stcjones

I'm not...."Oh crap the sky is falling" nervous about both as we have won with a garbage secondary and crappy OL before. But, I am still concerned that our OL has weak spots and ? marks, and the secondary, while better....still has some questionable areas as well. What are your thoughts? Thanks

AzPatsFan

Not one bit...

The depth and quality is better than it has ever been in the secondary.

As for the Offensive line, we will see it together for the first time in Tennessee. The preseason was played without two probowlers and with a talented soph getting his first full time starts at the position he was drafted to play. After a year of seasoning and playing some games at both Left and Right tackle and TE too.

Marcus Cannon may have trouble playing alone at Right Tackle should he ever be called to do so. But a chipping TE or RB will give him help in the real games.

Sicilian

The OL concerns me only from a depth perspective. I think Solder will look better in the regular season in general, but will definitely get better as he gets more reps. Mankins is Mankins, never worried about him. I think Wendell made a nice jump to a solid player last year and will continue to improve. Connolly is what he is, a solid player, nothing spectacular but solid. Vollmer we know is a pro-bowl caliber T when he's healthy. The problem comes when we lose a T (or god forbid both of them), we have no real confident options behind them.

As for the secondary, we've added depth and athleticism to the safety position, and I have to believe that McCourty will gravitate more towards his rookie season performance more than his sophomore slump. With improved safety play, the corners will look better anyway, and that's not even including a potentially improved pass rush with the new front seven weapons. All things considered, I think the secondary will be just fine.

DarrylS

The OL is young, but with Dante at the helm I believe...

The secondary is also young, but they all have had benefit of a full offseason and full TC so I suspect that they will be somewhat better than previous.. but what concerns me are injuries, last year there was optimism about them and then the injuries started.

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"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

Armchair Quarterback

Slow down there, The depth and quality is better than it has ever been in the secondary? You have 4 rookies who have yet to play a down in the NFL. Other than the projected starters, the rest of the secondary has a grand total of 8 NFL games under their belt. There are no Harrison or Law quality starters out there either. I'm optimistic about the secondary too but you jumped way ahead.

I'm most concerned about the Vollmer's back. I think Solder will get up to speed eventually.

Kabonka

Let em come, McD is going to run screens and draws anyway, so having the DE's upfield is a plus.
So OL will be average to start and get better/gel. But Brady has to eat or get rid of the ball. If he slides and holds the ball he will get lit up, this line not ready for moving pocket.

On the other side, run stuffing is going be a reality, pushing teams to throw more. Hopefully we get a bit more consistant pressure and the DB's actually looking for / finding the ball in the air. Is Cunningham ever going to be the other guy, let the latest beast put on some heat in real games.
Still to many if's and maybes in the secondary - better personnel = success??

Efstratios

The O-line: I'm fairly optimistic that Mankins will have a smooth return from his surgery. I'm also prepared to give Solder a couple of games to settle into the LT position. My big concern however, is Vollmer for obvious reason. If he plays up to his pro bowl level for at least 10 games (big if) than I'm pretty sure we'll be alright. I think the big worry here is that if the O-line doesn't do it's job, Brady will have some nagging injuries going into the playoffs that doom us. In regards to Waters, I'd love him back, but I view it as kind of a pipe dream at this point, and am prepared to move on.

The Secondary: It can't be any worse than last year's was, so it has nowhere to go but up.

rookBoston

I agree that the secondary should be much improved over last year. Just adding Gregory is a huge improvement, to have a capable veteran instead of an UDFA rookie playing out of position (Moore), and our ST captain (Slater). But Wilson and Ebner both look like they have tremendous upside, and were very consistent in camp. The addition of Dennard creates depth that was missing after Dowling went down. And just having Dowling healthy is a major step. That's five very promising additions to the unit. I am cautiously optimistic.

The OL has me more than a little concerned. They've looked horrible. But Scar will solve it, and Mankins and Vollmer need to shake off some rust. The starting group is solid, even without Waters. It's the depth that makes you wonder. Cannon is the guy I worry about most. I'm concerned that he should really move inside to RG, but the staff are convinced he can be our RT of the future with Vollmer coming into his contract year. Will that really work? Square peg?

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"We want to build a big, strong, tough, smart, fast, disciplined football team that will consistently compete for a championship."
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rookBoston

One thing further, on the secondary. I expect the front seven will be much more disruptive this year, forcing the ball out sooner. That will make guys like McCourty and Arrington seem MUCH better year over year, just because they're playing in the context of a stronger defensive unit.

__________________
"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

ATippett56

2013 NFL Draft - New England Patriots

Offensive Priorities

1. Offensive Tackle
2. Offensive Tackle
3. Offensive Tackle

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