Didn't know he won NSIC DEFENSIVE Player of the Year award last year:
View: https://youtu.be/MdIeQIg_B6s
View: https://youtu.be/MdIeQIg_B6s
The Pats skill position players for most of the second half: 6th rounder, 4th rounder, 7th rounder, 7th rounder, UDFA, UDFA.Brady is working with kids. Billion dollar industry and there are kids delivering product and figuring out how to meet BB's and TB's standards.
Enjoy the ride this season. We are spoiled.
He's going against like 42 posts in that P&G thread about what people wouldn't wear.Is he dipping in that pic?
"It's the last quarter of a blowout and this asshole thinks it's the Super Bowl!"I like the kid, but don’t like the way he plows into tacklers at break-neck speed every damned play. The idea is to not get hit and to stay on the field!
Whatever Mom jeans cost these days.How much do you think his jeans from that picture cost?
Isn't that what Edelman used to do earlier in his career? He also used to short-arm some catchable balls, drawing ire from Brady.I like the kid, but don’t like the way he plows into tacklers at break-neck speed every damned play. The idea is to not get hit and to stay on the field!
Coincides with him being taken off kickoff returns. Maybe his relative ineffectiveness there was affecting the rest of his game.Was there anyone who didn‘t think it was time to cut him 3 weeks ago? Been waiting him to show some “Edelman flashes”, and just when I gave up he has two big games in a row.
Good for him. He came on strong in the second half of the season. I thought there was gamethread noise in the first half of the season calling for him to be cut.Gunner is a first team all pro for punt returner
Shows you how smart SoSH is... That said, I think most of that was related to Kick Off returns (manly, him coming out of the end zone and coming up short of the 25). Regardless, congrats Gunner! Great season, hoping there are many more.Good for him. He came on strong in the second half of the season. I thought there was gamethread noise in the first half of the season calling for him to be cut.
How many teams have a guy on the roster who only returns punts, and another who only covers punts, and several who only cover kicks...he invests so much in these special teams roles, it's not surprising the results are what they are on special teams.amazing that bill can find guys like Gunner, Edelman, Berrios, etc. who are late rounders and UDFA's (some of whom change positions) and turn them into (at minimum) solid pros yet he drafts guys in the 1st and 2nd rounds who can't play
Most teams do this. You've got 46 active players (48 this year) and only 11 players on the field at once; some guys are going to play a lot of special teams and infrequently on O/D. The Bills' primary return guy, Andre Roberts, had 4 catches this year and played 62 snaps on O (pretty comparable to Gunner). He was one of 6 Bills who played more than 100 snaps on STs and less than 100 on O/D, not including the K/P/LS.How many teams have a guy on the roster who only returns punts, and another who only covers punts, and several who only cover kicks...he invests so much in these special teams roles, it's not surprising the results are what they are on special teams.
The Patriots don't always have a dedicated return guy either; it was Edelman for a while, and Welker for a while, and Faulk for a while. Sometimes it works out that way, sometimes it doesn't.Just looked it up. More teams that I would have thought are using PR guys who don't contribute regularly on offense or defense. But not more than half of teams are. I don't know how many have as many Slaters and Bethels and Kings as the Pats do, but my guess is most teams don't.
The story from the scouting folks is that BB does his thing in the first 3-4 rounds and then defers to them for later rounds and UDFAs. That sounds a bit too convenient to me to buy 100%, though.amazing that bill can find guys like Gunner, Edelman, Berrios, etc. who are late rounders and UDFA's (some of whom change positions) and turn them into (at minimum) solid pros yet he drafts guys in the 1st and 2nd rounds who can't play
I mean, those guys all fit the mold of the type of player that has had success in their offensive system for 20 years. God knows why when Bill drafts receivers high, it's the Chad Jackson/Aaron Dobson/N'Keal Harry/Taylor Price types and not the shifty route runners. That Deion Branch kid worked out ok, why stray from the formula?amazing that bill can find guys like Gunner, Edelman, Berrios, etc. who are late rounders and UDFA's (some of whom change positions) and turn them into (at minimum) solid pros yet he drafts guys in the 1st and 2nd rounds who can't play
It actually surprised me that they didn't find a way to get Gunner on the field for some bubble screens or jet sweeps.The Patriots don't always have a dedicated return guy either; it was Edelman for a while, and Welker for a while, and Faulk for a while. Sometimes it works out that way, sometimes it doesn't.
Most teams don't have a Slater and Bethel, but they almost all have guys whose playing time breaks down that way. Some teams would rather have their STs populated with developmental O / D guys (who are not going to play O / D anyway). The Patriots always like to have a few dedicated ST guys, and are willing to pay for them.
He did get 5 rushing attempts, which is kind of a lot considering he only played 100-something snaps on O. The camp reports on him at WR were really good, but the only games he got any run were the two Harry missed.It actually surprised me that they didn't find a way to get Gunner on the field for some bubble screens or jet sweeps.
Most of the ST players for the Pats get more money because they've been with the team for a while. I'm specifically thinking of Matt Slater (~$2.5M/yr), or Brandon Bolden, or Ghostkowski and Ryan Allen. Justin Bethel was only $1.6M/yr, which may be close to vet min for an 8 year player off the waiver wire. Gunner and Bailey don't make a whole lot. For the most part, the Pats will pay their special teams players once they clear their rookie contracts, which is perhaps different than what most other franchises do.Most teams do this. You've got 46 active players (48 this year) and only 11 players on the field at once; some guys are going to play a lot of special teams and infrequently on O/D. The Bills' primary return guy, Andre Roberts, had 4 catches this year and played 62 snaps on O (pretty comparable to Gunner). He was one of 6 Bills who played more than 100 snaps on STs and less than 100 on O/D, not including the K/P/LS.
What makes the Patriots unusual is that they're willing to pay those guys $2-3 MM a year instead of just league minimum.
I agree with all of this. I think you're thinking of the Chargers game BTW, but also the Cardinals game - they only had four scoring drives, one was set up by a long kick return, one by a long punt return, and one was capped by the game-winning 50-yard FG. They lose that game with average STs. But by the offseason it seems like Pats fans are always wondering whether they're spending too much on STs and should devote more resources to O/D.Most of the ST players for the Pats get more money because they've been with the team for a while. I'm specifically thinking of Matt Slater (~$2.5M/yr), or Brandon Bolden, or Ghostkowski and Ryan Allen. Justin Bethel was only $1.6M/yr, which may be close to vet min for an 8 year player off the waiver wire. Gunner and Bailey don't make a whole lot. For the most part, the Pats will pay their special teams players once they clear their rookie contracts, which is perhaps different than what most other franchises do.
If special teams wins you 1 or 2 games per season (it won the Pats the Rams game in a big way), then it's well worth it. And even more so when one of those is a playoff game (recall the 2001 AFCCG).
Looks like neither Meyers or Olszewski were given enough snaps at WR by the coaching staff in the 1st half of the season.It actually surprised me that they didn't find a way to get Gunner on the field for some bubble screens or jet sweeps.
Thuney being tagged {whether for a botched plan to trade him or due to lingering trauma from the 2019 OL chaos} makes him a bit of an odd case, but you sold me.They allocated about 8.5-9M in cap dollars to full time special teamers this year, by my read. The cap is about 200M.
Hell, what about paying 14.8M to one guard (Thuney)? If we’re going to question where resources are allocated, special teams - with Pro Bowl caliber guys all over the place - seems like an odd place to look.
What were they gonna do with a couple million freed up by cutting Bethel?