our eyes but some fans want to ignore the obvious.

I can't tell you how many times I saw HCs mocked here but then they became winners when they had the right players. That must be a coincidence.

 

[Ring 6]

I have. There's nothing that impressive there.

I think ranking 6,3,1 in your 3 years in the role is pretty impressive. I think his results at Alabama in the same role were pretty impressive.

 

[1960Pats]

Maybe he did...

Yes, I looked at that. He did really well with Brady at QB and Gronk and Hernandez as the TEs but he was here in different offensive positions for 5 of the 10 years the Pats didn't win a SB but lost twice to the Giants.

Look, I think it's way too early to be calling O'Brien anything. That includes savior, bust or anything in between. Time will tell.

 

[1960Pats]

I think ranking 6,3,1 in your 3 years in the role is pretty impressive. I think his results at Alabama in the same role were pretty impressive.

What role are you talking about?

Btw, I have to run an errand so it'll take me a while to respond.

 

[Since1960]

Yes, I looked at that. He did really well with Brady at QB and Gronk and Hernandez as the TEs but he was here in different offensive positions for 5 of the 10 years the Pats didn't win a SB but lost twice to the Giants.

Look, I think it's way too early to be calling O'Brien anything. That includes savior, bust or anything in between. Time will tell.

How ‘bout we just call him an improvement over last years “offensive” coaches….

 

[Ring 6]

What role are you talking about?

Btw, I have to run an errand so it'll take me a while to respond.

Running the Patriots offense as OC or de facto OC.

No need to respond, I’ll mark you down as someone who thinks all coaches are the same and there is no difference (until you want to complain about one)