Early Concerns?

[Ring 6]

Until the Pats pass defense improves immensely, the Pats will not win another SB trophy.

No amount of blind homer-ism will change that fact. Andy.

I find it creepy that you are so obsessed with me.
It does appear however that you are approaching it blindly, as the team would have won the last SB with its worst pass D of the BB era if Welker makes a catch.
Its blind and ignorant to say the thing you want to focus on is the only way.
They can clearly win despite the pass D being as bad as it was, even if its a hell of a lot easier to if the primary weakness improves.

 

[bagwell368]

For some reason I am not that worried about the o-line. Daunte Scarnnechia has a long history of making chicken salad out of chicken crap. Yes, there are concerns on the line (can Solder handle the LT position? Will Brian Waters return and what shape will he be in at 35? Will Mankins be ready for the start of the season? Depth concerns.). But Scar has made some lines filled with some mediocre at positions talent keep Brady upright in Super Bowl seasons.

All my biggest concerns are on the defensive side of the ball.

Unlike last year if we lose two starting T's or G's we are screwed. The '07 team was 1st all time in scoring in the SB era, last year's team was tied for 9th. This year should be better, but if the OL's lack of depth is exposed via injuries then forget it. Coach Scar is the best positional Coach in the NFL which is why I am concerned and not morbidly hysteric.

 

[Ring 6]

Unlike last year if we lose two starting T's or G's we are screwed. The '07 team was 1st all time in scoring in the SB era, last year's team was tied for 9th. This year should be better, but if the OL's lack of depth is exposed via injuries then forget it. Coach Scar is the best positional Coach in the NFL which is why I am concerned and not morbidly hysteric.

I think out OL is the deepest we have ever had.
We have Gallery, Cannon, Koppen or Connolly and Wendell as backups.
When have we ever had that level of depth on the OL?
Typically we have one T that has some expericence, and our interior backups are a bunch of guys who have been around a while and not played much at all.
Gallery could be the best backup OL of the BB era.

 

[Rob0729]

Unlike last year if we lose two starting T's or G's we are screwed. The '07 team was 1st all time in scoring in the SB era, last year's team was tied for 9th. This year should be better, but if the OL's lack of depth is exposed via injuries then forget it. Coach Scar is the best positional Coach in the NFL which is why I am concerned and not morbidly hysteric.

Most teams if you lose two starting tackles you are screwed. Even last year, the Pats couldn't have overcome losing both starting tackles at once. I think you are making too much of this. Look at the Super Bowl years and look who started at RT for those teams and they were all JAG back ups who stepped up and did a serviceable job as starters.

If Waters returns and Mankins starts the season, the Pats have more depth at guard this year than last year with the addition of Gallery.

 

[Ron Sellers]

Unlike last year if we lose two starting T's or G's we are screwed.

I think every team in the history of pro football would be pretty much screwed if they lost two starting tackles and two starting guards.

 

[mayoclinic]

I think every team in the history of pro football would be pretty much screwed if they lost two starting tackles and two starting guards.

Yup. But note that the Pats could have Matt Light and Brian Waters retire, Logan Mankins out with an ACL, and Sebastian Vollmer sidelined by back injuries, and still put out a starting OL of Nate Solder, Robert Gallery, Dan Koppen, Dan Connolly and Marcus Cannon. That's probably competitive with 80% of the starting offensive lines around the league. We'd be thin at backup tackle, but we'd have decent depth at interior OL with Nick McDonald and Ryan Wendell. That's truly remarkable.

 

[DaBruinz]

Mankins will be starting the year on the PUP due to his ACL recovery. But that doesn't have me concerned in the least.

Vollmer does concern me, though not as much as it did last year because I believe that Cannon could sub in for him without issue.

Solder was stellar for a rookie last year. I see no reason for him to take a step backwards. He and Cannon shut down one of the best pass rushers in the league in Cameron Wake. And did so without much help from the TEs.

The interior depth is the best its been in awhile and it will be better with Mankins return.

The addition of Gallery is huge because he brings a dominant presence that we've only seen from the likes of Mankins and Waters. Once all three are healthy, the Pats will be able to rotate and keep all 3 fresh.

With Koppen and Connolly battling it out for the starting center position, the worst we'll have is an above average center starting. And don't count Nick McDonald out. He's my darkhorse to take the starting center position.

The Pats have shown an ability to be successful with journeymen O-lineman starting for them (Tom Ashworth, Russ Hochstein, Brandon Gorin).

The D-line is somewhat concerning. How will the Pats line up? Will it be BB's traditional 3-4? Will it be the Hybrid? Will it be the old-style 4-3?

The D-line has some good starting talent with the likes of Wilfork, Kyle Love, Brandon Deaderick, Jonathan Fanene. They also have Gerard Warren, Ron Brace and Marcus Forston. That is good depth for the 3-4 and possibly for the hybrid, though none of them are the RDE that we fans have been hoping for.

For the OLBers, you'd have Jones and Bequette joining Ninkovich, Carter and Cunningham..ILBers you'd have Spikes, Mayo, Fletcher being joined by Hightower. OLBer would be somewhat weak unless Jones and Bequetter really stepped up right away.


The Defensive backs are the area of biggest concern. Will McCourty rebound? How will Dowling do? What about Dennard? Will Arrington be the starter again or will he the the "STAR"? How will Gregory adapt to the Pats coming from the Chargers? Will Wilson be in the safety rotation mix by the end of the year? Where does Sterling Moore fit into the mix after a stellar play-offs?

 

[goheels22002]

Until the Pats pass defense improves immensely, the Pats will not win another SB trophy.

No amount of blind homer-ism will change that fact. Andy.

I completely disagree. The Pats' pass blocking needs to improve against the elite defenses in the playoffs. The Ravens and the Giants both brought great base and blitz pass rushes that slowed the offense down.

Pass defense was not the Patriots' problem in the AFC Championship nor in the Super Bowl. If anything, the pass defense did a fine job. The clincher (Manningham's catch) was perfectly defensed - it was just a great throw and an amazing catch. Hats off to Manning and Manningham on that play. Don't confuse the first 8 games pass defense with what emerged down the stretch after all the transition on defense.

The pass blocking in both Giants Super Bowls was an issue and I think they addressed that with the tight end signings and the big backs the Patriots have. I hope the fullback position will be a core strength in 2012 - 2013.

 

[Deus Irae]

Until I see change on the field when it counts, I'll have the same concerns as last year, although the WR concerns are certainly looking as if they've been dealt with, at least for the most part. In addition to that, I think it's fair to be concerned about the left side of the O-line, given that Light has retired and Mankins is recovering from his injury, and the RT, given his injury history.

 

[Ring 6]

Mankins will be starting the year on the PUP due to his ACL recovery. But that doesn't have me concerned in the least.

Vollmer does concern me, though not as much as it did last year because I believe that Cannon could sub in for him without issue.

Solder was stellar for a rookie last year. I see no reason for him to take a step backwards. He and Cannon shut down one of the best pass rushers in the league in Cameron Wake. And did so without much help from the TEs.

The interior depth is the best its been in awhile and it will be better with Mankins return.

The addition of Gallery is huge because he brings a dominant presence that we've only seen from the likes of Mankins and Waters. Once all three are healthy, the Pats will be able to rotate and keep all 3 fresh.

With Koppen and Connolly battling it out for the starting center position, the worst we'll have is an above average center starting. And don't count Nick McDonald out. He's my darkhorse to take the starting center position.

The Pats have shown an ability to be successful with journeymen O-lineman starting for them (Tom Ashworth, Russ Hochstein, Brandon Gorin).

The D-line is somewhat concerning. How will the Pats line up? Will it be BB's traditional 3-4? Will it be the Hybrid? Will it be the old-style 4-3?

The D-line has some good starting talent with the likes of Wilfork, Kyle Love, Brandon Deaderick, Jonathan Fanene. They also have Gerard Warren, Ron Brace and Marcus Forston. That is good depth for the 3-4 and possibly for the hybrid, though none of them are the RDE that we fans have been hoping for.

For the OLBers, you'd have Jones and Bequette joining Ninkovich, Carter and Cunningham..ILBers you'd have Spikes, Mayo, Fletcher being joined by Hightower. OLBer would be somewhat weak unless Jones and Bequetter really stepped up right away.


The Defensive backs are the area of biggest concern. Will McCourty rebound? How will Dowling do? What about Dennard? Will Arrington be the starter again or will he the the "STAR"? How will Gregory adapt to the Pats coming from the Chargers? Will Wilson be in the safety rotation mix by the end of the year? Where does Sterling Moore fit into the mix after a stellar play-offs?

As far as the DL, I think it you look at it as:
43 LDE = 34 LDE
43 DT = 34 NT
43 DT = 34 RDE
43 RDE = 34 OLB

It becomes clearer. Ignore with the RDE is a RDE or ROLB in a 34, and we have 3 DL spots. The guys who are LDE in the 43 are very different than the 2 DTs. LDEs in the 43 of course could flip over the RDE in the 34 as well. Some of the DTs are only NT in the 43 and some are only DEs.
Whichever way you slice it, viewing it this way kind of clarifies the 3 DL positions and separates them from the RDE/ROLB who would never play any of those other spots in either base alignment.

 

[patriot lifer]

Long time no post!

My primary concerns of the team are as follows (in no particular order):

1. Tackle position. It's not that I don't have faith in the ability levels of Solder and Vollmer. I imagine that Solder will have bulked up this offseason, which we can couple with a real offseason (and his holiness Dante Scharnecchia (if I spelled that right)). But in the end, it will only be his sophomore season, so we shouldn't expect the world out of him. But I'm sure he'll do fine. Vollmer is the real concern. His back could really put us in a bind. This means that depth is critical. We would have been in a great situation had Light decided to stick around. At some point, Vollmer and/or Solder will not play a game, and I think that's a reasonable expectation. I'm sure Dante will do his thing, but I'm not brimming with confidence in our situation at Tackle. Who do we really have after our top two Tackles? I guess we were fortunate to have the big three last year (light, vollmer, solder). In contrast, I think the interior OL is very strong and I'm intrigured how that camp battles work out.

2. Running back - This is more of just an unknown to me. I like the Addai pick-up. He's no stud, but has experience and comes from a very strong culture. He's the veteran addition to the backfield we needed. But the two players that will define our running game will be Vereen and Ridley. I think we all believe in the ability-level of Ridley, but the fumbles have to stop. Vereen is a complete question mark to me. And lastly we have Woodhead who is who he is. Overall, I'd rather have BJGE, but hopefully this crew can get it done.

#1 and #2 are the bigger concerns to me. The completeness of the offense really hinges on those two positions. And again, it's not that I don't think they'll work out. It's that there are more unknowns than I'd care for.

Now for some lesser concerns:

3. #2 WR. We've got Brandon securing the #1 position which is an instant upgrade over last year. At #2 we could have Branch, who is an injury waiting to happen. I consider us very fortunate that he played so many snaps last year. There's also Gaffney who is reliable but won't wow anyone. Brady trusts him and he can be at times super effective...as the #3 WR. I wouldn't be upset if he becomes our #2, which would squeeze out Branch (my guess). I think the advantage of him over Branch is that he'll be healthier (although I'm not familiar with Gaffney's health record since leaving us). Lastly, there's Stallworth...I don't expect him to make the team in all honesty. I suppose it depends on injuries, but that's my guess. So all in all, this isn't a huge concern. Lloyd makes the WR position an improvement over last season, so it's hard to complain (it wouldn't have been awesome if we also got Wayne (sallivating)). I think we're safe to go with Branch or Gaffney as our #2 with Welker in the slot and potentially Edelman too (who is a pretty good punt returner, so he stands a decent shot of making the team again). Naturally, this is all mitigated by the convoy of pass-catching TE's we possess.


Defense: On the defensive side, I've ironically stopped worrying about the D. Somehow BB has figured out how to give up oodles of yards without giving up a lot of points. BB has really changed his strategy in personnel over the years from having a core of seasoned veterans who provide great stability and composure to a much younger, more energetic group. They might not be the best defense on the field, but they play with so much energy because of guys like Spikes and Chung. My attitude with the defense is to sit back and enjoy the show. I recall the 2010 preseason game against the Saints, who had just won the superbowl. The entire Saints team was clearly better, but the young Pats defense played with so much vigor and spirit that they compensated for any other deficiencies in ability with frenetic play. I'm resigned to the fact that in some games they will wow us, while others we'll call them our achilles heal. The infusion of two first round picks to the front seven ain't too bad either. For some reason, I can't believe BB would miss on either of these two players since he traded up in the first round for both of them. As for the secondary, I don't think that we have a shortage of talent. I'm really hopeful that Dowling can play a full season, knowing that it's unlikely. I think he could give us a nice boost to the secondary with his size and physicality.


But of course, the biggest concern will always be injuries.

 

[mgteich]

Welker could have caught THE pass, and this nonsense would not be being posted.

The key factor of the SB game as a whole was Gronkoski's injury.
===================================
The defense did as well as expected in the last half of the season and the SB. Sure, it would help to be the steelers on defense. I prefer to be the patriots on offense.

Until the Pats pass defense improves immensely, the Pats will not win another SB trophy.

No amount of blind homer-ism will change that fact. Andy.

 

[mgteich]

WORRY #1 and #2 - INJURIES

1) The production of players injured before the season.

2) Replacing the produiction of players injured in camp.

3) Dealing with in-season injuries, both short-term and season-ending.
=============================================

WORRY #4 - THE PRODUCTION FROM NEWBIES AND ROOKIES

This can always be an issue, especially on defense.
JONES
HIGHTOWER
BEQUETTE
SMITH
FANENE
SCOTT
GREGORY

 

[Mainefan]

Until the Pats pass defense improves immensely, the Pats will not win another SB trophy.

No amount of blind homer-ism will change that fact. Andy.

Do you mean if they keep scoring 35 points a game, they won't keep winning?

 

[mayoclinic]

WORRY #1 and #2 - INJURIES

Bingo.

I'm not worried about the OL, the DL, the LBs, the WRs or the DBs nearly as much as I am about what happens if Brady or Wilfork go down. Those are by far the 2 greatest points of impact on the team. There's depth to tolerate most other injuries, and even series of injuries, but those 2 guys are vital. And of the two I worry about Wilfork more than Brady - Wilfork's in phenomenal shape, but he played 86% of the defensive snaps last year, and that's got to take a toll.

 

[mayoclinic]

I don't even want to imagine Wilfork going down.. Scary thought, lol. You know it's bad when your 360+ defensive tackle has more picks than the majority of your LBs and DBs.

ESPN has an article out on how wear and tear has affected BJ Raji, who has played 85% and 79% of the defensive snaps over the past 2 years. Raji is 5 years younger than Wilfork. As Mike McCarthy notes:

"He's played a lot of football for us," coach Mike McCarthy said. "He's a big man. It was definitely a challenge for him. I think he can handle it, but I don't think we can go six years at that pace, or even five years at that pace. So it's something we talked about. ... We really need to get back to quality over quantity there."

Packers: Less is more for B.J. Raji? - NFC North Blog - ESPN

Wilfork is in amazing physical condition, but I really don't want to see him have to go several years at that kind of pace either. I think it increases his risk of injury and of getting worn down over the course of the season.

 

[patfanken]

O-line, loosing Light is a big loss. Solder is good but is he that good already ?

Lets say Mankins is out for some games as well and we might be struggling with throwing the ball. With the current state of defence that might end up really bad.

Solder will be BETTER than Matt Light. Hi is bigger, stronger, AND more athletic. All that that lies between him and being a perennial ALL PRO is experience.

Mankins is more problematical. If there is one thing we have learned, that while having an elite OG is a good thing. this offense can get by with having just average OGs, so if Gallery or Connolly is needed to play some OG, we will get by.

However I really look forward to next season when Volmer is back healthy, and a competent back up swing tackle has been developed at Scarnecchia Academy, so Marcuss Cannon can go back to being an impact OG. An OL next season of Solder in his 3rd year, a completely recovered Mankins, A McDonald ready to come into his own, and impact Cannon, and healthy Volmer could be the best OL in Patriot's history

 

[patfanken]

As for my concerns, it ALL revolves around the defense. The talent is there, but the experience isn't. Especially the experience of playing together. For that reason there is a need to reel in our expectations of this defense. The key here is surviving the early part of the season and to be satisfied with incremental gains over the course of the season.

It will take 10 games at least before we will know the capabilities of the 2012 version of the Pats defense. Even last year's horrible (stats wise) defense played better at the end of the year and through the playoffs. By the time the playoffs roll around THIS season, I think this defense should be be even a better playoff defense.

The real BOTTOM LINE here for the Pats will be injuries. If we get them we will struggle, but still be good enough to have a puncher's chance at a title. If we are lucky and avoid them, we could be a great team by the time the playoffs come around

 

[hovis]

I know the DL looks decent on paper, but the age of the proven talent makes me nervous. Love, Pryor, Deaderick, or Brace needs to step up so Wilfork can take less snaps and prolong his career. I got the nagging feeling this year's DL will be like last year's secondary: something a lot of us view as a strength going into the season that is exposed as a weakness throughout.

 

[Ring 6]

Solder will be BETTER than Matt Light. Hi is bigger, stronger, AND more athletic. All that that lies between him and being a perennial ALL PRO is experience.

Mankins is more problematical. If there is one thing we have learned, that while having an elite OG is a good thing. this offense can get by with having just average OGs, so if Gallery or Connolly is needed to play some OG, we will get by.

However I really look forward to next season when Volmer is back healthy, and a competent back up swing tackle has been developed at Scarnecchia Academy, so Marcuss Cannon can go back to being an impact OG. An OL next season of Solder in his 3rd year, a completely recovered Mankins, A McDonald ready to come into his own, and impact Cannon, and healthy Volmer could be the best OL in Patriot's history

Reiss reports than Mankins looks good.