1) Introduction: Bostick was relegated mostly to special teams in 2014 after a late preseason leg injury forced him out. He wasn’t ever able to get back to good and become the part of the Packers’ offense that they had hoped he would.
2) Profile:
Brandon Bostick
- Age: 25
- Born: 5/3/89 in Florence, SC
- Height: 6’3″
- Weight: 250
- College: Newberry College
- Rookie Year: 2013
- NFL Experience: 2 years
3) Expectations coming into the season: Bostick was expected to compete for a starting tight end spot in 2014 and seemed to be in the thick of that competition when a leg injury late in the preseason forced him to miss the season opener in Seattle. Because of the injury, Bostick was never able to become part of the team’s offensive plans.
4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Bostick had a touchdown catch in week 10 against the Chicago Bears, one of just two catches all season. His low-light needs no introduction and was possibly the worst single play of the entire 2014 NFL season. With the Seattle Seahawks needing an onside kick to score a go-ahead touchdown late in the NFC championship game, Bostick abandoned his responsibility of blocking on the play and instead tried to recover the ball. The ball squirted free and was recovered by the Seahawks, who scored later on the possession. The Packers still had their chances to win the game after that point, but a recovery by Green Bay in that situation likely helps them seal a close win and sends them to their sixth Super Bowl.
5) Player’s contribution to the overall team success: Bostick’s touchdown against the Bears was relatively meaningless, despite it being a scoring play. Due to injury and a major lack of playing time, Bostick wasn’t a contributor during the regular season outside of occasional special teams duties.
6) Player’s contributions in the playoffs: The gaffe heard ’round the world. Bostick could not have been more detrimental to this Packers team in the playoffs.
7) Intangibles: Bostick is clearly a stand-up guy, facing the media after his huge blunder in the NFC championship game. At least he showed some character and genuinely felt bad for his mishap. He’s physically gifted and should be able to produce more on the field, if he can ever overcome the mental portion.
Season Report Card (Player Grades):
(D+) Level of expectations met during the season
(D+) Contributions to team’s overall success.
(F) Contributions to team during the playoffs
Overall Grade: D-
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Jason Perone is an independent sports blogger writing about the Packers on AllGreenBayPackers.com
Follow Jason Perone:
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1st, I agree Jason that Bostick showed a lof of integrity when he forthrightly admitted that he abandoned his assignment and took responsibility for the result. MM called him the best blocking TE at one point. Not sure why after 3 years he had so much trouble with the mental portion of the game.
Most expected him to be the #1 TE. Instead, he couldn’t even get on the field (32 offensive snaps all season). Expectations grade has to be lower, and I think the contributions on the field should be lower too. But no need to pile on here. I’ll just suggest that his grade should be lower.
He cost the Pack a trip to the superbowl. F-
He show no discipline and didn’t carry out his assignment on the most important play of the year with the Super Bowl on the line. And then when he did disobeyed orders , he couldn’t even do what he’s payed to do…catch a ball. I don’t care that he admitted his blunder. These type of blunders get people killed in other professions ( military, police, fire department, rescue, etc). You have to do what you are taught! Plus he couldn’t get on the field for the offense this year. He gets a F- and kicked off the team!
Pretty bad when people aren’t even playing the ‘potential’ card. Unless we draft a TE, he will still be number 3 on a depth chart that usually has at least 4 TE’s on the team.
In war, guys that failed their platoon like Bostick did, learned to sleep with one eye open before they either got court martialed or sent back to work mortuary detail. No way this guy comes back.
This is just dumb. American football and war are not synonymous.
For %@$# sake righteous aaron (and the @$$hat that upvoted it), it’s a metaphor, not a synonym.
This is not the military or law enforcement people! Its the NFL and a GAME! The man messed up he admitted it so while I agree he should be warming the bench or even unemployed this year he is a big part of special teams and depth on the TE list.
Vince Lombardi was all about discipline and knowing your assignment. If a special teams player cost Lombardi a chance at a world championship by disobeying orders , he’d already be gone.
Vince Lombardi also called JFK to ask for a personal favor and got Paul Hornung out of military duty on Sundays in 1961.
Lombardi’s genius was teaching football with military pedagogy, not actually running his football team like an army.
Well, it looks like MM did what Lombardi would have done. MM canned Bostick moments after I posted this. Thanks for making my point, Mike. And to compare Bostick to Horning? Seriously? Wow. Ya, I can see Lombardi do the same thing for Bostick that he did for Horning…..lol! The point is Thomas, Bostick failed on the field and in my opinion, gets a F-. Horning didn’t fail on the field.
Bostick. Cut.
Bostick was the victim of getting on McCarthy’s bad side. Most people forget during the offseason he was playing for starter reps. The “mental” part was McCarthyism for not being available (hurt) and making mistakes during practice. James Starks is frequently on McCarthy’s bad side for those reasons but produces too much to be hidden on the bench.
As a player Bostick could never solidify his role. He wasn’t a great blocker and wasn’t given enough targets to show if he could pass catch.
Bostick will probably not make another NFL roster, but he survived a long time for an UDFA. The Green Bay Packers lost to Seattle not Brandon Bostick.
The team cut Bostick on Feb. 16th, the day after Jason wrote his article. We get nothing for him. Change that grade from D- to F.
The blunder in Seattle was probably just the finally straw in a project that never really panned out. Apparently he had all the tools but didn’t have the mental part of the game to execute. Too bad it cost so much to find out where the ceiling was on this player.
Looks like the Packers were waiting for our report card – Cut Bostick the next day…
Al: Someone’s got to take the fall. And it’s not going to be a first round draft pick who was so inept and flat-footed when allowing the two-point conversion. Clinton-Dix makes that play and Crosby’s field goal puts us in the Super Bowl.
When your football season comes down to a bunch of nevers…
…they should have never lost that onside kick.
…they should have never given up the 2-pt conversion.
…they should have never taken a knee on the int.
…they should have never been so conservative with the ball in the second half.
…they should have never settled for 3 instead of going for 6…TWICE…in the first quarter.
…just as it did against San Francisco a year ago, you don’t win.
Bostick isn’t taking any kind of fall. He was beat out by a rookie and a fairly average player at a position begging for a playmaker. He wasn’t coming back, regardless.
Disagree. Among the 3 TEs, Bostick reportedly was the best blocking TE. He was a contributor on special teams. Had he followed his instructions and performed his assignment on that onside kick, he’d be with the team in the spring.