New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

Silver-Tiger

Will anybody pick him up?

I'd say HBO would love the Fins to pick him up for hard knocks. Would he make the 53 though?

CoachTO

Ocho's Latest post:

Chad Ochocinco ‏@ochocinco Thoroughly enjoyed the oppurtunity to play for the "Patriot" organization... fans were ****ing wicked awesome, I wish all of you the best...

Is it me or is he taking a dig at the Pats Patriot instead of Patriots. Wonder does he see the Pats as a 1 man show.

eagle eye

I think the Dolphins are highly likely to give him a go. They are really thin at the WR position.

CoachTO

This article sums up Ocho with the Pats for me and I agree 100% with it. He simply failed to do it the Patriot way and his Football IQ let him down.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/extra_points/2012/06/why_did_the_och.html?camp=misc:on:twit:pats

FOXBOROUGH – So the Chad Ochocinco experiment is officially over after he was informed he will be released by the team after one season, 15 catches and $5.75 million dollars.
We’ve written some on Ochocinco’s struggles, and this was something that was on the wall for a while. Wrote this in late February:

The more people I talk to about Ochocinco, the more convinced I am that it’s never going to work for him in this offense. It just seems like he’ll never get it. But depending on the other moves, he could be back under a restructured contract, then subject to a release. The team and players loved having him around. He was a terrific teammate, just not even close to being effective.

So what was the problem with Ochocinco in this offense? According to multiple sources, he just doesn’t have the football I.Q. that he appeared to have while with the Bengals. The Patriots would literally tell him to run a route a certain way, and a minute later he would run it the other way. It happened all the time.

That being said, considering the Patriots paid him $5.75 million for his first season, he deserved the benefit of the doubt. He came in during a lockout and this offense is much different than Cincinnati. Receivers have to make reads before and after the snap, as receivers coach Chad O’Shea talked about at the Super Bowl.

“At times, there are four decisions that a receiver needs to make after the snap the way our offense is,’’ O’Shea said. “That’s one of the advantages of our offense, that we give players a lot of flexibility within the system to take what the defense gives us. And that’s definitely something that’s unique about our offense.”

That can be a tough challenge for a player, and it proved to be for Ochocinco. But in fairness, he didn’t have an offseason during the lockout and had to deal with it on the fly during training camp. At times, he did show flashes of getting it during the season. So for the Patriots, it was understandable that they would give him another chance after he agreed to take a pay cut to $925,000 for this season. There was no further financial risk in giving him more time to get it. And Ochocinco is still physically talented. He’s in great shape, still has terrific feet, and solid hands.
But when offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien left for Penn State and Josh McDaniels returned, it put Ochocinco further behind. Not only was he catching up on the old stuff, he was trying to learn the new wrinkles. It wasn’t working.

The truth is, it was probably never going to work. What the Patriots didn’t realize watching Ochocinco on film while with the Bengals was, according to several league sources, he ran the routes he wanted to there and it drove quarterback Carson Palmer nuts -- especially later in his Bengals career. But Palmer was smart enough to realize that no matter where Ochocinco was running, he was probably going to get open because his feet are that good down the field. And after so many reps together, Palmer had a good feel for where Ochocinco would end up.

That can play in the Bengals’ offense, but not with the Patriots. This offense is so precise that if one player is in the wrong spot, it throws off the entire system – not to mention it irks Brady, who wants to be in total control at all times on the field.

“I have to trust in Deion and Wes [Welker] and all those guys out there to be in the right spot so I can play fast and anticipate what they’re doing,” he said. “If everyone is not on the same page then it doesn’t work. A lot of what these practices are about is everybody getting on the same page. You have a lot of new guys from other teams, rookies. The faster we can get up to speed and get better as unit, the better we’re going to be.”
Look, the Ochocinco experiment didn’t work. We all know that now. And, yes, it cost the Patriots $5.75 million and two draft picks. But I still think the risk was worth it. The Patriots just miscalculated on Ochocino’s football intelligence.

If there’s any lesson to be learned in the experiment, it’s that the Patriots had to do more research on certain players before they acquired them. According to sources, that lesson was learned before this offseason when the Patriots signed several free agents – only after doing a ton of investigation into them. The team no longer just relied on game film. They found a rock-solid source that vouched for each player this time around.

So on the field, yes, the Ochocinco move failed. But you learn something in every transaction, whether it works out or not. If the new additions put the team over the top this season, perhaps it wasn’t a total loss.

Masked Man

I knew he was likely to go when we signed Gaffney, but I'm still a little disappointed on a personal level. Really grew to like Ocho when he was with the Pats, hope he kills wherever he goes.

eagle eye

Yeah I was hoping he would succeed this season but not to be unfortunately. I can't say I'm hugely surprised by this move given the amount of receivers we have fighting for roster spots.

I just hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the behind later in the season. The guy is very talented and the Dolphins need some help in that position. I'd have preferred if he was cut after TC tbh. BB knows what he is doing though so I'll bow down to the decision of the great one.

Son Of A Vidic

CoachTO wrote: »

Bye Bye Ocho

Comes as no surprise because he's been pretty poor during the OTA's. I think he even ended up running down Route 66 at one stage and Brady couldn't find him . He just couldn't grasp the complex Pats offense, but at the end of the day, the Pats have only themselves to blame for creating the mismatch. Ocho certainly talked the good talk, he just couldn't walk the good walk for us.

JaMarcus Hustle

Looks like we're trying to tie Gronk to a new deal before the season starts. Glad that's getting sorted low key. Things shaping up nicely for this year

Son Of A Vidic

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

Looks like we're trying to tie Gronk to a new deal before the season starts. Glad that's getting sorted low key. Things shaping up nicely for this year

A sensible move to strike early, rather than at the latter end of his contract. I for one, would love to see the Gronkanator play his entire NFL career as a Patriot. I also suspect I'm not alone on this .

CoachTO

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

Looks like we're trying to tie Gronk to a new deal before the season starts. Glad that's getting sorted low key. Things shaping up nicely for this year

6 year 54m Extension

helimachoptor

Massive pay pack but worth it

Justin10

How long has Hernandez got left on his deal?

JaMarcus Hustle

CoachTO wrote: »

6 year 54m Extension

That's what we call a Gronktract!

CoachTO

Rochey18 wrote: »

How long has Hernandez got left on his deal?

1 year but they will tag him next season if we cant tie him down.

Justin10

I highly doubt they would be able to sign him up? With so much money already invested into the position with Gronks deal.

Maybe tag then trade him?

CoachTO

Rochey18 wrote: »

I highly doubt they would be able to sign him up? With so much money already invested into the position with Gronks deal.

Maybe tag then trade him?

They will keep him they will re-work contracts all over the place and cut others. Not going to get rid of a guy like Hernandez. Wes Welker is fooked though. Could be his last season with the Pats in mt eyes.

CoachTO

CoachTO wrote: »

1 year but they will tag him next season if we cant tie him down.

I got it wrong he is tied up for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. So no big hurry with him.

So this definitely put a long term deal with Welker in jeopardy in my eyes. July 15th is the cut off point and if we don't tie Welker down to a long term deal he is stuck on the Franchise tag.

Justin10

Ok well things can change big time by then.

CoachTO

Rochey18 wrote: »

Really dont understand that? You could get a high pick for him and keep Welker?

Why would you offload a TE who plays as good as any slot WR and is young. There is no way we trade Hernandez unless over the next 2 seasons he somehow falls apart.

Don't forget Welker is 31 and Hernandez is 22

Justin10

True with the age, Im sure with the current trend Pats could get a 1st for him. Reason I think they would offload him is the amount of money he is going to cost thats all.

But as you pointed out, there no rush in getting him signed up.

CoachTO

Rochey18 wrote: »

True with the age, Im sure with the current trend Pats could get a 1st for him. Reason I think they would offload him is the amount of money he is going to cost thats all.

Only 18m of Gronks contract is guaranteed and lets face it you dont trade away a guy with tremendous talent who is only 22 and still has 10+ years in him barring injury. Welker is still class but 31 and by the 2013 season rolls around he will be 32 and not forgetting he has had a serious injury. Age is the big factor here.

Is Welker worth a long term contract? Who know what he has left. Hernandez is going nowhere even in 2014 I see him on a long term deal if he performs this season. Id say he even gets one in 2013.

JaMarcus Hustle

If we tag Hernandez when the time comes, he could well look for a receiver tag rather than a tight end tag. Could be problematic.

CoachTO

JaMarcus Hustle wrote: »

If we tag Hernandez when the time comes, he could well look for a receiver tag rather than a tight end tag. Could be problematic.

Knowing now that he has 2 seasons left and the fact the Pats seem to be realising with these young guys getting the contract done early serves best for all I can see us tying him to a long term contract before the 2013 season and extending. Besides him being registered as a Tight End Im almost sure he wont have that option of asking for a WR one even if they argue he plays more in slot than at TE.

Son Of A Vidic

Gronk might have reached new heights for a TE last season, but Hernandez also had an excellent season. Contract wise, there is no panic to sort him out at the moment. Hernandez is really more than a TE and his versatility as an offensive weapon is priceless. He will be going nowhere imo.

Son Of A Vidic

Daniel Fells has missed all of the OTA's so far and is apparently injured. I haven't found anything out about the injury or what he actually injured - . So has anyone got any updates on him?

eagle eye

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Gronk might have reached new heights for a TE last season, but Hernandez also had an excellent season. Contract wise, there is no panic to sort him out at the moment. Hernandez is really more than a TE and his versatility as an offensive weapon is priceless. He will be going nowhere imo.

And knowing BB that is the biggest reason why he will not be going anywhere else.

CoachTO

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Daniel Fells has missed all of the OTA's so far and is apparently injured. I haven't found anything out about the injury or what he actually injured - . So has anyone got any updates on him?

They are saying down to an old injury recurrence so im guessing the knee he fooked up in 2008. Other than that I cant think of what others injuries he had he has only ever gone down to that knee and illness and concussion.

CoachTO

Looks like Pats are going to give Ballard a chance.

Son Of A Vidic

CoachTO wrote: »

Looks like Pats are going to give Ballard a chance.

That's his reward for scoring the winning TD against the Pats last November . Ballard will likely be out for the season out with the left ACL. But he is undoubtedly one for the future, if his 38 receptions for 604 yards and four touchdowns last season are anything to go by.

CoachTO

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

That's his reward for scoring the winning TD against the Pats last November . Ballard will likely be out for the season out with the left ACL. But he is undoubtedly one for the future, if his 38 receptions for 604 yards and four touchdowns last season are anything to go by.

Yup bang him on IR and then have him ready to go for 2013.