Patriots sign RB Thomas Clayton; Release OL Quinn Ojinnaka - Patriots Planet - New England Patriots Forums and Message Boards

grog · 09-30-2010, 07:55 PM

Didn't see this posted yet...

Quote:

Patriots sign RB Thomas Clayton; Release OL Quinn Ojinnaka

The New England Patriots signed RB Thomas Clayton to the 53-man roster from the Cleveland practice squad today. Terms of the contract were not announced. To make room on the 53-man roster for Clayton, the Patriots announced that they have released OL Quinn Ojinnaka.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed RB Thomas Clayton to the 53-man roster from the Cleveland practice squad today. Terms of the contract were not announced. To make room on the 53-man roster for Clayton, the Patriots announced that they have released OL Quinn Ojinnaka.

Clayton, 5-11, 222 pounds, went to training camp with New England but was waived on Sept. 4. He signed to the Cleveland practice squad on Sept. 14. Clayton originally was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2007 Draft out of Kansas State. After spending all of 2007 on the San Francisco practice squad, Clayton spent the first 14 weeks of 2008 as part of that unit until being signed to the active roster for the final two games of the season. He spent the 2009 season on injured reserve after getting injured during the preseason.

Ojinnaka, 6-5, 295 pounds, was acquired by New England in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons for undisclosed draft considerations on August 23, 2010. He is a veteran of four NFL seasons after originally joining Atlanta as a fifth-round draft pick out of Syracuse in 2006.

Read more at: http://www.patriots.com/news/index.c...937&pcid=47&cp

Box_O_Rocks · 09-30-2010, 08:17 PM

You're just trying to give the Lynch-mob a rash.

Oswlek · 09-30-2010, 08:30 PM

I've noticed quite a few cheering the return of Thomas Clayton. Can anyone share with me what they see in him? I don't recall a single time I saw him play in the PS where he really jumped out at me as a darkhorse roster guy.

Box_O_Rocks · 09-30-2010, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oswlek

I've noticed quite a few cheering the return of Thomas Clayton. Can anyone share with me what they see in him? I don't recall a single time I saw him play in the PS where he really jumped out at me as a darkhorse roster guy.

I remember him having a couple nice runs, which behind the 3rd/4th string wasn't always assured. Other than that ...

mayoclinic · 09-30-2010, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oswlek

I've noticed quite a few cheering the return of Thomas Clayton. Can anyone share with me what they see in him? I don't recall a single time I saw him play in the PS where he really jumped out at me as a darkhorse roster guy.

Wishful thinking.

PatsFanLisa · 10-01-2010, 07:14 AM

He did have a couple of nice runs that I remember, no hesitation. At this point, it doesn't matter to me who we have on the RB squad. As long as they can manage 4 yds a carry, I'll be happy.

Plus Woodhead is gonna squirt between, through, and under his defenders like a squirrel through a crack in the roof.

patsload · 10-01-2010, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatsFanLisa

like a squirrel through a crack in the roof.

something you are very familiar with :p

anderson · 10-01-2010, 07:59 AM

Like a squirrel on crack - through the roof!

foley11 · 10-01-2010, 09:29 AM

I would typically hesitate to use the verb 'squirt' knowing the folks on this board.

headcase · 10-01-2010, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foley11

I would typically hesitate to use the verb 'squirt' knowing the folks on this board.

yes, yes, but that talk would only happen in the 3RC....

SSDD

Grumpy_Bottom · 10-01-2010, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anderson

Like a squirrel on crack - through the roof!

Or a squirrel on roofies in your crack

anderson · 10-01-2010, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy_Bottom

Or a squirrel on roofies in your crack

Hopefully not - I have hopes for this kid :(

JD10367 · 10-01-2010, 06:38 PM

Some of their back-end roster moves are confounding, really. All the hype (well, okay, not a lot of it, but there was a little) about signing Oogachaka and they dump him for a scrub running back who is such a scrub that he can't beat out other scrubs?

Of all the moves they could make for running back help, they make this one? Goes right along with the Crable move and the continuous keeping of Slater.

mayoclinic · 10-01-2010, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JD10367

Some of their back-end roster moves are confounding, really. All the hype (well, okay, not a lot of it, but there was a little) about signing Oogachaka and they dump him for a scrub running back who is such a scrub that he can't beat out other scrubs?

Of all the moves they could make for running back help, they make this one? Goes right along with the Crable move and the continuous keeping of Slater.

I think a lot of the back end moves are dictated by necessity and are oriented around injuries and potential roster holes. BB addressed this with Ian Rapoport:

Quote:

I spoke with Belichick about the release of Ojinnaka and what it means for the current group of linemen. And he was particularly interesting in discussing the various facets of the trade and the release.

“Just for the depth and the kind of the insurance at that position, I thought, with Nick out and a couple other question marks, I just felt like (the trade) was a good move for our team,” Belichick told me about the move that came during camp. “At this point, things have changed. We’re a little further along, Nick’s obviously a lot closer to being back than he was two months ago. So, would I be happy about losing a pick? Of course not. But what’s the alternative going into a pretty good stretch with no depth on the offensive line? I think that would be a lot worse.”

Instead of using Ojinnaka for depth, there was simply no need. He was insurance that was never utilized. Even without Mankins, the offensive line has been sturdy. They’ve faced no issues and no injuries. “Knock on wood,” Belichick said. With everyone healthy and with some needs at running back, Thomas Clayton was signed and Ojinnaka was released.

“One thing you never want to do is have no offensive linemen — you have no offense,” Belichick said to me. “We felt like we needed a little depth there. Now, these linemen have been healthy — knock on wood — we haven’t had any problems at all. Had anything happened, I think that would’ve been a really important guy for us. Now, as it turned out, now we got a couple injuries at running back, so you just have to kind of decide where you want to put your depth.”

So guard Rich Ohrnberger gets promoted, Ojinnaka gets sent home, Clayton comes aboard, and Kaczur readies to return. With Kaczur, it seems the surgery worked. That was always Belichick’s hope. “We wouldn’t keep him on the roster if we didn’t think he would come back,” Belichick said.

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sp...ffensive-line/

My translation: with Nick Kaczur out indefinitely and the young guys not ready, the Pats traded a 7th for Ojinnaka as an insurance policy in case they needed him. Then the OL played better than expected and has remained healthy, Kaczur seems to be making progress coming back from back surgery, and the RB corps has been decimated. So Ojinnaka becomes expendable, and Thomas Clayton becomes short term insurance.

I'm not defending the back end roster moves, though. Some of them are truly mystifying.

JD10367 · 10-01-2010, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mayoclinic

I think a lot of the back end moves are dictated by necessity and are oriented around injuries and potential roster holes. BB addressed this with Ian Rapoport . . .

I'll buy that. Still doesn't explain Shawn Crable and Matt Slater.

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