Captain Dan Connolly

Doug Kyed ‏@DougKyedNESN 14m
Belichick says newly named captain Dan Connolly has had a good offseason.

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Congrats to Dan. I will pencil him in as an OL starter. Not so long long some thought he was at risk of being cut.

The Patriots have elected six captains for the 2014 season: quarterback Tom Brady and offensive lineman Dan Connolly on offense, nose tackle Vince Wilfork, linebacker Jerod Mayo and defensive back Devin McCourty on defense and Matthew Slater on special teams.

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Woah! Would love to see him step up and fill the void.

Mack Herron said:

Congrats to Dan. I will pencil him in as an OL starter. Not so long long some thought he was at risk of being cut.

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Where do you think the newly named captain is going to start? Has anyone been able to get confirmation on Vollmer moving to LG? I really would prefer to see Wendell as a backup.

Well he is the senior member of the O-Line now (amazing as that is to think about).

Noticed Brandon Spikes is a captain in Buffalo...interesting.

Brady6 said:

Where do you think the newly named captain is going to start? Has anyone been able to get confirmation on Vollmer moving to LG? I really would prefer to see Wendell as a backup.

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Center seems the logical choice.

Way to go, now switch him to center until Stark is ready to go.

I was wondering about this. With Mankins gone, the offense was lacking in senior leaders. Neither Solder nor Vollmer seemed ready to take on the mantle of captainship. Good job to Connolly.

I also see that Rob Ninkovich is no longer a Captain. With Wilfork and Mayo back, there were 4 guys on defense with prior experience as team captains, and realistically only 3 spots at most. Not surprised he is the odd man out, but I hope he will remain a 4th defensive captain on the field and in the locker, if not in name.

Center is his best position, he doesn't match up well at guard. The captain would be looking for a co captain to assist him when matched on a Suh,Atkins,Knighton,McCoy,Ngata,Casey or any other of the better DTs or 3-4 Ends.

McCourty gets back to being elected a captain. He was given that roll last year after the elected captains for defense went down (Wilfork & Mayo). Ninkovich also became a captain.

I'm happy for Connolly. I do like the way he plays. Always been a consummate pro for the Patriots.

varjao said:

Way to go, now switch him to center until Stark is ready to go.

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We signed Iron Man???

Not to be confused with Lieutenant Dan.

varjao said:

Way to go, now switch him to center until Stark is ready to go.

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I forgot about this. Kudos for posting it. Still brings a smile to my face every time I see this clip.

mayoclinic said:

I also see that Rob Ninkovich is no longer a Captain. With Wilfork and Mayo back, there were 4 guys on defense with prior experience as team captains, and realistically only 3 spots at most. Not surprised he is the odd man out, but I hope he will remain a 4th defensive captain on the field and in the locker, if not in name.

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Kinda stinks for Ninkovich, but at least it's the guys who have pretty much unquestioned seniority and leadership status on the team. Had it been Revis elected captain, I think that would have to sting for the previously established leaders like Rob.

Off Topic - Did hear correctly that Brandon Spikes was named a captain on the Bills?

I guess Patriot cast-offs shows up as a solid leaders

RelocatedPatFan said:

Off Topic - Did hear correctly that Brandon Spikes was named a captain on the Bills?

I guess Patriot cast-offs shows up as a solid leaders

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Think it says more about the quality of their entrenched guys. The Bills locker room must truly suck for Spikes to walk in there and be captain material (ever, let alone overnight).

varjao said:

Way to go, now switch him to center until Stark is ready to go.

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What I just noticed about that play is that he was in at RG the very next play! No timeouts or anything. The next snap occurred only 50 seconds after the end of the return play. Pretty impressive for a big guy like that to run 70 yards with the ball (really about 90 yards because of two cut backs) and then immediately line up. Some RB's can't do that.

Mack Herron said:

Congrats to Dan. I will pencil him in as an OL starter. Not so long long some thought he was at risk of being cut.

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And not so long ago, folks posted that Connolly was not one our top three OL's. BTW, that was within the last week when someone was agonizing how we could get our top 3 OL's on the field at once: Vollmer, Solder and Cannon.

BradyFTW! said:

Think it says more about the quality of their entrenched guys. The Bills locker room must truly suck for Spikes to walk in there and be captain material (ever, let alone overnight).

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You have to wonder how many players on the Bills team have ever played in playoff game. Spikes must be one of a very small set.