Let's agree it's silly to talk about how much of a drop there is. We all agree Lewis was exceptional, yes? We all agree there's no reason to project White as being exceptional, yes? Then we all must agree the offense is going to be less "dynamic and effective", right?
Why? Because of the organization's ability to identify players that fit this role in their system. I will leave Faulk out but Woodhead, Vereen, and Lewis gives BB/McD/Caserio plenty of rope when it comes to them believing White can fill this role. He was kept on the active roster for a reason and I am sure it was for a situation such as this given Lewis's medical history.
Your logic tree falls apart because there are other ways the offense can be dynamic and effective besides a RB like Lewis.
Definitely agree with this. I think White has looked pretty solid in preseason games, looked alright against the Jets, and the supporting cast means he will be set up to succeed. He'll be a drop-off from Lewis, but White will be productive I think.
Your logic implies that any loss can be overcome with zero drop in productivity by just going to other things. Lose Gronk? No big deal!
Well said. People thinking that losing Lewis is no big deal will find out in a hurry what a huge dropoff in talent this is and it will limit space for the other weapons quite a bit.
I haven't seen many people argue that. Everyone in this thread that I've seen seems to agree that Brady and Gronk are the only two truly irreplaceable players. (N.B. They won 11 games without Brady and got to back-to-back AFC Championships without Gronk for large portions)
Interestingly, Cadet's twitter account has a current location of Foxborough, MA. Not sure if it was unchanged after his release or if he has been hanging around the area until another opportunity pops up: https://twitter.com/TravarisCadet39
They didn't have Lewis last year, and the other players on offense managed to find space just fine.
Right, they had Vereen. There's no Vereen guy to step up. Lewis was the new Vereen and now he's gone.
Then you should also be shocked at people who suggest that the Patriots can not recover from the loss of Lewis.
He threw a nearly identical block in the Miami game, too. It just didn't get as much attention. He read the play perfectly and met a blitzing linebacker right at the line of scrimmage with everything he had. I liked that he could be so aggressive in pass protection and played hard even when his number wasn't called. Oh well, next year!
I am unfortunately old enough to remember a Patriots season going down the drain in the final pre-season game. But you don't have to go back that far. Look at the Cowboys and Steelers this season. This is bearable. The injuries just have to stop.
Sounds like he could have signed to the practice squad and didn't want to. Remember, it's not like optioning a MLBer to AAA; an NFLer has to be waived and clear waivers and then he's free to sign to the PS - but he can choose another option (as Coleman did when signing to Seattle's PS after the Pats waived him before the season).
My impression (based on preseason for White, since he's seen so little game action) is kinda like what those stats suggest - Lewis was a special dynamic player both running and receiving and with the ball in his hands, and White isn't. White will probably be useful enough to beat LBs in the passing game, which is the bare minimum for that third-down back role, but I don't think he'll offer the same effectiveness running the ball or with yards after catch. He's shown a little shiftiness in the open field but zero ability to break tackles, which is consistent with what Matt Waldman wrote about him pre-draft. I suspect they'll rotate Bolden in more as he's kind of a two-way guy, but the big beneficiary is Blount, who will probably lead the team in carries every game out now.
Welker didn't seem to lose his lateral quickness so hopefully Lewis comes back good as new. Non contact injuries suck, no one to focus the rage on.
I appreciate that. As mentioned in the Phins thread, a lot of Pats fans are also wishing speedy recovery for Wake.
Noone disagrees that the drop from Lewis to anyone, including Vereen, is a big loss. We disagree that Vereen is so much better than White/Bolden that the offense is now screwed.
Literally nobody said the offense was screwed. Somebody literally said they expected no drop in effectiveness - though this seems to have been retracted. There was some decent discussion about how big the drop would be but most of the rest is actually agreement but with poor reading comprehension.Noone disagrees that the drop from Lewis to anyone, including Vereen, is a big loss. We disagree that Vereen is so much better than White/Bolden that the offense is now screwed.
The other explanation for "next man up" is that we agree internally, but we're just hoping you're wrong.
Maybe in 1985.
Well there is only one ball to go around, no matter how many weapons you have. An offense of Gronk, Edelman, Amendola, LaFell, Chandler, Blount, Bolden, and White, with Brady at the helm, should still score an awful lot of points.
I agree, no one should have said the offense was "crushed" or screwed, because people should know better.
Crud. Cadet would have made all the sense in the world for NE. And why would he sign with SF? That is a team going absolutely nowhere, and in NE he presumably could have a fair amount of playing time and obviously a shot at a ring. Were the 49ers offering that much more money?
1) We don't know if the Pats made any offer
Yeah, makes sense. In any case, he would have made sense for the Patriots. Wish he was here. Who do you guys think they'll add? Can't go with just 3 RB.
Right. I like him, but I think the guy they bring in has to be a pass-catching threat.
If White or Bolden goes down, then I would agree they need to sign someone/activate Iosefa off the practice squad (who I admittedly have 0 clue about). But because they already have built in depth with White and Bolden, I imagine they replace Lewis' roster spot with one of the OL from the practice squad OR if one of the injured lineman appears ready to return this week (Cannon or Vollmer), maybe they activate a LB/safety type to replace Bolden on special teams.
