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Dion Lewis (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter ex-ghost
- Start date
mphtrilogy
Footballguy
Boston
Footballguy
As much as I love BB there are years where he leaves himself thin at a position and it can bite him in the butt (and it is obvious)...in past years it has happened with WR and with the pass rush...this year it could be RB...it would not have hurt for them to have drafted a RB like Booker or Dixon to add to the mix...as for now Lewis is by far their biggest threat at RB...when he is in the game it take the O to another level because with Gronk, Bennett, Edelman and the other WRs defenses just can't handle all those weapons with the ball coming out of Brady's hand quickly...if Lewis is not good to go the RB situation could get murky...I am not a Blount fan at all...he is Ok but I would rather they have moved on from him...there are some games he can really produce but there are others where he is totally useless...I would love to see Gaffney beat him out but right now he is still a total wildcard...I have never been too high on James White but he looked good last week...hopefully he has figured out what he is and becomes sort of a Kevin Faulk light...that being said he is not a full-time RB...Donald Brown is what he is, it feels like Foster has disappeared after some great reports and Bolden is a great special teamer who is solid depth...unless they feel Gaffney or Foster are ready to contribute they could really use another legit RB in this unit...once Lewis went down last year life became a lot easier for opposing defenses and they don't need a repeat of that this year...
Anarchy99
Footballguy
NE RB depth chart is a mess right now. Gaffney playing well. Foster is a decent all around back that did well early in camp. Talk of bringing in another back. Reporters speculating Lewis could start the year on PUP (and miss first 6 weeks of the season . . . although at this stage I don't see that happening). The Pats have a lot of guys that could stick or be cut As mentioned above, they have White, Bolden, Brown, Devlin, and Iosefa (last two FBs). Bottom line, this situation is murky and cloudy at the moment and may be so until the regular season roster is announced.
dipandglide
Footballguy
As much as I want to draft this guy, I just can't. NE BS + coming back from ANOTHER injury is too much risk for me. I'd much rather take a Melvin Gordon over him(tho he carries similar risk). This guy could end up winning a lot of leagues if he comes back and picks up where he left off. His story/progress will be one to watch early this season.
BigSteelThrill
Footballguy
Confusion at RB with a BB led Patriot team - you dont say!.
bostonfred
Footballguy
Dion lewis first 7 games
49 carries, 36 rec, 622 yards, 4 tds.
James white final 7 games
14 carries, 32 rec, 392 yards, 6 tds.
James white 1 preseason game
3 carries, 12 yards, 1 catch, 56 yards
White is not the same kind of player as lewis, he has never gotten more than 6 carries in a game, and he isn't even guaranteed a passing down role if dion is hurt. But he's an interesting flier late in drafts.
49 carries, 36 rec, 622 yards, 4 tds.
James white final 7 games
14 carries, 32 rec, 392 yards, 6 tds.
James white 1 preseason game
3 carries, 12 yards, 1 catch, 56 yards
White is not the same kind of player as lewis, he has never gotten more than 6 carries in a game, and he isn't even guaranteed a passing down role if dion is hurt. But he's an interesting flier late in drafts.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Not really sure I totally am on board with this. Lewis is not going to be a heavy carry back or the goal line back. So someone else will be called upon to do the heavy lifting. Lewis will probably see 6-8 carries a game.
The Hank
Footballguy
To latter part of this statement simply isnt true - both rushing of Lewis TD"s come from within the 10 yd line last year - he got consistent carries in the red zone when the game was close. Patriots had a few blowout games where they played Lewis alot in 1st half but then used sparingly in 2nd half to put Blount/James White in to play out rest of game, and Blount had few GL plunges, especially during JAX game (but Lewis was already pulled from game due to blowout status).
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Not saying that he won't ever play at the goal line, only that it is very unlikely that he will be a mainstay at the goal line. And there is a huge difference between the 10 yard line and the goal line. Once Blount got done serving his 1 game suspension, Lewis had 7, 8, 6, 5, and 4 carries. If the plan is to make Lewis as the lead guy running the bay, they certainly did not exhibit that last year.The Hank said:
Run It Up
Footballguy
I don't expect Lewis to be a heavy carry back, I don't expect any one rb to have heavy carries.
I do think a healthy Lewis will stay on the field in the same vein as Woodhead or Vereen where they just move him around and that with those touches he could finish as a RB1 - he's the first of his kind that to me has looked capable of playing both roles in NE.
I do think a healthy Lewis will stay on the field in the same vein as Woodhead or Vereen where they just move him around and that with those touches he could finish as a RB1 - he's the first of his kind that to me has looked capable of playing both roles in NE.
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Anarchy99
Footballguy
I suspect that someone will be designated a higher workload / big back / between the tackles back on run-centric game plans. Of course, the game play varies from week to week, so that still likely will mean that fantasy wise that guy still has limited utility.
Things have gotten messed up early and often the last few years with so many injuries to the RB corps. However, NE had a player with at least 15 carries 7 times in 2015 (Blount 6 and Bolden 1), 6 times in 2014 (Ridley 3, Gray 2, Blount 1), and 6 times in 2013 (Ridley 4 and Blount 2).
Maybe they go completely different and reinvent themselves as far as RB usage.
On a side note, I saw that Mike Reiss predicts the Pats will use a double TE set as theie base offense and he expects them to work from that 80% of the time.
Things have gotten messed up early and often the last few years with so many injuries to the RB corps. However, NE had a player with at least 15 carries 7 times in 2015 (Blount 6 and Bolden 1), 6 times in 2014 (Ridley 3, Gray 2, Blount 1), and 6 times in 2013 (Ridley 4 and Blount 2).
Maybe they go completely different and reinvent themselves as far as RB usage.
On a side note, I saw that Mike Reiss predicts the Pats will use a double TE set as theie base offense and he expects them to work from that 80% of the time.
Run It Up
Footballguy
SameSongNDance
Footballguy
I would need to see him get some reps in during the preseason in order for me to feel comfortable drafting him. If the lateral agility is still there, I'll have no problem drafting. If I don't see it before my drafts late Aug/early Sept. I'll likely fade him.
Braktastic
Footballguy
Basically, no one knows what's going on. Either way it isn't a good sign. He's either not progressing well with his injury or has been deemed so fragile as to warrant being held out the entire preseason. Neither inspires much confidence to invest in him at his current ADP.
matuski
Footballguy
@ those as the only options.
Braktastic
Footballguy
Moonshine
Footballguy
Or, it's the Patriots organization, and "no one knows what's going on" is exactly what they want to have happen. They're notoriously private with injury news, so this doesn't come as any surprise to me.
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
It seems odd that they would be that worried about him reinjuring himself that he wouldn't even see the practice field. Wouldn't he need some practice, if not live game action, to get back into "football" shape?
Braktastic
Footballguy
I'll just leave it at this. I don't own him anywhere, and I won't own him anywhere at his current ADP given all of this. Perhaps, I am too risk adverse, but I think you're paying for a ceiling he won't likely hit with none of the potential floor built in.
Chaka
Footballguy
It's a good point. I wouldn't be surprised if they held him out of preseason games, it's the not practicing that gives me pause. Gronk and Edelman aren't practicing because they got dinged not because they are so awesome they don't need it (although Gronk probably is that awesome).
massraider
Footballguy
Those stat lines are why people should really wonder if Lewis, coming off an ACL, is a good enough player to demand touches, the way Gronk is, or is he just another beneficiary of the system finding matchups over a certain time frame.
Gronk has not been seen since he pulled up lame I thought. Edelman has been on the practice field
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Alex P Keaton
Footballguy
Right, but each HAS practiced. Lewis hasn't; its 1 thing to be "careful" with guys & hold them out of PS games or give them some TC practices off to recover from minor injuries, its completely different when you are talking about a guy coming back from a major knee injury getting NO practice AT ALL.
Run It Up
Footballguy
I'm not the first to suggest in fact it seems to be the consensus that Edelman and Gronk are both fine and are limited in practice and being held out of the preseason. Obviously the Pats aren't going to come out and say that but it's been widely reported to be the case.
Lewis was present in training camp his level of activity was not reported. To my knowledge he hasn't been seen for a while but I definitely wouldn't assume the worst.
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massraider
Footballguy
Hey, if BB was saying, hey no matter what, Dion gets 7-10 carries and 6-8 targets, then I am feeling he's a great value.
I just don't know if the team views him that way. And I see a lot of people competing for the exact same type of targets.
Is he no longer on the PUP list? If he is off, then maybe the Pats are just "taking it easy" with him.
If he is still on PUP, there's nothing to report about his level of activity; PUP means no activity. He can participate in team meetings & do rehab stuff, but that's not the same as practicing/playing.
pghrob
Hail to the Chief
Pure speculation on my part as a know nothing fan just like the rest of you: if Dion Lewis is healthy, then he will be a significant contributor on that offense. He will be on the field for the lion's share of plays. His skillset fits nicely with the schemes of that offense and his versatility offers too much for him not to be.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Part of the reason he has not been activated is once he is, the options are: leave him on the roster or put him on IR. If a player gets placed on the training camp PUP list, teams can transfer the player to the regular season PUP list (and miss the first 6 weeks). Not activating him gives them that option.
Alex P Keaton
Footballguy
matuski
Footballguy
Along your train of thought.. he could get decapitated on a water slide, put in jail for hacking Hillary's emails, or shot by a gas station security officer in Rio de Janeiro.
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TheBottomLine
Footballguy
Chaka
Footballguy
Sorry, but IF he remains on the PUP for the entire season, that is stretching the definition of "taking it slow/cautious." The Steelers are taking it slow with Bell; he disnt start on PUP, but hasnt played any PS games. The Chiefs are taking it slow with Charles; he started on PUP, but was activated last week-probably won't play during PS. IF Lewis is on PUP all PS, that's beyond taking it slow, IMO.
bostonfred
Footballguy
Patriots have yet to have a practice in pads. They appear to be saving them up. Which lends some credence to the maybe they're saving him theory.
matuski
Footballguy
I don't disagree.
I just find it amusing when the only options put forth are doom and gloom.
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
bostonfred
Footballguy
Wow. Get james white.
