patsox23

Corey, Maroney, Faulk, Pass, Mills -

That is a very solid group. I'd be fine with that.

Pats726

I agree..but I wonder if they would keep 5...maybe 1 too many...I was thinking 4....

PhilD

I think the flexibility of Mills means you can see that group as 4.5. Though if we were to carry 4, you'd have to say that it was Pass who was on the bubble. I don't think he is though, I say we carry these 5 into the season. Sorry Heath!

Box_O_Rocks

To do it, we need to consider where else they can help out - and where else BB can cut back:

Dillon - feature back until Maroney proves he can take the job over.

Faulk - still the best third down back; note the description of his acrobatic, one-handed catches in stories on the camp, he has been and could be the slot receiver using Pass as the third down back; PR/KR.

Pass - pretty decent utility back; good STs; he could be the slot receiver too, though I don't think his ability to seperate is what we'd like to see there; very good upfield blocker, but not as effective clearing a choked hole; KR.

Maroney - UNKNOWN, whoops, I may have said that too firmly. Potentially, he will take reps from Dillon and Faulk as the change of pace back; he could create some opportunities in a two back set with any of the other three; PR/KR/Gunner, he could be split out, I don't see him taking too many passing downs as the lone RB.

Mills - UNKNOWN, oops, did it again. My day-dream would be to see him pick up some of Givens' possession duties while learning the utility back role. STs, he could do very well there in time.

Evans - Okay power back, he may be improved with his second year in the offense; decent receiver; lousy blocker, he has lots of room to improve there; good STs.

Charles - missed all of NFLE and is still rehabbing, that makes it tough to see him winning a Practice Squad slot.

Cobbs - has an edge on the Practice Squad just from Charles' status.

Injuries are going to be determinate, here or elsewhere (trade bait). On Offense, there are two places where the club could trim to allow for RBs, OL and WR.

OL: Kaczur and Hochstein are the keys, the Pats could try to go with 8 OL instead of 9-10 to start the season. Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Britt, Kaczur, Hochstein, Gorin/Tucker/Mruczkowski/Yates, put two on the Practice Squad and one or two on IR and you've done the bare minimum with your talent pool.

WR: Go with five and use DBs & RBs on STs where you've used WRs. Branch, Brown, Caldwell, Jackson, Childress, two for Practice Squad, maybe a couple for IR, and there you go.

The Defense seems to be looking good with the standard seven DL. LB looks like the around 10. DBs will probably work out at 10 also.

RB looks like a strength, cut first on offense, then maybe at LB if you want to keep 5 RBs.

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rookBoston

Going with 5 RBs is an easy call.

The difference is entirely on the makeup of the Special Teams, which will use Mills instead of Chatham, Andrews instead of Dwight and Moroney instead of Bethel/Hobbs.

The O/D split stays the same, but the nominal position of our ST players is different. On the 53-man, we'll carry one less LB and one less WR... one more RB and one more DB, over last year. That gives us full utilization of our depth chart, fits against our talent profile, too.

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mgteich

There is no need for six wide receivers, given the receiving capabilities of our tight ends.

patsox23

I think last year's experience should influence their thinking - best to have 5.

MDPATSFAN

Faulk goes...It's pretty much established that he can't hold onto the ball.

PromisedLand

I agree with the second half of your statement. IMHO his fumble (which IIRC was the first turnover of the game) was THE big momentum killer in last year's playoff loss to Denver.

HOWEVER, it has also been well-established that he is a very good third-down/change of pace back. Given a choice of keeping him or jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none Patrick Pass, I'd keep Faulk 10 times out of 10. Especially after seeing Pass throw the ball to the other team and grab his hammy last year.

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patsox23

This is a short-sighted and superficial comment, IMO. Faulk is, in BB's words, "one of the most productive players on the team on a per-play basis." Yes, he has some trouble with fumbling. He has improved, but it's still an issue. Still and all, he's not going anywhere. He is a very important member of the offense.