Fans need to stop this constant pining for old washed up guys like Plax, Winslow, Braylon, etc. It means you have to cut a younger developing player off the 53 who might not be as ready now but can make a longer lasting contribution in the future. You can't bitch and have it both ways that we have no depth and then constantly bring in injured, old, declining players all around the roster. A couple here and there are fine like Taylor, LT and Plaxico who all contributed but not at all around. Plus those older guys are more expensive than the younger talent bumping you up against the cap. I think they will be fine at TE if Keller gets healthy. Rueland has stepped in and been a nice addition. It's early but he looks like he has a future here as a #2. He has been adequate as a blocker and the word is he has good hands which we haven't seen yet. He seems to know his assignments and doesn't make any mental mistakes even while being moved around to H-Back, pass protector, slot, motion guy, etc so that bodes well. Continued familiarity with the system will allow him to expand his role and we can see what we have in him but it looks like he has potential to be a solid #2. For those who bitch at Tanny for not developing depth they have Dedrick Epps, Hayden Smith and Cumberland. Cumberland has struggled in an increased role but obviously they were obviously expecting Josh Baker to play the role over Cumberland before his injury. I'm not expecting much from Epps but teams around the league keep picking him and hoping to develop him so we shall see what happens. Hayden Smith was well sought after as a long term project and we shall see what happens.
3. Winslow and playing through knee pain. Winslow was honest last week when asked about the pain in his knee. He said he plays through a lot of pain and it's his will and ability to overcome that that keeps him going. It's possible it reached a point where he just simply didn't want to push through any more.
Not really. He asked to be released because he knew his role was going to be all but eliminated as soon as Hernandez came back, and that appears to be sooner rather than later.
Well, seeing the Pats run an offense that is designed around TE's it was a no risk deal for them to run Winslow through a real tryout. They lose nothing. I hope they don't roll Ballard out there come late December to make a trio with Gronk and Hernandez.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000067169/article/bill-belichick-kellen-winslow-cut-for-personal-reasons?module=HP11_headline_stack
Damn, the Jets are STUPID for not signing this beast! The Pats totally owned us with that move! :rofl2:
He's better than any TE the Jets will put on the field this week, even with bad knees. He left the Pats because he could see there was not going to be a regular ole for him moving forward.
What he just suddenly realized he was temporary? He didn't realize that Hernandez and Plowski were still on the roster along with like 40 other TEs? He can't be that dumb. Maybe he just realized that ats_suck: I'd leave that heap of trash team. They are on the way out.
I thought he asked out because it looks like Hernandez will be back much sooner than expected. At least that is what I read.
Apparently he can. So why did tight end Kellen Winslow want out of New England? Per a league source, Winslow wanted more playing time. If that’s the case, he could have gotten more playing time this weekend, given that receiver Julian Edelman (hand) is out, and tight end Rob Gronkowski is surprisingly listed as questionable with a hip injury. On Friday, coach Bill Belichick told the media during a press conference that Winslow was cut for “personal reasons.” “Yesterday I had a discussion with Kellen and at the end of that discussion, we talked about several different things, at the end of that discussion, I felt that it was best that we release Kellen for personal reasons so that’s what we did,” Belichick said in comments distributed by the team. So the “personal reasons” apparently were that Winslow is personally looking for more playing time. It’ll be interesting to see whether he gets that opportunity elsewhere. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/28/winslow-wanted-more-playing-time/
Everyguy wants more playing time, I can't imagine they cut him because of that unless Bill saw it becoming detrimental to the team. It certainly is interesting though and in a way sad to think that this guy had unreal off the chart talent but was a dumbass and fucked up his body doing something no pro athlete should be doing until his career is over. If I was a GM I would put a clause in every contract that if you get injured riding a motorcycle we owe you nothing and you'd have to pay back any roster/signing bonus you made.
Sounds like by the end of the meeting it was clear Winslow was not going to be happy with his role, and wanted to be released.
Oh give me a break. He can catch better than them, but he runs like a broken legged horse, and can't block worth a shit. The only reason the Pats picked him up is the same reason Belichick failed to adjust his gameplan against Arizona... because the finesse receiving TE is bigger to the Pats than BB wanted anyone to think. The second big receiver in the ultimate Belichick plan. Why do you think they didn't bat an eyelash when Welker wanted more money? Belichick is in love with tight ends because right now they are cheap and he knows they will be until he makes them not cheap. Which is soon. And because the rest of the dummies are spending their money on wide receivers. It's all about roster efficiency and a Hernandez injury is a monkey wrench in his master plan.
