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aaron hernandez

Aaron Hernandez expected to miss game vs. Colts

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Looks like we’ll be without Hernandez once again…

Remember all the talk about how Hernandez needed to prove he could stay healthy before getting a contract extension? Well he got the extension and he certainly hasn’t proven he can stay healthy.

It’s hard to believe he’s only played four games this year with 17 catches for 143-yards and two touchdowns. He’s quickly gone from having expectations of an unstoppable season to just hoping he’s healthy for the stretch run.

Hard to say if he’ll play against the Jets on Thanksgiving, but perhaps it’s best to shut him down then too, get him the break on the mini-bye and bring him back against the Dolphins.

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Aaron Hernandez back at practice, to return against Seattle?

Albert Breer reports that looks like the target.

And more good news is that Hernando was back at practice today. Report from Jeff Howe:

Big news on the Patriots injury front today. Tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski returned to practice.

Hernandez had been out with an ankle injury, and Gronkowski missed yesterday’s session to rest his hip ailment.

Hernandez was limping a bit after running his first route during positional drills and was testing his ankle when he was off to the side. He looked fine after a drill a few minutes later when he had to really stutter-step and plant his feet before turning for the ball.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-aaron-hernandez/

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New information regarding the injury to Aaron Hernandez reveals he suffered a low – not high – ankle sprain during the first quarter of Sunday’s 20-18 loss to the Cardinals. According to a source, the recovery is indeed expected at 4-6 weeks with optimism toward the earlier end of that timeline.

Source: Low ankle sprain for Hernandez

This is really good news. As recently as this morning I was still worried we might not see Hernando again this season. I mean a high ankle sprain that required surgery could’ve done just that. And we all saw how much pain Hernando looked like he was in. This is a very positive development. Thank Hoodie!

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-hernandez-ankle/

Is it plausible the Pats are saving Welker?

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One of the theories floating around out there about Wes Welker is that the Pats are simply trying to preserve a valuable asset and make sure he’s still deadly for the playoffs. I’m not sure even a overly-optimistic homer like myself believes that’s the case but let’s take a look at why it might make sense.

The first question that must be analyzed is why is Julian Edelman playing in 2-WR sets over Welker? There have been reports that Edelman outplayed Welker in training camp, so why not find out once and for all, if given the chance, can Edelman be a legitimate Z-WR in the Patriots offense. With Welker likely gone next year finding out if Edelman can take over for him now is in the long-term interest of the team.

There’s no question Tom Brady has been over-reliant on Welker at times over the past few years, and the quick decline of slot receivers like TJ Houshmanzadeh and Wayne Chrebet has been well documented. If Welker is on board with it there’s no question cutting his snaps a bit early in the year could pay dividends down the road.

However this goes directly against what we’ve come to know about Bill Belichick. Risk of injury rarely ever plays into his thinking. Could this signify a change in Belichick’s thinking?

With or without Welker on the field the Pats were planning on being a two tight end team. Could this also be a sign of them wanting to move more towards a power game than a move-quick spread one? An evolution that could possibly relegate Welker back to a simple “slot receiver”?

The book on the Pats offense with Welker, Gronk and Hernando as the center pieces is out, and we saw a game plan from the Cardinals from that book: Man coverage, flood the middle of the field. But by holding back on Welker it takes away arguably the biggest key for that version of the Pats offense. It also forces Tom Brady out of his Welker comfort zone and to adjust to some new weapons like Edelman and Brandon Lloyd.

It’s hard to fully believe the Pats are holding back on Welker to save him for the end of the season. There are some undoubted benefits in the long-term for the Patriots by doing so, but it seems very much out of the ordinary from what we know about Belichick. Usually “the best players play” and he throws caution to the wind when it comes to injuries.

What bears more research is how much Welker has declined over the course of the past few seasons? We know some obvious plays that he didn’t make, but what about his overall explosion? Or better yet, just how dinged up has he been in January and February? We’ll probably never know that for sure.

Regardless this is an interesting development for the Patriots and one that we’ll probably have to close the book on until Aaron Hernandez is healthy again. Whenever that may be…

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Wow, possibly the best LOLPats of all time?

lolpats:

A SONG BY THE EURYTHMICS COMES TO MIND WHEN DEFENSES SEE AARON HERNANDEZ

https://www.patspropaganda.com/here-comes-the-rain-again/