Yeah, I saw the "he wasn't Nink" BS line, too.
With the depth they have at the position, if he was an average player, they'd have kept him.
That's how I read it too. I mean, it's not like Ealy doesn't have the physical tools to be Nink...
But that's not what made Nink Nink, right?
Ninkovich's physical tools are pretty underrated. He's your classic Belichick profile where he's got a mediocre 40 but the rest of his drills (jumps and agility) were very good, including a fine 6.96 3-cone.
Ninkovich was pretty unusual in his ability to play anything from 4-3 defensive end to 3-4 OLB to 4-3 OLB. I interpret the "he wasn't Nink" rationale as they asked Ealy to drop into coverage and he was bad at it. That may be true, but there aren't 270+-pound guys who are going to be effective in coverage regularly. If they thought he was good at the other 4-3 DE duties, he'd be worth hanging on to just as Flowers injury insurance, even if they want the Ninkovich role filled by more of a Nink (Hightower or McClellin would be the two obvious choices).
I didn't understand the Nink thing from the getgo. They traded for Ealy before a sniff of Nink retiring. He wasn't brought in as a Nink replacement, so they cut him because...he wasn't a good Nink replacement? Weird.
Ealy was pretty invisible all camp; his release had nothing to do with his ability, or lack thereof, to play like a poor man's Ninkovich.
Combo of on-field and off-field? It's a funny one, first there was smoke and rumblings re: off the field. Now BB praises him for his on-field work, as he gets released ahead of final cuts, to maximize signing window, according to BB.
Reiss
He was a Cooper-type flier, in that they barely traded anything for him in the first place - moved down 8 spots in the draft.
Reiss
He had been held out of the final stretch of practices in the spring practices as part of a coach's decision, and also missed the first day of training camp for the same reason. "You'd have to ask Coach Bill [Belichick] -- me and him had something going on,"
"I just think it's one of those things that didn't work out or wasn't going to work out," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "Nobody's fault. He [Ealy] worked hard. We worked hard. A lot of effort put in, but in the end, we didn't feel like this was going to work out. It gives him an opportunity about a week ahead of next week to hopefully create a better opportunity for himself. I think he deserved that. He did everything we asked him to do. It just didn't work out for either one of us like we hoped it would."
"I just think it's one of those things that didn't work out or wasn't going to work out," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "Nobody's fault. He [Ealy] worked hard. We worked hard. A lot of effort put in, but in the end, we didn't feel like this was going to work out. It gives him an opportunity about a week ahead of next week to hopefully create a better opportunity for himself. I think he deserved that. He did everything we asked him to do. It just didn't work out for either one of us like we hoped it would."
He was a Cooper-type flier, in that they barely traded anything for him in the first place - moved down 8 spots in the draft.
I agree with the premise, but not the example - Cooper was part of the Chandler Jones trade, so the Pats did give up a lot, and he had something of a cap hit. Probably closer to the Mingo deal, though as a former top pick Mingo had some money attached, too. Maybe Van Noy?
My guess is that Pats likely had much more than just a sniff that Nink was at least considering retirement. How much that influenced picking up Ealy, no idea...but teams regularly have tons more info than the media, and the Pats don't leak stuff like this.
Mike ReissVerified account @MikeReiss 9m9 minutes ago
Patriots have a to-be-announced roster addition at DE as a new player was present at practice. Dont'a Hightower continues to warm up w/ DEs.
Phil PerryVerified account @PhilAPerry 11m11 minutes ago
Pats have 3 new faces at practice (wearing No. 66, 64, 46). Edelman, Mitchell, Ebner, Langi, McClellin, Garcia, Solder, Rivers all missing.
Phil PerryVerified account @PhilAPerry 11m11 minutes ago
Slater and Burkhead returned to practice today. Grissom and Wise, who left after warmups last week, are participating. Good sign for them.
Patriots have a to-be-announced roster addition at DE as a new player was present at practice. Dont'a Hightower continues to warm up w/ DEs.
Phil PerryVerified account @PhilAPerry 11m11 minutes ago
Pats have 3 new faces at practice (wearing No. 66, 64, 46). Edelman, Mitchell, Ebner, Langi, McClellin, Garcia, Solder, Rivers all missing.
Phil PerryVerified account @PhilAPerry 11m11 minutes ago
Slater and Burkhead returned to practice today. Grissom and Wise, who left after warmups last week, are participating. Good sign for them.
Mingo may be a closer comp... fwiw I thought Cooper was really a throw-in on the Jones trade, and the 2nd (Thuney) and the 4th (Mitchell) were the central assets.
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There was no fourth; they got a two and subsequently dealt it for the three (Thuney) and the four (Mitchell).
We'll never know for sure how central Cooper was to that trade, but he was getting paid real money (a little less than $2.5 MM, which is starter money for a G) and he ran with the ones in the camp until he got hurt. Arizona might have cut him had they not traded him, so he might have been a throw-in from their standpoint, but the Patriots were willing to pay full freight on him rather than risk losing out in the FA market, which tells me they valued him.
Mike ReissVerified account @MikeReiss 30m30 minutes ago
New players in Patriots locker room: Mikey Bart (64), Nick Usher (66) and Christian Kunitz (46).
New players in Patriots locker room: Mikey Bart (64), Nick Usher (66) and Christian Kunitz (46).