Tag Archives: Brandon Tate

September 7, 2011 · 6:13 AM

Another Draft Bust

Coming into the 2009 draft the Pats had the 23rd overall pick in the first round. They traded out of that spot and swapped with Baltimore who selected Michael Oher whom the movie The Blind Side was based. Sitting at #26 with Baltimore’s pick the Pats traded the pick to Green Bay who selected Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews. And with those two trades, the Pats traded their way out of the first round.

They used their second round pick that they got for Matt Cassell on Patrick Chung who by all indications is a legit player. Then they took Ron Brace and Darius Butler back to back at 40 and 41.

Yesterday they released Butler. This comes a day after the team had released Brandon Tate, their third round pick in the same draft. Butler never really developed into the corner the Pats believed he would. I think the hype of Butler coming out of UCONN was more of a local thing than a national thing. He’s been claimed by the Panthers.

Brace has been up and down. After playing tackle in college he was moved to end last year and was placed on IR prior to the playoffs. He is currently on the team’s physically unable to perform list. With the team bringing in Ellis, Haynesworth, and Gerard Warren you have to think their confidence wasn’t too high on Brace.

So the more we see it shake out, the more I’m thinking that the Pats need to be the aggressor in the draft. Take a page from a team like Baltimore who traded up in the draft and now has a solid team. The Jets did similar things when selecting Revis in 2007 and Sanchez in 2009 (we’ll gloss over the Vernon Gholston bust in 2008).

When they were winning championships and had starters pretty much ingrained at every position you could argue that they didn’t have to hit a home run every time they drafted. That hasn’t been the case in recent years. The turnover on the draft picks has been somewhat alarming. Let’s hope the few the Pats kept on their roster this season develop into decent NFL players.

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September 6, 2011 · 6:49 AM

Pats Make Some Cuts

As predicted about a month ago on these very pages the Patriots cut Brandon Meriweather. This move comes just a few days after they cut ties with James Sanders. That leaves Patrick Chung and Sergio Brown as the team’s starters and Josh Barrett and James Ihedigbo as the backups.

I’m not buying it.

With all the free agents they had come in during camp, I think it’s just a matter of time before they bring in a free agent. Personally I think that free agent is going to be Darren Sharper. Everything I’m reading says that it won’t happen until after week one because of guaranteed salaries for veterans who are on the roster for week one. So give it till a week from today after the Pats game in Miami and I’m saying they’ll sign Sharper.

Meriweather wasn’t the only cut, obviously.

The team waived their two rookie backup tight ends that were in camp with them. Will Yeatman who was an undrafted free agent that had a really good camp was claimed off waivers by the Dolphins. Then their fifth round pick this season, Lee Smith, was claimed on waivers by the Bills. The thought is the Pats thought they’d get one or both of these guys through waivers and onto the practice squad. With that not happening look for a possible reappearance of Alge Crumpler. Similar to the Sharper signing I would predict this to happen after week one but I would only expect this signing if there’s an injury.

The team also cut ties with Sammy Morris. Morris it seemed was always injured in his tenure with the Pats. The move was predicted by many prior to the final cuts.

They also cut ties with Brandon Tate. Tate played only two games his rookie year after being taken in the third round and was placed on IR. He was a pretty decent kick returner last season but the team cut ties with him and he landed in Cincinnati.

What the alarming trend is that in the last two years they’ve cut ties with two first round picks. Sandyvagititus Maroney last year was shipped to Denver and Meriweather was released this year. For all that the team is winning and having successful seasons, they’re not knocking the draft picks out of the park. Not one guy from the 2007 draft is on the team, Stephen Gostkowski is the only guy from the 2006 draft on the team, and Mankins is the only guy from the 2005 draft. Looking at the picks it’s disheartening that they stockpile picks and then swing and miss so many times.

The team did sign one free agent, Brian Waters, a Pro-Bowl guard who last played for the Chiefs. This is a good signing so long as he stays healthy. They addressed a need and instead of filling that void with a “value” guy they actually filled the void with the best player out there.

I like the way the roster looks right now but I don’t think the Pats are done. We’ll know more in probably 10 days. We’ll just have to wait and watch.

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November 15, 2010 · 7:12 AM

Taking The Gronk To The Bank

What did we learn last week against the Browns? We learned that a team that turns the ball over, doesn’t stop their opponent on third down and gives their opponent extra opportunities with stupid penalties isn’t going to win a football game.

This week we learned that if you take all those things out of a game, chances are you’re going to win.

The Pats defense – for what feels like the first time all season – actually showed up on third downs. They weren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination (especially in the fourth when Big Ben was trying to mount the comeback) but this was the first time it felt like the team had a real pass rush all season. They were able to sack Rothlisberger to the tune of five times. They were able to also shut down the Steelers rushing attack. Partly because Pittsburgh was playing from behind but mostly because their offensive line sucked. James Sanders added a pick six just to add insult to injury.

I think the Pats also benefited from taking Hines Ward out of the game. A hit that didn’t look to be malicious as James Sanders was coming in to help on the tackle but Ward was going down as the two collided and Ward went down with a concussion. This will likely get reviewed by the league and a fine will likely be heading Sanders’ way.

The Pats managed to rush the ball when they needed to but mostly this was about the aerial attack. Brady had plenty of protection from the offensive line and was able to carve up the Pittsburgh defense to the tune of 350 yards in the air. They only tried the deep ball a couple of time (successful on a 45 yarder to Brandon Tate) but mostly it was the short stuff. Rob Gronkowski had three scores and actually is the team’s top end zone threat leading the team with six touchdown receptions. After last week when he looked lost on the field he caught all five balls tossed his way last night.

Overall a very good night for the Patriots. For all that I was worried heading in, all those worries were gone as the Pats defense beat down the Steelers. Loading up the box on third downs and seeing the defense go tearing through the Pittburgh line really has to boost your confidence. Peyton Manning has only been picked four times this season and sacked only a dozen times so next week’s game plan will have to be different but if anyone can come up with a plan, it’s Belichick.

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October 21, 2009 · 5:31 AM

So Long; Farewell

Anyone that reads Mike Reiss either on ESPN.com or from his days on Boston.com knows that this guy is in the trenches and knows that Pats. He’s been on the beat for a few seasons now. He really gets the inside scoop and with this organization that’s almost impossible.

Well, he’s been saying all along this season that the Pats wouldn’t cut Joey Galloway. He made it very clear that the Pats didn’t want to admit that signing was a mistake and that Galloway would stay with this team.

So yesterday the Pats went against what Reiss had been saying and cut Galloway. What makes the cut even worse is the fact that Julian Edelman (Welker 2.0) broke his arm in Sunday’s game. The Pats had to know that the arm was broken before cutting Galloway. The fact that they only have three healthy receivers on the roster now proves how much they wanted Galloway gone.

It wasn’t anymore apparent than in the game against Atlanta when Brady hit him in the end zone and he was running with one foot outside the end zone. Brady’s frustration was very clear and you wonder if he went into Bill Belichick’s office and said, “I’m not throwing to that guy anymore. I don’t care if he’s wide open, I refuse to give him any looks.”

Tough cut for an Ohio State guy who you’d think would be smart enough to learn the system. Guess not.

Look for the Pats to sign Brandon Tate from the PUP list and he’ll likely be active on Sunday. Given the lack of depth at wide out the Pats really don’t have many other options. Many scouts had Tate rated higher than Giant’s wide-out Hakeem Nicks prior to his injury last year. He holds the NCAA record for combined return yards so don’t be surprised to see him out there on kick returns too on Sunday.

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August 6, 2009 · 5:51 AM

Meet The Patriots: Part 3

So this series has been criticized as boring. Well to those people I argue, you have to know your team. So by hitting the depth chart at each spot you’ll know the guys on the field.

So let’s break down the wideouts.

Randy Moss (81) – So I watched the NFL films highlight package from last season. Remember how Cassel-Face would try two or three times a game to hit Moss for the home run only to fail? Well, Tom Brady doesn’t fail in those same situations. In the one season they played together Tom set records. They were synced right from training camp straight on through and I don’t expect them to miss a beat.

Wes Welker (83) – Listed as #2 on the depth chart, we all know he’s not the guy to play opposite Moss. Nope, instead he’s the underneath slot receiver that catches all those deke and dunk passes that Troy Brown made so famous in the Pats offense. He probably wouldn’t get as many touches if the Pats had a tight end like Tony Gonzalez to catch all the underneath stuff, but a guy like Gonzalez doesn’t have Crazy Eyes/Speedy White Guy speed.

Joey Galloway (13) – Galloway is 37 years old from…THE Ohio State University. He was one of the best when he was with Seattle in the mid nineties. After a trade to Dallas he had many injury plagued seasons and didn’t have the productivity they’d expected and before long he was in Tampa. While with the Bucs he regained that Pro Bowl form catching for 1000+ yards in ’05, ’06 and ’07. Last year he was bit by the injury bug again, but has already said in mini camps that he has had to catch passes from 25 different quarterbacks in his career and for the first time he has a guy that if he goes to his spot, the ball will be there. If he stays healthy he could have another 1,000 yard season in the tank.

Greg Lewis (17) – The Philadelphia castoff that the Patriots were able to score for a late round pick looks to get out from beneath the depth chart he was buried in while with the Eagles. He brings versatility and speed to the table. He can return kicks and punts as well as help on special teams. He’ll be the fourth wide out when the Pats look to spread the field. If he can have a great camp he may beat out Galloway for the third spot.

From there it gets muddled with a bunch of special teamers that we may see in the preseason playing wide out, but come the regular season shouldn’t see unless it’s special teams or someone has a serious injury. This includes Sam Aiken (88), Matt Slater (18) and Terrence Nunn (10) the rookie out of Nebraska. The Pats had hoped that Brandon Tate (19) from North Carolina would have made an impact but he was hurt in the team’s first mini camp and is out for the season on IR.

Tomorrow we’ll hit the mess known as the tight end position. Monday O-Line, Tuesday D-Line, Wednesday Line Backers, Thursday secondary. Then Friday, after the team’s first preseason game, we’ll wrap up with Special Teams.

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