PatsPropaganda

From our article last week “Predicting the Pats PUP’ers” numbers 2, 3, and 4 of the top 5 have been PUP’d.

Still not ruling Mankins out for the opener, but maybe it’s best to go easy on him.

Pryor is big disappointment, just lost a little more faith in him being the interior pass rusher this team so badly needs.  Did the door just open for Justin Francis a bit more?

Vollmer’s inability to get healthy is really starting to concern me. Is Marcus Cannon capable of being the starting right tackle? Because right now heading into camp the O-line looks like this:

Solder-Connolly-Koppen-Waters (?)-Cannon

or even…

Solder-Gallery-Connolly-Wendell-Cannon?

Not exactly the veteran crew we’re used to. Dante Scarnecchia has yet another chance to prove his worth, which I’m sure he will. But yeah, a little bit nervous about all the turnover.

Finally with Spikes he must still be recovering from knee surgery, but this isn’t going to help him in his looming battle with Dont’a Hightower for playing time. At least we’ll get a lot of looks at Hightower. I wonder if he leaves the field in preseason.

But hey, no Gronk on the list is a huge plus. He was my number one guy needed healthy and it looks like the Gronkle has finally been put to rest.

Two questions surround Ridley and Vereen. First, can Ridley make more of an impact in the passing game? Second, is Vereen better between the tackles than anyone realizes? If the answer is “yes” to either question, one of the young backs would have a chance to monopolize the in-game reps. Otherwise, it could turn into something of a split, with Danny Woodhead and Joseph Addai getting their reps, too. And if Ridley and Vereen see a similar amount of reps, the Patriots could have two backs with at least 100 carries in the same season for the first time since 2006. But if Ridley takes the lead role on the ground and Vereen garners the reps in passing situations, each player will have plenty of opportunities to leave his mark on the offense. It also will fall in line with the Patriots’ multi-back philosophy, and the pair has complementary skills to make that an effective strategy.

I foresee at least five players vying for two starting roles: Jonathan Fanene, Trevor Scott, Chandler Jones, Jake Bequette and Rob Ninkovich. Given the number of sub package defense the team projects to play, it’s likely that all five of these players will accrue a high total of snaps as the team rolls through its depth to keep the legs fresh and pass rushing pursuit at full-bore. But when the team lines up in its base 4-3 defense (all signs point to a reliance on a four man front in 2012), which two players will bookend the defensive line? Scott, Ninkovich and Fanene are all proven veteran players, with Scott and Fanene in particular having experience at the end position (Ninkovich has had his most success as a 3-4 outside linebacker). Jones adds an element of dynamic athleticism, while Bequette was praised in some pre-draft scouting reports for his polish. In this group of five players, the Patriots appear to have a blend of toughness, explosion and capable run defenders and pass rushers.