Wide Receiver

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Our very own Russell Goldman comments on the WR position in his latest from his Pats Confidential:

What We Learned From Watching The Patriots Pre- Season Game Against The Rams ats Confidential

Who will emerge as the third receiver for the Pats?
Brandon Tate I thought played very well. He only caught two balls, but got himself open. I definitely am encouraged by this young receiver. Julian Edelman did not play in this game.

At this point both receivers could still be the third option. I am actually not worried about this position anymore. Between Edelman and Tate I think one of them will emerge during the season.

 

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Moss Making Noise — On The Field: Big Play Has His Hands All Over It by Monique Walker for the Boston Globe:

Randy Moss has been seen quite a bit this preseason. He didn’t miss a practice in training camp. He signed autographs for fans after open practices. And in two preseason games entering last night, he caught four passes for 54 yards.

Moss surpassed that yardage total on the second of his three receptions last night in a 36-35 loss to the Rams, hauling in a 65-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the third quarter. He finished with 74 yards receiving. “We missed one last week, so you got to sit with that for a week,’’ Brady said. “Randy is tough, man. When he gets behind those guys there’s not many people that are catching him. It’s amazing to me how he catches that ball like he does. It’s so hard to do, to run full speed like he does, as fast as he does. Your head is bobbing up and down. It looks like there are three balls out there, and he just puts his hands up there like they’re baseball mitts. The ball never bobbles or anything like that. He’s an incredible player and athlete, and I’m glad he’s on our team.’’

 

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Tate Sensed His Breakthrough Moment by Robert Mays for the Boston Globe:

During his four seasons at North Carolina, Tate established an NCAA record for combined return yardage with 3,523 and finished 304 yards short of the all-time record for kickoff return yardage. He also holds Atlantic Coast Conference records for most kickoff returns for a touchdown in a season (three) and career (six).

That success made Tate a prime candidate to take over kickoff return duties for the Patriots after they drafted him in the third round (83d overall) in 2009. But a knee injury sidelined him until the seventh game of the season. Tate returned four kickoffs and led the team with a 26.5-yard average, but another knee injury ended his campaign after just two games.

Now healthy, Tate has displayed the traits that made him an elite returner in college and define the best return men in the NFL.

“He’s really fast and quick, and makes really good moves,’’ Morris said. “For the kickoff team, it’s kind of tough to defend a guy like that, that reads the blocks well and is good with the ball in his hands.’’

Returning kickoffs at the professional level was an adjustment for Tate. While openings in college left some room for hesitation, the NFL provides no such luxury.

“I’ve just to got to hit it,’’ Tate said. “Hit it and go. You can’t do too much dancing. The holes close up on you. That’s one thing I had to learn fast.

 

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Tate Proves He Has Speed To Burn by WEEI's Mike Petraglia:

He nearly made it two consecutive returns to the house after St. Louis kicked off after tying the game, 7-7, in the first quarter. Josh Brown tripped him up at the Patriots 41 after a 43-yard runback.

“I know, the kicker got me,” Tate said. “Everyone was laughing because the kicker got me but I tried. It’s alright.”

Alright indeed. Tate finished with three kickoff returns and one punt return and a total of 162 return yards.

But Tate’s big night didn’t end there. He played on the first-team offense led by Tom Brady. While the unit struggled in the first half, Tate was lining up on the outside, opposite Randy Moss and with Wes Welker in the slot.

That could be a sign of things to come, starting when the games actually count. Tate was targeted three times, caught two balls for 17 yards, including a long of 10.

“It felt good to play with whoever is out there,” Tate said of lining up with the likes of Brady, Moss and Welker. “It doesn’t matter who it is. I just thank the coach for giving me a chance to play.”

 

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Mike Reiss' mailbag, August 31

Q: What is Julian Edelman's injury? Prognosis on being ready for the opener?

A: I don't know the exact injury to Edelman. He spoke with reporters after the Patriots' preseason game in Atlanta on Aug. 19, and that was the last time he was spotted on the field. Since he hasn't practiced the last week-plus, it's hard to project if he'll be ready for the opener.

Q: Mike, I had hopes for Taylor Price when the Pats grabbed him in the third round. Now, with Sam Aiken ahead of him on the depth chart and with him also having no apparent role on special teams it looks as though he will have trouble even being active on game days. Do you see him getting any playing time this season?

A: Initially, I see Price as a healthy inactive. I think his playing time would be contingent on the health of the five receivers ahead of him -- Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Brandon Tate, Julian Edelman and Aiken. Another e-mailer asked if Price might clear waivers and make it to the practice squad, but I think he'd be snatched up quickly if the Patriots ever rolled the dice on that.

Q: With this being Moss' "last year" and there being basically five slot receivers left on this team, do you see any one of these receivers stepping out to be a No. 1 WR next year, or does the hunt begin shortly after Moss leaves for a free agent/available WR?

A: Matt, it's too early to tell on the No.1 receiver, but they'll obviously look closely at the development of Brandon Tate and Taylor Price to get a better feel on if they might be able to rise up. I think Tate is more than a slot receiver.

 

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Matthew Slater eyes cutting edge; return may save job by the Boston Herald's Karen Guregian

When players pass you on the depth chart on special teams, where you’ve made your mark the past two seasons, and the final set of cuts are today and Saturday, there’s no longer any time to sit around nursing injuries. It’s time to put up a fight.

So Slater, who may best characterize what this final preseason week is about for players on the bubble, got out there and practiced for the first time in roughly five weeks.

Facing an uphill battle to secure a roster spot, the top gunner on the kick and punt return teams last season provided some insight into how he views every challenge.

“The type of person I am, I always feel like it’s an uphill battle since I got here,” he said. “Being hurt is something you can’t always control. . . . I’m just relying on the Lord and his plan and going forward with this team. Whatever it is, I’m going to be willing to accept it.

“Hopefully, I look forward to continuing to work with this team and being a part of this football team. I’m just happy to be back out on the field now.”

 

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Welker assesses where he stands by Albert Breer for the Boston Globe

"I still feel like I’m a long ways off from that personally," Welker said in a quiet moment away from the masses in the post-game locker room. "People say it looks the same. I don’t feel the same. So I’m not gonna put a number on myself.

"My deal is going out there and playing as hard as I can every single play, and just trying to do my job. Whatever it is at the end is what it is, and we’re gonna just go out and try to win games."

 

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Moss has option route in contract year by the Boston Globe's Christopher Gasper.

While almost everything we have heard and read about Randy Moss during training camp has been extremely positive, Gasper paints a different picture. In my opinion he has taken a decidedly contrarian point of view ever since he was elevated to something more than Mike Reiss' understudy, so I'm going to take his opinion with a grain of salt. Considering how he prefaces the column, it seems like he has an axe to grind because Moss is not conducting any interviews with the media during camp.

Such was the case Wednesday night at the Patriots' Charitable Foundation Kickoff Gala at Gillette Stadium.

Moss was disengaged and aloof. While his teammates sat at tables with fans who had paid premium dollar for the honor of breaking bread with a Patriot in the name of charity, Moss was M.I.A.

Not in a charitable mood, he sat alone by an auction table with his headphones on during the formal part of the festivities. While guest speakers talked about their family's battles with cancer and Patriots owner Robert Kraft took to the dais to implore cancer screening, awareness and prevention, a misanthropic Moss kept his distance.

Comcast SportsNet showed video afterward of Moss turning down an adult autograph request. The signature-seeker asked Moss if he was excited for the start of the season, and the receiver's reply was succinct: "Nope."

Moss's behavior was at best childish and churlish and at worst disrespectful to the man that signs his check, Kraft, to whom the Gala is like opening his home. It's understood that Moss doesn't like signing autographs for adults -- he has a point there, by the way -- but this was a charity event. Moss wasn't even paying attention when his good buddy, Vince Wilfork, won the team's Ron Burton Community Service Award.

 

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Giants 20, Patriots 17: Five things to remember by CSNNE's Tom Curran

Jenkins Makes His Pitch

It's a battle to make this team as a wide receiver and Darnell Jenkins could certainly be on the outside looking in. But he's not without talent. Or speed, which he showed on his 66-yard touchdown reception, a play on which he made the catch at linebacker level and then just put on the jets and pulled away.

"He's had an exciting preseason," said Belichick. "Again, made some good plays and made some other plays but you know, I think there's a lack of experience showed [on those]. But he's competitive and he's good with the ball in his hands. He's made things happen, so you've got to respect that."

Whether Jenkins is merely this year's winner of the "Bam Childress Preseason Wonderboy Award" or a legit talent will work itself out. But he certainly earned a practice squad spot, one would think.

Curran also looked at Edelman and the role of the tight ends, and how that as well as the injuries to Edelman and Hernadez could affect Wes Welker:

Do the Patriots want to ride Wes Welker early or give him a managed workload? Can they afford to manage his workload given how vital he has been to this offense? If Edelman isn't ready to roll at the start of the season, Welker is going to get more reps than he probably should be taking early in the year. Both of those injuries are ones to monitor.