How to see my new posts

So I stopped uploading my posts to here, but I think some people are still coming here. Below is how to see my new stuff. The patriots life link is a search so you get JUST my posts. Twitter is the best way to follow me. I also have the Facebook fan page that gets uploaded with new posts.

Patriots life: http://www.nepatriotslife.com/search?q=cultofbelichick
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CultOfBelichick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cult-of-Belichick/418628151516908

Tuesdays Roster Moves

So, on Tuesday, the Patriots made some interesting roster moves. Cutting three young guys, and bringing in some veterans. They cut WR Greg Salas (just acquired for a late round 2015 pick from Rams at 53-man cutdown day), LB Mike Rivera (signed to practice squad during middle of last season), and FB Lex Hilliard (signed the day after 53 man cutdown day). Then, they signed WR Deion Branch, LB Niko Koutouvidis, and TE Kellen Winslow. The first two didn't make it past cutdown day, and Winslow was in Seahawks camp before getting cut and wasn't able to latch on anywhere. So, lets dive in here and see why they did all of this. As always, follow me on twitter @CultOfBelichick

-Salas for Branch: This one is very interesting because they basically cut Branch in favor of Salas at the 53-man cutdown date. Then, two weeks later they are cutting Salas, and signing Branch? My thought: The Patriots knew Branch wasn't going anywhere as he has stated his desire to play in New England, or no where else, and wanted to grab Salas for practice squad. Then, they cut Salas once they thought he'd pass through waivers. The injury to Hernandez made them move on Branch early, and we have to hope Salas isn't claimed and can get back on the squad.

The Patriots are hopeful Kellen Winslow can bring back old magic

-Mike Rivera for Niko Koutouvidis: This one is not overly surprising. After the debacle on special teams on Sunday, they wanted to bring in a veteran presence to help calm things down. Again, Rivera likely headed back to the practice squad.

-Kellen Winslow for Lex Hilliard These two do not play the same position, but it was still basically just a swap. This is a situation where they needed to add a player, and had to cut the guy on the 53-man giving the least value, and that was Hilliard. He hadn't really done anything productive, and with the offense moving away from a 2 TE offense slightly with Hernandez out, the offense is going to be more spread out and there will be less need for a FB. As for Winslow, they are basically hoping he can come in and be healthy and allow them to run half of their snaps or so out of 2TE sets. They will not run them all the time like they did in the first game, but they do not want to be forced into what they were in the Cardinals game, and HAVE to run 1TE sets.

Deion Branch Back

Deoin Branch is back folks. Tommy B jumps for joy and screams from the rooftop that his binky is back. But, I personally am bittersweet on this one. The main reason I am unhappy about this is because it opens all those damn floodgates of bringing back every Patriot that was ever cut. Everyone asking about ever player ever and if they may be coming back. Let's just go pick up Troy Brown and Tedy fucking Bruschi while we're at it. Why the fuck cut Branch in the first place if you think he can help the team? I just don't understand this. The Salas trade makes negative sense now that they are bringing in Deoin. Now, if Deoin can come in and be your 4th WR (I do not want him ahead of Edelman) and produce, he would not be the worst 4th WR in the league. He has a rapport with Brady, and that hast to count for something. My biggest thing is why did he not make this team if they thought he still had it left in the tank? I guess the only explanation would be that they wanted to get younger at WR and thought Salas was their ticket to that. I still think Salas, if he clears waivers, is back on the practice squad and hopefully we can develop him for next year. All in all, welcome back Deoin, and welcome back 3WR offense.

Julian Edelman - Why He's the Starter

So, all the talk this week has been centering around Welker, and how "the Patriots are screwing him to ruin his market value!" Ugh. I can't take any more of this. So, without further adieu, here are 5 reasons why Edelman is starting over Welker. As always follow me @CultOfBelichick

-Welker behind after missing a week of training camp. Not sure if you have seen this talk, but it is out there. This seems to be the biggest thing that people are missing. He missed that week of camp in Tampa with a death in the family. He has said he needed more reps in preseason. What veteran player, tenured starter, says that when they are ready to play? Not a single one. So, just that little piece should give you some info on the fact that even Welker doesn't think he is ready. So, as Welker gets further into gameshape, I could see him making a run at Edelman's starting spot.

-Offeseason Work. Welker spent the entire offseason in Colorado with his fiance-turned-wife. Edelman meanwhile, trailed Brady like a drug sniffing dog does Sam Hurd. BOOM Roasted. This is invaluable as it has elevated him into the same category as Welker as far as rapport with Brady. Yes, Welker has many years with Brady, but it's a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world. They have to practice continually to keep that chemistry up, and Welker basically took everything off until it became mandatory. So, Edelman is months ahead of Welker in his preparation and continuity with Tommy B.

-Better outside receiver. Personally, I think this is probably the biggest thing that is going overlooked. Edelman has the ability to play some outside WR. This is something that Welker really does not do. With their base offense being 1RB 2WR 2TE, you are in general going to want both of those WRs to be able to play outside. You want them to play on the outside because you already have those two TEs running patterns on the inside, and you want guys on the outside that can keep defenses honest and not allow them to focus everything on the inside of the field. So, since you want someone that can play outside in those sets, you are more likely to see Edelman than you are Welker. There will be some 2WR 2TE sets that you will see Welker in, but in sets where the 2nd WR is to be on the outside, I think you will see Edelman in the majority of these scenarios.

-Blocking. This has to be one of the most overrated story lines as to why Edelman is playing. He is a better blocker, but only marginally, and this isn't a huge factor as to why he is playing. This just seems like a reach to me.

Now, this is all moot for the time being as we are likely about to see a lot more 3WR sets now that Hernandez is out. We will revisit this once he comes back and see if Edeleman is still starting then.

What happened to the offense?

Sorry I am so late with this today, dusting off my hangover from all the booze I started chugging around 4:30PM EST yesterday. So, yesterday the biggest thing that killed them was the offense. What the hell happened? How did they not score a TD for the first 57 minutes? Lets dive in here and see what caused this, starting from the most important factor on down. As always, follow me on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/CultOfBelichick">@CultOfBelichick </a>

<b>-Hernandez Injury.</b> The amount that this affected the Patriots cannot be understated. He is their number 1 option on offense, and the keystone this offense was built around. His athletic ability creates mismatches that no one else on the Patriots can cause. He has the ability to play: Outside WR, Slot WR, in line TE, RB, Wing Back, EVERYTHING. His flexibility is what allows them to manipulate the opposing defense's personnel, and attack accordingly. With him in they have the ability to run or pass without having to substitute at all. They spent the whole offseason building this offense around him, and when he went out, it really took the air out of their sails. They have a backup for him in Visanthe Shiancoe, but he is on short term IR right now and can't come back until Week 10. Part of me wonders how injured he is and if Bill isn't kicking himself for just keeping him on the 53-man for a week or two while still injured, because they are in trouble now. If they had just held out, they could have him playing next week, and not have to change their offense. Now, it looks like they are going to have to completely change the offense and go to a lot more 3 WR looks, which they were not very effective out of on Sunday.

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-72pivRZsJPs/UFepxwwshGI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/XlCAm-jihSA/s1600/super-bowl-sad_2129909i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-72pivRZsJPs/UFepxwwshGI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/XlCAm-jihSA/s320/super-bowl-sad_2129909i.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>-Brady Skittish.</b> This was definitely a result of his distrust in the offensive line. The offensive line was bad, but there were SOOOOO many plays where they pushed the pocket behind him, he stepped up, and then waited for point two seconds and just bolted, or went down, with no one even around him. He didn't have the trust in the O-Line needed to stand in there and let those receivers do their thing and get open down the field. Brady will usually sit in there forever, but was intent on hauling ass out of the pocket at any opportunity. The offensive line giving up a few sacks is bad, but this distrust that seems to be brewing can be catastrophic. They need to shore things up, and fast. If not, I think we could reach a really bad tipping point some time later in the season if Brady is still worried about getting decleated on every dropback.

<b>-Woodhead blows.</b> Woody's only good play was that late TD, and that got pulled back. He really didn't seem to do much of anything well yesterday. We need Vereen to get his ass on the field and take over some of these 3rd down responsibilities. Woodhead just doesn't have the athleticism that we see from Ridley, and it really hurts me on the inside when I see him running the ball. I want an athlete back there. Maybe he can give us more plays like that called-back-TD-run and if so, then I guess he isn't the worst 3rd down back in the league. But, it just seemed like the only time his name came up yesterday was in a bad light.

<b>-Michael Hoomanawanui did not play up to snuff.</b> With Hernandez going down, it was a chance for the Hoo-man to get some reps and seize his opportunity. Needless to say, he was more of Uh-oh, than Hoo-man (he says those are the two nicknames to call him). He got demolished in the run game, and was non-existent in the pass game. He needs to pick up his play, or is likely to hit the streets once Fells gets healthy enough to make the active roster.

4 Things I am Watching For

-Secondary. Secondary. Secondary. This is without a doubt the weakest point of the team right now. Our defense has potential as we have a top front 7 in the league, but what can they do without a solid defensive backfield? The DBs played OK against the Titans; nothing more, nothing less. And just OK against a kid making his first start is not going to cut it. Granted, it is not like the Cardinals have a high flying attack, but they should be better than what the Titans were throwing out there. There are question marks everywhere back there. How is Gregory assimilating into the defense? Can he play better than last week? Which McCourty will we see? This is a question that will linger most of the season, but he can help quiet that talk by shutting down Larry Fitzgerald. What is Ras-I Dowling? Can he take over the starting spot from Arrington? Can he live up to his draft status (33rd pick)? Can Tavon Wilson build on his game from last week and continue to improve? A lot to watch for here, as if they can solidify things back there, this team has what it takes to go all the way. This should be the topic of every Patriots discussion, but it is always glossed over, and I do not get why.

-Brady to Lloyd Connection. I want to see some improvement here. That deep ball last game was tantalizingly close. They need to get on the same page and they need to do it fast. I do not want to go through another season of trying to build a rapport with a receiver, only to never get on the same page. Granted, I do not think that will happen, but I want to see more results out of this combo.

Can they pick it up and maybe hit on one of those deep balls?

-Can Ridley Keep it Up? He was the biggest topic coming out of last week, and let us see if he can keep it up. If he can continue to churn out 100 yard rushing games, this offense will be near impossible to stop. One big thing I want to see out of Ridley is more consistency in his rushes. As I noted in my blog post that mysteriously disappeared, 9 out of 21 rushes went for 2 or less yards. I want to see that percentage go down, and see him churn out a more consistent effort. Also, I want to see him lower his pad level a little when he runs. For a big guy, he leaves himself open to some big hits, and those are going to take their tole over the course of the season.

-Welker Snap Count. I am not going to be playing as close of attention to this as others, as I do not see it of as big a story. However, I do want to see if they implement more 3TE sets and how many offensive snaps Edelman gets. Welker needs to take advantage of the reps he IS getting, and not let a ball hit him in the in between the eyes again. His production last game was just a function of less snaps, it was a function of him not producing in the snaps he did have.

Anyone That Thinks the Cardinals Have a Chance is Straight Ignoran

So, after all the smoke Belichick blew up the media's ass about how good the Cardinals D is, and how Larry Fitzgerald may go down as the best WR of all time (which is another story for another day, but he's not even top 10), people are somehow convinced the Cardinals have a chance. Ummm, last time I checked they have Kevin Kolb starting? Yeahhh, isn't he the guy that everybody in Arizona (well at least everyone in Arizona under 60, which is about 10 people) hates with a burning passion because he sucks and single-handedly set the franchise back years? He of the career 21 TDs and 22 picks? Around 80 passer rating career? (And no, I am not going to give ESPNs QBR the time of day) Subject of what many are starting to call "the worst trade of all time"? The "default" starting quarterback who lost his starting job to John Fucking Skelton despite his 63 million dollar contract and is only playing because of Skelton's injury?

Let me tell you, I am scared of THAT guy. Oh wait, no I'm not. All these fucking beat writers have been like, "oh this is going to be a good test for the Patriots." Ummm, if this is a good test, I am going to go jump off a cliff. The Cardinals blow. The only tests for the Patriots are: Texans, Ravens, Packers, 49ers, Giants, and MAYBE the Saints, Steelers, and Broncos. No other team is a test; they are just pieces of shit that the Patriots have to wash off their shoes until they make it to the test games.

"Oh, but they have Larry Fitz, and a really good defense!" Umm, their defense allowed more points than "The Worst Defense Ever" or whatever the Pats defense was called by many in the league last year. Yes. Read that again. They allowed MORE points last year than the Patriots defense. OK, let's re-calibrate here. They have an AVERAGE defense, and Larry Fitzgerald is good, but well....

Skelton tells @dpshow he was told early don't overthrow @larryfitzgerald cuz he's sensitive about his speed.
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) September 5, 2012

So...uh...yeah. I don't really have much more to say about that. The ONLY aspect of this game that slightly worries me, is special teams. Patrick Peterson is a beast; he tied the record for most punt return TDs in a season. However, my boy Nate Ebner (his rugby highlights are my porno) is ready to come in there and go beast mode all over Peterson and neutralize his ass. So yeah, my prediction: 38-10.

Why What You Saw from Welker is What You'll Get

Hey, Cult here, follow me @CultOfBelichick on Twitter. This post is in response to Mike's post yesterday  and his comment that he "fully expect[s] Welker to play his normal compliment of snaps in Week 2." I have to take a disagreeing viewpoint on this. Before I came on here at nepatriotslife.com, I had my own little blog, and on there, one of my predictions for this season was less of Welker this year. My reasoning behind this was the emergence of the third TE in the offense. I think this is something they are going to be incorporating more and more of throughout the season, especially once Daniel Fells gets healthy. In a 3TE set, you are more likely to keep Lloyd on the field than Welker as you want that outside presence. So, just based on that I knew he would see the field less than the 89% of snaps that he did last year.

However, what I didn't expect was Julian Edelman getting so many reps (24) on offense. I think the coaching staff got pissed at Welker when he let that ball hit him in the head and put him on the bench. Edelman has closed the gap to the point where the coaching staff feels that he can go out on the field and give them close to what Welker is. So, they now have the ability to sit Wes down and bring in Edelman if they need to, which is something they have not had in the past.

Another point as to why Welker is not going to receive as many reps: rest. This sounds like a cop-out, but honestly, he is a 31 year old slot receiver, and that sounds like someone you want to limit the amount of times he gets crushed over the middle. This kind of goes to what Mike was saying and that maybe they were just limiting his reps for that week. However, I think this is a trend you are likely to see throughout the season to preserve him for the postseason. Again, Edelmen's progress in camp (he and Hernandez were supposedly untackleable in 1-on-1s) has made this possible.

One last way to rationalize those snaps for Edelman is this: Bill Belichick believes he has EARNED some snaps on offense. As I was saying, Edelman looked shifty in camp, and spent the entire offseason in California working with Brady. This did not go overlooked by the coaching staff, and shows in his grasp of the offense and his development as a receiver. I think the coaching staff appreciates this, and believes that Edelman has put in the work, and showed results on the practice field sufficient enough to earn him a few snaps on offense per game. If someone has earned snaps, the coaching staff is going to want to play them, so that the rest of the locker room knows that if you put in work off the field, and translate it onto the practice field, you will be rewarded.

Anyway, we will of course continue to monitor this, but I think the snap count that you saw for Welker this last week (around 65%) is going to be around what you will see all season. However, just because his snaps are down, it doesn't mean "they are trying to screw him over," or "they are trying to ruin his value." These are the most asinine lines of thinking currently out there. The Patriots are limiting his snaps because they believe it is in the best interest of the team, and that is it. No more, no less. If there is one thing I do not believe Bill Belichick is, it is vindictive. He is not going to go out of his way to harm a player, financially or physically, especially not one like Wes Welker that he has a great amount of respect for. The biggest thing for Belichick in the entire world is respect, and he is not going to sit someone because he wants to decrease their open market value and ruin that respect level he has gained from his players.

Current State of Pats DE's

So, my previous post where I called Jake Bequette a potential bust seemed to cause a little bit of discord amongst Pats fans. Some people are irrationally high on him, and I do not understand why. So, we are going to do a little run-down on the current state of the Pats DE's and a little depth chart action. Chandler Jones (RDE): He is the bonafide stud of this group. Kid is going to be IS a monster. He singlehandedly dominated the right side of the defense, and held up very well against the run. One tweet that caught me was from Matt Chatham,

#ChandlerJones is really ownin his edge in every aspect of gm right now.That side of the field=closed.How long till they stop goin there — Matt Chatham (@chatham58) September 9, 2012

I think this about sums it up. In addition, his explosion coming around the corner on his pass rush is something we haven't seen here since dare-I-say, Big Willie? It looks like we've got the next JPP here. Expecting great things for years to come. Rob Ninkovich (LDE): Did not look great on Sunday, but had a solid camp. The vet of this group, but seems to be in a rotation with Cunningham. He got smothered in the run game on Sunday, and his years of playing standing up in the Patriots scheme may have made him too light to play on the line with his hand in the dirt. He has the starting spot for now, but needs to pick up play. One of lone disappointments on Sunday. Jermaine Cunningham (LDE): Really playing up to the level of his rookie year, and maybe even starting to surpass it. Had a really down year last year, and was definitely on the bubble this year, but had a solid offseason, even winning one of the offseason parking spot awards.  I think the move back to DE has really liberated him, as it has removed a lot of the mental aspect of the game and allowed him to put his hand in the dirt and get after it. He has really carved out a role as an inside sub rusher in passing downs. Basically, what this means is he comes in and plays DT in obvious passing downs. That way, they have three pure pash rushers out there, and he can use his speed to get around hulking interior offensive lineman. If he continues his play, and Ninkovich doesn't pick his up, he could be looking at a starting role. Even Bill Belichick is complimenting his play. Trevor Scott (LDE): Only played 7 snaps on defense. Did show up on two special teams units. He will need to make his name on special teams, as the seeming emergence of Cunningham is cutting into any possible snaps he would have received on defense. Not much to see from Scott, so not really much to say here. Justin Francis (RDE): This is where things start to get interesting. He was an undrafted rookie out of Rutgers, where he played for Bucs coach Greg Schiano. His play was inspiring in camp, and he seems to be Jermaine Cunningham's direct backup. He has that ability to come in on passing downs and be that interior rusher, and he also has some skills to play some snaps on the right side if Jones goes down. He was my most surprising gameday inactive. I thought he had done enough to earn his way onto the 46-man, but apparently not. Jake Bequette (RDE): I went with him to be a surprise cut from the Patriots after a disappointing camp. He had some flashes early in the preseason, but struggled mightily as camp wore on, and cannot hold up against the run. His reps steadily declined as training camp progressed, and he really did not show the same burst he did at the beginning. He has some value as a potential 3rd down pass rusher, but his techniques are not quite refined enough as of yet. This is basically going to be a Taylor Price type redshirt season where he never sees the field. The only way I could see him making the active roster is a slew of injuries in front of him, and even then they may go outside the organization as opposed to giving him playing time.

Big Day for Cult Of Belichick

So, tomorrow is a big day for the Cult. I am going to be putting my writings on nepatriotslife.com, the sister site of celticslife.com, which is the #1 independent Celtics blog on the web and winner of CBS' 2011 Best Boston Sports Blog award. Patriots Life is new, and I am hoping that my writing, along with that of the people already on staff there, can help vault it into the same stratosphere as Celtics Life. I never thought when I started this people would care what I had to say, but now their 25k Twitter followers (@patriotslife) will have no choice! I am not sure what the plan is for any twitter changes, but do plan on keeping an archive of my posts from Patriots Life on here. Anyway, I will keep you guys updated and thanks for reading.

Dispelling the "Belichick is a Bad Drafter" Notion

So, today I went back and looked at the drafts from the last four years. They are freaking awesome. No first round busts. Only one guy (Darius Butler) from the second round is no longer with the team, and then three third rounders, one in 2010, and two in 2009. 25 players from the last four years are currently on the Patriots Roster. That is six and a half players per draft. That is an INSANE haul. Completely unheard of. Almost half of the entire roster. And, a lot of these are starters, denoted with a star, and others are major contributors to the team.We do have two potential busts from the last two drafts in the form of Shane Vereen and Jake Bequette. It is too small of a sample size, and if Vereen can stay healthy, he should be able to stay away from this, but thus far Bequette has not impressed.

Busts: People taken 3rd round or higher that are no longer with Patriots.
2010 3rd Round (90th Overall) – Taylor Price, WR, Ohio
2009 2nd Round (41st Overall) -  Darius Butler, CB, Connecticut
2009 3rd Brandon Tate (81st Overall), WR, North Carolina
2009 3rd Tyrone McKenzie (97th Overall), LB, South Florida

2009 Draft:
2a Pat Chung, SS, Oregon*
2b Ron Brace, DT, Boston College
2d Sebastian Vollmer, OL, Houston*
6b Myron Pryor, DT, Kentucky
7a Julian Edelman, WR, Kent State*

2010 Draft: 
1st Round (27th Overall) – Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers*
2nd Round (42nd Overall) – Rob Gronkowski, TE, Arizona*
2nd Round (53rd Overall) – Jermaine Cunningham, OLB, Florida
2nd Round (62nd Overall) – Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida*
4th Round (113th Overall) – Aaron Hernandez, TE, Florida*
5th Round (150th Overall) – Zoltan Mesko, P, Michigan*
7th Round (247th Overall) – Brandon Deaderick, DL, Alabama

2011 Draft: 
1st Round – Nate Solder, OT, Colorado*
2nd Round – Ras-I Dowling, DB, Virginia*
2nd Round – Shane Vereen, RB, Cal
3rd Round – Stevan Ridley, RB, LSU*
3rd Round – Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas
5th Round – Marcus Cannon, OL, TCU
7th Round – Malcolm Williams, CB, Marshall

2012 Draft:
1st Round (Pick 21) Chandler Jones (DE, Syracuse)*
1st Round (Pick 25) Dont’a Hightower (LB, Alabama)*
2nd Round (Pick 48) Tavon Wilson (S, Illinois)*
3rd Round (Pick 90) Jake Bequette (DE, Arkansas)
6th Round (Pick 197) Nate Ebner (DB, Ohio State)
7th Round (Pick 224) Alfonzo Dennard (CB, Nebraska)

3 Way Too Early 2013 Position Targets:
Offensive Tackle: Vollmer is injury plagued and in the final year of his contract, and Cannon doesn't appear to be an NFL starter at Tackle.
Outside WR: This team could really use a big 6'3", 6'4", 6'5" physical freak outside WR to create even more versatility for the offense.
Guard/Center: Could use some depth inside here. Lot of solid players, but no studs (aside from Mankins). The offensive line got old the past few years, and it is the last position in need of an infusion of youth.

Jeff Howe Fiasco

So here's how it went down, Jeff Howe reports that the team "would prefer for Waters to play for Veteran's Minimum." There was no mention of any sources and just used that line. Didn't say anything about if they have approached him or anything. Like yeah, no shit buddy, of course they WANT him to play for less, but they WANT everyone to play for less. Then he goes on to say, he could just report and then get cut, which would be a bad way for him to go out. Ummm is there any chance he gets cut and doesn't land with another team? He was in the fucking Pro Bowl last year, someone will pick him up. Hasn't that been his goal all along so he can stay in Dallas? So I, of course, being a headstrong, intelligent person that doesn't just read something and instantly believe it, I questioned him. Asked him if he had sources that said the team went to Waters with this, or of it was just speculation, as the article made it seem. He retorted, "It's true. I wrote it." Which is a very defensive answer and doesn't even answer the question, so I asked again if they actually went to Waters, or just WANTED him to play for less. At this point, I went into smartass mode because he wasn't responding and said BREAKING NEWS: Jeff Howe reports Pats wish players would play for less. To which, he got sensitive and blocked me. If you read his report, I still don't see anywhere in there that says specifically they went to him and are really set on him doing this. It came off to me as a negotiation tactic. Waters agent wants to get people on his side, so tells about one of the offers Pats made. I'm sure the Waters camp is making 5 million dollar offers, you just aren't hearing about it. I still think this is gonna take 2-2.5 mil to get Waters back.

Pats-Titans and Other Season Thoughts

-Less of Welker this year. Expect to see a lot of 3TE 1RB 1WR sets this season. In these sets, Welker will likely be the wide receiver coming off the field. You do not carry 4TEs on the 53-man to have two of them sit for the whole game. Likely Hoo-man will start at least this week (along with former teammate Greg Salas) as a game day inactive while he learns the playbook and acclimates himself to New England. However, after that, I could see all four TEs suiting up on gameday. This could also be a reason New England was unwilling to extend themselves on a contract for Welker, as they see his role diminishing in the coming seasons. Moral of the story, if you got him in fantasy, trade his ass cuz I don't think you are going to get value for him this year.

-As a counterpoint to the above, I am scared about Brandon Lloyd, and you should be too. One thing that has to happen in order for my previous point to stick is the emergence of Brandon Lloyd. In the preseason, he did basically nothing to impress, making only one catch. We heard such great things about him in practice, but it has yet to translate. Some people are quick to say, "oh yeah, well Randy Moss didn't have any catches during his first preseason, and then came out on a record setting year." This is true, but since when is Brandon Lloyd anywhere near the class of Randy? Randy is a surefire Hall of Famer, unquestioned top 5 receiver of all time. Lloyd, on the other hand, has only surpassed 1,000 yards once in his career. He had 1,448 in 2010 with the Broncos, and his next closest was 2005 in San Francisco with 733. I think he is a good player, but so far in the preseason we have seen zilch. Who knows? He could come out on a Randy-like tear, but I don't see it. Needless to say, I am worried here as we are going to need production out of him.

-Excited to see the new defense. I finally feel like we have completely turned over the defense from the Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Ty Law, Assante Samuel, etc. heydays of the early to mid 2000s. The defense got really old really fast after that '07 season, and they have done a quick turnaround at nearly every position. Vince is the oldest guy starting (at 30) and newcomer Steve Gregory is 29. After that, Mayo and Arrington are the next oldest at 26. This is a young defense, with 3 rookies (Hightower, Jones, and Wilson) likely seeing significant (~50% or more of snaps) time. Additionally, they seem truly stocked in the front 7. I have said it time and again that a front 7 of Jones (RDE), Love (DT), Wilfork (DT), Ninkovich/Cunningham (LDE), Mayo (WLB), Spikes (MLB), and Hightower (SLB) has potential to be top 5 in this league. I want to see how these guys do, especially against one of the best running teams in the league in the Titans. If they play to their potential, they should be a top 3 run defense team in the league, that's how good I think this front 7 is. So, lets see if they can play to that potential.

-Which McCourty do we see? I think this is the biggest question mark going into this season, and if he shows that he can be the player we all expected him to be after his Pro Bowl rookie season, this defense doesn't appear to have many weaknesses. He has the physical tools to be great, see Jason McCourty (he of the $43 million contract extension), but he seriously lost his confidence last year. If he has a good first game against Tennessee, it could be a jumping off point for another Pro Bowl season, and likely a lucrative contract extension in the offseason. 

3 Things Reporters Need to Shut Up About

-Bill Belichick "wasted" a shitton of money ($5.77mil), and this somehow negatively affected them. And thus Belichick sucks and should hire a GM. This is the most asinine line of thinking out there currently. "Oh the Pats wasted all this money on bonuses for the veterans they cut." Yeah, no shit. That's how you get veterans into camp. The only one that was a mistake was the Fanene deal, and he withheld info about an injury. How is that their fault? It's not like this money was going to go to someone else. Who else would they have brought in? It's not like even if they had this ~$6 mil they are going to go out and change their philosophy and go after freaking Mario Williams or something. We should be happy about this. Happy about the fact that our owners are willing to eat more money in bonuses than others in the league so that we can bring in as many players as needed to increase the level of competition. Thus, increasing the caliber of the team. Not all these guys are going to work out, and the Patriots and Bill Belichick go into the process knowing that some of the money will be dead money, and they do that because they want to increase the overall talent level on the team. "Oh he needs someone that can check his decisions because he just makes decisions on the fly and signs whoever he wants," you are fucking stupid if you think this. Belichick is methodical and everything he does is for a reason. "Oh, they could have got a deal done for Welker if they didn't waste this money," ummm no. The reason Welker isn't signed isn't because they don't have enough money, it's because they have put a value on him, and he disagrees. We have seen this in the past, and the only real mistake in the value they have put on a player has been Richard Seymour. I think they wish they could have that one back, but other than that, when have they put a value on a player, held their line, and gotten burned? It doesn't happen. And why doesn't it happen? Because Belichick is a great GM, and these reporters just want to burn him at any opportunity because "he doesn't give them enough info or good stories to right" WAH. Shut up, you sound stupid and lose credibility.

-Brian Waters not reporting is about money. The only reason Waters isn't here yet is because he doesn't want to leave his family and live out of a hotel for another 4 months. What he wants is the Pats to cut him so he can sign on with one of the Texas teams and be close to the family. He is not holding out for more money because "he has leverage now that the Pats O-line is struggling." Now, if the Pats really want him back, their best bet is probably increasing his base salary to an amount he cannot say no to. My feeling is that number is probably around $3.5-4 mil, which is a big raise from the $1.4 they are slated to pay him. I think Belichick realizes this, and doesn't want to award anyone that refused to report with a big payday. So, they are kind of  at a place where someone has to budge. What it will really come down to is this: does Brian Waters have enough money saved up to the point he thinks his family is set for life? Or does he need to come back for another cash grab? I think it will come down to that, and there will be some compromise in the salary to around $2mil.

-Players that were cut could come back. Gah, shutup. Granted, this has slowed down in recent days, but when Branch and Gaffney and everyone was getting cut, all the beat guys were like, "oh yeah, he was cut, but he could be back after week 1." This basically NEVER happens. It is a small possibility, but not to the point that you need to say it for every player. More than likely, none of these veteran WRs come back, get over it. We are going to be playing an offense that is going to run very very very few sets with 3+ WRs, and none of these guys wowed them, so they moved on. Time for people to move on as well.

Roster Shaping Up - Reax

-So I moved this past weekend, and one of my roommates allegedly set up the cable, but we got there to no internet. So between moving, and the lack of internet, I am still playing catch-up from a busy weekend of Pats moves. My thoughts on the moves are as follows:

-Most Surprising: Pats claim Matt Tennant from the Saints. He is a Center, and I am not sure what type of position versatility he has (likely can play some guard). I thought the team was ready to move on with Wendell, but this puts a wrench in this. He's a BC guy, and was Matty Ryan's center back when he was there. This is one player the Boston media has been surprisingly quiet on, and I am going to look into further. I have a feeling he caught the eye of the coaching staff during the joint practices, and he could be your starting Center week 1. We will see how this one plays out as there are a lot of interior lineman on the team (Wendell, Mankins, Connelly, MacDonald, Thomas and now Tennant).

-More Mild Surprises: Deion Branch cut and Pats trade for Greg Salas of St. Louis. This one was surprising, but I think something that most fans should be happy about. There has been some clamoring since the cut of Taylor Price that the Pats need to do a better job of developing young WRs, and this was a little muted when the Pats went out and signed all those veterans this past offseason. Obviously, this didn't work and none of them them (Gaffney, Branch, Gonzales, Stallworth) made the cut. The trade for Greg Salas was quite surprising, but without knowing too much about him, I like it. He was the leading receiver in NCAA in 2010 and a lot of talk coming out was how much of it was a product of Hawaii's system, and how much was because of him. He has good size at 6'1" and can play both inside and outside. He fell out of favor with the new coaching staff in St Louis, and the Pats traded a conditional 2015 late round pick (basically just to make sure no one claimed him on waivers). Obviously, the McDaniels connection had something to do with this, along with the fact that I think they did want to have a young WR on the team. I, along with most everyone covering this team, had thought Branch showed enough to make this team. Obviously Bill didn't think so, and cut him to make way for a younger guy.

Surprising, But Not Shocking: Brian Hoyer sliced. This one was surprising at first, but then when you think about it a little more, it starts to make some sense. Hoyer was on the books for $1.9 million. That is a lot for a backup QB. Additionally, while most all agree Hoyer was probably the better of the two backups, the distance between them had shortened to a point where he was marginally better than Mallet. And do you really want to pay $1.9 million for a backup that is marginally better than your third stringer? They are a little light with only two QBs, but about 42% of teams in the NFL are going with only 2 QBs this year. One point that was brought up by one of the Boston media members (I think Bedard, but not 100%) is this: It seems like the "Mallet being Brady's heir" timing is going to be a bit off. Brady wants to go for 5 more years, and if that is the case, they probably will not be able to hang on to Mallet for that long. So, what is the best way to increase his trade value? Put him as the backup so that he gets reps in the event of any injury to Brady.

Four Undrafted Rookies Make it: Brandon Bolden (RB), Marcus Forston (DT), Mike Rivera (LB), and Justin Francis (DE) all were undrafted rookies that made their way onto the roster. The Pats are notorious for having undrafted rookies make the team, but four in one year? That is completely unheard of. Bolden and Francis were not really surprising, as many had predicted throughout camp that they were in line for a roster spot. Rivera was on the bubble and some roster projections had him on the team, so you could kind of see that one coming. However, I was taken aback by Marcus Forston. Seemingly, no one saw this coming, I didn't see a single projection with him on there. This quote by Belichick when asked what Forston did to make the roster really struck me, "It's no one thing or one play or one day, but guys that can earn a spot on the roster do it with consistent performance relative to the competition. He did enough to do that." I think this shows how important consistency is, and how you can make this team without being flashy, as long as you are consistent.

Official Most Hated Player on the Pats: Tracy "I-Single-Handedly-Tried-To-Throw-The-Super-Bowl" White. Why the hell is he on this team? He cannot play a lick of linebacker. I know he is mostly special teams and is one of the core-four guys, but I do not care. He is the stinkiest of anyone (except maybe Tom Brady for that SHIT pass to Welker) for that loss last year. He got burn-citied at every turn. Ugh. GTFO my team. Him and Sergio Brown were the two players I most wanted off the team from last year, and I only half got my wish. Lets hope that there are no injuries to any of the linebackers, because he should not play a single down of defense this year.