Dan Connolly Retires
- Thread starter jsinger121
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Hoya81 said:
One of my top 10 favorite football plays, pure unexpected joy to watch him rumble down the field carrying the ball like it was the most precious thing on the planet then realizing he had a chance and locking into full tilt Connolly. Also spurred one of my favorite video game challenges - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XanLXG9lrGw
Solid contributor to the championship team, glad he hung them up before the next concussion and hope the long-term damage isn't already done so he can enjoy the young one's.
A bit of an aside, but what's astonishing about this team's run is just how many times they've come back (they were down 17-7 late in the first half in that return game), against good competition nonetheless. Obviously punctuated by this year's Divisional and Super Bowl games.
What has happened with Dan Connolly remains curious to me.
I'm happy for him that he is retiring on top and hopefully with his brains remaining unscrambled.
And I get that the Pats beefed up the offensive line depth in the draft.
But I remain a bit perplexed at their reticence to bring back Connolly. The offensive line was shaky last year until they settled on Wendell-Stork-Connolly in the middle of it, he was a starting guard on a SB winning team and, to my very untrained eyes, he was not a weak link out there.
Can those with more expertise than me, or anyone for that matter, offer some reasons why the Pats seemingly did not make him an offer and just did not want him? I would appreciate reading some thoughts on this.
And I hope they don't need him and he does come back if they do.
I'm happy for him that he is retiring on top and hopefully with his brains remaining unscrambled.
And I get that the Pats beefed up the offensive line depth in the draft.
But I remain a bit perplexed at their reticence to bring back Connolly. The offensive line was shaky last year until they settled on Wendell-Stork-Connolly in the middle of it, he was a starting guard on a SB winning team and, to my very untrained eyes, he was not a weak link out there.
Can those with more expertise than me, or anyone for that matter, offer some reasons why the Pats seemingly did not make him an offer and just did not want him? I would appreciate reading some thoughts on this.
And I hope they don't need him and he does come back if they do.
I think he does have a concussion history. (In fact, didn't he suffer one on the runback; or was it just in that game?).
It could be that, somewhat similar to Welker, that the team thinks that he is *this* close to suffering a season-altering concussion and they don't want to both commit financial resources and plan an offense centrally involving him. They seemed to have gauged Mankins's decline accurately, so my nearly uninformed speculation is that its anticipatory decline/potential injury/uncertainty related. For better or worse (mostly better) we know that BB doesn;t let sentiment get in the way.
More importantly, this could have been mutual. Havent read enough to see if he's actively seeking employment.
EDIT: and what dcmissle said. (thinking of linemen and the accumulation of thousands of sub-concussive hits)
It could be that, somewhat similar to Welker, that the team thinks that he is *this* close to suffering a season-altering concussion and they don't want to both commit financial resources and plan an offense centrally involving him. They seemed to have gauged Mankins's decline accurately, so my nearly uninformed speculation is that its anticipatory decline/potential injury/uncertainty related. For better or worse (mostly better) we know that BB doesn;t let sentiment get in the way.
More importantly, this could have been mutual. Havent read enough to see if he's actively seeking employment.
EDIT: and what dcmissle said. (thinking of linemen and the accumulation of thousands of sub-concussive hits)
I thought that nothing could top that kickoff return as my favorite moment for a guard, but I'll go with 20 seconds left in Superbowl 49, first and 10 from the half yard-line. I was still playing the scenarios in my head about the possibilities of a safety-free kick-Seattle FG/one point victory, and I didn't unclench until the Seahawks jumped offsides. Connelly calmly stood up and gently pushed whoever on Seattle jumped (Michael Bennett?) to ensure the penalty call and not let Seattle get back onsides. Pretty sure I screamed, "Thank you Dan!" in that moment.
He's suffered 4 concussions, Theo. The Patriots probably gauged his interest in coming back at a lower salary since he's an injury risk and older. He shopped it around, even visited Tampa, and came to a conclusion that the risks werent worth it. He goes out on top and can enjoy a relatively healthy life with his young family.
DC, fair enough. I don't think the snark is necessary but yeah, I hear what you're guffawing and others are saying about the concussions. As Red said, it seemed like he was pursuing playing next year by talking to Tampa, so my query was more from the Pats perspective...and I was wondering why they seemed uninterested, if they were.
The concussions could very well be the reason for that but then again, I am not aware of him suffering one during the playoffs, when he continued to suit up. So did the Pats just say "at this point, he's suffered a bunch of them, so we should move on or make a very low offer"? Or something along those lines?
Kenny, good point. Maybe they did. There was no report of an offer and there sometimes is a report that X player has an offer outstanding, but who knows with the Pats? It's not as if they are transparent.
In the end, Red's answer seems quite plausible.
Thanks and carry on.
The concussions could very well be the reason for that but then again, I am not aware of him suffering one during the playoffs, when he continued to suit up. So did the Pats just say "at this point, he's suffered a bunch of them, so we should move on or make a very low offer"? Or something along those lines?
Kenny, good point. Maybe they did. There was no report of an offer and there sometimes is a report that X player has an offer outstanding, but who knows with the Pats? It's not as if they are transparent.
In the end, Red's answer seems quite plausible.
Thanks and carry on.
There are just so many slots and maybe he doesnt have the inclination or talent to do so.....But I always like to think that the "middle name" guys would be welcomed into the Coaches locker room at Patriot place. He learned from Dante and could learn more from BB. Maybe he could impart some of that. Sure start at the bottom and learn.....but maybe thats a possibility for him at some point in the future.
Either way its awesome he can spend his time with his wife an kids.
Either way its awesome he can spend his time with his wife an kids.
ifmanis5 said:
From what I recall, he got a concussion after that play. Possibly from getting "congratulated" in the head from fellow players.
TheoShmeo said:
One thing that we often forget as fans (and a lot of teams seem to forget) is that you just constantly need to be pushing out players who are 28-32 years old and bringing in guys who are 22-23: NFL Players don't go downhill, the fall off a cliff, and if you are letting a position group get old (or go to free agency) all at once you're going to have problems. The oline is in need of some overhauling and it's better to do it a player at a time than two or three at a time.