wdcrob said:
Bolden is practicing on the first team punt return and punt coverage teams, as well as the first team kick return and kick coverage teams. He's probably on the squad as a special teamer, but seems to have lost ground to Blount as a RB.
Which would again indicate that he isn't the solution to the matchup/hernandez problem. Right?
I'm not disputing your original point in terms of it being a possibility, but isn't it also a possibility that the Pats braintrust simply morph the offense into a form that suits the talents of who they have?
The use of Gronk and Hernandez was innovative. Why assume the innovators are now going to stick with a static form and try and make pieces fit into it?
Right. A lot of this argument is based on terrible assumptions.
First of all, Hernandez's role as a ball carrier is being grossly over-stated in this thread. I don't even think he had 20 carries in three years in the NFL. Yes, he lined up in the backfield occasionally, but most of the time it was in the "wing" position, which is not typically a ball-carrier spot in the NFL. Hernandez's value as a match-up asset was that he was bigger than a WR, but more nimble than a TE. Having him on the field didn't show the offense's hand with respect to running vs. passing as much as many TE's would because he could participate in both types of plays as a blocker or a receiver.
Secondly, it's not necessarily always better to put "hybrid" players on the field. It only makes sense if that player is a better offensive asset than another WR or RB. The Patriots had pretty terrible WR depth last year, and Hernandez was a very good player, so it made sense do have him on the field and do as much with him as you can. This year, the team make-up is very different. It makes no sense to talk about this offense as if there's X number of "versatile guy" snaps that Belichick needs to give to someone. Hernandez vs. Edelman is an easy call. Vereen vs. Dobson vs. Thompkins vs. Sudfield vs. Boyce is totally different.
Next, early indications are Sudfield is viewed as a versatile player, much like Hernandez was. He lined up in the wing spot on the vast majority of his snaps in the first pre-season game, and also lined up as a split out wide receiver on a few plays.
Vereen is a good players, and is versatile, but that doesn't guarantee him a huge role in this offense this year. He's a RB who can catch really well, let's not get carried away.
And people continue to underestimate Ridley. Ridley is a very good RB.