Ryan Wendell re-signed

[Miguel]

Of course he is wrong about the contract. He is guessing wildly.

Please elaborate as Field Yates was not the only one who tweeted that Wendell's contract contained a $2 million roster bonus.

The NFLPA has been known to make mistakes.

 

[BradyManny]

Of course he is wrong about the contract. He is guessing wildly.

Who is guessing? I don't have any problem with how Yates has parsed the information he's received thus far.

 

[Don Kipines]

We were all upset when they re-signed Arrington last year, but that turned out to be a solid move. This feels pretty similar.

 

[Deus Irae]

We were all upset when they re-signed Arrington last year, but that turned out to be a solid move.

This feels pretty similar.

No, it doesn't.

 

[patsfan-1982]

3 million a year is not a lot for a starting center the problem is he should not be starting, lets hope they still Draft a center or RG with one of there first 3 picks

 

[JMC00]

3 million a year is not a lot for a starting center the problem is he should not be starting, lets hope they still Draft a center or RG with one of there first 3 picks

It's probably not even $3m a year and there is nothing in the deal that prevents the Pats from moving on from him if someone beats him for the job in camp.

 

[JackBauer]

I'm just going to put on my happy face and assume this is an $850,000 insurance policy, and nothing else.

 

[Don Kipines]

The Pats in the last two years have ranked 1 and 2 in first downs. They've been an excellent rushing and passing offense both years. They were better on the ground this year than they were the year before - this year their top four rushers all averaged more than 4.3 YPC, and they were at 4.4 overall. If they had a bad offensive line, it didn't show much in the stats. They had good runners so they ran well. They had bad receivers so they didn't pass well. It doesn't seem like the offensive line was a major factor either way. If they'd had Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker, Brady would have thrown for 4800 yards and 35 TDs again and nobody would be whining about Wendell.

The numbers basically tell us what we could all see with our eyes: the Pats had fewer weapons and Brady struggled to find open receivers, particularly in the red zone, leading to longer-developing pass plays and more sacks. The numbers bear this out in the reduced red-zone effectiveness, the lower number of passing TDs, and the larger number of sacks -- they gave up 27 sacks in 2012, 40 this year. On the ground however they were excellent. This was one of the best running units the Pats have had in the Belichick era.

I compare Wendell to Arrington because he's a player Pats fans love to hate but he actually does a lot of positive things, plays a ton of snaps, and does what he's told to do on the field. If the Pats draft a guard or center who beats him out, that's great. If not, he's not going to kill us out there. He's proven he can be the starting center on a league-leading offense. So has Dan Connolly. Pats fans must be very spoiled to be disappointed to have him back, especially when we don't know the exact numbers yet. If it really is a $200,000 roster bonus instead of $2 million, it's a perfectly appropriate deal and will look even better when salaries skyrocket next year -- the same way Arrington's deal doesn't look so bad now that even borderline useless corners are making twice his salary.

 

[Stylez]

If not, he's not going to kill us out there.

It was all good until here ^

Then I ask, did this guy actually see the AFCCG....

 

[BradyFTW!]

The Pats in the last two years have ranked 1 and 2 in first downs. They've been an excellent rushing and passing offense both years. They were better on the ground this year than they were the year before - this year their top four rushers all averaged more than 4.3 YPC, and they were at 4.4 overall. If they had a bad offensive line, it didn't show much in the stats. They had good runners so they ran well. They had bad receivers so they didn't pass well. It doesn't seem like the offensive line was a major factor either way. If they'd had Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker, Brady would have thrown for 4800 yards and 35 TDs again and nobody would be whining about Wendell.

The numbers basically tell us what we could all see with our eyes: the Pats had fewer weapons and Brady struggled to find open receivers, particularly in the red zone, leading to longer-developing pass plays and more sacks. The numbers bear this out in the reduced red-zone effectiveness, the lower number of passing TDs, and the larger number of sacks -- they gave up 27 sacks in 2012, 40 this year. On the ground however they were excellent. This was one of the best running units the Pats have had in the Belichick era.

I compare Wendell to Arrington because he's a player Pats fans love to hate but he actually does a lot of positive things, plays a ton of snaps, and does what he's told to do on the field. If the Pats draft a guard or center who beats him out, that's great. If not, he's not going to kill us out there. He's proven he can be the starting center on a league-leading offense. So has Dan Connolly. Pats fans must be very spoiled to be disappointed to have him back, especially when we don't know the exact numbers yet. If it really is a $200,000 roster bonus instead of $2 million, it's a perfectly appropriate deal and will look even better when salaries skyrocket next year -- the same way Arrington's deal doesn't look so bad now that even borderline useless corners are making twice his salary.

If you assume that 'hold your own and don't get repeatedly blown up by opposing DTs' is roughly what he's told to do, then no, he doesn't do that.

 

[Observer]

The Pats in the last two years have ranked 1 and 2 in first downs. They've been an excellent rushing and passing offense both years. They were better on the ground this year than they were the year before - this year their top four rushers all averaged more than 4.3 YPC, and they were at 4.4 overall. If they had a bad offensive line, it didn't show much in the stats. They had good runners so they ran well. They had bad receivers so they didn't pass well. It doesn't seem like the offensive line was a major factor either way. If they'd had Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker, Brady would have thrown for 4800 yards and 35 TDs again and nobody would be whining about Wendell.

The numbers basically tell us what we could all see with our eyes: the Pats had fewer weapons and Brady struggled to find open receivers, particularly in the red zone, leading to longer-developing pass plays and more sacks. The numbers bear this out in the reduced red-zone effectiveness, the lower number of passing TDs, and the larger number of sacks -- they gave up 27 sacks in 2012, 40 this year. On the ground however they were excellent. This was one of the best running units the Pats have had in the Belichick era.

I compare Wendell to Arrington because he's a player Pats fans love to hate but he actually does a lot of positive things, plays a ton of snaps, and does what he's told to do on the field. If the Pats draft a guard or center who beats him out, that's great. If not, he's not going to kill us out there. He's proven he can be the starting center on a league-leading offense. So has Dan Connolly. Pats fans must be very spoiled to be disappointed to have him back, especially when we don't know the exact numbers yet. If it really is a $200,000 roster bonus instead of $2 million, it's a perfectly appropriate deal and will look even better when salaries skyrocket next year -- the same way Arrington's deal doesn't look so bad now that even borderline useless corners are making twice his salary.

Many of us have been whining about the quality of the o line since 2007. No amount of stats is going to change the reality that pass protection in big games has been our Achilles heel for years. Wendy starting is more of the same and the same is not okay. I am hoping this is a bird in the hand type of move rather than a starting lineup move.

 

[DaBruinz]

They gave Wendell way too much money.. Hate the signing. He's been horrible the last two years.

 

[Sticky Caulk]

The Pats in the last two years have ranked 1 and 2 in first downs. They've been an excellent rushing and passing offense both years. They were better on the ground this year than they were the year before - this year their top four rushers all averaged more than 4.3 YPC, and they were at 4.4 overall. If they had a bad offensive line, it didn't show much in the stats. They had good runners so they ran well. They had bad receivers so they didn't pass well. It doesn't seem like the offensive line was a major factor either way. If they'd had Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker, Brady would have thrown for 4800 yards and 35 TDs again and nobody would be whining about Wendell.

The numbers basically tell us what we could all see with our eyes: the Pats had fewer weapons and Brady struggled to find open receivers, particularly in the red zone, leading to longer-developing pass plays and more sacks. The numbers bear this out in the reduced red-zone effectiveness, the lower number of passing TDs, and the larger number of sacks -- they gave up 27 sacks in 2012, 40 this year. On the ground however they were excellent. This was one of the best running units the Pats have had in the Belichick era.

I compare Wendell to Arrington because he's a player Pats fans love to hate but he actually does a lot of positive things, plays a ton of snaps, and does what he's told to do on the field. If the Pats draft a guard or center who beats him out, that's great. If not, he's not going to kill us out there. He's proven he can be the starting center on a league-leading offense. So has Dan Connolly. Pats fans must be very spoiled to be disappointed to have him back, especially when we don't know the exact numbers yet. If it really is a $200,000 roster bonus instead of $2 million, it's a perfectly appropriate deal and will look even better when salaries skyrocket next year -- the same way Arrington's deal doesn't look so bad now that even borderline useless corners are making twice his salary.

Run blocking and pass blocking are not the same thing. Wendell would be all-pro if that newfangled forward pass weren't a thing.

 

[IcyPatriot]

I hope it's in the contract that he needs to grow a bigger ass.

 

[hwc]

No amount of stats is going to change the reality that pass protection in big games has been our Achilles heel for years.

When you throw on every down against top teams, your pass protection is inevitably going to fail, sooner or later. If you don't want to give up sacks, run the ball.

 

[Sticky Caulk]

When you throw on every down against top teams, your pass protection is inevitably going to fail, sooner or later. If you don't want to give up sacks, run the ball.

What? The Patriots always have ran the ball. Passing too much has never been the problem.

 

[supafly]

I hope it's in the contract that he needs to grow a bigger ass.

I know how much you like a big old booty

 

[supafly]

What? The Patriots always have ran the ball. Passing too much has never been the problem.

I think that's extremely debatable, SC.

The key wording here is vs "top teams," mostly coming against good defenses in the month of Jan/Feb.

Did we run enough in the last SB46 loss during the 2nd half, having the lead at halftime? Or did we pass too much? You decide...

In the BAL loss during the AFCCG in 2012 when they dared us to run (much like the Jets did 2 years before) by going to a nickle defense the majority of the time, did we run enough? Did we do it successfully? Or did we pass too much? You know the answer to these questions. We couldn't run successfully enough to do it often enough, so the 2 went hand in hand.

Until we're able to dominate or at least hold our own in the trenches and impose a physical will during the colder months of importance, the likelihood remains pretty good that we may not be able to run successfully enough to beat the top teams.

Now--one can argue that we don't "have" to run, and they'd have something of an argument on some level, but it sure helps a lot!

 

[patfanken]

Here's what I don't get from all the "professional" player personnel evaluators, who simply dismiss Wendell as a player.

With all the WR disruption, youth and injuries, With all the OL injuries and disruptions, and the fact we only had our top receiver available for 7 games. The Pats managed to have the 6th best passing attack in the league....NOT the worst. They also gave up 40 sacks, which is number that is much too high, but sacks aren't given up by an individual, they are given up by a unit. A unit that includes TE's and RB's as well the OL.

So in 2013 the Brady was sacked about 6% of the time, up from around 4% in 2012, when we ranked 4th in the league in passing and NO one was complaining about Wendell. In FACT, after the 2012 season Wendell was one of the big surprises. Everyone was happy with him.

Here's the point of all this. In a year when so much changed in our offense. We started 2 rookies, both of whom were hurt during the season. We lost Welker, and his replacement not only missed game, but played hurt all season. Hernandez was in jail and Gronk played only 7 games, so there so for most of the season we had very little productivity from our TE's. And, oh yeah, we lost our 3rd Down RB for several games and he played the rest of the season with a broken wrist.

End result -we were up 2% in sack percentage We threw for about 28 fewer yds/game less. With the biggest difference being 9 fewer TD's than in 2012.

The entire point of this exorcize is to point out that its kind of ludicrous to put the rather minimal declines in passing production at the feet of Ryan Wendell, when SO much else happened in that area.

Finally, and what I still can't understand, is why there are so many blanket negative assessments on a player with so little actual information. How we can pan BB for this signing, all the time knowing he has so much MORE info to base his evaluation on.

Bottom line- I'm not looking for people to change their minds on Wendell. We are all entitled to our opinions, and I can see how they could have reached theirs. I know a LOT of football, and among the most important things I know is, how much I DON'T know, compared to the guys who are doing for a living in the NFL. I'm just looking for those people who want to damn Ryan Wendell, to at LEAST acknowledge that they are making those opinions based on very limited knowledge, while BB is making his, on a LOT more.

BTW- That doesn't make him right all the time, it just makes him more LIKELY to be right.

 

[Sticky Caulk]

I'm just looking for those people who want to damn Ryan Wendell, to at LEAST acknowledge that they are making those opinions based on very limited knowledge, while BB is making his, on a LOT more.

I don't think that point was ever in dispute.. I don't get why you bring that whole 'coach knows best' to any topic. Obviously he does. If we could only discuss things we're equally informed on as the coaching staff, the board would be dead.

Wendell is never injured. He does very well run blocking. Brady seems to believe he is a good pass blocker. He trusts him a lot. Doesn't change the fact that Wendell hasn't handled good DTs well. Pro Football Focus blamed Wendell for six sacks, more than any other lineman in the NFL, last season. That 'stat' can be considered slightly to highly subjective.

I can understand if someone believes Wendell is getting too much or all of the blame. Anyone remember Geno Atkins running right by an oblivious Dan Connelly to absolutely crush Brady? That wasn't a receivers fault either. The intirior OL sucked last year. Too many red zone trips ended with Brady getting rid of the ball too fast because of pressure down the middle.