2013 New England Patriots

Don Wassall

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Great idea, would the Patriots dare to do it?


The New England Patriots Should Bring In Austin Collie

by Erik Lambert

One can understand why Bill Belichick felt comfortable sticking with rookies over veterans in his offense heading into a season. After all, the last time he did it his team went 14-2 and two rookie tight ends were a huge reason Tom Brady won his second MVP award. However, this season appears different, and not in a good way.

Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman cover up ineffectual rookies

Belichick has a tremendous record as a head coach and talent manager. However, a big problem over the course of his career with the New England Patriots was evaluating quality talent at wide receiver in the draft. The most productive pass catchers during his tenure like Randy Moss and Wes Welker were free agent additions. His most successful draft pick was Deion Branch way back in 2002. Since then the Patriots have routinely missed on a number of attempts. Opening week offered few signs of progress too. Tom Brady threw 52 passes in the game but only completed 29 to five different receivers. Doing the heavy lifting for the day were free agent acquisition Danny Amedola and veteran reserve Julian Edelman. The only rookie standout was Kenbrell Thompkins who caught four passes for 42 yards. Rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld, a preseason fantasy favorite, did not register a catch. Worse still, Amendola is reportedly injured and will miss the week two games against the Jets, a problem that has dogged him since his days in St. Louis.

Buffalo Bills and Rob Gronkowski injury make Collie an option

So why bring in Austin Collie? It’s well established the former Colts receiver has had his share of injury problems, most of them having to do with concussions. This caused him to miss most of the 2012 season. Given the ongoing fight between ex-players and the NFL about concussions, it has been difficult for players like him to get signed. Still, he has proven productive when healthy. In 2011, with quarterbacks like Dan Orlovsky and Curtis Painter under center in Indianapolis, he managed 514 receiving yards. A year earlier with Peyton Manning he had 649 along with eight touchdowns in just nine games. In the right conditions he can still be dangerous at age 27. The New England Patriots offense can use it. Even before they lost Amendola, the unit struggled against a Buffalo Bills defense they had routinely shredded over the past few seasons. The continued absence of tight end Rob Gronkowski certainly hasn’t helped. If they hope to run the team through Tom Brady as in years past then it is left to the Patriots to not linger too long on their wait for the rookies to do something. Collie is experienced, eager and productive when given a chance. At the right price he is a low risk/high reward proposition.

http://nflmocks.com/2013/09/11/new-england-patriots-bring-austin-collie/
 

Wes Woodhead

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A great idea indeed. I doubt it will happen, but boy I sure would like to see it.
 

Freethinker

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Yes, this would make perfect sense but since we're talking about the NFL, it won't happen. I really hope I'm wrong.
 

davidholly

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The Pats mistake was drafting black receivers, you'd think after getting burned so many times they'd learn their lesson.
 

Wes Woodhead

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Did the New England Patriots Make a Huge Mistake Letting Welker, Woodhead Leave?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-a-huge-mistake-letting-welker-woodhead-leave

The Pats having both Welker, and Woodhead on the same team was a chance for something truly phenomenal, and special. I made the mistake of getting my hopes up way too high during that time. As good as that few years was it should have been MUCH better. That was a period of time that could have made even the most brainwashed fan admit that little white guys can dominate too. We will never see two elite white players under 200 pounds, and under 5'10 on the same team again.
 

Thrashen

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Reports are that Danny “Vanilla Bob Sanders” Amendola has a pulled groin, a torn adductors muscle in his hip, and may also have a sports hernia and could miss more than a month while recovering from surgery. Check out this amusing “injury update” provided by “Fox Sports Boston,” which apparently thinks that Amendola is a running back instead of a WR…

MyFoxBoston.com) – New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola could be sidelined for about a month if it is determined he has a sports hernia and will need surgery, FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer said.
Glazer reported Amendola has torn adductors, but "he's received conflicting reports from doctors on whether or not he has a sports hernia." He is getting "more opinions on Sunday" and could be out for about a month if surgery is required.

Amendola was sidelined for Thursday's game against the New York Jets, listed as inactive with a groin injury.

During the team's opener against the Buffalo Bills, Amendola ran for 104 yards averaging 10.4 yards a carry in the team's 23-21 win. However, it was during that game Amendola reinjured his groin while running a pattern, reports Sports Illustrated.

Boy, that first half of action against the Bills in the first week of the season must’ve been as treacherous as the Roman Coliseum. What else could be expected from a guy that missed 23 games due to injury in his career, the majority of which occurred in the past two seasons since he became a starter in St. Louis. Unfortunately, even if the talented wideout recovers and returns in October/November, I don’t have high hopes that he can remain healthy.
 
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Westside

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Was browsing Joohoo, Amendola will have to have surgery on his groin. Out 6 to 8 weeks. Damn, was counting on his second break out year.
 

backrow

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The Boston Herald reports Danny Amendola (groin) will not undergo sports-hernia surgery, and is expected back in a "few weeks."

Slapped with a vague 2-6 week timeline in anonymous reports, there's now a chance Amendola may miss only 1-2 more games. Of course, it's never safe to assume anything for a player with Amendola's injury history, and the Patriots are likely loath to rush him at the risk of a setback. For now, consider Week 5 Amendola's most likely return date, with Week 4 being a long-shot possibility. With the lid the Patriots keep on their injury information, there's a chance we won't learn Amendola's return date ahead of time.
 

Thrashen

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There are countless conflicting reports surmising that Rob Gronkowski will/won’t play on Sunday against the Bucs…so it seems like a game-time decision (probably 70-30 that he won’t play). For his team, a club that made him the highest paid TE in NFL history and has been struggling mightily in his absence, Gronkowski needs to play. The “Polish Powerhouse” has been “resting” the entire off-season, missing every OTA, workout, 7-on-7, lifting session, and all of training camp / pre-season while his teammates were grinding through. He’s been “limited” in practice for weeks now, and he’s obviously lost muscle mass…

tlumacki_patriotspractice_sports611.r.jpg

CAPTION: Skinny Gronk

Gronk’s ridiculous array of injuries, dating back to his broken forearm in garbage time against the Colts in Week #11 of the 2012 season, have rightfully become a national spectacle. So if he doesn’t play against the Bucs, why would his back/forearm magically be healed some six days later against Atlanta? Are they holding him out simply so he can regain his “playing shape?”

With any luck, Gronkowski and exclusively-injured WR, Danny Amendola, will soon join Brady, Edelman, Sudfeld, Mulligan, Solder, Mankins, Wendell, Connnolly, and Vollmer and transform their 2013 campaigns into a saturnalia of white offensive dominance. If only they hadn’t let Woodhead sign elsewhere…
 

davidholly

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They're paranoid to put him into games now. After they put him into the playoff game against the Texans and he re-injured his arm even worse than it was previously they've been scared ****less.
 

Kaptain

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I'm somewhat excited for Austin Collie, but the non-use and release of Zack Sudfeld has been more than a mild disappointment. He won a job in preseason much more than Kembrell the criminal Thompkins did yet Thompson was continually targeted while the Patriots offense hasn't looked worse in the Belechik era. Hopefully, Collie doesn't end up the fodder they made out of Tebow.

It's obvious that some of recent moves of the Patriots have really hurt the offense. Woodhead is proving he is the best back in San Diego while Ridley is proving to be much less than mediocre. Wes Welker is helping make Peyton Manning's season the greatest ever. Kembrell Thompkins, in the meantime, has had 28 targets and only15 catches - that's 53%. Ouch! He does has 47% upside though!
 
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Ieroner

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Thompkins is not the one who makes me mad. He was awful in his first game, missing one ball after another, but since then he's improved a bit. Plus he was an undrafted free agent so it's not like the Patriots wasted a draft pick on him. The one that really bothers me is Dobson. They're both still bad but at least Thompkins seems to be getting better while Dobson does not seem to be improving. Plus the Pats wasted a 2nd round pick on him that could have gone to a player who is more reliable. I feel sorry for him for getting that neck injury and I wish him a speedy recovery but I'm hoping the Pats get rid of him and he ends up with some team I don't care about.
 

Thrashen

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With the recent additions of WR Austin Collie and DT Chris Jones, New England currently has 25 whites on their 53-man roster, or 47%. In the past, Belichick’s rosters have been a dichotomous contrast of white-heavy offensive personnel coupled with a coal-black defensive unit. Over the past 2-3 seasons, a more balanced roster, featuring whites at every position other than CB, has been instituted...

QB -- Brady, Mallett
RB -- James Develin
WR -- Collie, Amendola, Edelman
TE -- Gronkowski, Mulligan
OL -- Solder, Mankins, Wendell, Connolly, Vollmer, Svitek
DL --Ninkovich, Bequette
DT -- Jones, Vellano
LB -- Fletcher, White
DB -- Gregory, Ebner
K/P/LS -- Gostowski, Allen, Aiken

The only “iffy†white player on the roster is DT, Chris Jones. I’d heard of Jones during his time with the Texans and, at first glace, thought he might be an extremely light-skinned black. Jones has light blue eyes, dark brown hair (that appears to be straight), a broad nose, a round head, and large lips. Why do you guys think?

Jones.jpg

CAPTION: Jones in High School

BGSU-CHRIS-JONES-12-15.jpg

CAPTION: Jones At Bowling Green

20130901-144423.jpg

CAPTION: Jones in Houston

Something to ponder. Had TE Zach Sudfeld not been unceremoniously released last week and had one white offensive lineman (Braxton Cave, Josh Kline, or Jordan Devey, for instance) been promoted from the practice squad over sumo guard, Chris Barker, New England would have had the NFL’s first “white majority†roster (27 players) since the early 1990’s Buffalo Bills. Are the Patriots intentionally limiting the number of white players in order to stay below the “unofficial†magic number?
 

Thrashen

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Additional thoughts concering the current Patriot roster...

Why keep Michael Hoomanawanui instead of Zach Sudfeld when you already have a traditional blocking tight end in Matthew Mulligan?

Why promote sumo OL Chris Barker (signed days prior to Week #1) to the active 53-man roster when Josh Kline practiced with the squad all off-season?

Why cut LB’s Jeff Tarpinian, EJ Edds, and Niko Koutouvides only to sign a black nobody like Ja’Gared Davis to the active 53-man roster?

I’m not complaining about these roster moves…just pondering some curious moves that conveniently produced 25 whites on their current 53-man squad instead of 27 or more.
 

rajuncajun

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Light Skinned Black or a Dark Skinned White?

I have always laughed when someone refered to someone as a "light skinned black guy", why don't we say, "dark skinned white guy"? Shouldn't we have a standard? For instance, if a guy has a Mom AND a Dad, speaks the Kings English and is educated, why shouldn't he be a "dark skinned white guy"???
 

white is right

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I have always laughed when someone refered to someone as a "light skinned black guy", why don't we say, "dark skinned white guy"? Shouldn't we have a standard? For instance, if a guy has a Mom AND a Dad, speaks the Kings English and is educated, why shouldn't he be a "dark skinned white guy"???
Historically guys like this were considered Negros. Obviously genetics wise he is predominately Caucasoid, but politically it's tough to be "White" if you have any known Black ancestry. Many famous "Blacks" of achievement only have the same or marginally more ******* ancestry than this player. Also if he were a qb the Black racial ambulance chasers would not allow him to call himself White or probably mixed race. Look at Tiger Woods.
 

Thrashen

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After nearly 10 months without playing in an NFL game, it’s seems quite evident that superstar TE, Rob Gronkowski, will finally play against the Saints. From “ESPN.comâ€â€¦

The New England Patriots are optimistic doctors will clear Rob Gronkowski to play this week and that the tight end will make his season debut Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, according to league sources. Gronkowski has missed the Patriots' first five games following a series of surgeries on his fractured forearm and ailing back. ProFootballTalk.com had earlier reported that Gronkowski was expected to return this week.

20131010__pevearpatriots~p1_200.jpg


Newly signed WR, Austin Collie, was inactive last week against the Bengals but could suit up against the Saints. He’s been practicing with the team all week and is wearing jersey #10…

403-1uljrW.AuSt.55.jpeg


Apparently, Collie is making fast friends with Edelman and Amendola. From the “Boston Heraldâ€â€¦

New Pats receiver Austin Collie met with the media for the first time -- from his new locker, which is Tim Tebow's old locker -- and discussed a wide range of topics, from his availability for Sunday, to his friendship with Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, to his initial reactions to joining the Patriots.

New England is probably a dream destination for Collie, who was recently cut from “Jiggaboo Jim’s Jungle.†The Patriots are unpredictable with concern to playing time for new guys, so it’s difficult to tell if Austin will receive any snaps on offense.

With any luck, Dobson and Boyce will continue to struggle with drops and injuries, leaving the door open for Collie, Amendola, Edelman and Gronkowski to become the primary receiving threats. Of course, a deep playoff run and an eventual Superbowl appearance against the Packers, Vikings, or Cowboys would be nice, too!
 

davidholly

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For as much as the media blathers on about team unity it seems that NFL teams are about as unified as prison populations. Even on 95% black teams like the Steelers whites like Miller and Roethlisberger stick together.
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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Wow, never would have guessed that Jones was part black. I remember some people were surprised that I picked out that Kris Humphries and some other H.S football player was part black right away (which seemed fairly obvious to me), but Jones looked really white to me.

I tend to consider players that are 1/4 Amero-Indian, East Asian or Middle Eastern and 3/4 white as white football players because they get no advantage from the caste system and usually identify with whites in the locker room. However, you know with the caste system that an American football player that is even 1/8 black and good will be pushed as black and afroletic- so I think we'd have to consider Jones black.

Black and white cliques seem to form in NFL locker rooms due to the size of the rosters. You don't see this much in the NBA as teams stick together more. In general blacks usually prefer segregating themselves with other blacks more than whites prefer to separate themselves with other whites nowadays. I submit that the minor genetic differences, but also significant cultural differences makes race mixing between blacks and whites an irrational idea as it isn't a good match.
 
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