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I see two breakout players for the Pats, this year.
1) LB Ryan Claridge
With three starting LB spots locked up, there's one spot up for grabs and I think Claridge is the guy to step into it.
There are only two other legit candidates: TBC, Beisel. We've seen Beisel in spot duty inside, we've seen TBC in spot duty outside... either one could have a breakout season, but my pick is Claridge.
6'2, 260#, wrap up tackler. He came in as a rookie with a reputation as a student of the game and a tape rat. So... what has he been able to do with the playbook over a full year?
The week before he was released, Chad Brown answered the question, "Which young Patriots teammate can we expect to hear from in the future?" with the words: "Ryan Claridge, the rookie linebacker."
2) TE Ben Watson
We saw flashes of greatness from Watson last year, but it was his first year playing in the O, and it wasn't optimized for him. This year will be different; he'll be used as the versatile weapon that he is. Everyone is predicting greatness for Watson this year, including Brady himself who called Ben out in his recent Q&A
Quote:
So to expect these guys to come in and expect Chad Jackson to be David Givens, I don’t think that’s fair to Chad. David is an awesome player. David is one of the premier receivers in the league. You don’t draft a guy out of college and expect him to come in and fill his shoes. But hopefully over time, he can find a role. But that’s why we have Reche [Caldwell]. That’s why we have Troy [Brown]. And Ben [Watson], who I think is really going to have a terrific season this year. Dan [Graham] coming off some tough breaks last year with injuries; he’s going to be healthy.
I'm expecting a pro-bowl season for Watson.
Others: Jackson, Moroney, Hobbs
__________________
"We want to build a big, strong, tough, smart, fast, disciplined football team that will consistently compete for a championship."
-- Scott Pioli, from the Patriots scouting manual
Last edited by rookBoston; 05-06-2006 at 11:46 PM..
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Hobbs looks like a breakout waiting to happen. And I'm going with Beisel too. On offense, Watson and Caldwell (as I think Jackson is a year away). And something tells me Maroney get more carries than Dillon and looks great by the second half.
So . . . Hobbs, Beisel, Watson, Caldwell, Maroney.
Deion- 5th year is a time to be a superstar. He'll get over 1000 yards this year
Colvin- He'll be playing more this year and take a bigger role in the scheme more stuff that Willie did to get there and get to QB: Prediction: 11 sacks..over 75 tackles
Wilson-well hes played with Rodney..and hes played without him. Hes going to step up as a leader and will get 5-7 picks and will get 65 tackles.
you'll see improvement in these guys not in stats as much as on the field with plays that dont get on stats
Deion- 5th year is a time to be a superstar. He'll get over 1000 yards this year
The way the offense is set up it is very difficult for one receiver to get 1,000 yards. Branch got 998 in a very pass happy offense last year, and if the coaches have there way this year the offense will not be throwing nearly is much. I'm not saying he can't do it, but it will be tough.
__________________
"What Tom Brady just did gives me goose bumps."-John Madden after final drive in SB 36
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This thread having turned into a lovefest ... i've got some strange sweethearts
to throw in.
"Breakout" may not be the best description ... but let me nominate 3
high-probability surprises:
Three offensive linemen, of all creatures ...
Wesley Britt ... Ross Tucker ... and Ryan O'Callaghan.
Mammoth Britt will be fully over his SEC injury. Colvin credited him with being a top-notch sparring partner
while on the p/s. And the man himself said that he learned more about playing O-Line
in his first week under Dean Dante
than he did in months with the Chargers.
Tucker is the mean, nasty bastid ... a starter ... whom an inept coach in Buffalo made the fallguy
for a feckless offense. His ex-teammates all but mutinied when that went down.
But he is here now, and has learned our offense.
If those two lads come on like i foresee them doing, Ashworth and Mankins have to share reps with them.
If manster O'Callaghan's shoulders stay sound ... and further concussions stay away ... after a half-season or so
of acclimating, he could become the roadgrader RT so many here have insistently been whistling up.
That would displace Kaczur ... who could then stand in for any of 4 OL spots.
Not a half-bad sixth, seventh, or eighth OL !
Russ Hochstein would remain as Koppen's backup ... the ninth (and last) O-Lineman.
Anything that plays out like that makes Gorin ... Mruc ... and Yates ... all superfluous.
Barring injuries higher up the food chain, of course.
Mammoth Britt will be fully over his SEC injury. Colvin credited him with being a top-notch sparring partner
while on the p/s. And the man himself said that he learned more about playing O-Line in his first week under Dean Dante
than he did in months with the Chargers.
Interesting, I was looking through a national football magazine today and I was reading the write up on O'Callahan. He sounds like a decent prospect who needs to become familiar with the weight room, but as I was reading it Britt's name came to mind. I was thinking that he may be the guy to surprise moreso than O'Callahan. He was rated as a potential 1st rounder last year before his injury and he's had a year to absorb the system. It seems like a lot of people have forgotten about him but I think he's a guy to watch.
I agree with rookBoston's pick of Claridge as a guy who would surprise on defense. He seems to have gotten some of the veteran's respect, and he was a pick a whole lot of us were happy with last year but were concerned where he would fit with the roster crunch. THAT won't be a problem this year and he will get his shot.
Just one more note that made me smile as I read the writeup on David Thomas, the TE from Texas. The last line in the writeup told me "Yep this guy belongs on the Pats", it read simply "football is important to him".
Breakout players this year
Linear Mode
