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Patriots Set Initial 2018 Roster

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At long last, the New England Patriots 2018 roster has been trimmed to 51 players and though there will continue to be moves made over the next couple days, the core pieces out of preseason are in place for another Super Bowl run.

Let’s start with the surprises — Riley McCarron was cut after sitting out the final preseason game. Usually, that means you’re safe and now the Pats don’t really have a punt returner. But ultimately, McCarron never showed much, his roster spot on my last projected 53-man was more by default than anything else.

The team also kept just two backup offensive linemen, Ted Karras and LaAdrian Waddle. Having only seven is light, especially when they had guys like Cole Croston in house. Adding depth on the OL could be an unexpected spot to watch Sunday and Monday.

A year removed from departures and injuries at defensive end, the Pats have re-stocked, welcoming back Derek Rivers and Keionta Davis from injury. With Trey Flowers, Adrian Clayborn and Dietrich Wise, the Pats have a good mix at an important position, one they were undermanned at last year.

The depth at wide receiver is scary, especially with Edelman not allowed near the building until October. I think an addition at the position (Leonte Caroo was always a favorite) makes a lot of sense, especially if they can return punts.

Three rookie cornerbacks made the team which is good news both on the outside, where Eric Rowe is in a contract year, and in the slot where both Duke Dawson and Jonathan Jones have had injury issues. Crossen or Jackson could still end up on the practice squad, it will just be easier to get them there with them on the initial roster. Still, I think the Pats will need at least one of them this season in a significant role.

Most excited about… The Defense

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Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection 5.0

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The final 53-man projection before it all gets blown away to hell over the weekend. Things have already started with Jordan Richards getting traded to Atlanta for a conditional second-round pick. That opens up a spot that I’m giving to Jason McCourty. No doubt, this is viewed as a good start for the Richards Not-a-Fan Club.

Here’s how I have the rest of the 53-man playing out.

QB (2) T.Brady, B.Hoyer – NO CHANGE
RB (5) R.Burkhead, S.Michel, J.Develin, J.Hill, J.White – NO CHANGE
WR (5) C.Hogan, P.Dorsett, C.Patterson, R.McCarron, M.Slater – McCarron slips on somehow as a punt returner. Still not sure he sees any snaps at WR and could be cut for a vet punt returner pretty easily. Was surprised to see him not suit up last night so I guess he’s likely safe.
TE (3) R.Gronkowski, D.Allen, J.Hollister – NO CHANGE
C (1) D.Andrews
G (3) S.Mason, J.Thuney, T.Karras
T (4) T.Brown, M.Cannon, L.Waddle, C.Croston – Croston in for John based on his overall versatility.

DE (5) T.Flowers, A.Clayborn, D.Wise, D.Rivers, K.Davis – Okay I’m giving Davis a shot despite not seeing much out of him. Maybe he’s one of those developmental favorites and could have a role if Trey Flowers is injured for real.
DT (5) L.Guy, D.Shelton, M.Brown, A.Butler, V.Valentine – NO CHANGE
ILB(3) E.Roberts, J.Bentley, N.Grigsby – NO CHANGE
OLB(4) D.Hightower, K.VanNoy, B.King, M.Flowers – NO CHANGE
CB (5) S.Gilmore, E.Rowe, J.Jones, D.Dawson, J.Jackson – I dropped Cyrus because it looks like McCarron is the PR and J. Jones/Dawson are the slot guys. Still think he could help the team down the line.
SS (2) P.Chung, N.Ebner
FS (3) D.McCourty, D.Harmon, J.McCourty – Not sure if D-Mac can replace Richards’ special teams ability but he’s a better insurance overall as a defender.
ST (3) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona

Total players: 53
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Patriots Cap Preseason with a Whatever Against the Giants

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There’s always a huge sigh of relief when the preseason is over. Injuries are the most impactful and most unknown factors of a football season, and to lose someone in August, before the games even matter, is always a downer.

Seeing Julian Edelman go down so soon after being a Super Bowl hero instantly put the team behind the eightball. But this year the 2018 Patriots were fortunate. There were certainly disappointments — Isaiah Wynn (who still isn’t on IR), Jordan Matthews and Kenny Britt being the prominent ones.

Otherwise, the Patriots will start the season with the team they wanted almost entirely intact. We can poke holes in where there could be depth problems, but every team has those. The fact once again remains, if the most key players of this Patriots team remain upright the entire season their chances at going to a toss-up Super Bowl are nearly assured.

There will be bumps in the road regardless of injuries. Remember, September football is very much an extension of the preseason. The team is still figuring out who they are exactly and what will make them unique amongst the last 18 seasons. They might look like total dogshit one week and lose a game to a team who might win four games all year.

But as the coaching kicks in, the players come together and begin playing to their strengths watch out. Those are the games where we’re reminded the New England Patriots Football Machine is still very much alive and well.

So, did we learn much of anything in the final preseason scrubfest? Were any roster spots won? Let’s take a quick look back before we totally turn the page to the roster craziness of the weekend and then the Texans.

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Patriots Gameplan: Preseason Week 4 at the G-Men

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The regular season is fast upon us! But first, we must sit through one last preseason scrub-fest. For many of those wearing the Flying Elvis tonight, it will be the last time they might ever put an NFL football helmet on. In that regard, I enjoy watching players on the fringe leaving it all out there like it’s the Super Bowl.

The hope is that no one important touches the field tonight. Of course, some who are kinda important will have to. Julian Edelman will likely see a good dose of snaps. So will Hoy-dog, not that anyone really cares about him. But the very most important pieces should be protected. Isaiah Wynn was an unfortunate casualty but appears to be the only significant injury loss of the summer.

Today’s final preseason gameplan will once again just be five areas to focus on. Next week we get into the PatsProp in-season schedule — Posits Monday, Film Tuesday, Scouting Wednesday, and Gameplan Friday being the blog staples.

Here’s the final “gameplan,” bring on the regular season!

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Patriots Preseason Week 4: Bubble About to Burst

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I have to admit, I love the annual tradition of the preseason Week 4 scrubfest against the Giants. Yes, it’s grown into an unfortunate reminder of 42 and 46, but at this point, even those games bring a little nostalgia. Though 2007 can never be topped as the worst loss ever, the two more Super Bowl wins have largely canceled those two out.

I’m not even sure I see SB52 as all that disappointing in retrospect. The team, and especially Tom Brady, once again showed why this run is so unprecedented. Despite all the hoopla about who didn’t play, about how terrible the defense was, they were still only one play from winning their third Super Bowl in four years for the SECOND time.

Only one play either way in the Super Bowl. To get that EIGHT times is just spoiled. Winning it five of the eight? Unreal.

Anyway, let’s get this last hunk of junk off our plate so we can turn the page to the campaign for number six.

While I believe 80-90% of the 53-man is already set, there are still a few spots (cough cornerback) where there is still some uncertainty and jobs to be won.

Let’s list off who’s on the bubble and who needs a big game. Here’s my current 53-man roster v4.0.

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How Will Pats Cut Corners?

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The most interesting position group for the Patriots as we head into the final preseason week with cutdowns looming this weekend is cornerback. Between the new guys that have emerged and those who are returning from injury, there’s a logjam of intriguing players with a variety of skillsets, contracts and draft statuses. We’ve seen this happen before, with it often ending up with undrafted players making the roster and others unfortunately making it on different rosters around the league.

The position is oft-maligned but the top-two starters have been entrenched from the start. Stephon Gilmore was arguably the best defensive player in training camp. You might get distracted by the catches he gave up in a preseason game against Carolina, but make no mistake, Gilmore is poised for a shutdown season, the likes of which we haven’t seen in a long time.

Next to him will be Eric Rowe, who hasn’t let go of the starting spot since last Super Bowl. Rowe is an outside guy with good size, so he’s useful for matchups as well. While the Pats will lean heavily on their three-safety, two-corner package, all five positions feature entrenched veterans. After that is where things get murky.

Let’s run down the candidates.

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Patriots Lock Up Shaq Mason

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In case you missed it yesterday morning, I had just gotten off of my weekly radio appearance in Maine having said that I’d bet Shaq Mason would likely walk to a new contract elsewhere in the offseason when the Patriots announced they had signed Mason to a new five-year extension.

It wasn’t that I thought they shouldn’t re-sign Mason, I just thought right guard is one of the easier positions to fill and that the money would likely have to go to Trey Flowers, the other remaining big-name pending free agent now. But this new contract signals a few different things, the biggest of which is that now the Pats offensive line is locked as so:

Throw in Isaiah Wynn, FA 2022, and the strong core will be in place through the inevitable Brady transition. Obviously having a veteran offensive line in place will be hugely helpful to the next QB of the NEP. Yes, there’s still a long-term question at left tackle, but that’s the only problem to worry about along the line for the next two years, and with the possibility of Wynn stepping in for Thuney, it might be even longer.

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