ITP Scouts The Patriots WR Injury Crisis: The Process and Game Plan

Soxfan121 – I think the ITP effort is great and I love the idea. However, I find myself rarely venturing over to the site. I feel that the articles pose interesting questions and ideas, but the execution sometimes lacks direction, genuine insight, or depth of analysis. Today was no exception. I was very interested to see today’s guest contributor, but I found little inside information.


Roster Additions


From the article, I learn that the Patriots are “scouring the 31 other practice squads for wide receiver talent and depth” and yet “their ‘emergency lists’ are already stocked” and will “likely go with someone they’ve already vetted.” The first statement appears to contradict the subsequent two, as it suggests both that the Patriots are looking for talent on practice squads while also working from a limited list that they created earlier in the season. At the risk of being overly harsh, this is a PK-ish hedging of bets.


Worse, the conclusion is that the Patriots will activate someone from their own practice squad, especially due to the short week. Nothing in the first four paragraphs really builds to that conclusion, so it’s more distracting than insightful.


So, who is likely on the emergency list? This I'd like to know. Since the article touched on the process as a whole, is there a deadline for certain roster moves in normal weeks? For instance, if signing a player from an outside practice squad or free agency, when does this need to occur in order for the player to reasonably contribute? The last instance I could find was Justin Coleman. He was signed on a Wednesday and did not play that Sunday, but has since become a contributor.


Finally, recent history shows that the Patriots will promote players from their own practice squad on the Saturday before a game (Chris Barker on 11/14, Brandon King on 10/10). What is the thought process? Is this mostly related to scheme, depth, or overall talent? Are the late changes related more to a last minute decision about the player promoted, or was there a delay due to deciding who should be cut? I realize this is fluid, but what is the insight for this particular week?


Schemes


So, given their personnel constraints, the Pats are more likely to promote a TE than nab a receiver. There is some insight there, and the article then moves onto schemes. Unfortunately, it begins with a non sequitur flow:

  • The Patriots have employed four TE sets in certain situations.
  • Can they use this formation at other times?
  • The Patriots would prefer to use three receiver (11) sets.
Next, the article states that the Pats might use 13 or 14 packages to split out Gronkowski out wide. In the accompanying video, I can’t tell what the exact package is but I think it’s a 12 or 11. So is the 13 or 14 package even necessary to split out Gronkowski? What is the point here, the personnel package or the scheme? I don’t see a direct relation, and I'm not seeing what the author's point is.


Regardless, the next paragraph is that the heavier packages (13, 14) could limit running room. So, bad idea for the Patriots? Well, it could also protect Brady better. So, good? I'm left to conclude: Maybe!


After reading this article, I do not feel much better informed and I definitely do not feel that I gained any insider insight.


This is meant as constructive criticism and I hope it’s perceived that way. I figure it’s better to express my thoughts rather than simply turn away from the site.


Note: Massive hat tip to ITP/Mark Schofield’s article on personnel packages (http://insidethepylon.com/film-study/film-study-nfl/offense-film-study-nfl/2014/09/08/understanding-football-offensive-personnel-packages/). It is—literally—the most informative article I could find on the Web.
 

Curtis Pride

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 25, 2005
1,374
Watertown, MA
I've read the article, and I don't think there's any problems with it. While I'll let Soxfan121 respond to your post, I do want to respond to this portion:
From the article, I learn that the Patriots are “scouring the 31 other practice squads for wide receiver talent and depth” and yet “their ‘emergency lists’ are already stocked” and will “likely go with someone they’ve already vetted.” The first statement appears to contradict the subsequent two, as it suggests both that the Patriots are looking for talent on practice squads while also working from a limited list that they created earlier in the season. At the risk of being overly harsh, this is a PK-ish hedging of bets.
When I read that section I didn't see any contradiction. The way I read it is that during the season the Patriots scout all the practice squad players and maintain a list of players they would try to get in case they need one. Then when the time their need arises, they already have a list of players they have vetted, and try to bring one or two of them in. As opposed to scouring practice squads when the need arises and having to vet them before the next game. It's simply another area where the Patriots are fully prepared for any contingencies that would crop up during the season.

And, of course, they would update that list each week as the season goes on.
 

soxfan121

JAG
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
23,043
@NW Sox Fan Thanks the constructive criticism, and for not reading? ;)

Someone with as many interesting thoughts on a >700 word piece as you should probably be submitting copy to us.

We thought Dan's discussion of what a professional scout would be doing/reporting is a neat bit of "inside baseball" shop talk.

After reading this article, I do not feel much better informed and I definitely do not feel that I gained any insider insight.

I can see how you see "behind the scenes" as promising "inside information", so I understand why you feel that way. ITP works hard to inform and educate, but we don't have Bill Belichick's email so guesses and talk about the process is what we can do.

Of course, if they run a lot of 4 TE sets, you heard it here first OK? :)
 
Apr 7, 2006
2,505
Great article from ITP, by which I mean YET ANOTHER great article from ITP. I found it informative and succinct and enjoyed the insider's view of how teams operate in mid season crises like this one. Thanks!