Peter King MMQB Mailbag: Now this isn't a bad idea... Martellus Bennett to Pats?

[Stash]

I'm sure this made sense in your head before you typed it.

Actually, I can't even be certain of that.

This is the best you can come up with?

A typo?

 

[bayeslife]

And he knew it poorly enough to be a complete no-factor in the passing game. See how that works?

LOL

I'm sorry, it just does not work like that. But thank you for making my day. I laughed hard when I saw that.

There's no way to turn around what WG said. He must know the playbook to be on as much as he was. We got that part down.

Now we can talk about route running, ability, skill, athleticism as all reasons why Bennett was a no factor. But in all my years of playing football, never once does knowledge of a playbook lead into how much of a factor someone is in the game.

 

[Hostile]

So this is a fan generated idea, and not something King has heard.

Makes sense.[/sarcasm]

 

[KingintheNorth]

All of us are football fans so we all know the game to some level. Some of us played, fewer of us coached. Trust me when I tell you that Bennett being moved pre-snap happened way too often to be labeled in the "everyone messes up" category. A few times it led directly to the offense having to burn timeouts. Mistakes like that will drive a coach crazy. He also ran the wrong patterns on more than a few plays. Go back and re-watch the games.

Now, I realize I am not in the huddle but I have this thing called common sense. Bennett was not up to speed on the playbook. At least not at the level that is expected from a player being counted on.

Here's the most important part of this whole conversation. It's very fixable. It's all up to a player wanting to learn the playbook AND the coaching staff holding that player accountable to knowing the plays. If the coaching staff (and Jerry) believe in Bennett's upside they will get him to that level and hold him accountable for it. If they feel he can't or won't, they will move him.

I really love his upside but I would trade him for 2 reasons. One, I don't think he's a dedicated football player and two, we have Jason Witten. Witten is his biggest obstacle. He can learn every play in the book and he still has to play behind Witten for the next few years. I wouldn't trade him just to get rod of him though. If you can get good value I would wish him luck and trade him.

 

[iceberg]

Honestly, I've only heard it here on the boards. Haven't seen any reports to confirm that.

As for watching games, yes, I've seen Romo directing guys. That's what QBs do.

The question I ask is does anyone know what Romo was saying or why? I'm pretty sure no one here knows, so really it's just speculation and opinion rather than anything based on facts.

yea, but when you hate someone and want to trade them in every single conversation you have, what one player you like can get away with, the other you hate can't.

i don't think people mean to be hypocritical, it just happens out of human nature and you sometimes have to really work to put the insults down and pick up some overall understanding.

even if bennett and roy williams were removed from the team today in a stupid "fan appreciation day" move the only thing that would happen is the same people would go find someone else to trade/hate next.

wild.

 

[gimmesix]

This is a year where we dont need to stockpile picks! We have a lot of talent Bennet included. Why start giving talented players away for players we hope pan out? Bennet has a lot of potential. Jerry will give him another year before he thinks of trading him.

Most people don't seem to believe in the Tom Landry rule.

It's either immediate results or nothing.

 

[Stash]

LOL

I'm sorry, it just does not work like that. But thank you for making my day. I laughed hard when I saw that.

There's no way to turn around what WG said. He must know the playbook to be on as much as he was. We got that part down.

Now we can talk about route running, ability, skill, athleticism as all reasons why Bennett was a no factor. But in all my years of playing football, never once does knowledge of a playbook lead into how much of a factor someone is in the game.

Glad I was able to give you and your obvious plethora of football knowledge a good laugh.

Where did you play, Polk High?

Fact is that he was on the field blocking, and was less of a factor in the passing game than a rookie afterthought who overtook him by season's end.

Of course Phillips will never be the internet hero that Maty B is, but I digress...

 

[Randy White]

I'm sure this made sense in your head before you typed it. Actually, I can't even be certain of that.

I doubt very much he is too.. although I could be wrong.

 

[Stash]

I doubt very much he is too.. although I could be wrong.

Sure wouldn't be the first time, or the last.

 

[Randy White]

All of us are football fans so we all know the game to some level. Some of us played, fewer of us coached. Trust me when I tell you that Bennett being moved pre-snap happened way too often to be labeled in the "everyone messes up" category. A few times it led directly to the offense having to burn timeouts. Mistakes like that will drive a coach crazy. He also ran the wrong patterns on more than a few plays. Go back and re-watch the games.

Now, I realize I am not in the huddle but I have this thing called common sense. Bennett was not up to speed on the playbook. At least not at the level that is expected from a player being counted on.

.

A couple of questions:

a) Do you have the number of times he was moved because he was in the wrong spot and if so, how does it compare it to the rest of the team and the rest of the league ?

Or could this be another matter of perception, like " he dropped a ton of passes ", when it's been proven that he could NOT have ?


b) Doesn't your common sense tells you that if he wasn't up to speed with the playbook, he would NOT have spent as much time as he did on the field ( Like WG suggested ) and furthermore, the Dallas Cowboys offense wouldn't have the highest rushing average to his side ( 6.5 ypc ) as opposed to up the middle or the side away from him ?

 

[Randy White]

Sure wouldn't be the first time, or the last.

Absolutely right.

 

[KingintheNorth]

A couple of questions:

a) Do you have the numbers of times he was moved because he was in the wrong spot and if so, how does it compare it to the rest of the team and the rest of the league ?

Or could this be another matter of perception, like " he dropped a ton of passes ", when it's been proven that he could NOT have ?


b) Doesn't your common sense tells you that if he wasn't up to speed with the playbook, he would NOT have spent as much time as he did on the field ( Like WG suggested ) and furthermore, the Dallas Cowboys offense wouldn't have the highest rushing average to his side ( 6.5 ypc ) as opposed to up the middle or the side away from him ?

I do not have the numbers but I feel safe in saying it would be in" more than the rest of the league" category.

With a limited 53-man roster I think teams have to roll with guys sometimes that aren't up to speed. So yes it is possible that he didn't know the plays as well as the other starters/main players and yet he was still on the field. As the season went on John Phillips started getting more plays and I think that's a possible indicator that the coaches began to feel more comfortable with Phillips and less comfortable with Bennett.

As to your point about blocking, you are exactly right. He blocked extremely well which might help explain why he played so much even though he didn't grasp the full playbook. Very talented kid. I am rooting for him (even if he's traded). I just feel that there are some obvious maturity issues with him. Doesn't make him a bad kid, just means he has some choices to make and that he is the one person most responsible for living up to his football potential.

 

[jay cee]

Bennett is to good to be a 2nd stringer therefore he is bored. To bad for him he plays behind the best cause he's gonna be bored for a long time...

That's my thoughts also. That's why I never liked trading the backup TE they had for a late rd pick, and then using a 2nd for Bennett.

That's why I would be all over 2nd for Bennett, I don't think he has the mental makeup to be a good backup.

 

[wileedog]

and some see what they want.

When Jerry Jones, the High God King of Optimism is calling you out on your work ethic, there is a serious problem. That is as close as you are going to get to "proof" with this organization that Bennett clearly wasn't doing what he was supposed to out there.

The fact the Romo basically stopped looking at him early in the season is a strong signal too.

Bennett is a whole lot of athletic ability that has never translated on the field - not in college, not in the pros - to anything close to what people are projecting him to be. And he's in a situation behind Witten where he will probably never have the motivation or opportunity to do so.

Trading him is a no brainer IMO if you can get a high 1st day pick for him. He's the wrong round peg for the square hole that he is required to be in.

 

[goshan]

I like Bennett.
Not sure he will be a great RCVing tight-end though. He doesn't look to have burst/quickness at the break to me. Good blocker. Pretty good RCVR is my prediction.

 

[bayeslife]

Glad I was able to give you and your obvious plethora of football knowledge a good laugh.

Where did you play, Polk High?

Fact is that he was on the field blocking, and was less of a factor in the passing game than a rookie afterthought who overtook him by season's end.

Of course Phillips will never be the internet hero that Maty B is, but I digress...

Har har.

So what you're saying is, if you were a talented receiver and you had two guys covering you all game, let's say your final stats are 2 rec 12 yds, the conclusion is:

You must not know your playbook well enough.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Better work ethic, Martellus Bennett or Matt Jones?

Hmm...

 

[wileedog]

.

So what you're saying is, if you were a talented receiver and you had two guys covering you all game, let's say your final stats are 2 rec 12 yds, the conclusion is:.

Wait, are you insinuating that a 2nd year, 2nd string TE with 35 career catches was being double covered?

 

[theogt]

Better work ethic, Martellus Bennett or Matt Jones?

Hmm...

More blind - Stash or...

 

[Randy White]

I do not have the numbers but I feel safe in saying it would be in" more than the rest of the league" category.

So it's a matter of perception... Ok..

With a limited 53-man roster I think teams have to roll with guys sometimes that aren't up to speed. So yes it is possible that he didn't know the plays as well as the other starters/main players and yet he was still on the field. As the season went on John Phillips started getting more plays and I think that's a possible indicator that the coaches began to feel more comfortable with Phillips and less comfortable with Bennett.

Well, actually the main reason why Philips started getting more plays was because Bennett got hurt and missed 2 games.

As to your point about blocking, you are exactly right. He blocked extremely well which might help explain why he played so much even though he didn't grasp the full playbook.

You can't block that well without having a grasp of the playbook. Blocking is just as sophisticating as running a pass route, sometimes even more, and especially for a TE.

Let me put it to you this way, there's no way in the world Jason Garrett would have him out on the field if he didn't know the plays or where to line up. No coach would. He'd be killing the offense if that was the case.

Keep this mind: in order for a Cowboys player to be on the field on offense, he has to memorize not only the plays, but the techniques so well that he could change in an instant ( at Romo's will ) and not affect them. Cowboys' offense ALWAYS calls 2 plays and Romo has the option to kill the primary play anytime he sees fit, so they're linning up at the line of scrimage always with 2 plays in mind.

They not only have to be physically able to do the job, they have to be mentally fit or else the offense isn't going anywhere.