Quote:
Originally Posted by HRBAKER
Steve as more of an interested observer - have any of NE's skill folks ever left and "blown up" somewhere else?
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Short answer - Hardly any that I can recall, and none recently (Plunkett won a SB after he left but was pretty much the same just on a better team)
Longer answer -
Quite a few have come to NE either underused or coming from roles that weren't appropriate - like Welker. He was really good in Miami, but they had him only doing returns the first couple years - Averaged around 3 targets a game. His last year there he averaged 6 targets a game, but only caught about half. Totally killed NE though. And while he's not Mannings favorite he's still doing very well for the number of times he's thrown to. Best catch % since 07 not as good yards/catch, but he is 33 and a most guys who go over the middle as much as he does/did drastically slow down after 30.
Some came here with supposed "issues" Like Corey Dillon. Yeah he bitched a lot after a few years in Cincinnati, but that team was really bad the whole time he was there but kept claiming they were going to get it together. 7 years of that along with the constant turnover of very mediocre QBs would make anyone interested in winning a bit grouchy.
Moss also came in as a washed up malcontent. I was actually disappointed they took him instead of T.O. (So yes, my football skills judgements may be a bit suspect
)
Many of those guys were at or near the end of their careers and got in a year or a few more playing at a decent level. Or in the case of Moss a very high level.
A LOT of NE players who have left, skills players or otherwise have done well after leaving. Not blown up, but not much falloff if any. With the number of supporting cast getting moved every year it was and still is fun to see how many EX NE players were in any particular game. Almost all the playoff contenders had a couple.
What fascinates me is the system - I've watched a few shows that actually had access to Bellicheck coaching, and even the approach is somewhat different than some coaches. And it all seems to be geared towards having the people who are happy with a role, and not overloading the guys with potential. One interview with a player who'd been and gone in a year or two was interesting. The player said his first team basically handed him a thousand pages of plays and said "learn this by the end of camp" Then sent him out on plays he wasn't suited for or into bad matchups. Result? Poor performance and poor confidence. Patriots? He said they had him learn basic stuff in camp but focused on skills and work. First week he had a total of two plays he had to know inside out and had to know what situation they thought those plays might be used. And when that situation came up he had to be standing there ready to go in. Week 2 a few more plays. And if he was ready he got to go in on plays he was suited for usually with a decent matchup. Result? Less playing time fewer plays, but far better results and very high confidence.
(I don't have the skills for sure, but I've heard that
knowing you can do what's needed to compete is way more important than it might seem)
Steve B