The Bubble

There's really not much to watch for in the last preseason game on Thursday. Anyone who's important will probably play very little if at all. There are some interesting position battles that have yet to work themselves out. The following players will be on the bubble and fighting for a roster spot against the Giants.



QB's

Obviously Brady and Cassell are on the roster. If Guttierez has a decent night, and I think he's looked pretty good so far, the Pats may be unwilling to demote him to the practice squad. He's played well enough to get attention from elsewhere. That would mean Vinnie gets 'cut' and hangs around the team until a position becomes available.



(THE PRACTICE SQUAD. A player has to be waived by the team and if no one claims him in 24 hours he can be re-signed to your practice squad. However, any team can claim any practice squad player from any other team as long as he spends 5 weeks on the new team's active gameday roster.)



WR's

With Brown and Jackson officially placed on the P.U.P. today, there is theoretically only one WR spot open. Gaffney, Stallworth, Moss and Welker make the cut. That leaves last year's leading receiver, Reche Caldwell on the bubble with Kelley Washington. The argument for Washington is that he's big and he plays well on special teams, however he's not as familiar with the Offense as Caldwell. The argument for Caldwell is that he's got the rapport with Brady and knows the O, however he doesn't play special teams and he's an expensive 5th receiver at 1.5 mill. If they keep Caldwell and Washington it would be at the expense of a DB, possibly Mel Mitchell.


TE's

The best tight end on this team is David Thomas, but unfortunately he will be starting the year on the P.U.P. recovering from a broken foot. So Watson makes the team and Brady will most likely make the team now that he's practicing again. Marcellus Rivers looked better than Watson on Friday night and he's a good blocker, but he'll be on the bubble with second year man Garrett Mills. Mills has looked lost at times this year and he's not a great blocker, so look for Mills to be cut.


DB's

There may be a surprise at this position depending on how many DB's they keep and where they play, if they consider Merriweather a safety now that Asante is back. At Safety they have Rodney, Wilson, Sanders, Willie Andrews and Mel Mitchell. At CB they have Asante, Hobbs, Gay, James and Merriweather. The bubble players would be Andrews, Mitchell and possibly James. Andrews has played both corner and safety, returned punts and been effective on special teams, I think he sticks. Because Mitchel is considered another Izzo on special teams he will probably stick too. If the Pats are happy with Asante's condition and Merriweather's performance to date, then Tory James will be the man to go.

On a bit of a side note, I'm pretty upset with the Pats for giving in to Asante. The Pats have given up their right to franchise him again next season as long as he plays 75% of the time and the Pats acheive a certain # of wins. Perhaps the thinking is that he won't be worth the 9+ million they'll have to pay him if they franchise him next season. My concern is that he'll take too many risks in trying to increase his interception #'s for a big payday and give up big plays instead. Thanks for allowing me to vent, now back to the roster bubbles.

The rest of the roster seems pretty much set, with a couple of O Lineman (rookies Oldenberg and Elgin) going to the practice squad. So watch to see how the Bubble players perform, there won't be much else to see. Don't be surprised to see the Pats try to trade one or two of these bubble guys for a draft pick rather than just cutting them.


I'm nearly finished with my research to make some predictions, so watch for the next post when I'll tell you what the Pats record will be and who they'll beat in the superbowl.

They were good, BUT

I have had a lot of people approach me since Friday's game and tell me how great the Patriots played. Yes they were good, BUT there are some things that still bother me.



Stephen Gostkowski bothers me. OK, maybe he just makes me nervous. Did you know he's only 3 of 6 in preseason play? He hasn't made a kick over 32 yds! I am SHOCKED that Bill hasn't brought in another kicker to challenge Gost or at least make him concentrate a little harder. It was a rare occasion when Vinatieri was the lone kicker in camp. He used to bring in an extra kicker all the time to press Vinatieri, suddenly Bill os OK with a second year guy? I know it's pre-season and the guy was 8-8 in the playoffs, but right now I have no confidence that he'll make the game winner. Do you?



The passing game still bothers me. I don't think Brady is on the same page with enough of the wide receivers. Yes he's completed 67% of his passes, but too many of them are dump offs to the RB's. As evidenced by his only getting 7.2 yds per pass. In addition, the leading receivers are Faulk (9 catches) and Evans (7 catches) both running backs. Next is Welker and Washington with 5 catches each. If you take away the 37 yard duck that Brady threw to Stallworth, then he's got only 3 catches for 23 yds. Moss hasn't played a down and he hasn't even practiced since August 1st. Hopefully Moss will come back soon and the game planning (when they actually start game planning) will increase the effectiveness of the wideouts.


The Pass defense also bothers me. In Friday's game, Delhomme and Carr completed 65% of their passes. There was also the little matter of the long TD against the starting defense to end the first half. Maybe the return of Asante helps, but that remains to be seen.


I'm not trying to be a pessimist here. There were many positives to build on in Friday's game. I think that my job as your blogger this year will be to keep everyone level headed and realistic about this team. I'm sure every one of us expects the Pats to win the superbowl and anything short of that will shock us. This is a team that has yet to play a meaningful down and has a lot of work to do to become a playoff contender, nevermind a superbowl winner. So don't get down on me for pointing out 'negatives', I've merely pointed out some stats today that are bothersome. And will continue to do so until they win their 4th title!

Keep on reading and tell your friends you heard it here!

Making Excuses?

Sorry for the delay in posting this week. Unfortunately, I simply haven't had time to do much research this week. We are leaving for our anual San Diego trip and things have been quite hectic. I'll try to have some new stuff for you upon my return next week.

Thanks for checking in!

What To Watch For

OK, I know it's just the preseason, but MAN will it be great to see the Pats take the field again this Friday night in Tampa Bay. The starters probably won't log much time and some of the nicked up stars might not play at all (Moss, Maroney). There are some interesting storylines that have developed through the course of camp that bear watching during the preseason games.

The first happens to be the one that I'm most excited about, Zone Blocking. It has been perfected in Denver, where they've had something like 6 different RB's rush for over 1000 yds in the last 8 seasons. Zone blocking is executed by the O-Line on run plays. What it boils down to is that they block the guy in front of them in the direction they want to run. So if the defensive tackle is to Matt Light's right, he blocks him right. If he's on Light's left, he blocks him left. Then they essentially call the play "run left", hand the ball to Maroney who works his way down the line watching for a hole. When the hole opens, he makes one cut, bursts through it and takes off downfield. This is how Maroney's offense at Minnesota worked, so it's what he's used to and what he excells at. It is different from a traditional running play in which the play would be designed for Maroney to run specifically between Light and Mankins for instance. In that case Light and Mankins would have to move a diffender out of that space so Maroney could run through. Now it's just putting a body on a defender and letting Maroney pick the hole. It should result in some big runs this season especially since teams will have to play only 6 or 7 men in the box out of respect for the new deep passing threat's Moss and Stallworth.

Speaking of the O-line, the second storyline to watch is who will emerge as the starting right Tackle. Nick Kaczur and Ryan O'Callaghan have split practice time with the first team almost 50/50. Recently Billy Yates has also gotten some reps with the first team. The O-Line should be a strength this year and the competition at right tackle will only help.

Another Battle that has started to emerge is who will replace Samuel. At the beginning of camp, Chad Scott got the nod until he was injured. Then Randall Gay got most snaps with the first team. More recently the coaches have been giving more snaps to veteran CB Tory James and rookie Brandon Merriweather. Some scribes are writing that James as a starter is not a good thing, as he was torched on a few occassions last year with Cincy. I think that, unless you had intimate knowledge of Cincy's D last year, you can't tell how much blame to put on James. By the way, people are starting to RAVE about Merriweather saying he will get significant time on the field and have a big impact this season.

The other camp battle that emerged is the battle of Punters. I, like most, assumed that Josh Miller would be the punter now that he's healthy again. As Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my friend." NFL Europe punter Danny Baugher has been booming the ball thusfar. He has had by far the strongest leg with the most hangtime and distance. What might save Miller is that the Pats know he can do it in live games and in bad weather not to mention that he's been great downing punts inside the ten. Baugher hasn't shown as much skill in the area downing punts.

Returning punts and kicks is another big question mark. Last year Maroney was 5th in the league in kick return average. You CAN'T use him this year because you don't have Dillon any more so you can't afford to lose Maroney to an injury in the kicking game. Ellis Hobbs averaged 38 yds a return and even scored a TD, but I don't need to tell you how important he is at CB this year. So it will be interesting to see who emerges as the returners this year. Faulk is reliable and experienced at catching kicks, as is Troy Brown if he can get on the field. Wes Welker should emerge as the primary punt returner. Others returning kicks are Bam Childress and Kelvin Kight, but both are long shots to make this team.

Lastly, it will be interesting to see the wide receivers in action. How do they look and how well are they clicking with Brady? As it Currently stands the only guys that are locks to make the team are Welker, Moss and Gaffney. Stallworth, Caldwell, Washington and Brown would be the next group that probably have a job. Stallworth is just now starting to practice after missing 10 days, Caldwell and Washington have been unremarkable though Caldwell's been better lately, and Brown hasn't even practiced yet. The rest are just camp fodder, though I'd expect Childress and Kight to possible make the practice squad. As of today, expect Welker, Moss, Gaffney, Stallworth, Caldwell and Washington on the roster, with Brown and Chad Jackson on PUP and Childress and Kight on the practice squad. Don't be surprised to see Childress get picked up by another team - he will make some plays in preseason games.

Enjoy the game and tell your friends you heard it here!

Notes from Training Camp

I realize that I probably say this every year, but I'm going to say it again. If you get an opportunity to go to training camp you need to go. It is just a fantastic event. There's stuff for the kids to do, there's autographs to be had, and of course you get a glimpse of the team as it comes together.


I got there a little bit early (practice was to start at 230 and I arrived at the field by 2pm) and already the bleachers were nearly full. I sat on the hill in the grass which is about the best view you can get of both practice fields. It just to happens that I was near the press tent. Since it was early, I went over to chat with Mike Reiss, from the Boston Globe. He was the first media guy to arrive and was sitting by himself. He's a real nice guy, fun to chat with, maybe I'll invite him to golf as well. (My buddy called me a media whore.)

There were a lot of oohs and aahs from the fans as the players began to trickle onto the practice fields. A lot of "Look- there's Adalius" and "Look- there's Moss" and so on. Tom Brady was last to come out and he nearly got a standing ovation - the place went crazy.

Practice was held in full pads and there was certainly a LOT of hitting going on. There was a lot of first O versus first D, there was blitz pickup drills, there was some special teams work.


Adalius Thomas was once again working as the strong side middle line backer. This is a change of position from Baltimore where he played outside and was highly effective. To his credit his has held the company line saying that he'll play wherever they want him to. As far as the linebackers go, this could be a special year -IF they all stay healthy. Bruschi looks like the Bruschi of old, Vrabel is back on the outside where he belongs and Rosie looks good. Add in Junior Seau to back them all up and you've got quite a corps. Second year LB Pierre Woods also made some nice plays which is important to the depth of the LB's.


With Maroney in a non-contact RED jersey, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris got lots of action. While Morris looked pretty decent, he got beat by blitzers more often than you'd like to see. Kevin Faulk was just outstanding. He broke at least 3 runs, never missed a blitz pickup and was involved in the play of the day. Faulk motioned out of the backfield to a WR position and was followed by Bruschi in coverage. On the snap he ran a go route down the sideline followed very closely by Tedy, with Hobbs providing over the top help. Brady launched the ball into the tight coverage and it looked like he shouldn't have even thrown the ball. The ball came down right into Faulks hands, he tucked it and was pushed out by Hobbs. Bruschi was only a half step away, Hobbs was a half step away, yet Brady snuck the ball in perfectly. The place erupted.

On another play - one that I hope we'll see many more times- Brady hit Randy Moss deep. It was real subtle how Moss got open and may not have even been noticed by most bystanders. It appeared to be a play that wasn't designed to go to Moss, but Brady couldn't find anyone else open. Moss was barely coasting and was 40 or so yds downfield when Brady finally made the throw. Moss picked up on it and went into a sprint. I couldn't tell who was in coverage from my angle, but he was stride for stride with Moss - who eventually had to almost stop and wait for the ball to come down some 60 yds downfield. Moss looked up for the ball while "incidentally" bumping the safety and knocking him slightly off balance just as Moss jumped up to snare the ball. Brady has acknowledged that he hasn't been overly accurate when throwing to Moss. It almost seemed like he's trying too hard to make a perfect pass to him. In a lot of drills, when Brady wasn't putting where he wanted you could hear him give out an "AAAAGGHH" before the ball even got to Moss. It happened probably 5-6 times and only when throwing to Moss. One ball almost skipped to him, but Moss was able to reach down and pull it off the blades of grass.

Kelley Washington participated in practice and looked pretty good. The other WR that stood out was Jabar Gaffney. It's easy to see why many of the local writers are saying he'll start opposite Moss on opening day. What was really cool was the way they employed the 3 WR sets. The first Offense had Moss, Gaffney and Welker. One would assume that Moss and Gaffney would be the wide guys with Welker in the slot. Most of the time however, Welker would line up wide right with Moss wide left and Gaffney on Moss' side in the slot and it was an imposing sight to see them break the huddle and line up on the same side. Looking at the various formations, it was hard not to imagine what the hell an opposing defense will do to TRY to stop this team.

While Welker didn't really stand out on Offense, he had a good day returning punts. He will make a big difference for this team in the battle for field position. Another guy that really stood out on special teams was rookie free agent CB Larry Anam from BC. He's big and pretty fast, but he was relentless in his pursuit of the ball. He's a very long shot, but Belichick puts a premium on special teams, so maybe he's got a chance.

Overall it was a good, fast paced, hard hiting practice. Now I can't wait to see how it all comes together on game day!

Thoughts going into camp....THIS FRIDAY!!!!

I almost can't take it anyore, the last few days before camp are killer!

I don't know if anyone heard the UNTRUE, STUPID rumor going around yesterday that Tedy Bruschi died. I don't know where it came from (I had 3 different people ask me about it) but I am glad to report that the rumor is NOT TRUE. Some people need to get a life.

The PUP list came out and it includes the following Patriots:
WR Troy Brown;RB Justise Hairston; WR Chad Jackson; CB Eddie Jackson; S Mel Mitchell; DL Richard Seymour; TE David Thomas; WR Kelley Washington

Being put on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list means that you cannot take part in training camp until you are taken off the list. You cannot be on the regular season PUP unless you are on the pre-season PUP. The PUP designation may be removed at any point prior to the start of the regular seasn, but if you beging the regular season on th PUP, you are not eligable to begin praciting until after week 6. The most likely to remain on the PUP for the regular season are Chad Jackson (torn ACL v. Indy) and Eddie Jackson (special teams standout signed from the dolphins who also has an ACL injury)




Patriots camp this year promises to be filled great competition unlike last year, when there was not a lot of depth behind the starters. What makes this year especially interesting is that it's not just inter-positional battles for roster spots. While there are 12 WR's fighting for possibly 6 roster spots, we will be seeing battles between full backs and tight ends for roster spots. We may also see some of the 'bubble' WR's battling DB's for roster spots. It all depends on who's going to play special teams well.


Did I harp on Seymour money yet? I guess I was right about him, he was the highest paid player in the NFL last season, raking in nearly 25 MILLION Dollars. Let's see....doing some math....24 solo tackles...that's a million per tackle.....4 sacks.....that's 6 million per sack....That almost gets him into the JD Drew league of unproductive contracts. Oh but i guess he's worth it 'cuz he's got a fan hotline. You DID see his name on the PUP, right?


I'm very happy to hear the news that Tarik Glen, Indy's starting left Tackle for the past 11 seasons, is retiring! Now they'll either have a journeyman or a rookie protecting Peyton's backside. Mr Manning, this is Mr Thomas and Mr Vrabel and Mr Colvin and Mr Harrison.


Here's one that really pisses me off. Now I'm not a proponent of drug use in any way shape or form (not even prescription), but I have to take issue with the NFL over it's drug policies. Ricky Williams has absolutely NO CHANCE of getting back into the league because he smokes weed. Explain to me how that gives him an edge over the competition. The guy gets pounded 20 or 30 times a game and is sore and beat up, he smokes some weed to make some of the pain go away. Then they tell him he can't ever play in the league again. On the other hand, Shawn Merriman gets busted on STEROIDS, completely enhancing his game - changing the outcome of games, and he gets a little 4 game suspension. OH, and a trip to the probowl! Shouldn't it be the opposite punishment for these two guys? Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive enough to thing that no one's doing roids in the NFL. They're probably all on some type of enhancers, but if you get caught you need to be severely punished. Do you think a 4 game slap on the wrist stopped Merriman from cycling again this of season?


Yes it is dispicable what Mike Vick "supposedly" did. I think that it's more disgusting that the public outcry about it is greater than the outcry against Pacman Jones. Vick brutalized some animals. There's a young guy with a wife and little children to support who was paralyzed because of the actions of Pacman Jones. Where is the outcry? When did the life of an animal become more important than that of a human being in this country? Can we blame Bush for that too?


Rumor has it the Falcons called the Texans and offered two first found picks to get Matt Schaub back. I feel for Bobby Petrino, he was a great college coach who just got his hands tied before he starts his first NFL season.


Can anybody think of a good NFC team? I really can't come up with one that has a legit shot at winning the superbowl this year. Really. And I've looked extensively.


I'll be in attendance at Pats camp next Monday and hopefully posting shortly after. Don't forget to go to the official Pats website each evening during camp to see the storylines and video high lights from the day's practices.

Thanks for the Comments

Here's a reply to your comments asking about specific topics:



WHAT CAN WE EXPECT OUT OF TEDY BRUSCHI THIS YEAR? (and the LB's in general.)

I think we've seen the best out of Tedy Bruschi and those days are behind him. This year should be pretty similar to what we saw last year, that is, a solid player but one that just isn't quite capable of making the game changing plays that he used to. That's OK though because Bruschi will get lots of help from A.T. (easier to type than Adalius Thomas) Brushi won't have to be the run stuffing MLB on every down anymore and that should lead to more production. The problem is that you're almost wasting A.T. if he has to play the run stuffer.

Belichick will do plenty of mixing and matching (and mismatching!) with the highly flexible group of LB's. Assuming that they all stay healthy, they should all be productive because they will all get some downs off and they will all be put in positions in which they will have the best chance to succeed.

While the top 5 LB's are excellent, this team will need some big time development from the likes of Pierre Woods and Eric Alexander in order to have real depth.



CAN MARONEY CARRY THE ROCK?

Laurence Maroney hasn't ever had to be a featured back, even in college he was splitting the carries. It will be interesting to see how he holds up. He hasn't really participated in the off-season stuff because of a shoulder surgery. Don't be surprised if he plays very little in pre-season games either. I've seen conflicting reports from the experts about Maroney. Some say he'll benefit greatly from a passing game that may force defenses to only play 6 men in the box. Others maintain that he isn't tough enough to have 300+ carries and lack of depth at RB will become an issue for the Pats. I would think that the Pats will try to pick up a veteran RB before the season starts but it's too hard to tell with Scott and Bill. Only time will tell if Maroney will hold up, but there will be enough one sided games for the Pats to let the likes of Morris and Evans run out the clock.



WHO WILL BE THE #1 CB IF ASANTE HOLDS OUT OR COMES BACK DOWN TO EARTH?

The same guy that was the best corner on the team last year - Ellis Hobbs. Why do you think Asante had so many picks and Hobbs so few? Teams weren't throwing at Hobbs as much as they threw at Asante because Hobbs is a better cover man. Regardless, there are numerous CB's looking to step in to the rotation as either starter or nickel corner. Leading candidates are Chad Scott, Tory James and old friend Randall Gay. In an interview with Gay that I read he said that he's 100% healthy and no one is more excited about camp than he is. Scott and James are Savvy vet's that should be able to hold coverage until Vrabel, Colvin and or A.T. can get to the QB. Don't rule out first round pick Brandon Merriweather either. Sources in the know said that he was by far the best CB at the U for the last couple of seasons, but he was so fast and atheletic they played him at Safety so he could impact the entire field. At the very least he should see significant time in Nickel and Dime packages.

The Rich Get Richer

Training camp is now just ONE week away and I'm so anxious I had to get blogging again. This week's post will cover the off-season acquisitions. Not only who's been signed, but also what impact they should have on this year's team. Let's get started.


ADALIUS THOMAS -LB- We're told that this guy has it all and can do it all. He's BIG (6'2 270) and Fast. He can play virtually any defensive position. He's very smart. The big question here is how Belichick will use his new toy. Most thought Thomas would play his natural outside linebacker position. However in Pats mini camps he's been mostly been playing inside linebacker. I'd guess that Belichick will use him at Inside and Outside LB, but in passing situations he may play pass rushing end. Evidently in some packages he lines up at OLB behind Seymour and rushes the passer. He was a the guy that made the big play for the Ravens the last couple of years, like Bruschi USED to do here. Hopefully Thomas will continue making plays for his new boss.

RANDY MOSS -WR- The biggest steal of the draft whether or not he pans out. The general concensus (and my opinion too) is that Moss will be just fine - this year. He will be a good boy and drink the coolaid even if he isn't the leading receiver on the team, even if he catches no balls in some games. Winning is too important to him at this stage in his career. If they go on to win it all he may become selfish again. Look for him to start as the #1 receiver, the "Z". According to Troy Brown, Moss didn't drop one ball in mincamp.

DONTE STALLWORTH -WR- Perhaps he'll have the biggest impact of any newcomer to this offense. According to sources he's gobbled up this offense and he's busted his tail on the field. He'll be the deep threat, but if he indeed has learned this O, then he'll be in the right place all the time and will become Brady's 'go to' guy.

WES WELKER -WR- I don't care how productive this guy is, I believe the Pats overpaid for him. They gave the Dolohins second and seventh round picks and then shelled out nearly 7 million dollars to sign him. Don't get me wrong, he will be very good in the slot and he'll probably be a difference maker on kick returns, I just think it was a steep price to pay especially when you only gave up a 4th rounder for Moss.

KELLEY WASHINGTON -WR- My initial impression when I heard that the Pats signed him was "WHY?" and he hasn't done much to change my opinion. From what I've read, he's struggled to pick up this offense and he may be the odd man out at an overcrowded WR position. It's too bad because he's got good size.

KYLE BRADY -TE- A very good signing that I think went under the radar because of all the other weapons signed on the offense. At the VERY least Brady is a MOUNTAIN (6'6 280) and will be a devastating blocker. Put him on the same side as the Dwight Freeneys and Jason Taylors of the world and TOM will not have to worry about a pass rush. I personally feel that he's going to be an integral part of the passing game for two reasons. First, David Thomas' broken foot prevented him from participating in the offseason mini-camps, so Brady got a lot of reps with Brady. Second, he came from a Jacksonville offense that isn't designed to throw to the TE. His # of catches have been very low the past few seasons. Teams aren't going to gameplan to stop Brady because of that (and the other weapons the Pats have) so I think he'll be a BIG part of the red zone offense. I fully expect 8-10 TD's.

TORY JAMES -CB- I like this signing more than most of the experts, who seem to have been written him off for some reason. Maybe he has lost a step - I can't say that I've seen him run. But there's something to be said about a guy that has started nearly every game for the last 12 seasons. He'll be in the right place at the right time and his veteran savvy will help to make up for a little less speed. He's had 17 INT's over the last 3 seasons and I think he'll contribute when/if Samuel holds out.

SAMMY MORRIS -RB- I don't really know how much impact he'll have on the Offense. Although, he was great catching the ball out of the backfield in the offseason camps and Welker (Morris' teammate in Miami the last couple of years) is convinced that Morris could carry the load at RB if given the opportunity. He'll be in there to give Maroney a blow and might even get some 3rd down action when Faulk isn't in. Don't be surprised to see Morris play some fullback. His real impact will be on special teams.

Those are the major additions and it's way too early to mention the rookies. I'm off to work on some of your requests!

Golfing with Tom Curran

A few weeks ago I invited Tom Curran to play golf. You may know Tom from his days as the Patriots beat writer from The ProJo, or his numerous appearances on FSN New England and WEEI. These days Tom writes for NBCsports.com. Anyway, he happily took me up on my offer to play some golf and yesterday we went out and hit the links.

Tom is a great guy, down to earth, family man, funny and informative. I got to pick his brain quite a bit about the Pats and other teams around the NFL and I'll share with you some of Tom's thoughts. By the way, we got our assess handed to us in the golf match by a couple of old geezers even though I had the best round of my life to date.

I had to start with the Asante Samuel situation. (Those of you that see me on a regular basis can ask me about Asante, because I don't want to "publish" any of it on my BLOG). Tom essentially agrees with what most of us think, that Asante had one good year (bolstered by three picks from Rex Grossman) and Asante's crazy to think that he should get big time cash. Curran thinks that he'll probably sign his franchise tag at some point during training camp. (a sentiment also echoed by Reiss' pieces yesterday). Tom thinks the Pats probably have enough depth at CB to get by without Asante. He likes Scott, Gay and James, but he really thinks that Merriweather will be used more as a Corner than a safety and will have an impact on this team as at least the nickel corner.

I asked Tom if he got to go to the mini camps and passing camps. As for the WR's, he was most impressed with Stallworth because he was working his butt off. He also agreed with Mike Felger about Randy Moss looking like he was 'dogging' it during the workouts, but didn't seem too concerned about Randy's production this year. His sentiment overall is that the Pats won't cut any receiver, rather whoever isn't going to make the team will be trade bait.

The player that stood out the most in Tom's eyes was 6th round draft pick RB Justice Hairston. For those that don't know him, he started his college career at Rutger's and was a productive back there. However, Rutger's recruited the #1 back in the state of NJ and Hairston transferred to Central Connecticut rather than split carries at Rutgers. His #'s last year were impressive,
277 carries 1847 yds 6.7avg 20TD's. That being said, don't expect Hairston to get many carries THIS season, he's too raw, especially given the complex nature of this offense. So one area that does concern Tom is the depth ar RB. IF Maroney goes down for only 2-3 games then the offense can get by with 4 and 5 WR sets throwing the ball all over the field and still win. But if Maroney goes down for an extended period of time (perhaps for the playoffs) then this team will be in trouble because the guys they have can lug it 20 -25 times a game. So watch for the Pats to pick up a veteran RB prior to the start of the season.

As for the restof the NFL, Tom and I agree that realistically there are 3 teams head and shoulders above the rest: the Pats, Colts and Bolts, with the Pats as the best team. He feels that way becasue the Colts D is way too porous this year given their offseason losses. He is also convinced that the Bolts will have a hard go of it based on the coaching turnover and learning a new offense and new defense. One team he thinks will improve (and I disagree) is the Jets. This is because he likes the additions of Revis at CB and Thomas Jones at RB. The rest of the team is pretty much the same guys as last season so he anticipates the Jets contending for the playoffs. I think they played over their ability last season and will come back down to earth this year.

That pretty much sums it up for now. I'm still working on the individual assessments of the Pats new face and will postit when it's complete.

Here We Go Again...Finally!

Hope everyone has had a great summer so far, welcome back to the new look Patriots Report! It's been an exciting off-season filled with great anticipation and finally, training camp is only 23 days away! It seemed like the Patriots were in the headlines with a new acquisition every week, which just led to more and more excitement over the potential of this team.


However the so called "experts" still think this is a team with a lot of questions going into the season - too many to win the superbowl. Here's a quick list of Patriots issues:


The Asante Samuel contract

Randy Moss' behavior

The age and lack of depth at linebacker

The health and age of Rodney Harrison

The ability of Maroney to be the lead back for a full season

The lack of a #1 corner (given the Samuel situtaion)

Brady's baby destraction



Of course I could sit here and dispute most of these issues, but you've got to admit that each of them could turn into a problem during the course of the season. My contention is that this list for the Pats is not as great as some of the concerns for the other major AFC contenders.



The Colts lost 3/4 of their starting secondary, a staring linebacker, a starting defensive tackle and the guy that, for all intents and purposes WAS the superbowl MVP in Dominic Rhodes. They are hoping that untested draft picks will fill those holes. Good luck.



The Chargers turned over their entire coaching staff. We saw what it was like for a few years in a row here when coordinators left and there was a noticeable difference - even thought they continued to run the same schemes. Now the Bolts must learn a new D, a new O, and what each new coach expects of them. Oh yeah, can you name 2 WR's on this team? Eric Parker and Vincent Jackson are 1 and 2 on their depth chart.

The point is that EVERY team in the league has major question marks going into any NFL season.

Next week's blog will post on Wednesday and will focus on the off-season personell moves. I am open to questions or suggestions for topics to cover in the three posts prior to the open of training camp on Friday July 27th.