Thoughts on the roster...
 

... Just got back from Foxwoods, another "grueling" day at the poker table....and I'm trying to get a grasp on the far from final 53 man roster.

1. I was hoping someone would put together a roster using the basic format that we saw so often in our speculations. Didn't see one so I went to Patriots site and checked out the roster there. As I was looking something popped out that I thought was noteworthy.

What do all these players have in common?

Adaleus Thomas, Mike Wright, Pierre Woods, Ryan Wendall, Brandon McGowan, Mike Matthews, Dan Connolly, Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis, Gary Guyton, Eric Alexander, Chris Hanson. Steven Neal

Yes that's right....they all came into the league as UDFAs. Think about it. This is one of the most talented 53 man rosters in the the NFL, not a team that's "rebuilding" by any means, yet almost 23% of its roster WEREN'T deemed good enough to be drafted out of college. BTW to BB's credit, 8 of the 12 are home grown UDFAs....and 4 of the 12 are starters, plus Hanson.

I just thought it was interesting.

2. I LIKE the trade of Thomas....and I liked Thomas, but he'll do better in another system. The more I think of it, what good is it to have a great pass catching TE in THIS offense. In the spread offense, the WRs are the ones that will catch ball. TEs are for blocking, the GL offense, and safety release patterns. Quite frankly, if I want to send someone down the seam, I'd just as soon it be a WR.

And don't sleep on Watson....just 3 years ago, he caught 50 balls in just 13 games... but it was in a DIFFERENT offense. Matthews' blocking skills fill a bigger need on the team than than a good pass catching TE (Thomas).

3. I still don't like the fact that we kept 5 RBs. BTW its the number I don't like, not the 5 guys they kept. Again, I would have rather had a guy like Lenon or Ventrone instead of a 5th RB who will probably be an inactive until an injury occurs

4. I read somewhere that 9 of the 11 draft picks were kept. WOW, before the season I would have thought that 5 would be stretching it. This COULD be the best draft class since 2003....if not the best in n the BB era....and I'm thinking Nunn comes back to the PS

5. Very disappointed that Crable was put on IR....again. I was looking forward to watching him develop. I can still picture his pick in the Giant pre season game that year. It was a VERY athletic play. All that promise and nothing to show for it but TWO red shirt years

6. Hey my "binky" Rob Ninkovich made the roster DESPITE keeping 5 RBs. But if I were Rob, I wouldn't fully unpack just yet because I have a feeling that there is a QB in our future and someone will have to go, and Rob MAY not be the 53rd guy, but he's close. ;)

7. Good to see that Slater will recover. I fully expected him to wind up on the IR. But he's another guy who just might be warming a roster spot until the Pats look to tweak the over the next few weeks.

BOTTOM LINE - Good club now...SHOULD get better as the season goes along.

Re: thoughts on the roster...
 

Obviously, Belichick is looking at the more than 500 players cut in the last 24 hours and seeing where the team cut be upgraded. I see at the least the following positions as potential upgrades.

QB - We only have 2
OG/C - I think that we might secure a better backup center than Connolly.
FB - We don't have one.
DL/LB - While this is always a possibility, but I think Belichick is all set.
ST - This is always a possibility.

================================================== ================================================== ==
I would like us to sign a QB, a C/G, and a STer in place of Slater, Connolly and Green-Ellis. I think that we have a very, very strong 50.
================================================== ================================================== ==

QB (2): Brady, Hoyer
RB (5): Maroney, F. Taylor, Morris, Faulk, Green-Ellis
WR (6): Moss, Welker, Galloway, Aiken, Edelman, Lewis
TE (3): Watson, Baker, Matthews
OL (9): Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Kaczur, Connolly, Ohrnberger, Vollmer, Wendell

DL (7):Seymour, Wilfork, Warren, Brace, Pryor, Green, Wright
DE/OLB (3) : Burgess, Banta-Cain, Ninkovich
LB (5): Alexander, Guyton, Mayo, Thomas, Woods
S (5): Meriweather, Sanders, Chung, McGowan, Slater
CB (5): Bodden, Butler, Springs, Wheatley, Wilhite

ST (3): Gostkowski, Hanson, Ingram

PUP: Tate

IR: Bussey, McKenzie, C. Taylor, Crable

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Last edited by mgteich; Today at 01:40 AM

Re: thoughts on the roster...
 

regarding #3, you know at some point RB corp will go down from 5.

#4, unfortunately, according to the herald, two teams have already inquired about Nunn.

Re: thoughts on the roster...
 

interesting catch on the undrafted free agents we have. I wonder how that compares to other teams.

and it is amazing that we kept so many rookies with us. i'm sure the average age of the team is still high, but with ole timers like Harrison, Bruschi, and Vrabel gone and with an injection of youth, we aint lookin' so old

Re: thoughts on the roster...
 

At this point, I bet the average age is actually pretty low. Replace a few guys in their late 30s with guys in the early 20s, and your average age can drop in a hurry.

Re: thoughts on the roster...
 

It is interesting.

Mike Reiss (I think) had the facts on league-wide roster makeups, and UDFAs were, I believe, the 3rd most populous group, trailing only 1st rounders and 2nd rounders.

I'll try and find the stats.


edit: actually, I was WAY off. UDFA are far and away the most populous group:

League averages (Patriots in brackets)
First round -- 7.9 (12)
Second round -- 7.0 (5)
Third round -- 6.5 (7)
Fourth round -- 6.2 (5)
Fifth round -- 5.1 (6)
Sixth round -- 5.0 (5)
Seventh round -- 5.3 (3)
Undrafted -- 21.6 (23)

http://www.boston.com/sports/footbal...g_up_on_1.html

Re: thoughts on the roster...
 

Thanks MG, THAT's what I was looking for. Still seems a little thin at LB to me, with only 8

Now that I see it in this format, Ninkovich and Slater could be the odd men out....if new players are added...and we know that they will.

BTW- lets assume they add a QB, do they take ANOTHER guy from the D, leaving only 24? Does that seem wise: Here a couple of ways they can do it, without losing a defensive player.

They cold add a QB, THEN move Hoyer to the PS. It will be even LESS likely at team would poach him if he's on the roster for the first game or so. They could decide to go with 8 OLmen, which they've done before.

Re: thoughts on the roster...
 

I've got to think that RB, OL and WR would each still have one player at risk, likely BJGE, Lewis and Wendell, with Connolly being at risk if another center comes around.

Re: thoughts on the roster...
 

Not sure why people are talking about a vet Center coming in. For the last 3 years the Pats were fine (not great, but good enough) with Yates and Hochstein. Now, both of those guys have been let go, so presumably they've been upgraded. I think we're fine on the OL as long as an OT doesn't get hurt in the first 6 weeks.

Re: thoughts on the roster...
 

Note the use of the word "if", and the absence of the word "veteran" in my post.