new england patriots

You had to be excited for media access day at OTAs today, but no one could’ve predicted that Wes Welker would be on the field. Of course Michael Silver had plans of his own today, deciding to turn “talks between Pats and Brady are going slowly” into “this might possibly lead to something but it probably won’t” article that of course every member of the Boston media had to hop on.

We stick to the positive propaganda here, we’ve read the recaps, and here are the non-Welker tidbits that we’ve found most interesting:

From PFW Blog:

The linebackers split up during one segment that included seven-on-seven work. Crable, Mayo, Guyton, Eric Alexander, Pierre Woods, Williams, Banta-Cain and Spikes remained on the field with the defensive backs and worked on coverage. Burgess, Cunningham and Ninkovich went to work with the defensive linemen.

On the outside I saw many different guys get reps on both sides with a variety of groupings in different drills. I saw some with Tully Banta-Cain on the left and Derrick Burgess on the right. I saw Jermaine Cunningham on the left with Burgess on the right. I saw Burgess on the left. I saw guys like Shawn Crable, Rob Ninkovich and everyone else on the depth chart rotate through.

Maybe it’s reading into it, but I think this is very significant. Why? Because it says to me that Burgess, Cunningham, and Ninkovich are considered primarily pass rushers, while Crable, Woods, Williams, and Banta-Cain are those we could be seeing on early downs as run stoppers (i.e. “starting”).

Of course the Patriots linebackers are versatile, you’ll see all of them all over the place. But I’m surprised to see Ninkovich with the lineman. And I’m happy to see my boy Crable with the defensive backs.

From Mike Reiss:

With two-time Pro Bowler Logan Mankins not present for the voluntary session, veteran tackle Nick Kaczur was inserted at his spot at left guard. Second-year man Sebastian Vollmer took reps at right tackle, with Matt Light remaining at left tackle.

Ultimately when Mankins comes back we’ll be back to Kaczur and Vollmer battling it out at RT, but knowing now that Kaczur has the confidence and ability to play guard, we should have a better sense of why the Patriots gave him a contract extension. He’s versatile and could be the new Russ Hochstein.

From Albert Breer:

TE Aaron Hernandez looks like he’s ticketed for a significant role as a rookie. We all know why he fell to the fourth round, and if the kid has his act together – as I’ve said in the past – he could be a big-time steal. The offense rotated a bunch too, but Hernandez was with Brady’s group a lot, and seems to be getting a lot of personal attention from the coaches. His fellow rookie TE, Rob Gronkowski, is working behind Alge Crumpler as the in-line tight end for now. Hernandez looks aware in recognizing coverage, sitting down in zones, and smooth running routes and catching the ball.

From PFW Weekly:

Aaron Hernandez once again looked very good. He has very good hands, moves well and shows pretty good route versatility. He was part of a five-wide set in group work that also included Moss, Julian Edelman, Kevin Faulk and Alge Crumpler.

Hernandez could be the offensive steal of the draft. If he can progress he’s going to be an excellent safety valve for Brady, especially against attacking defenses like the Jets.

From Albert Breer:

LB Brandon Spikes is being coached pretty hard too, and with a purpose. Coaches seemed to be working on him as a signal caller. Told you back at the rookie minicamp that this guy’s ability to diagnose plays and react was uncanny. Well, this is another encouraging piece to the puzzle – The coaches feel comfortable enough with him, and his progress, to drill him on setting the defensive front. Not earth-shattering or anything. But worth mentioning, at least.

I would’ve like to heard something about Tyron McKenzie but he got no mentions on any of the blogs. Not sure if that’s good or bad. Regardless it’s full steam ahead for Spikes. Someone needs to emerge from the group as a playmaker, and it seems Spikes has as good of a shot as anyone. Especially after the reports last week that his hands are excellent, picking an interception out of the air effortlessly like he did many times at Florida.