As anyone who has ever read this Patriots blog knows I’m really not all that big on doing linkage anymore. If you’d like the best Patriots linkage on the web I suggest you go over to Marima’s posts on PatsPulpit.com. The last day has been a whirlwind of Pats activity, and most Pats blogs out there are in overdrive, except mine, which as you can see is pretty barren because like you I’ve been overwhelmed taking it all in.
But slowly I’ve been formulating the big picture of what’s developing at camp. Some major points/observations to note.
Brandon Tate is sounding legit. Running crisp routes, looking like the favorite to win the kick returner job, a weakness of the 2009 Pats, and getting praise from BB for his offseason work.
Pat Chung had a rough first day, struggling in coverage against bigger tight ends. This is very noteworthy, but there have also been a lot of reports that Chung looks solid otherwise. Just listening to Chung talk (vs. listening to Meriweather) I am more convinced that Chung will develop into a better leader that Brandon. No offense to Brandon, he still could be the better player, but for a team that needs leadership all signs continue to point to Chung as a legitimate leader of men.
Derrick Burgess’ pondering of retirement sounds like a genuine surprise to Belichick as well. This can’t be a good sign, especially with how much we needed a lot of depth and competition at OLB, the numbers have already been knocked down by two (Crable). This puts a huge spotlight on the development of Jermaine Cunningham (who will need a nickname at some point) as well as veteran Rob “Ninkopoop” Ninkovich.
Fred Taylor has consistently been mentioned as struggling with pass pro and catching. Will be interesting to see how this plays out, I would not be surprised to see a running back cut if they can’t hack.
It looks like McCourty is already at least 3rd on the depth chart, and getting time at starting LCB as well. In the modern NFL you need 3 good corners and it looks like the Pats might finally have them.
Tyrone McKenzie laid out Laurence Maroney Friday morning. It made me happy to read this, because a) it should help Maroney hold on to the ball and not be lazy and b) we all know we need a hard hitting linebacker. McKenzie is such a wild card this year. I can’t wait to see him in preseason. And I also hope he keep number 44, though I’d bet we could see him in Eric Alexanders 52 at the start of the season. But 44 would be a lot cooler to me.
That’s all I got for now. Will continue watching and reading everything and blogging only the most important stuff.