New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

Son Of A Vidic · 25-03-2014 6:57pm

munstermagic11 wrote: »

"Brady's back. That's your quarterback. Who left the building. Unicorns, show ponies, where's the beef!"

One of the greatest/funniest sporting commentaries I have ever heard

. I love Scott Zolack, he just bleeds Patriot blood. He just seems to have fits during games, he gets so much behind his team.

Anybody who hasn't heard that commentary? Just play this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qg3fP9ULIo

j8wk2feszrnpao · 25-03-2014 8:36pm

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

One of the greatest/funniest sporting commentaries I have ever heard . I love Scott Zolack, he just bleeds Patriot blood. He just seems to have fits during games, he gets so much behind his team.

It just was a great Patriot moment (and we've had a lot with this QB and coaching pair).
That's a TD that I've watched plenty of times, cause it reminds me of screaming my own head off at about 12:30am and waking others in the house!

Normally I would probably cringe at such commentary, but Zolack was just like us fans at that moment; defending Tom, calling out those who had left, and then a little bit of craziness!

Zolack going nut, Thompkins fist pumping like the rest of us, and then Brady and Bill just have a moment. Great night!

irisheagle14 · 26-03-2014 1:10am

Was lucky enough to be in a bar outside Fenway park that night..place went nuts when Brady threw the td!

BKWDR · 26-03-2014 7:45pm

Does anyone else watch clips online or NFL network and think 'oh man it's agggessss away to the next season' and then think *why didn't i watch more games or stay up those times i didn't when there was live football on!!*

Son Of A Vidic · 26-03-2014 10:15pm

BKWDR wrote: »

Does anyone else watch clips online or NFL network and think 'oh man it's agggessss away to the next season' and then think *why didn't i watch more games or stay up those times i didn't when there was live football on!!*

A lot of the time I did stay up and it still doesn't help. I find when the Pats are playing, there could be a couple of games I plan to check out later. But you often don't just have the time. So I find that a bunch of games build up that I'm planning to watch and before you know it, the season is over. Then I can't watch them because it just reminds me that Football is over.:(

Son Of A Vidic · 27-03-2014 10:41pm

Wilfork restructures and stays a Patriot legend. Schefter reporting that it's a 3 year $22.5 million restructure. $3 million guaranteed. Will need more contract details because I'm not seeing the cap saving this year.

kryogen · 27-03-2014 11:01pm

I am soooooooo happy with that news, looked a gonner and who knows if he will ever be the force he was but I am so happy he will continue his career in New England, would really have sucked to see him go, and on bad terms to boot. Id love to have the inside track on what happened here you know!

Son Of A Vidic · 27-03-2014 11:04pm

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Will need more contract details because I'm not seeing the cap saving this year.

Just looking at his old contract, his base salary for 2014 was $7.5 million, he also had a $3.6 million signing bonus and $500,000 in work out & game bonuses ect. So total cap hit for 2014 was $11.6 million. Looking at the new contract @ $7.5 million a year, so it looks like we have saved at least $4.1 million straight away for 2014.

eagle eye · 27-03-2014 11:11pm

Delighted to hear he has re-signed even though I am not sure how long it will take him to get back from that injury or if he will ever get back.

I'm sure that is all covered in the new contract though.

BizzyC · 28-03-2014 8:01am

Yeah, it's great news.

Our starting D is setup very well this year.
Lets just keep them healthy and get a few good backups in there...

Son Of A Vidic · 28-03-2014 12:15pm

eagle eye wrote: »

I am not sure how long it will take him to get back from that injury or if he will ever get back.

The area of injury, his age and size does make that a worry alright. Looking at the positive, Vince has always been freakishly athletic for a guy his size, so even it he only comes back at 80% of the player he was. He will still strengthen our middle significantly on last year. It would be great to have Vince and Kelly staying healthy for 2014 and hopefully they will.

BKWDR · 28-03-2014 8:31pm

BLOUNT gone to steelers

Hazys · 28-03-2014 8:59pm

Wendell resigned to a 2 year deal.

I kinda like it, he was good in 2012 but only decent in 2013. I like it 1. because I'm starting to worry about the lack of depth on the roster, especially how injuries hit us last year and 2. who else you going to get? he's the best FA out there, at least fit wise and it lessens the pressure for a rookie to step in and start straight away.

Hazys · 28-03-2014 9:01pm

BKWDR wrote: »

BLOUNT gone to steelers

Slightly disappointed by this. I was hoping we would get him on a 2 year deal and lessen the blow if both Ridley and Vereen (& Boldin) leave next summer. But i'm sure Bill will find an adequate vet in a trade or a promising rookie to fill his cleats.

JaMarcusHustle · 29-03-2014 2:53pm

Completely forgot about this play - surprised we haven't seen us attempt it again in the last 13 years!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49ftrkkWozE

Son Of A Vidic · 29-03-2014 4:29pm

Hazys wrote: »

Slightly disappointed by this. I was hoping we would get him on a 2 year deal and lessen the blow if both Ridley and Vereen (& Boldin) leave next summer. But i'm sure Bill will find an adequate vet in a trade or a promising rookie to fill his cleats.

I feel the same way as you and it would have been nice to keep him at our price. Another player resurrected by the Pats moves on and I wish him all the best. I wonder will RB now be an area now looked at in our draft war room? If it is, we might need a player with pass catching ability like Vereen. Because we saw last year that Boldin couldn't step up in that role when Vereen was out with the wrist injury.

Son Of A Vidic · 29-03-2014 4:34pm

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Completely forgot about this play

Me too and fair play for digging it out of the archives.

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

surprised we haven't seen us attempt it again in the last 13 years!

My prediction for 2014: 3 left seconds on the clock and we will run that play again. Vereen will throw the ball and Brady will catch the game winning TD in Super Bowl XLIX. :pac:

Son Of A Vidic · 30-03-2014 11:47am

Hazys wrote: »

Wendell resigned to a 2 year deal.

And it looks like he got the 'Arrington' contract this year, in that it appears we have overpaid him. Which is not good, especially when you consider that no other team showed any interest during FA.

Son Of A Vidic · 01-04-2014 5:04pm

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

And it looks like he got the 'Arrington' contract this year, in that it appears we have overpaid him. Which is not good.

It turns out the NFLPA documented incorrect contract details when logging his contract in their records. They suggested his contract was +$8 million whcih I thought was crazy. But the actual contract is 2 years, with a base value of $3.25 million and a maximum value of $4.55 million ($850,000 guaranteed in a signing bonus). So it's good value and nothing at all like what Arrington got last year.

BizzyC · 02-04-2014 8:03am

Michael Bush and Will Smith working out in New England this week.

I cant see Smith working out too well, he doesn't have enough left to really push for a spot, but I like the idea of Bush, he could be a good option in the backfield.

Vanolder · 02-04-2014 10:05am

Manziel and Bridgewater visiting the Pats????

JaMarcusHustle · 02-04-2014 10:49am

Vanolder wrote: »

Manziel and Bridgewater visiting the Pats????

Due diligence I'm sure.

BizzyC · 02-04-2014 10:57am

I doubt either will be available when we get on the clock, but better to have a look just in case.

Brady is 37 after all....

Son Of A Vidic · 02-04-2014 12:37pm

Vanolder wrote: »

Manziel and Bridgewater visiting the Pats????

Don't read too much into it, Bill is just doing a psych evaluation. But if we do draft a QB, which I doubt we will and if he was still available, it will be AJ McCarron.

BizzyC · 02-04-2014 2:18pm

Have to say, I'm a little surprised that there's been no TE free agency activity by the Pats.

There are some question marks over the quality of the draft at that position and there are still guys like Owen Daniels and Dustin Keller available.

I would've expected a workout at least with someone...

Son Of A Vidic · 02-04-2014 8:45pm

BizzyC wrote: »

Have to say, I'm a little surprised that there's been no TE free agency activity by the Pats.

There are some question marks over the quality of the draft at that position and there are still guys like Owen Daniels and Dustin Keller available.

I would've expected a workout at least with someone...

There's been talk about us using LaFell in an Adhoc role where he might play TE. He could line up in the position Hernandez used to be. While he is 30-35Lbs lighter than Hernandez, he is a much better blocker than Hernandez who was renowned for being a crap blocker. So that might explain some of the quietness on the TE side of things. That said, I expect them to draft at least one TE this year.

BizzyC · 03-04-2014 8:26am

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

There's been talk about us using LaFell in an Adhoc role where he might play TE. He could line up in the position Hernandez used to be. While he is 30-35Lbs lighter than Hernandez, he is a much better blocker than Hernandez who was renowned for being a crap blocker. So that might explain some of the quietness on the TE side of things. That said, I expect them to draft at least one TE this year.

I can definitely see how LaFell can fit in with the outside Hernandez role,
but I don't see Hoomanawanui as a good enough backup for the true TE spot.

Part of Gronk's effectiveness is his ability to hurt pass defences from any position, so he always has to be accounted for whether he's line up in the slot or in his 3 point stance.

Ho'manui just doesn't provide that credible threat that will keep the D honest.

Son Of A Vidic · 03-04-2014 11:38am

BizzyC wrote: »

I can definitely see how LaFell can fit in with the outside Hernandez role,
but I don't see Hoomanawanui as a good enough backup for the true TE spot.

Part of Gronk's effectiveness is his ability to hurt pass defences from any position, so he always has to be accounted for whether he's line up in the slot or in his 3 point stance.

Ho'manui just doesn't provide that credible threat that will keep the D honest.

No TE in the league looks good when compared to Gronk. Just looked at how Talib bitched slapped Jones of the field when we played the Saints. Or how the Seahawks secondary totally scared and humiliated him, after he mouthed off in their pregame warm up. Try and intimidate Gronk? And he'll just carry 3-4 players down the field on his back.:D

But back to Hooman, I like the guy and he was the only TE we had on the field for most of last season. Since we weren't employing our TE sets of old, Hooman was mostly used as a blocker and he did a solid reliable job in that role. He was only targeted 19 times last season, so I can't really blame him for not having more production in the pass game. He just wasn't targeted or utilised enough in that role for me to judge him. Tbh, I was really pleased we resigned him. I think he's capable of bringing a lot more to the pass game if we target him more. All too often he was stuck in the trenches, helping out our O Line that struggled at times in 2013.

http://www.patriots.com/media-center/videos/Highlight-Michael-Hoomanawanui-one-handed-TD-grab/40f8ed24-fcf8-4b39-857d-ad36f38b631a

That fantastic catch he made against the Dolphins, shows me has has the ability and some sweet hands and he should be given more opportunities. One thing we should have learned by now, is to start game planning early for losing Gronk yet again to some kind of injury. Hooman having another year of the offense under his belt can only be a good thing. Hopefully he will play a more prominent role going forward regardless of what happens to Gronk.

BizzyC · 03-04-2014 1:30pm

Brady throws to whoever is open.
The fact that he only got 19 targets is what worries me.
Had he been targeted 50 times and had the same production I'd be less worried.

I'm not saying we can get anyone who can produce stats like Gronk, but we definitely need a solid blocker who can get open just enough to make the D worry about him from time to time.

It seems that nowadays TE has branched into two molds;
The big blocking TE who will sometimes get involved in the play action, or the receiving threat who'll spend more time in the slot then at the end position.

The traditional mold of a balanced TE is becoming more rare, and when Gronk is out we miss it hugely.

I'd actually feel a little more comfortable even if we had a good receiving FB in the squad also, but that's another player type that's getting weeded out of football.

Of course the other alternative is to improve the O Line dramatically so we dont need to commit extra positions to blocking, but I dont see that happening any time soon.

TO. · 03-04-2014 2:48pm

BizzyC wrote: »

Brady throws to whoever is open.
The fact that he only got 19 targets is what worries me.
Had he been targeted 50 times and had the same production I'd be less worried.

I'm not saying we can get anyone who can produce stats like Gronk, but we definitely need a solid blocker who can get open just enough to make the D worry about him from time to time.

It seems that nowadays TE has branched into two molds;
The big blocking TE who will sometimes get involved in the play action, or the receiving threat who'll spend more time in the slot then at the end position.

The traditional mold of a balanced TE is becoming more rare, and when Gronk is out we miss it hugely.

I'd actually feel a little more comfortable even if we had a good receiving FB in the squad also, but that's another player type that's getting weeded out of football.

Of course the other alternative is to improve the O Line dramatically so we dont need to commit extra positions to blocking, but I dont see that happening any time soon.

I agree with all of this. Guys like Hooman are a dime a dozen in the NFL. They are the bog standard blocking TE who can catch when needed but wont light it up. Guys like Gronk, Graham, Gonzalez, Davis, Witten, Thomas, Cameron etc etc are what has become of tight ends. Big Powerful fast monsters who can catch and cause so much mismatch they get open.

You may not find another "Gronk" but finding a guy who fits that mould is key. Sad to say the traditional Tight Ends are now just extra blockers who you will throw to the odd time.

New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

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