FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — With the New England Patriots reportedly signing Jeff Demps, the Patriots fan base has been over the top on Friday with the possibilities, especially in the return game someone like Demps could bring.
First of all, he hasn’t even strapped on pads yet and the Twitterverse already is abuzz with who’s getting cut…..Whoa Trigger. We haven’t seen him do a thing yet, so in the words of Bill Parcells, “Let’s not put him in Canton just yet.â€
Demps does have blistering speed, that much we know and has an Olympic medal to prove it, but before you start chalking up those returns for touchdowns, let’s temper those visions of grandeur with a little reality check.
The Patriots have been enamored by speed guys before, not quite to the extent of Al Davis but do the names Bethel Johnson, Chad Jackson, Antwan Harris, Terrence Wheatley ring a bell? We heard much the same about them, so straight line speed isn’t the end-all for NFL success.
The other thing people are doing is signaling the end of the line for Danny Woodhead because of Demps’ ‘maybe’ signing. Wrong…Wrong….Wrong. Danny Woodhead is a proven RB in the NFL. He played in about 30% of the Patriots offensive snaps last season. He was arguably the best player in a Patriots uniform during Super Bowl 46. Woodhead isn’t going anywhere, especially with two unproven young RBs expected to carry the load.
If anyone is sweating it is…and should be Julian Edelman. Edelman is primarily a STs guy, more importantly a Kick Returner. Has the Patriots return game been great or even good the past few years? Anyone? Bueller? No it hasn’t. And forget about Edelman taking over for Welker in the slot. Edelman had a good rookie season with 37 catches when nobody knew who he was. Since then his production has gone steadily down. Last season four catches….that’s it just four.
While Edelman has flashed in the return game at times….flashed only, the Patriots return game has been a liability. Edelman last year was moved to defensive back. While it speaks highly for his versatility, it doesn’t speak volumes about his offensive prowess. He drops too many balls and doesn’t have great speed, great quickness yes like Welker, but not top end speed.
And with Edelman’s major contribution as the primary kick returner, why would they sign Demps if they thought it was solid? The coaches have even used Donte’ Stallworth and Aaron Hernandez returning kicks. But all of this talk is moot until Demps actually steps on the field. He won’t play against Philadelphia, so he has nine days and two games to wow the coaches.
Demps may indeed wow everyone and make the roster….but the odds are stacked against him. But what it really means is the Patriots coaches aren’t pleased with their return game and that begins with Edelman.
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Julian Edelman’s primary role on special teams is returning punts not kickoffs plus he can play receiver and even a little DB in a pinch. I have not read or heard one thing about Danny Woodhead being in trouble because of this. That was completely made up unless you would like to site some sources. Also the stiffs you named with great straight line speed have nothing on Demps who has world class speed. see attached article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/sports/football/24florida.html?_r=2&ref=ncaafootball
What is the title of the article? It say “Pats Fans” and in the article I said the “Twitterverse” was full of fans stating that Woodhead was done… Instead of asking me to name sources…read the entire post.
Great speed, world class speed….ok fine. Demps in the 40 was 4.26, Chad Jackson was 4.32. Is it that big a difference? If that 6/100ths of a second means the difference between he and Jackson, then fine. Build a statue now
Wow never really read your stuff, never really will. Unhappy Edelman punt returner? Hysterical, well respected punt returner nfl. as far as numbers slipped due to people now him now, how about total ops due to injuries? Edelman will be solid when time comes. Don’t forget he is a project qb to wr. We’re u calling for Neal job wen he didnt hit field yr two after wrestling to nfl?
Gain access to insiders and I’m sure you will learn all about edwlmans value.
When the time comes? This is his fourth year. Who is the hysterical one here?
Lots of people overrate New England’s backups. We going to be waiting for him to break out in year 7?
Edelman returns punts, not kickoffs. Demps returns kickoffs, not punts. It’s too easy to say that they return “kicks” when the job is very different. Don’t forget Woodhead has been the one returning kickoffs last year, not Edelman.
That being said, I don’t think Woodhead is – or should – be on the roster bubble.
As for Edelman the receiver, well it’s kinda difficult to create momentum when you’re in the game for two snaps, and your all-star QB doesn’t even look at you because you’re the 5th option. The truth is, Welker is too good for Edelman to see the field, because they’re both the same type of WR : slot guys. I’ve watched a few practices during training camp, and Edelman has trully been impressive. He’ll perform if he needs to step up because of an injury.
One third of Edelman’s returns last year were kickoffs. While Woodhead led the team in kickoff returns, he had only 8 more than Edelman…he doesn’t return kicks?
I’ve watched him camp as well, and we must have been there on different days
I don’t remember Edelman having a problem dropping balls. When Welker got injured Edelman took his place and even had better stats on average then Welker. If you’ll jog your memory last year Edelman played a lot on defense – thus he wasn’t in offensive game plans as we are in the modern football era and players just don’t play both ways. BTW, he was outstanding on defense as well. Can’t cut a guy like that. Danny Woodhead is nearly as fast as the unproven Jeff Demps. In a 10 yard sprint my money is on Woodhead. Danny also has a career rushing average of 5.1 yards per carry – outstanding! He is the best rb on the team – hands down.
When the time comes? a small sample did come with welker injured. Roughly 10 catches, small sample but not to shabby. so with your thinking, Arron rogers sucked for 3 yrs behind favre? I think it is fair to say coaches place value on what they see in pratice and transfer to what they would do on the field. Top nfl player ahead of you is not a evaluating factor, to you maybe.
To answer your other question, no we do not wait till year seven we wait till ” his time comes” That time is not when you had the best slot in nfl cheap, it will come when welker is free agent and shops his service.
You and lots of Pats fans are right, Edelman is the second best slot receiver in the NFL. Hoyer is worth a 1st round pick and could be a starter on most teams….
Rodgers never played, did he? So Edelman had 10 catches I’m one game, three years ago…call Canton
To be clear, I think hoyer is at his highest perceived market value, possibly out of league in 5 yrs , best fit is pats and they will move on, downhill from there.I also don’t think Edelman would ever approach 2nd best slot in league. Your tossing of empty frustrated responses that I never stated reeks of dealing with concession. Keep grouping with a thick broad brush, I will stick to responding to your actual stated opinion.
On that note, yes, Rodgers did play, every day in practice resulting in hours and hours of evaluation. The result , wen the “timing was right ” , they made the change.
If only greenbay stuck with your stated line of thinking, Rogers couldn’t crack the lineup in three yrs, we can’t wait seven, cut him….
Did I just slightly twist your thinking with my last Rogers comment ?maybe a tad , barely . Point being, frustrating eh?
Oh…but you keep putting words in my mouth….concession ? Dismissal at this point
I didn’t plan on playing back and forth debate ping pong. So, ill rewind and rephrase my initial stance, maybe it is clearer.
I just can’t appreciatte the reasoning that Edelman is on the fence due to current stats declining, the cause in decline is driven by other factors such as welker and in my opinion not heavily weighted in his evaluation. So, to use it to drive a comclusion seems off. Considering his skill fits the slot, and pats have welker, I am quite confident pats evaluation in edelman case is not heavily weighted on 2010 2011 receptions. They evaulte his chances which are mostly practice and project what his stats would be…if Injury to welker and or 2013.
if your validation to your conclusion was …due to Edelmans historic drops in practice and games, he is on the fence. I would not have agreed but would have appreciated your position and surely not felt the need to comment.
In short, to me ,using current wr production in Edelman case as a reason held as much weight as the scale reads when demps steps on it, not much
I am not picking sides here.. however its all specualtion.. I f we are just picking two guys and trying to decide who is more valuable its woodhead all the way for me. I think I remember woodhead coming here and playing very well in a game when he had less than a few days to digest the play book.. and then watching him come up big in a big game like the SB tells me he’s not only intelliget but he is mentally tough.