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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.I'm actually a little surprised that almost half of the rosters posted here have Ochocinco making the team.
Short random thoughts. Lot tougher than it looks.... I really prefer Connoly at Center....Tackle is a lot skimpier than I thought..... Hope one or two of the rookies work out...... Wish Matt would come back for one more..... WR is a log jam..... We are pretty stacked at all three LB postions as well as DE for the first time in a while..... I want more DT's in next years draft.
I had actually read an article or two (maybe it was Reiss' mailbag also) that stated that the coaches are projecting Gallery to be a tackle here, rather than a guard.
Obviously this surprised me, as I always assumed he was a pure interior guy.
We'll have to see if it's true or not, and how everything shakes out. If it is true, and Gallery projects to tackle (or he can play both), then the outside position shouldn't be as bad as it first appears.
Maybe that's what Belichick is thinking, due to the back injury w/ Vollmer, and the newbie position w/ Cannon.
I agree with many of your thoughts.
QB (3) Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett
RB (4) Stevan Ridley, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen, Spencer Larsen
WR (6) Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Deion Branch, Jabar Gaffney, Anthony Gonzalez, Matthew Slater
TE (3) Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells
C (2) Ryan Wendell, Dan Koppen
G (4) Logan Mankins, Brian Waters, Dan Connolly, Robert Gallery
T (3) Sebastian Vollmer, Nate Solder, Marcus Cannon
DE (4) Brandon Deaderick, Jonathan Fanene, Ron Brace, Gerard Warren
DT (3) Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, Myron Pryor
ILB(3) Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, Dane Fletcher
OLB(5) Donta Hightower, Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Jermaine Cunningham, Jake Bequette
CB (5) Devin McCourty, Ras-I Dowling, Kyle Arrington, Alfonzo Dennard, Marquice Cole
SS (3) Patrick Chung, Josh Barrett, Nate Ebner
FS (2) Tavon Wilson, Steve Gregory
ST (3) Stephen Gostkowski, Danny Aiken, Zoltan Mesko
Total players: 53
Created with Pats Picker: Pats Picker 2012
Probably leaving off a special teams LB
Of course Gallery came into the league as a stud LT, and played on the right side too. He eventually moved inside, but his size is more T than G.
Cannon was a T in college, he was only projected as a G in the NFL, and he played T last year.
I don't know how Moore makes the team unless there are injuries at corner. I'm cutting Allen too.Hmmm...
No Sterling Moore or Julian Edelman. Mankins not on the PUP? (That'd be a very good sign)
I considered Moore at S, but I think BB hates him there.I think Moore makes it over Marquice Cole, due to his ability to play both secondary positions, his familiarity with the system already, and his earned opportunity, but that is obviously just my personal opinion.
Ebner makes the team to play special teams, not to protect him.I would think an argument could also be made for Edelman's versatility, even though I agree with your thoughts that "he's not exceptional at any of the positions." The fact that he plays all 3 phases, and seems to be a popular guy in the eyes of BB would steer me toward keeping him. Ebner should have no problem making the practice squad this year
I would agree with just about everything else myself, maybe with the exception that Mankins is able to start the season, and his spot initially given to Nick McDonald, or something along those lines.
Yeah, I was familiar with Cannon's situation, but I don't think I expected Gallery to be a tackle here.
I suppose I didn't go back far enough to check what his inital position was, so that's an assumption error on my part--although I would expect most of the fanbase to assume him as a guard here at the current moment.
Not sure if what I read will come true, and I couldn't find a link, but it certainly would seem to be a possibility and something to keep an eye on.
I suppose my first thought would be the replacement of Gonzalez with Edelman, but we'll have to see what happens later in the summer before we can finalize some of these positions entirely. I would agree that my thoughts a couple of weeks ago on Edelman pretty much being a lock have changed due to the addition of Gaffney + maybe the addition of the draft players too, narrowing down some numbers.
The initial thought when looking at the application is that the team seems to be in a decent place in the beginning of May.
I don't know how Moore makes the team
- It's going to be very difficult for any of the undrafted free agents to make this roster; best chance for an UDFA or for someone currently not on the roster to make the team is if they are a DT or a S.
Pure cover guys on the roster....
Arrington
Dennard
McCourty
Cole
Dowling
Allen
Are you saying that Moore doesn't beat out Cole AND Allen?
Yes, he's predicting that a ST player like Cole will offer more to the team than Moore will.
There's obviously going to be some very different opinions, and in some ways that's a very good thing.
My personal opinion is that Moore offers versatility for both CB/S, but as Andy said, Belichick may not like him too much as a safety.
I think that Cole is the sure odd man out, and I actually have 6 CB's (including BOTH Moore and Allen), with only 3-4 safeties.
Sure to be some good competition, and some of 'our' guys won't make it.
Its not impossible that we only carry 5 including Slater when you consider Hernandez is as much WR as TE.
Did you read the roster I posited?Pure cover guys on the roster....
Arrington
Dennard
McCourty
Cole
Dowling
Allen
Are you saying that Moore doesn't beat out Cole AND Allen?
I agree. I think it's absurd that people have 6 non-Slater WRs making it, and at least one person has 6 non-Slater, non-Edelman WRs making it. There is essentially no situation in which the Patriots are better off putting their #4/5 WR on the field as opposed to Hernandez or Gronkowski. So if they play their best players, there's no need for even a #4 WR on offense. And that's assuming that we never use a running back. Now, it's the NFL and injuries happen, so you want more than just 3. But there's still no need for a #5 WR who doesn't play on special teams unless you expect that two of your top 4 WRs are going to get hurt and miss a significant amount of time.
I've got 4 non-ST WRs making it in Welker, Lloyd, Gaffney, and Branch, plus the ST WRs Edelman and Slater. In my scenario, Branch is inactive for any game in which the top 3 start the game healthy. I'm a lot closer to dropping Branch altogether than adding another WR.
As for the rest of the roster, I see them going heavy at RB knowing that all 6 can play on special teams and that Bolden is probably inactive pending health of the others. If Mankins starts on PUP (I'm not so sure yet; he's a tough mofo), then add Koppen and let Connolly fight Gallery at left guard. Only 3 tackles, but Gallery, Connolly, McDonald, and Mankins are all listed at an interior position here but have experience at tackle. I inadvertently ended up with only the two rookies as 4-3 RE candidates, but Ninkovich and Hightower can play there in a pinch. Will Allen was my last player in, and I figured the DB corps could use a veteran with the ability to play safety. Really, safety is another position where just about any CB could fill in if absolutely necessary. Otherwise, I go with the guys I think have the most upside at CB, because I'm not to worried who the best STers are, because I already know the top 4 will be Slater, Arrington, Ebner, and White, and I'm not too worried who the fifth best STer is.
Summary: I don't like my depth at [position1], but just about every player from [position2] can fill in.
QB (2) Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer
RB (6) Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead, Brandon Bolden, Tony Fiammetta, Spencer Larsen
WR (6) Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, Deion Branch, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater
TE (3) Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells
C (3) Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell, Nick McDonald
G (3) Logan Mankins, Brian Waters, Robert Gallery
T (3) Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer, Marcus Cannon
DE (4) Jonathan Fanene, Brandon Deaderick, Chandler Jones, Jake Bequette
DT (4) Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, Myron Pryor, Gerard Warren
ILB(3) Brandon Spikes, Dane Fletcher, Tracy White
OLB(3) Jerod Mayo, Rob Ninkovich, Donta Hightower
CB (6) Devin McCourty, Ras-I Dowling, Kyle Arrington, Sterling Moore, Alfonzo Dennard, Will Allen
SS (2) Patrick Chung, Nate Ebner
FS (2) Steve Gregory, Tavon Wilson
ST (3) Stephen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko, Danny Aiken
I agree. I think it's absurd that people have 6 non-Slater WRs making it, and at least one person has 6 non-Slater, non-Edelman WRs making it. There is essentially no situation in which the Patriots are better off putting their #4/5 WR on the field as opposed to Hernandez or Gronkowski. So if they play their best players, there's no need for even a #4 WR on offense. And that's assuming that we never use a running back. Now, it's the NFL and injuries happen, so you want more than just 3. But there's still no need for a #5 WR who doesn't play on special teams unless you expect that two of your top 4 WRs are going to get hurt and miss a significant amount of time.
I've got 4 non-ST WRs making it in Welker, Lloyd, Gaffney, and Branch, plus the ST WRs Edelman and Slater. In my scenario, Branch is inactive for any game in which the top 3 start the game healthy. I'm a lot closer to dropping Branch altogether than adding another WR.
As for the rest of the roster, I see them going heavy at RB knowing that all 6 can play on special teams and that Bolden is probably inactive pending health of the others. If Mankins starts on PUP (I'm not so sure yet; he's a tough mofo), then add Koppen and let Connolly fight Gallery at left guard. Only 3 tackles, but Gallery, Connolly, McDonald, and Mankins are all listed at an interior position here but have experience at tackle. I inadvertently ended up with only the two rookies as 4-3 RE candidates, but Ninkovich and Hightower can play there in a pinch. Will Allen was my last player in, and I figured the DB corps could use a veteran with the ability to play safety. Really, safety is another position where just about any CB could fill in if absolutely necessary. Otherwise, I go with the guys I think have the most upside at CB, because I'm not to worried who the best STers are, because I already know the top 4 will be Slater, Arrington, Ebner, and White, and I'm not too worried who the fifth best STer is.
Summary: I don't like my depth at [position1], but just about every player from [position2] can fill in.
QB (2) Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer
RB (6) Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead, Brandon Bolden, Tony Fiammetta, Spencer Larsen
WR (6) Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, Deion Branch, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater
TE (3) Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells
C (3) Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell, Nick McDonald
G (3) Logan Mankins, Brian Waters, Robert Gallery
T (3) Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer, Marcus Cannon
DE (4) Jonathan Fanene, Brandon Deaderick, Chandler Jones, Jake Bequette
DT (4) Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, Myron Pryor, Gerard Warren
ILB(3) Brandon Spikes, Dane Fletcher, Tracy White
OLB(3) Jerod Mayo, Rob Ninkovich, Donta Hightower
CB (6) Devin McCourty, Ras-I Dowling, Kyle Arrington, Sterling Moore, Alfonzo Dennard, Will Allen
SS (2) Patrick Chung, Nate Ebner
FS (2) Steve Gregory, Tavon Wilson
ST (3) Stephen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko, Danny Aiken