ESPN's New England Patriot reporter Mike Reiss on the Pats waiving second year WR Kenbrell Thompkins off their roster

It appears the sentiments and analysis of Patriot football play has been reinforced by Bill Belichick and company reforming their offense and special teams to stop the bleeding on a season that is quickly snowballing out of their favor. Many expert eyes have been keen on a very questionable O line lately from New England, they are in need of strengthening their special teams and, as many suspected making adjustments to their core of wide receivers . ESPN's New England Patriot reporter Mike Reiss broke the story today that the Pats have waived former preseason hopeful Kenbrell Thompkins (WR) off the roster.

The move has many around the league scratching their heads. Some are calling the move by Patriot's Head Coach Bill Belichick to be risky. Objectively looking at the holes in the Patriot's play, the move is just the beginning of a soon to be workaround of the roster. Mike Reiss explained that both corner-back Brandon Browner and receiver Brian Tyms are done with their four game suspensions. They were not activated this week but both practiced with the Pats during the week; since they were inactive, they will miss play against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. On Monday, we should be expecting to see both listed on the roster. The waived roster spot of Kenbrell Thompkins will be replaced with linebacker Ja'Gared Davis, who will be replacing the injured Nate Ebner (DB), to fill the void in special teams.

Kenbrell Thompkins removal is a surprising move around the league which is in part due to the celebration from Bill Belichick and Tom Brady during training camp this year. In fact, Thompkins was well respected for his tenuous work ethic. Mike Reiss reinforced these sentiments with high praise from Bill Belichick concerning Thompkins during training camp who described the receiver as very coach-able, attentive and one of the hardest workers on the team. Tom Brady was of the same opinion, as Brady remarked on Thompkins level of play:

"He made some great plays. It’s exciting for a quarterback when you see a guy make those types of efforts and lay out and catch the ball like he did. He’s been doing that since he got here, and he’s another guy who’s put a lot of work in and fought really hard. It’s fun to be out there with him. I have a lot of confidence in him, a lot of trust. He’s a great guy...He works his tail off, so I think that’s one of his best attributes...There is nothing that has ever been given to him, so it’s great to see a competitor like that. And when your guys make plays like that, it just elevates the rest of the team. Not every play are you going to be open by 10 yards. Sometimes you’ve got to lay out and make the play, and that’s how you get to be a great offense. The plays that maybe are a bit unexpected, if you make those, then it just elevates your whole team.”

Yet things have changed for the worse since training camp for the Patriots' season. Brandon LaFell has arisen to be Brady's number one and, one of the few receivers (possibly the only), who hasn't disappointed this season. LaFell's rise unfortunately meant taking Kenbrell Thompkins spot. In the defense of the Patriots' decision, the move makes sense if you know Belichick as the genius he is, who will be reforming the roster to account for every advantage. As of now it is unclear where we will see Thompkins next and the further short term changes coming to the shaky New England Patriot roster.

References:

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4769418/what-happened-to-kenbrell-thompkins

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/11640909/kenbrell-thompkins-new-england-patriots-waived

Photography/ Image Courtesy:

Kenbrell Thompkins by Fudgehead08

Bill Belichick by Kieth Allison