BOSTON SPORTS CHICK
  • BLOG
  • DEFLATEGATE
  • GUEST BLOGS
  • GENERAL SPORTS/HOT TOPICS

WHEN HAS BELICHICK LET A GUY GO TOO SOON?  PART 9

4/13/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
In my 8 prior blog posts I took a look at 10 players who many fans feel Belichick let go too soon.  I looked at each players' situation and made a call on whether it was too soon or not.  Today's post takes a look at player #11.  While there were more than 11 players named by fans, a few of them really didn't require at look into.
Snow Angels- The final player I am taking a look at was a member of the Patriots for 9 seasons.  Fans mostly remember him for making snow angels after Vinatieri kicked the game winning field goal against the Raiders.  Am I really looking at a guy who is known for making snow angels?  Yes, yes I am. 
Doing His Job- As a member of the Patriots, Lonie Paxton always "did his job".  When you are a long snapper in the NFL and you do your job correctly day after day, it's likely that nobody knows your name.  Sometimes, if you are lucky, you might get a little attention when you are part of a Belichickian ploy to trade the other team points for better field position and an eventual victory.

Injury and the Replacements- As a Patriot Lonie played in 156 of a possible 162 games, including playoffs.  The 6 games he missed in 2003 should have made Belichick realize how important he was. The only games Lonie missed were due to tearing his ACL during a snowy game against Miami. After shutting Mr. Reliable down for the season, Belichick brought in veteran Sean McDermott.  McDermott got hurt in his first game which led to Belichick bringing in his former long snapper from his Cleveland days, Brian Kinchen.  I can't even begin to summarize the craziness that ensued during the Patriots Super Bowl run that year, so you'll need to readthis. Trust me, it is a great read.  
Back to Perfect- The following season with Lonie back doing what he does best, the special teams unit was back to automatic.  Adam Vinatieri made 93.9% of his regular season field goals and was perfect throughout the postseason.  New punter Josh Miller also had a solid season with no blocks and a respectable 34% of his punts being inside the 20.  

​Damn You Josh- In 2009 Josh McDaniels got his big chance to be a head coach in the NFL.  With that chance he scooped up several free agents from the Patriots.  Having coached for New England, he knew both the importance of a long snapper and how good Lonie Paxton was.  McDaniels gave Lonie a 5 year deal worth $5.3 million.  While it seemed like a crazy amount of money for a long snapper,it really wasn't based on his skills and longevity.  
Picture
First Year Without Paxton-  The first season without Lonie worked out pretty well for the Patriots.  In the offseason they signed veteran punter Nathan Hodel and drafted Jake Ingram in the 6th round.  Ingram ended up winning the position during camp and had a rather uneventful rookie season. 

Second year Without Paxton-  The second season with long-snapper Jake Ingram started off great.  So great that Glen Farley wrote this glowing article about him and his nerves of steels and nonchalant Hawaiian attitude.  The following game against the Chargers Ingram was a hot mess.  He botched 2 snaps and had a holding penalty in the first quarter alone.  By the end of the game he had a total of 4 horrible snaps.  Two games later he had another horrid game when the Browns beat the Patriots by 20. After the Cleveland game Ingram was shown the door and Matt Katula was brought in to finish the season.  Katula would finish the season with the team but not make it through the following pre-season. 

Role Filled- The Patriots would claim Danny Aiken off waivers from the Bills on September 4th 2011.  Aiken would more than adequately fill the role until current long-snapper, Lt. Joe Cardona would arrive for duty in 2015.

Verdict- I do believe this is a case where Belichick let a guy go too soon.  The money and time Paxton got really wasn't that much of a gamble.  Of course I say that having no idea if McDaniels would have raised the bar higher if he had to.  The fact that it took a while to replace him also obviously comes into play while making the decision as well.  
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture

    ARCHIVES

    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    OTHER BLOGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT

    New England Sports Talk
    Kap Lifestyle

    RSS Feed

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo from Eric Kilby