Maybe I was just hammered at the time, but wasn't that pass behind Hernandez?
No. The Branch drop was behind him on the previous play. The ball was deflected & redirected behind him. Branch didn't have enough time to readjust. He really didn't have any chance at actually catching that. But it looked like a catchable ball from far away, thus causing most people to consider it a drop.
The Merkle Boner... err... umm... Hernandez Choke was a precisely placed pass right into his outstretched connected hands. Oh, and also - Brady hit him perfectly in stride.
And Jackson2, stop gangin' up on me. lol. How u gonna agree with Kontra's hazy recollection? Listen to you - "Yup, the pass was behind Hernandez". No it wasn't. Jeepers creepers man. Yer jus' backin' Kontradiction cuz, well, he's big shot Kontradiction and stuff.
Ya wanna see the play in question? Type in "New York Giants vs. New England Patriots XLVI Full Match" on You Tube and go to the 2:21:12 mark.
And as for the other guyz thinking ima ding bat for not liking Hernandez cuz he blew it, hey, that's just the way I am with this particular player.
Yes, I WOULD have released him before last year's training camp. Look, I'm not going to go into detail about the psychology involved (although I could), but having a player return to the squad after soiling his rep that badly is just a detriment to the team's "collective mindset".
You have to nip that element in the bud before it spreads.
I'm not referring to drops as the element. What I'm trying to say is - The element being... the psychological makeup of a player being such that it causes him to fail in highly pressurized situations.
Yeah, THAT element.
And that's the reasoning behind Coach Pewsterbaby jettisoning Aaron Hernandez before the 2012 training camp opened.
And I stand behind that. The Patriots could have gone in another direction or found someone similar to replace him.
Look, I just couldn't have him back. I wouldn't have liked doing it, but that's just how it has to be.
And before you come in with stuff like - "If someone like you was running the team, you'd run it into the ground in record time."
In all sincerity, no, of COURSE I don't have the ability to run an NFL team. I don't pretend to. I'm just speaking about ONE solitary player in the guise of Aaron Hernandez.
I mean, ya ever see some of the big posters around this place? It's like they're pacing around their computers holding clipboards and wearing headsets. lol. That's how into it they are. Hey, if that's your thing, then fine. Some of them are really great at it. I dont even pretend to know the game that well. (Rock & Roll? That's another thing altogether. I rule that school. but I digress...)
I'd have cut Hernandez. yet let Branch & Welker slide for their chumpy moments. I've already told you why. If you don't grasp that angle, well, you don't grasp personal identity either. Branch's & Welker's identities are similar. They're proven winners.
Hernandez has a completely different aura about him. Most posters around here aren't observant enough to be able to pick up on that type of thing (yes, that's a shot, in case you were wondering).
It's called sociological clairvoyance & it DOES play a factor in team makeup.
Lastly? For the guy who concluded that I just must be a weird guy, thanks for going easy on me. Nah, Off The Grid is a weird guy. I'm just someone who likes to type memorably whenever I choose to post around here. I leave the feetbawl acumen ta fellas like Kontra, Andy Johnson, Deus Irae, and a few others. They know the intricacies of the game better than I.
And Joker, ima sorry fer sabotaging yer nice thread u made right before u went beddie-bye last nite.
Wat I caused over here IS pretty interestin' tho, don'tcha think?
I mean, it turned into a more better banter than wat u initially posed for discussion, by default.
Earlier today, I typed my "Hernandez Hatred" diatribe & went out to run errands. Upon my return, I fully expected to see people hammering me for what I wrote. To my pleasant surprise, I found u guyz ta be really going lightly on me with your dissenting views. It's just so damned easy to rip me for feeling this way about Hernandez all because of one play. I expected to see people taking me behind the barn an' givin' me a good beatdown for it.
Thank you for not doing that. Gee whiz, u guyz are pretty cool after all.
I mean, I know I'm pretty hard to take sometimes. I just have a writing style that's decidedly more memorable than most. My "post total vs. personal page views" number reflects that.
Now, with all that being said & turning it back on-topic (well, the thread's newfangled secondary topic anyway)...
CHOKER. And now you know how and why and all the "what for's" and tha like.