New England Patriots Discussion

[Razor]

Ballard on the PUP. That's somewhat surprising IMO, I though he'd be stashed on IR.

[Jvig43]

While Ive been pretty against signing Welker to a long term deal, I feel kind of bad for him that we give both Gronkandez extensions while he gets the franchise.

[Matthew Jones]

Originally Posted by Razor

Ballard on the PUP. That's somewhat surprising IMO, I though he'd be stashed on IR.

Ballard will most likely be moved to IR when he is eligible to return from the PUP list. The Patriots probably figured there was no reason to rule him out for the rest of the season when they aren't required to make that call yet.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Jvig43

While Ive been pretty against signing Welker to a long term deal, I feel kind of bad for him that we give both Gronkandez extensions while he gets the franchise.

Me too, but he's priced his way out of town. I hope BB is able to trade him for a second round pick, even though that might be wishful thinking.

[descendency]

Jabar Gaffney anyone? I thought he was supposed to be the 3rd best WR in camp...

[cmarq83]

Originally Posted by descendency

Jabar Gaffney anyone? I thought he was supposed to be the 3rd best WR in camp...

Well that sucks. We'll probably see him on the Jets now.

[descendency]

Originally Posted by cmarq83

Well that sucks. We'll probably see him on the Jets now.

Probably. But fortunately, their QBs are still Tebow and Sanchez.

[AntoinCD]

I would be surprised if Gaffney isn't on the 53 man roster to start the season. I think Ebert will be cut on Friday with the hopes of getting him thorugh to the practice squad. Cutting him yesterday would have meant he would go through waivers and be available for longer, whereas Gaffney is free to sign with whoever he wants. He has stated he wants to play in NE so I wouldn't be at all surprised if it has been agreed to release him now and pick him back up next week

[Razor]

There might be a salary cap aspect here too. Gaffney is a veteran so his salasy is most likely guaranteed if he's on the roster on september 1st. By releasing him now they might save some money.

[Don Vito]

Dowling with s nice tackle giving up a lot of size on the TE. Like that.

[Don Vito]

VOLLMER! Love seeing him out there!

Keep talking about Bolden Mayock

[Jvig43]

Ebner has impressed me thus far in the preseason.

[nepg]

Cunningham has really shown up this pre-season. Hope it carries over.

[FlyingElvis]

Once again no local stations carried the game for me, despite being 30 miles from the stadium (even if it's not a home game.)

To make matters worse, it was blacked out on NFLN in the home market.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by FlyingElvis

Once again no local stations carried the game for me, despite being 30 miles from the stadium (even if it's not a home game.)

To make matters worse, it was blacked out on NFLN in the home market.

Boy that sucks...

I think the defense held up really well last night, especially against the run. I'm cautiously optimistic about the defense this season. The rotation at safety looks very promising, the same goes for RB. If the OL can get their **** together this team has the potential to be a real juggernaut.

[FlyingElvis]

How did Tavon look?

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by FlyingElvis

How did Tavon look?

I only watched the first half and din't notice Wilson.

Ebner on the other hand got beat pretty bad by Victor Cruz on one play which would have gone for a long TD had Manning not underthrown it but later made a great play on the ball and nearly came away with a one handed INT

The play of the defensive line was what stood out to me. Cunningham played well and Brac had a great first half with penetration and gap discipline. They front four really really allowed the LBs and safeties to flow to the ball which made even Niko Koutevides look a good player

I'm excited about Demps He may only get 10 touches a game including returns, but you just hold your breath every time he touches it and even a slither of space opens

[Matthew Jones]

Here's my final roster projection:

http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/2012/...hew-jones.html

I left Brian Waters off of the list because I'm unsure about his current situation. Otherwise, he'd probably replace Dan Koppen. It would be interesting to hear everyone else's opinions re. who will be on the final team. Some of my most difficult cuts (from a projection standpoint) included Justin Francis, Tracy White, James Ihedigbo; I could see any of those on the final roster.

[AntoinCD]

Here's my updated 53 man roster projection

QB: Tom Brady
QB: Ryan Mallett
QB: Brian Hoyer
RB: Stevan Ridley
RB: Shane Vereen
RB: Danny Woodhead
RB: Brandon Bolden
RB: Jeff Demps
TE: Rob Gronkowski
TE: Aaron Hernandez
TE: Daniel Fells
WR: Brandon Lloyd
WR: Wes Welker
WR: Deion Branch
WR: Julian Edelman
WR: Matthew Slater
OT: Nate Solder
OT: Sebastian Vollmer
OT: Marcus Cannon
OG: Logan Mankins
OG/C: Dan Connolly
OG/C: Nick McDonald
OC: Dan Koppen
OC: Ryan Wendell

DE: Chandler Jones
DE: Jermaine Cunningham
DE: Trevor Scott
DE: Rob Ninkovich
DE: Jake Bequette
DE: Justin Francis
DT: Vince Wilfork
DT: Kyle Love
DT: Brandon Deaderick
DT: Ron Brace
LB: Jerod Mayo
LB: Brandon Spikes
LB: Dont’a Hightower
LB: Bobby Carpenter
LB: Jeff Tarpinian
CB: Devin McCourty
CB: Ras-I Dowling
CB: Kyle Arrington
CB: Alfonzo Dennard
CB: Sterling Moore
CB: Marquice Cole
S: Pat Chung
S: Steve Gregory
S: Tavon Wilson
S: Sergio Brown
S: Nate Ebner
K: Stephen Gostkowski
P: Zoltan Mesko
LS: Danny Aiken

Brian Waters not being here frees up a spot, however I'm not sure they use it on another O-lineman. Donald Thomas could make it but I think they will go with one reserve OT, one reserve OG and one reserve OC with guys who can play multiple positions.

Defensively I think Scott and Francis both make it, although one may just be holding a spot if Carter does come back half way through the season.

Sergio Brown is my big surprise to make it. He offers very little on defense but is a very good ST player. He makes it over Ihedigbo simply because Ihedigbo has health questions

[AntoinCD]

God I really hope the Pats can fleece some team next year to make a trade for a 2014 first and it ends up being the first overall pick. Chandler Jones and Jadeveon Clowney makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That guy straight dominated last night. Good pressure, TFL, pass deflection and a big sack...all within the first 10 minutes

[Razor]

I don't even know who we could trade for a first right now and still be competitive... Clowney is a beast though and I kinda hope he has a bad season and/or gets injured so we might have a chance of getting him. Tom Brady comes to mind, but that all depends on how Mallett develops.

EDIT: Just picked this up on twitter:

Tom E. Curran ‏@tomecurran
Reading tea leaves, deliveries have been made to Brian Waters' locker. Nike gear hung with care. All they need is BW.

Waters is probably coming back it seems.

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by Razor

I don't even know who we could trade for a first right now and still be competitive... Clowney is a beast though and I kinda hope he has a bad season and/or gets injured so we might have a chance of getting him. Tom Brady comes to mind, but that all depends on how Mallett develops.

EDIT: Just picked this up on twitter:

Tom E. Curran ‏@tomecurran
Reading tea leaves, deliveries have been made to Brian Waters' locker. Nike gear hung with care. All they need is BW.

Waters is probably coming back it seems.

Yeah it's all just a pipe dream really

That's huge news about Waters and fingers crossed it means he is back. The offensive line could go from being a real concern two weeks ago to back to being a strength.

Solder - Mankins - Connolly - Waters - Vollmer

That looks way, way stronger than

Sodler - Mankins - Wendell/Koppen/McDonald - Connolly - Vollmer

[Razor]

Yeah, it's pretty big. This offense goes where the OL takes them. If Brady has time it's game over given the options he has this year. I just hope McDaniels doesn't get too "creative" with his playcalling. I fear that he might think he has a '07 type a squad again, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

[AntoinCD]

I think a whole lot is going to be down to Brady. Obviously it's McD's offense but Brady isn't stupid. You can all but guarantee that Welker, Lloyd, Hernandez and Gronk will be on the field together most of the time, therefore giving more flexibility. Brady takes what the defense gives him better than any QB in the league. He will audible into a play that suits his pre snap read

[cmarq83]

Originally Posted by Razor

Yeah, it's pretty big. This offense goes where the OL takes them. If Brady has time it's game over given the options he has this year. I just hope McDaniels doesn't get too "creative" with his playcalling. I fear that he might think he has a '07 type a squad again, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

My biggest fear with McDaniels is how long it takes him to make in game adjustments. He can come up with a gameplan that can hang 50 on anyone, but he's a very stubborn playcaller once the game starts. For instance in 2007 vs. Baltimore they were leaving the middle of the field wide open and cheating on crossing routes and diverting Safety help towards Moss. It was there for 3 quarters and it wasn't until the last drive McDaniels finally called a dump over the middle to Gaffney which went for like 25 yards. With the offense struggling all day he could have made that call sooner which would have opened up other things instead of just trying to force it to a covered Moss or Welker.

Hopefully he doesn't call too many RB screens either. It should be a defensive playcall if the other team is getting too much pressure, but so far in the preseason it looks like Charlie Weis is back. Our pass catchers are too dominant to run an excess of screens. Hopefully this has just been vanilla preseason playcalling so far.