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training camp 2014

Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection: Preseason Week 3 Edition

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With the release of three veterans I thought would make the team in my earlier projections, some real estate has been opened up for even more of a youth movement than expected this season.

I still think there will be more additions, at least at tight end, maybe at defensive end as well. 

One big takeaway from the cuts of Will Smith, Tommy Kelly and James Anderson is that it looks like the Pats are truly ready to get away from using two space-eating defensive tackles, or really any resemblance to the 3-4 of old.

Kelly was irreplaceable in terms of the potential schematic flexibility he could give. Safe bet we now see a base nickel defense with a space-eater (Wilfork/Siliga) and a one-gapping DT (Jones/Vellano/Easley/Worthy).

QB (2) Brady, Garoppolo – I’ve taken Mallett off, I’ve seen enough of Garoppolo to think he would be okay and a much better fit if he got thrown into the fire as a rookie. Mallett has shown limited improvement and would require a full tweak of the offense.

RB (5) Ridley, Vereen, White, Develin, Bolden – Bolden slips on here, good versatile group even if there’s not a short-yardage ace. Mike Reiss speculated Ridley could be in trouble after a brief Game 3 appearance, I’m not ready to cut him yet, he’s still their most physical ball carrier.

WR (6) Edelman, Thompkins, Amendola, LaFell, Dobson, Slater – This seems like the group.

TE (2) Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui – Pencil in an addition here, I’ve even left them a roster spot.

C (2) Wendell, Stork – Maybe Stork develops over the season, but Wendell/Connolly starting makes the most sense.

G (3) Mankins, Connolly, Kline – Kline could see a lot of time this year as a swing backup, might even push Connolly back to center. Could also play some tight end.

T (4) Solder, Vollmer, Cannon, Fleming – athletic, versatile group that could see a touchdown catch this year playing tight end in jumbo goalline packages.

DE (4) Jones, Ninkovich, Buchanan, Moore – Not sold Moore isn’t headed to the PS, but for now this spot it his. Could go to a vet pickup. Is Buchanan ready to be a significant rotational DE? Huge question now that Smith is gone. Bequette still could sneak on because of lack of depth, but right now I think it’d be Moore.

DT (6) Wilfork, Easley, Jones, Siliga, Worthy, Vellano – Vellano and Worthy get a bump with Kelly/Smith gone.

LB(6) Hightower, Beauharnais, White, Mayo, Collins, Fleming – Morris and Davis go to the PS, while Fleming carves out a rotational role. Mayo/Collins don’t leave the field, Hightower rotates in a number of roles (Incl. pass rusher?).

CB (5) Revis, Arrington, Dennard, Butler, Ryan – deepest group in a while.

SS (2) Chung, Ebner – Chung expected to see time on early downs. Still wouldn’t mind keeping Tavon Wilson here considering Chung’s injury history.

FS (2) McCourty, Harmon – These two are the deep shell. McCourty won’t leave the field.

ST (3) Gostkowski, Allen, Aiken – Same as it ever was.

SUSPENDED – Browner, Tyms

Total players: 52 – (space for one external addition)
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Pats Posits: Notes on the rewatch of a Patriots team that looks primed

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Had a chance to go back and look at last nights game on an actual TV instead of a jumpy internet feed and I liked what saw even more. 

Here’s some random reflection on what I liked and what’s concerning heading into the season. It’s hard to be too critical, this team is stacked.

Offense

Brady is still Brady. Yay.

Brandon Bolden missed this one, I’m so back and forth on him. One day you’re reading how he’s a core special teams guy, the next he might be injured again. I think the Pats will be fine with Ridley/White/Vereen and it seems like Bolden is what he is.

Hard to believe the offense was this good while completely ignoring the tight end spot. The White-Vereen backfield set will be tough to defend.

I’m 90 percent sure Kenbrell Thompkins is going to have a breakout season. I’m 100 percent sure he’ll have some drops.

The scary part is we don’t even know what Dobson can do. At worst they’ve added a sizable red zone target in LaFell and if Dobson turns out to be be as advertised all the better. Throw Gronk in there too and this is a tough team to defend.

Really have no clue how the offensive line is going to play out. With the injuries it might just make the most sense to start the year off with the line that has started the last two seasons. They have their flaws but they’re pretty reliable. Hopefully one of the young guys elevates in-season and pushing for playing time.

Defense

Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones are two players to be excited about. Both had impressive games. I really can’t wait to see the creative ways Collins is deployed.

Amazing that Wilfork and Tommy Kelly don’t even look like they were injured. So impressed with how they’ve bounced back and it’s a huge relief considering the injuries to Siliga and Jones.

It’s incredible how good Revis is. I am going to enjoy watching him play football this season.

I will not be surprised to see Butler see immediate time in sub-packages.

Chung and Harmon will likely rotate but I could see games (vs. Broncos esp.) where Chung doesn’t see the field. But he’ll be useful against the more physical teams like the Jets.

Small sample size but I liked what I briefly saw of Worthy. I have a roster spot for him, at least until Easley and Chris Jones are back up to speed.

Vellano probably sneaks on too, but just until Siliga is back. Seeing a Wilfork-Kelly-Vellano rotation with Worthy on passing downs to start the season, smattering of Easley and the Siliga and Jones’ returns should be a real boost.

The backup linebackers showed up to me last night – James Morris looked good in space, not taking a lot of false steps, Ja’Gared Davis delivered a big hit, and Darius Fleming looked strong on the end of the line. Steve Beauharnais had an interception and looked solid.

James Anderson seems like a lock, but had another missed tackle in space. But with Collins and Mayo there might not be much chance for him to see the field.

What can we say? The Patriots are once again very good, and how far they go will depend on how healthy they stay. Now let’s just get through the final game without any injuries and get started on the 2014 campaign!

Tweets of Note from the Final Patriots Training Camp Practice

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Had to share these two tweets because both are very positive and just what the team needs.

Obviously for anyone who’s been around since the spring, you know that tweet falls right into my sweet spot.

Good news on all the injury returns. Some of these guys are still limited but if they can at least get some snaps in the final preseason game it will be a big positive.

Pats Posits: Thoughts on a solid preseason showing vs. Eagles

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The New England Patriots had a solid showing in their second preseason game of the 2014 summer as the roster battles continue to take shape. Here are some quick-hit thoughts on what stuck out to me.

– Brady is still Brady.

– Hard for a rookie quarterback to be much more impressive than Garoppolo has been in his first two starts. Yes, there’s still a ways for him to go, but his quick release and good decision making continue to shine. He’s an excellent fit for the Patriots’ offensive philosophy.

– All of the Pats’ running backs had their moments, and while I could see them using primarily a three-man rotation of Ridley-Vereen-White, Bolden, Finch and even Jonas Grey made cases for a roster spot with their skillsets.

– The offensive line was actually better than I expected and they weren’t even that consistent. But as we saw with Jordan Devey getting a long look at right guard that the mix-and-matching is still very much in effect. Connolly looks to be in the lead at center so that’s why they’re really trying to find out what they have at right guard. Josh Kline might be the favorite, but once Stork returns could he put Connolly back to guard?

– The advantage of having three really good versatile tackles is the ability to rotate them and use them as tight ends as we saw with Solder. I still think Solder catches a touchdown at some point in his career and if the Pats can’t find tight end depth it might be this season.

– Really like the progress out of LaFell and it will be interesting to see how his and Thompkins snaps get divided up next week, when we can expect to see starters for the first half at least. Dobson better not suffer a setback or it’s just going to get tougher for him to get on the field.

– Defensively it’s hard not to be thrilled that Wilfork and Tommy Kelly look like they haven’t missed a beat. This is incredibly impressive and, with the injuries to Chris Jones and Siliga, incredibly necessary.

– What a summer by Malcolm Butler, who continues to make plays all over the place. Practice, games, it doesn’t matter, Butler is around the ball, picking off passes and forcing fumbles. Will be interesting to see the competition between him and Dennard in the coming weeks. One will likely start the seasons at RCB in place of Browner.

– I’m not reading too much into the safety rotation that featured a number of cornerbacks getting a look on the back end. I think it’s a way to build depth, but it will ultimately be McCourty and a rotating combination of Harmon and Chung depending on the gameplan. Tavon Wilson should still be in the mix as well when he returns, he’s one of the hardest hitters in the secondary. Still, this shows how the game has evolved and it’s more about covering than coming downhill for safeties now.

– There was major concern about tight end and safety coming into camp and the Pats still don’t have an answer in either spot yet.

– I think Will Smith is the top DPR and he’s been underrated by many pundits. Need to focus closer on him in the rewatch. Buchanan and Bequette haven’t impressed me enough to think they’re going to be impact players yet.

– Still not sure how the depth plays out at linebacker. After the starting three I have my concerns. Anderson needs to get healthy, but Fleming and the rest didn’t really stand out to me.

– The starting defense, even with the unknowns at safety, looks imposing. I can’t wait to see them with an actual game plan.

– Again, the 3-4 defense they’re running most of the time is vanilla ice cream. It’s all very straightforward, putting the focus on the player winning a physical battle, without the aid of disguise and misinformation that comes when there’s actually a game plan. If you see a 3-4 defense more than 10% of the snaps this year I’ll be surprised.

– Overall, a good effort with a lot of promising elements and no major concerns. There’s still some questions for sure, but that’s what the preseason is for, to answer them. Next week should be a great test and a prolonged look at the top units.

New England Patriots Training Camp Report: Darrelle Revis, Gronkowski | The MMQB with Peter King

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New England Patriots Training Camp Report: Darrelle Revis, Gronkowski | The MMQB with Peter King

Always great when we get Greg Bedard back with some Patriots perspectives. One point he makes that I think I’ve mentioned is that Browner is far from a lock to be the every down RCB when he returns in Week 5. With the new rules that cornerbacks can barely even breathe on receivers, I agree that Browner is likely a matchup piece far more than an entrenched starter.

Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection (Preseason Week 2 Edition)

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Here’s my latest stab at the 53-man roster. Lots of questions remain and this is far from a finished product. My biggest areas of question are at linebacker, where it’s hard to say how the special teams and back-up spots will play out and tight end, where depth is a joke there right now.

QB (3) Brady, Mallett, Garoppolo – High confidence rate here that all three will stick.

RB (4) Ridley, Vereen, White, Develin – Dropped Bolden this time around, think White is good enough to backup both base and 3rd down duties, while Develin will be an FB/H-back/TE.

WR (6) Edelman, Dobson, Amendola, LaFell, Thompkins, Slater – Haven’t seen enough out of Boyce while the starting spot seems wide open between Dobson/LaFell/Thompkins.

TE (2) Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui – Things are light here with injuries, will have to take a closer look at Maneri. Could be an addition here after the final cutdown.

C (2) Connolly, Stork – Connolly seems to have been the main guy at center, while Stork is on the road to recovery. Wendell’s lack of versatility spells his end.

G (3) Mankins, Halapio, Kline – Kline has been a standout in practices, can he lock down a starting role?

T (4) Solder, Vollmer, Cannon, Fleming – Cannon can play any spot but center, that’s a huge help. They won’t carry more than 9 OL.

DE (4) Jones, Ninkovich, Smith, Buchanan – Moore goes to the practice squad while Bequette’s time is up. Not much depth here.

DT (6) Wilfork, Kelly, Easley, Siliga, Jones, Worthy – Big injury questions here, but once everyone is healthy and in game shape look out.

ILB(2) Mayo, Beauharnais – Would like to see more out of Beauharnais than we did in the first preseason game. He could very well be one injury away from playing time on defense.

OLB(4) Hightower, Collins, Anderson, White – Good group that should make a lot of plays.

CB (5) Revis, Dennard, Ryan, Arrington, Butler – Browner doesn’t count against the initial 53 so he’s off. Butler has been the surprise standout of camp.

SS (3) Chung, Wilson, Ebner – Forget traditional safety spots, Chung should see a lot of time in the box. I think he could revitalize his career this season.

FS (2) McCourty, Harmon – Two solid back end guys who can come up to the line of scrimmage as well.

ST (3) Gostkowski, Allen, Aiken – Same as it ever was.

Total players: 53
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New England’s defense once again utilized a lot of odd-man fronts against Washington. That 34 look had Vince Wilfork over the nose with Tommy Kelly at left end and either Chris Jones or Will Smith on the right. The linebackers included Jerod Mayo and Jamie Collins on the inside with Dont’a Hightower and Rob Ninkovich on the outside. Chandler Jones actually saw time at both end and linebacker in these segments. The same, in other groups, was true for rookie Zach Moore.

Tom Brady shines, defense dominates and other Patriots camp blogservations from Washington

https://www.patspropaganda.com/new-englands-defense-once-again-utilized-a-lot-of/