New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

ChicagoJoe

paulie21 wrote: »

Matt Flynn released. Ryan Lindley signed

Flynn will hardly be noticed, was number 3 pick anyway and injury prone. If Tom Brady is suspended for any length of time the team would need a player behind Jimmy Garoppolo.

JCTO

Trade made for 2nd year Bears OL Ryan Groy out of sconnie in exchange for LB Matthew Wells. Groy had a fairly decent college career and looked ok with bears when he got a shot

empacher

Butler is living up to his hype. Sticking to the GB WRs like glue

BaronVon

It looks like James White is definitely the Shane Vereen replacement. He's looking good!

BKWDR

Gray. Some lad.

AbusesToilets

Gray looks like a FB

Son Of A Vidic

It might only be preseason, but hey, with the nonsense we've witnessed these last 7 or 8 months. I'll take any opportunity to just talk about football, so here's my thoughts on last night's game.

Glad to see Jimmy G made it off the field last night in one piece. His O line was largely non-existent and nearly got him killed a couple of times. They might have been mostly been back ups last night, but they looked quite poor and 7 sacks is not acceptable. Considering Jimmy was throwing to third stringers, I think he had a solid night and got some more experience under his belt. That experience mainly being playing without an O line.

I couldn't see Boyce making the roster before camp started and last night confirms it for me. I thought he was utterly useless. They were clearly force feeding him last night to see what he could do and he did nothing and getting mugged for the Int is not good enough at this level. He seems to be the kind of player who'll make one play for every 6 or 7 passes you throw his way. And his drops in camp continued on the field again last night. When Jimmy G stopped targeting Boyce, he completed the next 15 passes in a row and that pretty much says it all for me. He looks no better than last year.

Gray showed up on my radar last preseason and he looks hungrier than ever now. He's a real powerhouse back and looks to be in great shape. I thought he had a good game. Hopefully now he's outta Bills doghouse and can go on to have a very good season. The lead RB role is between him and Blount and I hope their competitiveness will help push each others performances.

James White did nothing with his run game but caught 4 of the 5 passes that came his way. We need a back than can be a passing option and last night for the first time, I felt maybe he can offer that. So hopefully he can build on that for the rest of the preseason games and solidify a chemistry with the QB's.

Defensively, Butler once again just grabs attention with his excellent coverage and his natural ball hawking abilities. He is our best CB and if he stays healthy, nobody is taking his starting spot.

Logan Ryan on the other hand is a disaster. His play and coverage on the TD was on a par with some of our shockingly poor secondary play from 2011/12. There's 3 more preseason games to go but I can't see him being anything but a liability for us if he's at CB and I think opposing QB's will know that and will punish us for it.

Trey Flowers had a lovely sack on Rodgers against their starting O line and was beginning to disrupt them when he went down with an injury. Hopefully it's nothing too serious and he can return quickly. Overall I was happy enough with the defense, particularly when Rodgers was on the field. And they noticeably stiffened up on Red Zone defense which is what you always want to see.

BaronVon

I'd agree with Boyce as WR, but he looked decent at kick returns. I think special teams is his only hope to make the roster.

Defence looked decent, some more pass rushing options.

BaronVon

Son Of A Vidic

^ ^ ^

I'm covered in goosebumps after watching that.:)

BaronVon

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

^ ^ ^

I'm covered in goosebumps after watching that.:)

NFL Films certainly know how to package some game highlights! Looking forward to it, on 10th September, 2am on NFL Network!

Son Of A Vidic

infacteh wrote: »

NFL Films certainly know how to package some game highlights! Looking forward to it, on 10th September, 2am on NFL Network!

NFL films are out on their own in that regard and they learned from a master. The late great Ed Sabol was a visionary, a pioneer and a master of his craft and I think NFL films are doing an excellent job of carrying his torch.

paulie21

Gronk, Edelman and McCourty for America's game.

"Do Your Job" will be a one hour special with Bill and all his coaching staff

Son Of A Vidic

JCTO wrote: »

I don't agree about Boyce. He looked like he just wasn't on the same page as Jimmy.

He hasn't been on the same page with Brady or Garoppolo and that's going back to last preseason. Jimmy was 2 of 9 targeting Boyce and 18 of 21 targeting everyone else. Rookie UDFA Chris Harper looked much better than Boyce on the field and caught all seven balls thrown his way. So Boyce would need to significantly improve in the next three preseason games or he'll do well to make the practice squad. And I'll be very surprised if he makes it tbh.

Son Of A Vidic

JCTO wrote: »

At least 4 of those were Jimmy's fault. 3 deep passes and one short pass badly thrown by Jimmy. Yes Boyce missed that long one when he for some daft reason slowed down and Jimmy over threw him also the drops but Boyce actually for the most part was running good routes.

Just to add will he be kept? No probably not the drop after Brady landing the ball in your bread basket is the nail in your coffin. His lack of speed even though he is fast as fook will be the kicker. I just think we can't blame him entirely last night he wasn't that bad Jimmy has to take some of the blame.

Boyce always gets praised for running good routes yet he does nothing. His hands aren't great and they haven't been great in camp either. Jimmy was clearly under instructions to force the ball to him and it didn't work. Boyce lacks an ability to combat defensive backs for the ball and every ball thrown his way you feel there's an int coming. I never said Jimmy was perfect last night, but he was pretty much perfect throwing to everyone else. My lack of faith in Boyce extends well back beyond last night though and as you said, his bad drop from the Brady pass will raise eyebrows. I don't trust the guy and I don't think he's dependable, I'd love him to prove me wrong but I can't see it happening somehow.

Vandango

Jimmy G was spot on last year throwing the deep passes to Tyms. And Tyms is the kind of WR that will compete and go up and get the ball. He made one fine catch from Jimmy last year in heavy traffic and it remineded me a bit of Moss. Boyce just doesn't seem to have that combative ability and always looks like a guy who will get mugged for the ball. He was cut last season but made it back to the practive squad because of injuries. This year I'll think he'll be cut again and gone for good. I much refer to see rookie Chris Harper stick around, because he did better than Boyce and Boyce is a guy who's going into his 3rd season.

Vandango

JCTO wrote: »

I have to laugh, Where is this combative ability thing coming from? It has never been mentioned anywhere about Boyce but all of a sudden 2 people mention it here. Boyce fighting for the ball is not an issue. The interception people are blaming him but that play is debatable at best Could he have done more probably would he have won the ball either way who knows. Simple fact is Jimmy threw behind Boyce 3 times on Thursday and there was absolutely nothing Boyce could do about them. I was not the only one to say it. The commentators said it, Jimmy himself admitted it in the post game interview. Boyce has actually been praised in camp to date for his short to mid ability and fighting for the ball and getting open. He still probably hasn't done enough to stick around unless he tears it up in the remaining pre-season games.

Jimmy on the Deep Balls, He says 2 but there were 3



Anyways it is agree to disagree I just had to comment on the Combative thing and point out the facts.

That's the second time you've said let's agree to disgree and it's almost looks like you don't want anybody dicsussing Boyce. And the reason Boyce is being discussed, is because he was the worst offensive player on the field just two nights ago. He had the ball stolen off him on a couple of plays and poor pass or not, he did nothing to stop the Packers DB taking the ball off him. And talking about his lack of combative skills, here's what the Packers said about him..

On the opening series of the third quarter, Gunter practically stole the ball from Boyce and then raced 28 yards the other way, setting up a TD run by rookie running back Alonzo Harris
http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-locker-room-report/article-1/Rookie-corners-shine-in-preseason-opening-win/027eac70-7ec1-481e-aa2b-aebab1cacda2

Boyce did not fight at all to catch Garoppolo’s pass, allowing LaDarius Gunter to intercept it and bring it down to the New England 29-yard line.
Garoppolo looked upset with himself after the play, but it looked like his receiver didn’t help him out at all on that one.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/08/13/patriots-live-blog-tom-brady-now-likely-to-play-vs-packers/

So it is more than just this thread that thinks Boyce lacked the combative skills you like to see in a WR the other night. You also keep going on about Jimmy being off with a couple of passes and that happens with every QB. But the fact is, Boyce caught only 2 of 11 passes from Brady and Boyce and we can't afford someone like that on the team.

eagle eye

Vandango wrote: »

That's the second time you've said let's agree to disgree and it's almost looks like you don't want anybody dicsussing Boyce. And the reason Boyce is being discussed, is because he was the worst offensive player on the field just two nights ago. He had the ball stolen off him on a couple of plays and poor pass or not, he did nothing to stop the Packers DB taking the ball off him. And talking about his lack of combative skills, here's what the Packers said about him..

So it is more than just this thread that thinks Boyce lacked the combative skills you like to see in a WR the other night. You also keep going on about Jimmy being off with a couple of passes and that happens with every QB. But the fact is, Boyce caught only 2 of 11 passes from Brady and Boyce and we can't afford someone like that on the team.

The thing about Boyce is that he is an excellent route runner and we all know how difficult it is for WR's to understand the playbook. He is very rough at the edges still but there is a chance that he can contribute if he gets more consistent at catching the ball.

Remember Edelman when he first came to New England? He had a lot of drops but eventually found his feet and has become a great one.

Vandango

JCTO wrote: »

I never said he was or wasn't the worst either. I acknowledged the Interception so what is your point. DBs generally beat WR to the ball a lot more than the reverse. It happens quite a lot actually. He probably should have had the ball but many will argue the strength of a DB over that of a WR.

The DB was right behind him when he stole the ball of him and that doesn't happen quite a lot. The least Boyce could have done was to challenge him for the ball to prevent the DB taking the ball and making a catch.

JCTO wrote: »

his combativeness was never an issue before the interception in fact that was the first and only time it was brought up and you will notice many don't seem concerned about it.

Sorry but the guy hasn't played since last preseason, so his lack of combativeness/competing for the ball was only glaringly obvious the other night. And do you seriously think the fact the only a couple of Pats fans have only posted, that this somehow vindicates your position? Give me a break. The fact that a lot of Pats fans don't post regularly in the forum doesn't mean they agree with you or me on Boyce.

JCTO wrote: »

The fact you pulled two Packers reports says it all. It was never a concern before Thursday nights game.

Well if you had of bothered to pay attention you would see that you are wrong. One of those reports was from CBS Boston and not the Packers.

JCTO wrote: »

In all of my posts I was talking about the deep balls to him all 3 of them in fact. He was at fault for 4 missed catches in total 4 of them were Jimmys fault including the 3 deep and the other 1 was 50/50 blame.

You keep going on about something nobody is debating. The issue is his overall performance on the night. He caught 2 of 11 balls and as another poster pointed out previously, Jimmy completed the next 15 passes in a row when he stopped targeting Boyce and the rookie WR caught all of his 7 passes. So a rookie outperformed a player 3 years on the team and that just highlights how poor Boyce was.

JCTO wrote: »

I also acknowledged twice he will probably be cut but my whole point is people using Thursday night as all his fault when Jimmy didn't play well either and was part of the reason Boyce missed just about 50% of balls thrown to him.

I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that Jimmy didn't play well. He had no O line in front of him the whole night, was sacked 7 times. He also had Guard playing LT for the first time. His passing to everyone was very good until it came to Boyce unfortunately.

JCTO wrote: »

Saying Jimmy played well when throwing to others is just pure nonsense also he had an off day as did the whole offense. A lot of work needed by most of those rookies or fringe guys if they want to stick around.

I actually never said anything about Jimmy playing well, but now that you mentioned it. Jimmy completed 18 of 19 passes to the other WR's, which was an excellent 94.7% completion rate with the other WR's. But Jimmy had a dismal 18% completion rate throwing to Boyce.

me89

Really poor 1st quarter.

JCTO

Good to see we think McCourty might be good again back in as a corner Brees picking on him.

AbusesToilets

Brady won't be happy with today's work. 12yds and no 1st downs, pas bien.

JCTO

Harmon is sh1t
Ryan is sh1t
McCourty in at Corner is sh1t

In fact very few players out there playing well. Train wreck.

AbusesToilets

Lewis looks decent, the WRs seem okish, nice TD there.

JCTO

Harper fighting hard for a spot which is good to see.

Son Of A Vidic

Our WR's are seriously banged up. Gibson was going well and goes down with a knee injury. Tyms season could be over with an undisclosed foot injury. Very disappointing that La Fell hasn't made an appearance since the SB. I was really hoping to see him build an even better rapport with Brady for 2015. So I expect they'll put him be on PUP for the first 6 weeks of 2015. Harper built on last weeks performance and is giving the coaches plenty of food for thought. And despite his poor performance last week, I was surprised that they didn't give Boyce a couple of snaps to redeem himself.

me89

Reggie Wayne signed, 1 year deal.

helimachoptor

He'll do well i think

Hazys

We were close to signing him 3 years ago and he had a 1,000 yard season, don't think he'll be the same as 3 years ago but 3 years ago i thought he was close to done then too.

JaMarcusHustle

Darryl Roberts has a "significant" wrist injury that could threaten his season, which sucks.