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It’s formation speculation like this that had me worried about Tebow on the Jets last year. Yet they never really got that creative with him, and really I’m starting to wonder if the Patriots even will.

Granted, what little we saw of him was in the first few days of him being in New England. There’s a lot to learn before they can suddenly start drawing up the trickeration.

But McDaniels, for better or worse, saw something in Tebow that made him think he could mold him into something special. Can he do it now, with no pressure to have him start? That will be something to watch in training camp.

Good question, and something to think about, but here’s what we’ve seen so far in terms of positions.

Arrington: has started outside and inside, inside the better fit.

Dennard: has only played outside. Stocky, perhaps not short-area quick enough to play inside?

Dowling: best fit is outside, though played a bit of fill-in at Money, aka Dime Linebacker.

So when you piece those three together, neither Dennard or Ras-I are really ideal in the slot. At least they haven’t tried Dennard there, he might be okay.

Hard to say how it will all play out, but Arrington will be a big piece, whether he’s only playing slot, or playing outside in base, then shifting inside in the sub. But for Dowling or Dennard to put Arrington to slot-only they’d really have to look outstanding.

So yeah, Dowling vs. Dennard is a tight competition, and really anything is possible. I think Logan Ryan will play into it as well, though he could really be the second-best slot guy on the whole team.

Overall, it’s a good group with their strength being outside, so it worries me a bit, especially if Arrington gets dinged. They’ve gotten murdered in the middle of the field the last couple years (see Cole on Bolden in the AFCCG), and I hope they can make strides in that area this year.