Pats Sign TE Hunter Henry

Mooch

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
4,494
With Smith and Henry on board, it makes tons of sense they targeted complimentary WRs like Agholor and Bourne. The offense is going to run through the TEs.
And the running game. If we re-sign Andrews, that line will have 5 maulers plus two good blocking TEs.
 

Caspir

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
6,886
You know what this means guys? THE AFC EAST IS WIDE OPEN!

I'm very intrigued by the QB position now. Maybe they grab another WR that isn't Golladay or Samuel, but man, add a real QB and we are cooking.
 

nattysez

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 30, 2010
8,435
At this point you just trade the entire draft for Watson right? Maybe next year's too? They feel like they're a QB away from serious contenders.
Paying Watson his current salary would've precluded 2-3 of these signings. They either need Cam or a rookie QB on a reasonable deal. They are not trading for an established QB at this point.
 

Ralphwiggum

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 27, 2012
9,827
Needham, MA
I haven't listened to Felger in years but I imagine at this point he'll use all of this to bolster his "the cap is crap" bullshit, wonder why they don't do this every year, and then speculate that BB and Kraft are only doing this because it pissed them off that Brady won without them last year.
 

Fishercat

Svelte and sexy!
SoSH Member
May 18, 2007
8,266
Manchester, N.H.
It's probably just the euphoric FA optimism posting but Cam Newton specifically seems substantially scarier with high end TEs in the fold too, especially given both can block. Short passing options who can also run those inside routes well and block for designed or option run plays? It feels like a lot of these moves are designed to take advantage of what Cam can do within an offense in terms of the running and scrambling games.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

posts way less than 18% useful shit
SoSH Member
Nov 17, 2010
14,426
They can't be doing all of this and then roll with Cam Newton at QB, right? Right?
I think that's the plan. Lean heavy into the new rosters strengths. Big formations, runs, play actions up the seam to TEs and over the head to Agholor, lots of big redzone targets for Cams wobbly throws.

Same idea as what Carolina did before McCaffrey, really. Big bodies, play actions, strong line.
 

NJ_Sox_Fan

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 2, 2006
10,736
NJ
At this point you just trade the entire draft for Watson right? Maybe next year's too? They feel like they're a QB away from serious contenders.
Has to be the play, no? Offer whatever, and if that fails, move up and grab one of the QBs in the draft?
 

boca

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
509
This is just bat shit crazy at this point and I'm here for all of it :)
 

Shelterdog

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Feb 19, 2002
15,375
New York City
They can't be doing all of this and then roll with Cam Newton at QB, right? Right?
Cam's pretty well suited to what the team is going to be -- a big physical run heavy offense with a big tough defense. two tight ends, huge o-line, some FB-H-back types in vitale and keene--it's what you'd do on offense with either a QB who can run or a QB who is young and who you don't want to rely on.
 

Sille Skrub

Dope
Dope
SoSH Member
Mar 3, 2004
5,930
Massachusetts
I haven't listened to Felger in years but I imagine at this point he'll use all of this to bolster his "the cap is crap" bullshit, wonder why they don't do this every year, and then speculate that BB and Kraft are only doing this because it pissed them off that Brady won without them last year.
This precisely where he will go. Can't wait to hear it, haha.

Like shooting fish in a barrel....
 

AlNipper49

Huge Member
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 3, 2001
44,855
Mtigawi
My main problem here is that I'm such a shitbag homer that over the past 24 hours I've convinced myself that Smith is twice the player that Henry is.

FANBOY GOGGLES ACTIVATE!
 

Captaincoop

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
13,487
Santa Monica, CA
Cam's pretty well suited to what the team is going to be -- a big physical run heavy offense with a big tough defense. two tight ends, huge o-line, some FB-H-back types in vitale and keene--it's what you'd do on offense with either a QB who can run or a QB who is young and who you don't want to rely on.
No excuses for Cam this year. At least go get a rookie QB who we can dream on while Cam is bouncing passes to our expensive free agent toys.
 

Justthetippett

New Member
Aug 9, 2015
2,392
Since the Hernandez/Gronk heyday (and to a lesser extent Gronk/Bennett), I have been wondering what BB’s next innovation would be. I guess it’s a return to the two TEs but with a more mobile quarterback? Makes one wonder what effect the Lamar Jackson Ravens’ offensive explosion from 2019 might have had on his thinking.
 

kiljiggly

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
55
At this point, should we surprised when BB trades up and picks Pitts? I mean, Jonnu has spent some good time in the backfield too.
 

ZMart100

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 15, 2008
3,188
Since the Hernandez/Gronk heyday (and to a lesser extent Gronk/Bennett), I have been wondering what BB’s next innovation would be. I guess it’s a return to the two TEs but with a more mobile quarterback? Makes one wonder what effect the Lamar Jackson Ravens’ offensive explosion from 2019 might have had on his thinking.
BB invested heavily in TE early on in his tenure too. Daniel Graham was a 1st rounder in 2002, Benjamin Watson in the 1st round in 2004 and David Thomas in the 3rd round in 2006.
 

Eck'sSneakyCheese

Member
SoSH Member
May 11, 2011
10,391
NH
Since the Hernandez/Gronk heyday (and to a lesser extent Gronk/Bennett), I have been wondering what BB’s next innovation would be. I guess it’s a return to the two TEs but with a more mobile quarterback? Makes one wonder what effect the Lamar Jackson Ravens’ offensive explosion from 2019 might have had on his thinking.
This was exactly my thought. Mobile QB, some complete TEs, good RBs and a deep threat just opens the offense to do anything. Of course the throws have to be on target but hey... we’ll worry about that later
 

axx

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
8,126
This was exactly my thought. Mobile QB, some complete TEs, good RBs and a deep threat just opens the offense to do anything. Of course the throws have to be on target but hey... we’ll worry about that later
They have to be after Lance or Jones now right?
 

SeoulSoxFan

I Want to Hit the World with Rocket Punch
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jun 27, 2006
22,089
A Scud Away from Hell
Since the Hernandez/Gronk heyday (and to a lesser extent Gronk/Bennett), I have been wondering what BB’s next innovation would be. I guess it’s a return to the two TEs but with a more mobile quarterback? Makes one wonder what effect the Lamar Jackson Ravens’ offensive explosion from 2019 might have had on his thinking.
Didn't the Pats roll out a 3-TE set against Miami a few seasons back?

Can you even field 4 TEs on one play?

To borrow one of my favorite song titles, is this heaven or Las Vegas?
 

RIFan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
3,087
Rhode Island
They are going to create matchup problems galore, especially in the red zone. If Jules is healthy he will be open all day long.
 

Pablo's TB Lover

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 10, 2017
5,959
From NO TEs to ALL the TEs. It might not be a coincidence he signed here right after Gronk resigned with the Bucs. Am thinking he would have needed to take a big discount to play with Brady, and Tom probably told the team brass that he wants to bring the band back together, and only add to the existing skill pieces on offense if possible.
 

Saints Rest

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Didn't the Pats roll out a 3-TE set against Miami a few seasons back?

Can you even field 4 TEs on one play?

To borrow one of my favorite song titles, is this heaven or Las Vegas?
I think they had a 4 TE setup a couple times around the goal line. Gronk, Allen, ??, ??. Or maybe it was when Bennett was there? And that TE from Indy who ended up doing nothing. . . Scott Chandler.

EDIT: added Chandler's last name.
EDIT: It was 2015. They had Gronk, Hooman, Chandler, and a guy named Michael Williams.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,376
I mean, this offense suddenly has all the weapons they need. Absolute mauler of an offensive line, an explosive RB in Harris (plus a dependable backup in Michel), two top-level TEs (not Kittle/Kelce caliber, but right below them), two high-quality WRs (again, not elite, but very very good), plus depth.

It's absolutely crazy this transformation.

If they had a good QB on a rookie deal then this offense would be ridiculous. Cam - if he's the starter - has NO excuses (not that he made any last year). He'll have a full offseason to work with his teammates, he'll have another year in the system, and he'll be playing with loads of talented players.
 

Shelterdog

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Feb 19, 2002
15,375
New York City
Man Bill must really be pissed about Brady winning.
Nah, he just saw that the team sucked and that he had a unique opportunity (namely that very few teams had cap space when he had a huge amount of cap space and that any contracts given out this year will seem like relative bargains in a year or two as the cap rises).

I also wouldn't be shocked if some teams are hurting financially and don't want to be aggressive in free agency regardless of the cap. 2020 must have been shitty for a lot of teams and there's no guaranty that stadiums will be full in 2021.