Post cut-down Roster

Quarterback (2)

Tom Brady, Ryan Mallet.

Surprise here with Hoyer being cut. Mallet has to improve, and fast. He is the only option if Brady goes down.

Running Back (4)

Stephen Ridley, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen, Brandon Bolden

Demps went to IR. Not all that surprising, give him a year to get into football shape and then see what he has next year with a full offseason in him.

Fullback (0)

Kettani is the only Fullback on the roster and likely is headed for another year on the practice squad.

Wide Receiver (4)

Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Matthew Slater, Julian Edelman
This is locked in here. No chance this plays out any other way. Edelman the Welker backup, Branch the Lloyd backup. Will likely run very few 3+ WR sets.

Tight End (4)

Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells, Visanthe Shiancoe

As many Tight Ends as wide receivers? Who woulda thunk it. I couldn't love it any more than I do. Please give me a 4 TE 1 RB set. Please. Please. I want to see someone try to defend it.

8/30 Thoughts, Game Wrap-up, etc.

-Jake Bequette is gone. I may be the only one that thinks this but he is CLEARLY the worst of the 6 DE's that are fighting for 5 spots. Scott, Cunningham and Francis all had good games last night and look like NFL caliber players, and I have yet to see that out of Bequette. I think you gotta cut him. Just have to. It can send a powerful message to the team that your status means nothing and only the best players will make the team. And who knows, maybe no one claims him and he reverts back to the practice squad.

-Jeff Demps really hurt himself with that injury. I think he was solidly on there as the 5th running back, but how does his injury affect his status? I think he may just barely squeak on there as a developmental guy as his potential for game breaking plays in the kicking game appears to be incredibly high. Plus with only 5WRs on the roster, there are spots to be had. However, he did have a history of injuries in college and already having one so soon is not a good sign. We already have one injury-riddled RB in Vereen, we do not need another.

-The big news today was that the NFLPA accepted the new IR rule change. This rule makes it so a player can come back 8-10 weeks after being placed on IR, thus not wasting a spot on the 53-man roster). This could be huge, especially in the cases of Dane Fletcher and Shiancoe. Shiancoe may be the prime candidate for this. With his injury, it looked like he was probably facing a cut. But, now Belichick can effectively place him on PUP and allow him to heal and have him ready midseason in the case of a Hernandez injury.

-Mike Rivera played well last night, and it seems to be a 3-way competition between him, Jeff Tarpinian, and Niko Koutouvides. Koutouvides' injury is clouding the situation as if it is going to be serious and keep him out of a few games, he may lose out on a spot to the other two. If his injury is not serious, then I think Rivera will end up on the practice squad and able to make it onto the active in case of an injury to one of the starters.

-The Offensive Line status is still in flux here. We have Solder, Mankins, Wendell, Connelly, Vollmer, and Cannon as locks. That's six; they will likely carry eight or nine. Nick MacDonald had seemingly secured up a roster spot, before derailed by an injury. Then, there is Donald Thomas, who has done some great work at Guard. The problem for him is lack of versatility. Bill likes his backup lineman to have versatility to fill in at multiple positions. Of course, the biggest domino yet to fall is Brian Waters. This is still a very fluid situation and we will see how it plays out.

Random Thoughts 8/29 - Camp Battles-WTW4, Next in line for Extension?

-I am starting to think there is a possibility that third round pick Jake Bequette may be cut from this team. Justin Francis has shown more in the preseason, and we know that Belichick will not hold onto a worse player just because of his draft status. It appears like they will only carry 5 DEs, and after C-Jones and Nink, there is a logjam of Scott, Cunningham, Bequette, and Francis. Of these 4, I think it goes without saying that Bequette has shown the least, so the question on keeping him comes down to this: does he have the potential to justify cutting a player that has been decidedly better during camp? However, if Bequette comes out with a good game tonight, he can end this debate and that will likely lead either Cunningham or Francis to the chop block.

-Another big position battle going are the end of the roster linebacker spots. After Mayo, Hightower, Spikes, and Carpenter (who are all locks) there seem to be two spots to be had by mostly special teams players. From what I can tell, we are looking at these four players for those two spots: Niko Koutivitis, Jeff Tarpinian, Mike Rivera, and Tracy White. White has been out most all of camp with an injury, so he seems to be on the outside looking in despite the fact that he was on the roster last year. So, it really comes down to those first three. It appears of the three, Rivera is the best linebacker, but the worst special teamer. Tonight's game is going to be big for these three. Does Rivera show he has some special teams value? Can Koutivits and Tarpinian show they can be a capable backup in the event of injuries to starters?

-One question that has popped up is, "who is next in line for an extension?" I have looked up and down the roster, and I do not think there is a single player on this team that is deserving of an extension. The closest candidates I can find are Chung and Vollmer. Both of these players are top tier players and guys you want to have at the core of your team. HOWEVER, neither has proved they can stay healthy. Chung has had a myriad of different issues over the course of his career and always seems to be battling something or other. Vollmer on the other hand, has only had one issue, but it is the worst kind for an offensive lineman, a chronic back injury. I think Chung, being younger (25 to Vollmer's 28), and without a chronic injury, will garner much more interest on the open market, but despite that, do not think it is worth it to extend him until he proves he can play a FULL season. McCourty is a possibility, but I think he has to string together two good years before they are going to extend him.

Negotiation Rant, Waters, Hernandez, Thoughts on Cuts/Chris Cooley

-I tweeted about this earlier, but I am so fed up with all these insufferable Boston sports writers being like "oh look how the Pats have changed", "the Pats have officially changed their model", "the Pats finally get it." SHUT THE FUCK UP. You literally lose all credibility when you try to bash them and say that they now have a new model. The Herndandez and Gronk extensions were INCREDIBLY different than the Wilfork, Mankins, and Branch situations. For Wilfork and Mankins, they were on their 1st rounder rookie contracts, and already had decent contracts and big singing bonuses. With Branch, he was never a #1 WR but wanted to be paid like one. The Pats put a value on players and will not go above that, and that will not change. Ask Ben Jarvus Green Ellis. Hernandez and Gronk extensions were both WELL below market value for the two most explosive players on their team, and easily top 10 skill position (WR/TE anyway) players in the league. Would you trade Gronk and Hernandez for Larry Fitz, contracts aside? I wouldn't, and they combined are getting paid less than he is. I think that sheds some light on why they did this so early. Additionally, these guys were on 2nd and 4th round rookie contracts, WHICH PAY SHIT. These guys were willing to sacrifice potential earnings on the open market to take a hometown discount, which Wilfork and Mankins DID NOT WANT TO DO. Ugh, I hate stupidity. /Rant over.

-On Brian Waters, he was signed September 4th last year, and made the Pro Bowl. He is DEFINITELY still a candidate to come back at some point late this week, early next week. Dan Koppen has his fingers crossed that he doesn't, because his status seems directly tied to Waters. I would love to see him back, as it slides Connolley inside to Center, and removes any potential weak point on the line (Koppen is done IMO).

-Hernandez sounds like a great dude. Not going to lie, he is my favorite player on the Patriots (I have his rookie year #85 jersey, and he was my boo in the 2010 draft) and this week has only further cemented that. Read this and this and try not to appreciate his maturity and humility. He has come a long way since draft day (when he slid down from a 1st/2nd round round talent to the 4th round for admitting his love of the ganja) and he seems like he gets it. Hes a local guy (from CT) and I couldn't be happier we have him and Gronk locked up for the next 6 years.

-Some thoughts on the cuts: I honestly was not too surprised on any of them. Gaffney was the only one I had on my most recent roster projection, and I was teetering with him being on or off. I think it looks like they are only going with 5WRs this year. Because of this, I can see them keeping 4 TEs on the roster. They want someone to back up Gronk (Fells) and Hernandez. The Hernandez h-back type backup was supposed to be Shiancoe, but his injury status has made him certainly uncertain (see what I did there?) to make this final roster. With the Cooley cut today, I could see the Pats snatching him up and slicing Shiancoe to make room. I really think based on the cuts at WR that they want to fill this spot. They saw what happened in the Super Bowl last year when a key role in your offense cannot be filled, and I think they want to avoid that at all costs this year.

Bucs Preseason 4 Things I Am Watching For

-Are you ready for some football? Tweets above, link here if you want to click on some of those links (the Aaron Hernandez video is pretty sick, only 2 min, and worth watching): https://twitter.com/CultOfBelichick

-Again, not much news out of camp yesterday due reporting restrictions, but we should find out how the team is progressing tonight. 3rd preseason game, and a lot of the studs sat last week, so I think we see the starters into the third quarter. As Mike Reiss points out, Belichick likes having his starters come out of halftime and perform in the third quarter, feeling it is a nice stepping stone to the regular season. With that in mind, here are 5 things I am looking for tonight.

-Vereen v Ridley. This competition has been heating up the last few weeks after Ridley had seemingly locked down that number one spot. Vereen capitalized when Ridley was out for a few practices, but was unable to seize the moment in the Eagles game. He struggled, only gaining 20 yards 10 carries, but did have 4 receptions for 29 yards. He is a great receiver, and it seems like most of his contributions this year will come in the pass game. This should compliment Ridley well as he is more of the BJGE 1st and 2nd down back type. Want to see how each performs, and who gets more of the 1st team reps.

-Jeff Demps. I am not quite as excited about this as everyone else seems to be, but that doesn't mean I am not going to be watching him closely. I think Bill throws him into the fire starting him at kick returner, and trying to get him some touches in space with the 1st team offense. They do not have a lot of time to evaluate this guy, so I think you will see a lot of him. Interested to see exactly what they have planned for him.

-Tackle Play. The achilles heel of the Patiots right now. Does Vollmer play? If not, is there any improvement from Cannon? If not, they have a problem. Even if Vollmer does play, I do not see it being more than a few series as they do not want to wear him out after he just came back from injury. Another question is how does Solder fair now that he has Logan Mankins back on his right side. There was a lot of chatter this past week that once Solder gets Mankins back, he should look better, so let's see about that.

-Secondary play. I have bought into this defense. Hard. Maybe too hard though. I feel like it has the potential to be a top 5 defense. I truly do. This may be a case of blatant homerism and optimism, but they seem stocked at every position. Plus, the biggest thing I have noticed, is they seem to have that swagger back that they have been missing. They have one of the best interior tandems in Wilfork and Kyle Love, with Ron Brace and Brandon Deadrick mixing in. At end, Jones is a stud, and Ninkovich is a solid player. Cunningham has come in strong and we will likely see a 3 way rotation with them (with Trevor Scott possibly contributing as well). At linebacker....fuggetaboutit. This may be the best WLB MLB SLB combo in the league. I absolutely LOVE what they all bring to the table. Now, I think without question that is a top 5 front 7 in the league. So, the question becomes, how does the secondary fare? They have looked solid thus far in the preseason, but questions remain. Can they keep up their solid play? How do the Safetys look without Chung back there? Granted, we will not REALLY know until the season starts, but these games help us get a feel for how it will play out.

8/23 Thoughts: Love, Attendence, Chung,

-Blogging off my iPhone today so no screenshot of my tweets from yesterday. You can see them (don't need a twitter account) at twitter.com/cultofbelichick

-Kyle Love Extended. 1 year up to 3 mil (still looking into specifics). He was set to be a restricted free agent after this year. The deal included a $500k signing bonus. I couldn't love this deal any more than I do (no pun intended but totally intended). This sets a great precedent. Love GREATLY outplayed his rookie deal and gets a cool half mil check for his performance. Additionally, this gives the Patriots an extra year to determine whether or not to give him a big extension (which he appears to be in line for). Guys in the locker room have to be excited about this because it shows that if you play well and do everything you are asked of, good things will happen. Here is a quote from his agent that stuck out to me, and really highlights the whole situation....."Kyle is appreciative of the Patriots for doing this at a time when they weren’t obligated to do so."

-Most players on field since 1st week of practice. Notables returning were Spencer Larsen, Alfonso Dennard, Tavon Wilson, along with Fells and Vollmer coming off PUP and Jeff Demps getting his first practice in.

-Not much news out of practice (aside from Schiano and Belichick trying to blow each other through the media) due to stupid restrictions, but the players were saying it was a tough practice, some even calling it a half-game. Can not wait for Friday. FOOTBALL IS UPON US.

-Chung not at practice. Chung is still out, and I'm thinking concussion. Let's hope it's not too bad and he can get back by Week 1. His injury isn't all bad though, because it means increased reps for Tavon Wilson (who lined up opposite Gregory) and Ebner. This can only help for the future.

Random Thoughts - Fanene, Ebner, Players to Watch

-Fanene cut was shocking. The Pats do not often cut people they just gave ~$4mil signing bonuses to. After reviewing this over, I kind of like the move. Brace, Deadrick, and Justin Francis (a hybrid DE/DT type) had all put on camps that made them deserving of making the roster. With Fanene likely needing some sort of arthroscopic surgery, it sounds like he is not going to be playing this year. And with all three of those guys, plus Kyle Love 25 and under, it doesn't appear as though there is going to be a spot for Fanene on this roster for years to come.

-More Fanene cut. It appears I was mistaken in my assumption that the signing bonus is spread over three years. Since he did not play, it is spread over two. Also, a bombshell this morning (as you can see from the tweets above, is that the Pats cut Fanene with the "Failure to Disclose Physical Condition" designation. This means that they believe he was not forthcoming with them about the state of his knee. Because of this, the signing bonus is potentially recoverable as he technically broke the terms of the contract. I am still looking into whether or not this recovered bonus amount would then be removed from the cap.

-"Week of Ebner." I am calling this the "Week of Ebner" because of the injuries to Tavon Wilson and Patrick Chung. It is possible that Wilson will be back for practice this week, but I doubt Chung will get too many live reps after getting his bell rung, and doing something to his shoulder. Because of this, Ebner should get a multitude of reps in practice this week, including a good amount with the first team. He is making a serious run at a roster spot right now, and this week will go a long way to letting us know if he is capable of playing any Safety (as opposed to just special teams) this year.

-Other players to look for this week. Will Allen: Same reason as Ebner, there should be some 1st team snaps to be had. Justin Francis: With the cut to Fanene, a spot has seemingly opened up on the line for a player like Francis. If he looks good this week, he should be in the driver's seat for a roster spot. Jeff Demps: Goes without saying, not sure when he can do live drills, but let's see what he's got. Daniel Fells: Finally off PUP, can't wait to see some 3 TE sets and what they can all do together.

Roster Update 4.0

Quarterback (3)

Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallet.

No change from last week. Mallet making a push up the depth chart.

Running Back (4)

Stephen Ridley, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen, Brandon Bolden

No change from last week. Waiting to put Demps on here until I see something concrete out of him. I think the returner woes are a little overblown.

Fullback (0)

Still no Fullback, and with Demps signed, looks to be an even tougher road.

Wide Receiver (6)

Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Matthew Slater, Julian Edelman, Deion Branch, Jabar Gaffney

First change here. Deion looked good against the Eagles, and Stallworth hasn’t shown much. As others have noticed, didn’t really separate on the long balls, which needs to be his specialty.

Tight End (3)

Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells

Putting Fells back on here with the news that he is coming off PUP. We will see what happens when Shiancoe and his injury.

Offensive Line (8)

Nate Solder (LT), Logan Mankins (LG), Dan Connolley (C/G), Brian Waters (RG), Sebastion Vollmer, (RT), Ryan Wendell (C/G), Marcus Cannon (T), Ryan MacDonald (C/G/T)

Going light here with 8 offensive lineman. Still assuming Brian Waters makes the team. Possibility of adding a tackle here.

Defensive Lineman (5)

Vince Wilfork (NT, 4-3 DT, 3-4 DE), Kyle Love (NT, 4-3 DT, 3-4 DE), Brandon Deadrick (4-3 DT, 3-4 DE), Ron Brace (4-3 DT, 3-4 DE), Justin Francis (4-3 DE/DT)

The cut to Fanene is the biggest change here, and should pave the way for Jusin Francis to make the team.

Defensive End / Outside Linebacker (5)

Chandler Jones (4-3 DE, 3-4 OLB), Rob Ninkovich (4-3 DE, 3-4 OLB), Jermaine Cunningham (3-4 OLB, 4-3 DE), Jake Bequette (4-3 DE), Trevor Scott (3-4 OLB, 4-3 DE)

The cut to Fanene opens up a spot for Trevor Scott, who has looked better in recent days.

Inside Linebacker (6)

Jerod Mayo (4-3 WLB, 3-4 MLB, 4-3 MLB, sub), Brandon Spikes (4-3 MLB, 3-4 MLB, 4-3 SLB), Donta Hightower (4-3 SLB, MLB 3-4 MLB, sub), Bobby Carpentar (sub, 4-3 WLB, Special Teams), Niko Koutivitis (Special Teams, sub, 4-3WLB, 3-4 MLB), Jeff Tarpinian ((Special Teams, sub, 4-3WLB, 4-3 MLB, 3-4 MLB)

Put Rivera on the roster a little prematurely in the last update, Tarpinian still has the inside track here I think. The last two spots on here are very fluid and could go a number of different ways, with Tracy White and Mike Rivera also possibilities here.

Cornerback(5)

Ras-I Dowling, Devin McCourty, Kyle Arrington, Sterling Moore, Marquise Cole

Same for all 4 weeks I've been doing this. Marquise Cole has made some separation at that 5 spot with solid special teams and showing some ability in coverage. Depth chart of McCourty. Arrington. Dowling. Moore. Cole. is one of the most stable of all.

Safety (5)

Patrick Chung, Steve Gregory, Tavon Wilson, James Ihedigbo, Nate Ebner.

Big change here, with Will Allen and Josh Barrett off in favor of Ihedigbo and Ebner. Both of these guys bring incredible special teams value and Ebner has looked much better than anticipated. Will Allen is off because of lack of special teams versatility and Barrett appears to be

Specialists (3)

Stepehen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko, Danny Aiken.

Not much to say. Kicker, Punter, Holder.

Eagles Review and Random Thoughts

-Above are my tweets from the game last night. I am moving to a more twitter-centric model with one post (and then maybe a random reactionary post here and there).

-One followup on my Jeff Demps thoughts from yesterday. This NFL.com article goes into the contract for Demps a little more and insinuates that because of the financial commitment (2nd most guaranteed money of any undrafted free agent) that he is a near lock to make this team. I still don't see it that way, but I may be backing off my "no chance he makes the team" stance. This contract leads me to believe Bill WANTS him to make this team, but he will have to earn it.

-Mike Reiss' Mailbag is a must read every Tuesday. Check it out.

Eagles Game 

-Chung injured. This is the biggest thing to come out of the game. Chung left in the first quarter with an alleged shoulder injury, but it looked like he got knocked the fuck out. One of the other DBs (I forget who off the top of my head) had to point him to the correct sideline in order to get to the trainers, which is NEVER a good sign. Chung has had problems staying healthy in the past (missed 8 games last year) so let us hope he can get past this.

-Tackle play HORRIFYING. This was not a good sign. Cannon is a turnstile. He is looking so bad I do not even know if they can count on him to be a spot starter in case of injury. I see them picking up a tackle at the waiver deadline. Solder got beat a few times, but did draw praise from some of the Eagles D-Lineman who think he will be a solid player in this league. I am in that camp as well, and am expecting growing pains this year, hopefully solidifying by playoff time.

-Mallet and Ebner solid. Mallet started and had some good and some bad. He did lead two TD drives, but also looked a little slow at times in his reads and getting the ball out of his hands. This is basically his rookie year since he had no offseason and a shortened preseason last year due to the lockout. He is progressing slowly, but at least showing he is progressing. Ebner had a nice pick, and his 43 yard runback was freaking awesome. It was like his rugby highlights all over again. Why he is not returning kicks and punts is beyond me. His defense is coming along, and he has a SERIOUS nose for the ball. With Chung and Wilson nursing injuries, he should get a lot of reps in the joint practices in Tampa and in that game on Friday. He is making a serious push for a roster spot.

-Deion Branch makes case for roster spot. After today, I am thinking there is no way Deion Branch is off this team. He looked sharp, quick, and was always in the right place. Stallworth on the other hand, I think is now facing an uphill climb for a roster spot, as he didn't look great last night.

Random Thoughts 8.20.12

So I am kind of experimenting with some things here in order to fit writing this blog into my schedule. Unfortunately, I am a cube monkey working 40 hrs/week, so some days I am jam-packed with work and don't want to write a bunch of stuff, but then other days, I have plenty of time to do this. I am thinking of scaling this back and trying to do one post per day. This post will just be ramblings of my current thoughts and will maybe include some links to read. Aside from that, I will do my best to do quick posts with my reactions to news. As always, follow me on twitter @cultofbelichick.

-Jeff Demps: Everyone is all up in arms super excited about Jeff Demps because he was in the Olympics. Big freakin whoop. I do not care about the Olympics. Let's see Usain Bolt run back kicks, guarantee he sucks. Now, Demps did play at Florida, so it's obviously a different story. But, the point remains, if he was a good enough football player, he would have been drafted high enough that he would have turned down the Olympics. Because let's be real, no one that is a track and football player would rather do track at the highest level than play in the NFL. I know the Pats kick return game blows, but just because your wives made you watch the Olympics and you recognize the name Demps, doesn't mean he is going to be a good enough football player to make the team.

-Tavon Wilson Injury: This one really hurts. Hoping he can get back soon. He had looked good in that 3rd Safety spot and it looked as though we would have three NFL starting caliber Safetys on the squad, after playing much of last year with zero (Chung was hurt for a lot of the season). I was starting to get a good feeling about this secondary, but now we are one more injury away from James "career-special-teamer-for-a-reason" Ihedigbo getting starting snaps at Safety. This is what my nightmares are made of.

-Vollmer and Fells Coming off PUP: So the great news this weekend was that both Vollmer and Fells passed their physicals and should be coming off the PUP shortly. This is maybe the best news I have heard since the Jets acquired Tebow. If you have been reading my stuff consistently, you know that the RT spot has been haunting me all pre-season and this couldn't come soon enough. Marcus Cannon had looked horrible in his stead and now appears locked into a backup role (thank god). Fells is a little less pressing as we still have Gronk and Hernandez, but I do love the fact that we are now carrying 3 TEs.

Monday Roster 3.0

So I decided that first thing every Monday (yes, my schedule allows me to not wake up till noon on Monday, be jealous) until the cutdown to 53 on September 2nd, I will give my current state of the Pats roster as I see it, with a little analysis at each position. The roster limit is currently at 90, so a significant amount of the players currently on the roster will not be with the Pats this year.

Quarterback (3)
Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallet.
No change from last week. Ryan mallet had a tough day on Thursday and Brian Hoyer seems firmly entrenched in that number 2 spot.

Running Back (4)
Stephen Ridley, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen, Brandon Bolden
No change from last week. Ridley is solidly in the number one spot here with Shane Vereen making a strong push up the depth chart with a good game on Thursday (64 yds on 11 carries. 17 receiving). Brandon Bolden looks to be holding onto his roster spot with solid all around play. I know at first I thought the comparisons to BGJE (undrafted out of Ole Miss) were ridiculous, but they do have a similar style of running. They are both bigger backs that can run downhill. As long as Bolden stays consistent in the coming weeks, he should be on the team.

Fullback (0)
This is the first week I am taking Larsen off the roster. I liked the idea of bringing a fullback on with great versatility, but with his injury, an the fact that he had never quite distinguished himself, gets him cut this week.

Wide Receiver (6)
Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Matthew Slater, Julian Edelman, Donte Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney
No change here. Same for all three weeks. They brought in Plaxico for a workout, but I do not see it happening.

Tight End (2)
Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez
No change from last week. Injuries hurting them here. I could see this number increasing if Shiancoe comes back, but no word on that yet.

Offensive Line (9)
Nate Solder (LT), Logan Mankins (LG), Dan Connolley (C/G), Brian Waters (RG), Sebastion Vollmer, (RT), Ryan Wendell (C/G), Marcus Cannon (T), Matt Kopa (T), Ryan MacDonald (C/G/T)
The situation here is getting better with MacDonald coming back to practice and filling in at every position on the line. And of course, the big news is Mankins coming back. The problem here is that two of the tackles on here are injured with no signs of return (Vollmer and Kopa). There will likely be changes to this in the coming weeks.

Defensive Lineman (5)
Vince Wilfork (NT, 4-3 DT, 3-4 DE), Kyle Love (NT, 4-3 DT, 3-4 DE), Brandon Deadrick (4-3 DT, 3-4 DE), Jonathon Fanane (4-3 DT, 3-4 DE), Ron Brace (4-3 DT, 3-4 DE)
Same as last week. I still think these are the 5 best players on the D-line, and hopefully they can all get back from injuries.

Defensive End / Outside Linebacker (5)
Chandler Jones (4-3 DE, 3-4 OLB),  Rob Ninkovich (4-3 DE, 3-4 OLB), Jermaine Cunningham (3-4 OLB, 4-3 DE), Jake Bequette (4-3 DE), Justin Francis (4-3 DE)
I am going to keep these the same for the sake of not being too reactionary. Trevor Scott could still make this team, just not sure how this will play out.

Inside Linebacker (6)
Jerod Mayo (4-3 WLB, 3-4 MLB, 4-3 MLB, sub), Brandon Spikes (4-3 MLB, 3-4 MLB, 4-3 SLB), Donta Hightower (4-3 SLB, MLB 3-4 MLB, sub), Bobby Carpentar (sub, 4-3 WLB, Special Teams), Niko Koutivitis (Special Teams, sub, 4-3WLB, 3-4 MLB), Mike Rivera (Special Teams, sub, 4-3 MLB, 4-3 WLB, 3-4 MLB)
Some change at the back end here with the injury to Dane Fletcher and strong play by Mike Rivera supplanting Jeff Tarpinian. Koutivitis is someone I have been overlooking here as he has a strong special teams presence. I think he makes it here above Tarpinian for now.

Cornerback(5)
Ras-I Dowling, Devin McCourty, Kyle Arrington, Sterling Moore, Marquise Cole
Same for all 3 weeks I've been doing this. Marquise Cole has made some separation at that 5 spot with solid special teams and showing some ability in coverage. Depth chart of McCourty. Arrington. Dowling. Moore. Cole. is one of the most stable of all.

Safety (5)
Patrick Chung, Steve Gregory, Tavon Wilson, Will Allen, Josh Barrett.
Not much to say here. Still think it shakes down this way, but Will Allen and Josh Barrett are by no means locks on this team.

Specialists (3)
Stepehen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko, Danny Aiken.
Not much to say. Kicker, Punter, Holder.

Poor Offensive Tackle Play

 The one negative (aside from Pat Chung) last night that really stood out was the incredibly poor offensive tackle play. Nate Solder had at least two holding penalties, along with getting beat a bit and getting Brady hurried and hit. He had been playing well in practice from what we heard, and hopefully he just had the jitters out there and steps his play up. However, the one thing that worries me here is that the Saints really do not have any top flight pass-rushers that he was getting burned by, they are all just average players. How does he do against premier players such as Mario Williams? That is a story line to monitor. On the other side, Cannon just looked overwhelmed. He is not an NFL tackle. I have said it many times, and when he got burned and Brady took that hit I almost threw my TV across the room in anger. Everyone keeps saying, oh don't worry, we are getting Mankins and Waters back, the offensive line will be fine. Oh really? Because last time I checked both of those players were interior lineman, and the interior was fine, it was the tackles with the issues. Some are saying they expect Vollmer back, but honestly, as a dude with chronic back injuries, if he is still hurting now (he apparantly has looked like he was laboring on the sidelines rehabbing) the chances of him not hurting in a month are very very slim. I would not be surprised if Belichick is on the lookout for a veteran right tackle now, and if he's not, well that sucks.

Pat Chung Rant

Patrick Chung is not a top tier safety in this league. He just isn't. I want him to be, you want him to be, but he's not. The angles he takes on balls are just horrible sometimes. He was a second late to close on two 3rd and long first down conversion completions (that's a mouthful) which brought back horrible memories of the last two years. I know people had said he looked like the best defensive player on the field during the joint practices, but at this point he is what he is. He is a solid, better than average safety with suspect coverage skills, solid against the run, but that is IT! At a certain point, we have to accept this, and hope his playmaking ability makes up for the fact that his coverage isn't where it should be. Let's hope Gregory's coverage skills can help mask some of this during the season, otherwise the secondary could be in for another looooooooong season.

So, umm yeah. About last night....Chandler Jones is Disgusting

So Chandler Jones was amazing last night. He got push on nearly every play and just looked like an overall beast. He drew 2 holds in a span on 3 plays, and made Saints LT Jermon Bushrod look like the rookie, instead of the other way around. This is the exact type of player we have been missing and if he can give us an effort like this in the season, I like our defenses chances of improving into a top notch unit. He is just on a whole different level from all the other DE we have as far as a physical specimen. Just a beast. So excited. So, so excited. "Getchya 95 Jerseys out"

Best O' Da Rest

-Mayo not happy with Chung after another 3rd down conversation allowed.

-Steve Gregory pick. Nice ball skills. This is precisely what we are looking for. Great, great sign.

- Vereen dissapointtts.

1st Quarter Thoughts

My thoughts from the first half. Some of them are copied from twitter for old people (or #twitterhaters) that don't have a twitter.

-Really wbz? I did not need to be reminded of last year. It never happened.

-1 series. Ummm yeah Chandler Jones first series was okay I guess.

-Not a good penalty by Cole. He can't afford that.

-Yes please. 8 yard first carry for Ridley.

-Welp. Not a great first possession. Lloyd needs to make that catch.

-Dane Fletcher. I like him a lot. Please don't be a bad injury.

-Ugh. That can't happen. Offensive line worries increase.

-Nice tackle by Mayo. Defensive impressive. Offense notsomach (in borat voice).

-Nate Holder with another flag.

-I love Kyle Love. (Zingggg. 2 for 2.)

-Chandler Jones is my next jersey.

-Flashbacks on that 3rd and long completion.

-Chandler Jones dominated that quarter. Dominated. And I love it.

3 Things I'm Looking for Tonight

So for these preseason games, I am going to key in a few things I'm looking for tonight. It could be a player or a group of players or a type of play, what have you, this is what I am looking for:

Ryan Mallet: Surprised this is my top pick? Then you don't understand my man-crush on Ryan Mallet. At 6'7" he is that new breed of taller QBs we are starting to see. He has all the physical tools you could possibly want, including a rocket arm, and is a coach's son (something Belichick loves). With the lockout last year, he was a little over his head at times in the preseason last year, so this year, with a full offseason under his belt, I want to see what he can do. Once Belichick came out and said he had been making "great strides," my excitement started for this preseason.

The Rooks: Chandler Jones, Donta Hightower, and to a lesser degree, Tavon Wilson: I can't wait to see Jones and Hightower out there flying around. I want to see how Jones can handle himself, and I am expecting big things after that comment by the Saints LTJermon Bushrod. For Hightower, I am not looking for anything in particular, but would like to see some of this thump that I have been hearing about from the beat reporters. For Wilson, I want to see how he handles himself back there, and also how they use the 'Big Nickel' defense with him.

Stevan Ridley: Ridley has distanced himself from all the other running backs onto the roster, and has seemingly looked even better than he did last year. He was great in limited reps last year and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. If he can keep that number up while bringing his carries from 87 to around 200, this season will be a resounding success for him (as that would bring him past the 1,000 yard mark). What I want to see is someone that looks like number one running back, with the confidence (and ball security) to match.

3 Bubble Competitions 2.0

With the Roster Prediction 2.0 coming out on Mondays, I decided I would do a midweek Bubble Competitions running feature that touches on some of the biggest competitions in camp. I slimmed it down to three because there are only so many competitions and I don't want to get too repetitive.

Visanthe Shiancoe (TE) v Spencer Larsen (FB): This seems like a weird competition since these two play different positions, however I do see them relating. If Shiancoe can get back on the field in a hurry, then he should have the inside track here as the Patriots need some depth behind Gronk and Hernandez. However, if Shiancoe doesn't heal as hoped, and Fells opens on the PUP as expected, it opens up another spot, and I think they go with a FB to fill the spot as he can replicate a lot of the duties of a TE.

Brandon Deadrick v Ron Brace v Gerard Warren: These are all interior Defensive Lineman, and it appears as though they are fighting for two spots. I think Deadrick (7th rounder in 2010 out of Alabama), who started last year on PUP and came on strong, has the upper hand in this, but he is by no means locked into a roster spot. Gerard Warren is a vet and we know what he can bring, but the potential for Ron Brace is tantalizing. He was drafted in the 2nd round, and has great size at 6'3" and 330 lbs. Brace looked primed for a roster spot, until being derailed by a recent injury. If Deadrick and Brace can stay healthy, I think you see both of them on the roster.

Josh Barrett v Will Allen v James Ihedigbo v Nate Ebner v Ross Ventrone v Sergio Brown: These 5 (or 6 if you count Brown, which I refuse to do) are competing for what looks like 2 positions. They are mostly fighting for special teams positions, and will not see the field on defense much, unless injuries crop up. For this reason, Allen has a tough battle ahead of him as he is in the later stages of his career (just turned 34 on Sunday) and does not offer much special teams help. However, one thing he does have going for him is his CB versatility which none of these other guys have (except maybe Ventrone, but Allen is on another level) so he could be the backup DB, with one of these guys (I am thinking Barrett) being the main special teamer back there. Either way you slice it, it is going to be interesting what type of player they choose.

Today's Dose of Optimism - Secondary

Despite the fact that Brees seemingly had his way with the Patriot's secondary yesterday, I still have high hopes for this group. Chung, from multiple angles, appeared to be the best defensive player on the field for the Pats yesterday, which is a phenomenal sign. If he can stay healthy this year (missed 8 games last year, and played with a cast on for others) that will do wonders to shore up the back of the secondary. Not much has been said about McCourty this preseason, and I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing, but I think we would be hearing more if he was getting burned every practice, so I am leaning more towards good. Arrington has looked solid and it seems every day I hear something good about Dowling. Greg Bedard used a good term the other day, "stacking success," which is exactly what Dowling has to do. He has to continue to bring it every day to prove his consistency to the coaches and his teammates. One little nugget I picked up in a column by Field Yates of EPN Boston was something about Tavon Wilson. He said that he has noticed that Wilson has an uncanny ability to time the snap and blitz. It seems that while we have talented players, we have lacked a Rodney Harrison type in recent years who can time the snap perfectly and get back into the backfield in a hurry. Many people though he was a reach, but maybe Belichick and co. took extra notice of his football acumen where others brushed it off. This rookie class looks to be fairly impressive again, and after the 06-08 drafts, the last 4 drafts appear to be shaping up pretty nicely.

Chandler Jones = JPP?

So the big news coming out of the Patriots practice (aside from the fact that the defense got annihilated...shhhhhhhhh we aren't going to talk about that) was that Saints' LT Jermon Bushrod said the Chandler Jones was "JPP-like". In the almighty words of Jonah Hill, "I just went from six to midnight." I don't think there is anything I could hear about C-Jones or this team in general (other than maybe Vollmer is healthy and Cannon can go back to the bench) that would make me more excited. This is the type of player that Pats fans have been clamoring for ever since we traded away Richard Seymour. Jones length showed up at practice, at one point batting down a Brees pass. If C-Jones can somewhat replicate the path of JPP, we can expect huge things out of this team as they finally have that "playmaker" that they have been lacking. The Super Bowl teams of the early 2000's always had a knack for making a big play when needed, and I think with some of the additions we have made (Jones, Hightower) along with the development of some guys (Chung, Dowling) could help this defense regain it mojo. And yes, I am going to pretend the D didn't get torched today, and chalk it up to Brees being Brees. This is still an incredibly young defense that is incorporating some new starters, so I think they can progress during the season as they did last year, and become a top-10 scoring defense.

Position Battle - Defensive End

The Defensive End spot appears to be one of the best battles we have going in camp thus far. It appears as though they will likely keep at least 4, possibly 5 out of the following 6 players: Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Jermaine Cunningham, Jake Bequette, Trevor Scott, Justin Francis. They are pretty much running 4 man fronts, but some of these players will play some OLB in 4 linebacker sets, but not often. So, mostly these guys will be playing on the line at either RDE or LDE. RDE (Right Defensive End) is the best passrusher on the team and will be going against the opposing team's Left Tackle. The Left Defensive End, while still needing the ability to get to the quarterback, needs to be more sturdy against the run as the Right Tackle is generally the bulkier tackle and better run blocker. Most teams will try to run to the right. For this reason, the LDE needs to be a little sturdier. As of right now, we have Chandler Jones getting 1st team reps on the right, with I believe Ninkovich on the left. Originally, Trevor Scott had been getting the first team reps over there with Ninkovich on the right, but Scott's play has diminished, and Jones' has been impressive. Cunningham has also appeared to play his way onto this team as he has also been getting some 1st team reps at that LDE spot. I think they will settle on a Jones/Bequette rotation at RDE and Nink/Cunningham at LDE with some Justin Francis sprinkled in. Trevor Scott can still make this team as there is a ton of pre-season left, so there is time for people to go up and down, but this is how it appears to be shaping up as of now.

Position in Transition - Offensive Line

I know we touche din on the Offensive line last week, but with the way things are shaping up, I thought we needed to take another look at it.

Current 1st Team: Nate Solder (LT), Donald Thomas (LG), Ryan Wendell (C), Dan Connolly (RG), Marcus Cannon (RT)

This lineup contains two fifths of the projected starting lineup and looks especially weak at left guard with Donald Thoms and right tackle with Marcus Cannon. Ryan Wendell I think is solid and would not mind having him in a pinch. I am not sold on Cannon and I think the Vollmer injury is the one to watch the most. Koppen bowed to Wendell at Center, and I think that is the nail in his coffin. His only chance was being a starting Center in a scenario in which Mankins or Waters is out and Connolly slides out to guard. However, it appears they are not moving this way. They currently have no healthy tackles behind Cannon and Solder, as Weems, Kopa, and Nix, their three backup tackles, are all out with some form of injury. Nick MacDonald is a G/C and just returned to practice off the PUP and got reps at LT (where he played in college) out of necessity to give Solder some rest. It also appeared as though they took some camp fodder defensive lineman and worked them out with Dante (the man) Scarnecchia in hopes they can get some reps out of them in the event none of those tackles get back to practice soon.

Player Spotlight - Marcus Cannon

Another installment in the player spotlight series. With Sebastion Vollmer, the starting RT, out of practice thus far this fall, a lot of talk this offseason has been on Marcus Cannon and his improvement from last year. This, coupled with the fact that I kind of glossed over him in my offensive line preview, made me think we needed to do a little spotlight on him


Background Info: 6'5" 350 pound behemoth drafted in the 5th round out of TCU in 2011. He was a 1st/2nd round talent, and then in the pre-draft process, they discovered he had cancer. So, naturally his stock slipped and the Pats took a chance on him (aka classic Patriots style) late. He underwent treatment, and beat cancer. He opened last year on the PUP, and ended up making some contributions later in the season when Vollmer was out and they slid Solder out to a 3rd TE role. In this mans opinion, he was sub par, and many had hopes that with a full offseason, and a full year in the Patriot's system, he would improve and be a solid player this year.

Contract: Still on his rookie contract. 4 years 2.338 million dollars. Chump change. Nothing really of note here. Economics wont play any factor in whether he makes the team.

Where He Can Help This Team: He can help this team by being what is known as the "swing tackle". This is the backup tackle that will be able to fill in for either tackle in case of injury. At this point in camp, he has not distinguished himself as a starting caliber tackle. With his huge frame, some think he is best suited to slide into guard, but the Pats are pretty set inside. He is currently looking at being the starting RT, which scares me.

Chances of Making This Team: He looks like a 100% lock to make this team. He has been getting all the first team snaps at RT in Vollmer's absence. Now, there is a chance Vollmer suffers a setback and appears as though he is going to miss a few games and the Pats sign a veteran tackle. I don't have any names, but unless Cannon's play improves (though yesterday was the best day he has had so far in camp from all reports) I could see them going this route. I would say Kopa has a chance to supplant Cannon, but he has looked even worse thus far.