New England Patriots Discussion

[Jcn92]

Originally Posted by cmarq83

Why outwardly release a solid player for no reason whatsoever.

Looks like he was released because he has diabetes and they are uncertain what the recovery time will be.

[descendency]

Originally Posted by Jvig43

Yeah so are we running a 3-4 again, because we have no more DT's.

Contrary to popular belief, the 34 takes 3 DTs (2 that play "end") instead of the 2 that the 43 takes.

More than likely, our base package will be Wilfork down and everyone else up. Call it the 1-10-0 that everyone joked about when the Patriots had no good pass rushers or coverage guys.

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by descendency

Contrary to popular belief, the 34 takes 3 DTs (2 that play "end") instead of the 2 that the 43 takes.

More than likely, our base package will be Wilfork down and everyone else up. Call it the 1-10-0 that everyone joked about when the Patriots had no good pass rushers or coverage guys.

If the Pats do run more 34 fronts I would fully expect Chandler Jones to play some RE with a combination of Armstead/Kelly/Forston manning the other spot.

However, what I expect to see is a hybrid front which encorporates both 43 and 34 principles and techniques.

Wilfork will be the man main obviously to make this work and everyone will take their lead from him.

The Pats can initially line up in a traditional 4 man front then have Wilfork shift to a 0 technique and whoever is playing LE shift to 5 technique

So, in essence you get Chandler Jones at RE, Armstead for sake of argument at 3 technique, Wilfork at 0 and Forston at 5 technique. They ran this front a lot last year with Jones, Wilfork at 3, Love at 0 and Deaderick at 5. Really, IMO with Armstead of Kelly manning the 3, there is a big upgrade at DT as Wilfork is much more effective over the center however time will tell how the 5 technique position will do as Deaderick was actually pretty good at that role

[cmarq83]

I've been a fan of the switching back to a 3-4 idea for awhile. Spikes, Hightower, Collins, and Armstead are better 3-4 players IMO, and if we 1 gap our 5 techs I think it could be Jones's best position in the pros. Unfortunately Love and Deaderick should have been part of the equation if we planned on making the switch.

[Razor]

I'd be very surprised if we switch back to the 3-4 as our base defense. We just don't have the personel for that.

[Razor]

Yay for iPad malfunctions and triple-posts.

[AntoinCD]

I definitely think we have the personnel to have an attacking 34 defense

---Armstead--Wilfork--Jones---

Hightower--Mayo--Spikes--Collins


However you can't really ask either end to 2 gap and that is one of BB's philosophies and I don't see a radical change coming.

All in all I think BB wants to be multiple on defense. Create confusion with shifts and different shades up front and let the LBs go free to make plays

[AntoinCD]

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/...ording-sources

So it looks like the inevitable is happening and Gronk is going to have another surgery on his arm. Rumours are the surgery could happen as early as Monday or Tuesday next week with a 10 week recovery period we could expect him back for around the last few days in July which would be around the start of camp.

The last thing anyone wants to see is Gronk rush back and then have to miss more time with this so I think he could be a real candidate for the PUP list. The first 3 games of the schedule look ok

Buffalo, Jets on Thursday night and TB

However then they probably go into their toughest 3 week stretch with Atl, Cin and NO.

If Gronk can be back and ready for the start of the season then that's great, however i would prefer to have him later in the year. It may also force the team to look at the WRs early if Gronk isn't there which could be a good development opportunity for Dobson and Boyce

[Matthew Jones]

I like the defense with Armond Armstead as the three-technique, Wilfork as the nose tackle, and Chandler Jones as the right end. Hightower would be the elephant, Mayo as the WILB, Spikes as the SILB, and Collins rushing as the ROLB.

[AntoinCD]

Gronk likely to have back surgery to repair a disk issue which is giving him chronic back pain. Considering this was the big issue which led to him falling in the draft. Colour me worried now.

Why does bad things happen to good people??

[Jvig43]

Yep, now I'm worried. ****, I really need to stop buying players jerseys. I'm bad luck or something.

[njx9]

Originally Posted by Jvig43

Yep, now I'm worried. ****, I really need to stop buying players jerseys. I'm bad luck or something.

i've just fedexed you ten brady jerseys.

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by njx9

i've just fedexed you ten brady jerseys.

I was going to tell him to dust off the old Welker jersey

[njx9]

Originally Posted by AntoinCD

I was going to tell him to dust off the old Welker jersey

see, and i'd have thought you'd be stoked to watch him drop a crucial pass in the playoffs for someone else. i can already see the smirk on tom's face and the stark disbelief on peyton's.

[Jvig43]

That wont happen because Peyton actually has two other receivers he can fall back on when he needs someone to make a significant catch in important games.

[Jvig43]

So I know this has been speculated on and doesn't seem likely, but how much I would love if we signed Seymour. We need DL depth, and the guy can still play at a pretty high level. Seems like the only thing holding that back are the burnt bridges, which is really unfortunate.

[nepg]

Hah. If they brought in Seymour and Tommy Kelly gets motivated, no one would even want to block that DL.

[Razor]

I dreamt that we Cut Gronk. I was very harpy when I woke up and saw that he's not going to Vegas.

[AntoinCD]

I know BB makes pretty surprising roster decisions at times with cuts and trades etc, but I would be damn surprised if he cut Gronk.

On a side note, I actually hate the media who seem to be somehow blaming these injuries on Gronk's lifestyle. It's like they convince themselves that by partying in the offseason it somehow caused Gronk to break his arm or have a bulging disc in his back.

[Jvig43]

Eh cause it, no. Help the recovery process? I think they are justified in speculating on whether or not hes making the smartest decisions.

Whether BB would cut Gronk? He's way too damn smart for that. He'd trade him for a King's ransom if he wanted him gone.

[Jvig43]

Amendola is said to look real comfortable with Brady, as is Jenkins. Dobson reportedly made the play of the day with a high catch in traffic down the sideline. It'd be so nice if this turnover at the position worked out for once haha (well besides 07)

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by Jvig43

Amendola is said to look real comfortable with Brady, as is Jenkins. Dobson reportedly made the play of the day with a high catch in traffic down the sideline. It'd be so nice if this turnover at the position worked out for once haha (well besides 07)

I read quite a few comments where people said Amendola looked similar to Welker only noticeably quicker. It's hard to imagine anyone replicating the production of Welker and Amendola does have significant injury concerns, however I am excited to see what new dimension he can bring to the offense.

Dobson is a guy I have really big hopes for. He is a big target with excellent hands, something we haven't had since Moss, obviously Dobson is a different type of player than Moss and I am not expecting him to come close to what Moss was, but still, for a team severely needing outside WR help I really like him.

As for Jenkins, I kinda think him being with the 1s and looking good at this point is more of a seasoned vet thing. He has been in the league for years and knows how to prepare for the offseason. Guys like Boyce, Moe etc don't and even to an extent neither does Donald Jones who only has 3 years of experience and he lost one of those offseasons to the lockout.

I definitely think it's going to be a case of best man will play. My hope is that Dobson progresses to be that guy, but I think we will need to withhold judgement until near the end of training camp.

In saying that, anything positive from the WR corps at this point is welcomed