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brandon lafell

Report: Patriots release Brandon LaFell and Scott Chandler

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The big news is starting to drop as Adam Schefter and Mike Reiss report that the Patriots have released Brandon LaFell and Scott Chandler. There was plenty of speculation that both players could be let go as both were disappointing in 2015 and effectively removed from the gameplan by the AFC Championship.

Analysis

I was okay keeping Brandon LaFell and thought he was worth the $3.675 million cap hit after a down year that saw him start the season on the PUP list with a nagging foot injury. He just never found any consistency and ended up with just 37 catches on 74 targets. He was impressive in 2014 and a vital part of the Super Bowl run. Belichick always praised his blocking work as well.

I thought it would enough to buy him one more year with the hope that being healthy and playing for a new contract would help him get back to his 2014.  But his absence from the gameplan against the Broncos after getting a bunch of targets against the Chiefs was pretty meaningful. Here we thought LaFell was finally a free agent wide receiver who clicked with Tom Brady. Not anymore.

As for Chandler, everyone had high hopes that he would join with Rob Gronkowski and form a lethal pair of Twin Towers, but Chandler just never seemed to click with Brady. He ended up with 23 catches on 42 targets and four touchdowns. It was worth a try with Chandler, but for all the clutch plays he made against the Patriots when he was with the Bills, he never came through in those big spots with the Patriots.

This will open up around $3.675 million in cap space, and likely makes Danny Amendola safe, at least from release. He still could be extended to reduce his cap hit.

More importantly it opens up two significant roles on the offense — the starting X receiver spot and the second tight end, of “F”. There are no obvious in-house candidates to fill those roles. Aaron Dobson and Keshawn Martin would be pencilled into the X spot for now. AJ Derby, who spent his rookie year on IR, is the only possible fill in at the F spot.

Mohamed Sanu and Dwayne Allen would be my favorite two candidates to add into these holes.

But the more space the Pats open up the more ability they’ll have to add some impactful players in free agency. Both of these positions will have to be addressed in some fashion in the next couple weeks.

Julian Edelman’s foot recovering well, hasn’t required offseason surgery | Boston Herald

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Edelman is fully on track to participate in the offseason workout program. Because foot surgeries are so tricky, Pats receivers such as Aaron Dobson (2014) and Brandon LaFell (2015) missed huge chunks of the offseason workout program following their spring procedures. It’s important that Edelman won’t have to worry about the fallout of a second surgery.

Source: Julian Edelman’s foot recovering well, hasn’t required offseason surgery | Boston Herald

Certainly good news, especially after Edelman was seen limping and headed to the x-ray room after the season-ender. I think the bigger question is just how the Pats view the receiving corps after this year. LaFell couldn’t get healthy until mid-season and struggled to find a rhythm to the point where he was basically replaced by Keshawn Martin in the AFC Championship. Amendola battled injuries of his own, but 2015 made it clear that he can’t take the pounding Edelman takes. Edelman was once again all-everything, and his absence in the lineup severely limited what the Patriots could do.

So now what? Amendola is almost certain to at least have his deal re-worked, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him dismissed entirely – although that would open up the punt return duties and no one wants to put Edelman back into that role full time. I’m of the belief LaFell deserves to play out the last year of his deal. He’ll have plenty of motivation, and he’s a better player than he showed in 2015. At the very least, the Pats are not going to find a tougher outside receiver before 2016.

I’d like to see the Pats shift their slot role from someone like Amendola to a bigger body like free agent Mohamed Sanu. Amendola has made plenty of clutch catches but I’m worried his best (and healthiest) days are behind him.

Then of course there’s old friend Aaron Dobson, entering his fourth season having played just 24 games. No one is counting on him for much of anything as even last season he still exhibited the same issues (aside from injuries) he’s had all along — inability to make the tough catch or make anything happen after the catch.

Receiver should be an area to target both in free agency and the draft. I am okay keeping LaFell and Edelman in their roles, and Martin could develop into a nice fourth option, but the slot is an area it might be time to evolve a bit.

Why loss of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner affects Patriots offense – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN

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Why loss of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner affects Patriots offense – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN

Some tough quotes in here from Brandon LaFell speaking on how much Revis and Browner pushed the Pats’ receivers to be better every day in practice. And just when I thought I was over the sick feeling of letting two impactful players go. Still, over the years of 2009-2012 I often joked that the Pats’ offense must simply roll right over the Patriots’ bend-don’t-break defense in practice since the strengths and weaknesses of the two seemed to blatantly favor the offense.

The offense, designed to take whatever the defense gives them in the short-to-intermediate routes, while the defense was geared to allowing those short plays and not allowing the long ball, something the Pats haven’t exactly been deadly at in that time period. It’s always been an interesting philosophical dynamic to me.

Now it’s up to guys like LaFell and Edelman to return the favor to the cornerbacks on the roster, helping them the same way Revis and Browner helped the receivers last year. Iron sharpens iron. The shoe is just on the other foot this year.

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Leading up to that game, Josh [McDaniels] was like ‘We’re not going to be like how everybody else played them.’ We’re going to be in attack mode. We’re not going to sit back and let them dictate the style of football we want to play. We’re going to go out there, attack those guys, keep those guys on their heels. Make those d-linemen, instead of playing 40 snaps a game, we want them to play 60 snaps. Over the course of the game, we got down 10 points, everybody was calm. We knew they couldn’t stop us.

Brandon LaFell

New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston

https://www.patspropaganda.com/new-england-patriots-blog-7/

How Brandon LaFell Went from Afterthought Signing to Super Bowl X-Factor | Bleacher Report

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How Brandon LaFell Went from Afterthought Signing to Super Bowl X-Factor | Bleacher Report

Good stuff from Frenz on LaFell. As I mentioned in my look back at the Pats-Seahawks game of 2012, LaFell is so much better for this match up than Brandon Lloyd and his “flying through the air like he was shot out of a cannon” catches.

LaFell has been a revelation this year, but not in the speed burner deep threat that a lot of people hoped for. No, he’s more of the perfect Belichick receiver who is more than willing to block downfield. Belichick went out of his way over and over this year to point out how much he likes LaFell’s style.

So I don’t really get it when people are putting wide receiver at the top of the needs list for this offseason. LaFell is here to stay and makes a perfect combo with Edelman.

Brandon LaFell’s rise crucial to New England Patriots’ success – ESPN Boston

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Brandon LaFell’s rise crucial to New England Patriots’ success – ESPN Boston

Maybe the most underrated storyline of the 2014 season, lost in the shuffle of Revis/Browner, Gronk’s return, Brady, etc, is the rise of LaFell.

Prior to this year, you couldn’t talk about the Patriots offense without mentioning how impossible it’s been for them to find new receivers for Tom Brady.

But LaFell has been everything the Pats could’ve hoped for, but not in the way of being a “deep threat” that some longed for, but a physical outside receiver who will play just as hard when he’s blocking as he will when he’s out on a route.