Breakout players this year

[rookBoston]

I see two breakout players for the Pats, this year.

1) LB Ryan Claridge
With three starting LB spots locked up, there's one spot up for grabs and I think Claridge is the guy to step into it.

There are only two other legit candidates: TBC, Beisel. We've seen Beisel in spot duty inside, we've seen TBC in spot duty outside... either one could have a breakout season, but my pick is Claridge.

6'2, 260#, wrap up tackler. He came in as a rookie with a reputation as a student of the game and a tape rat. So... what has he been able to do with the playbook over a full year?

The week before he was released, Chad Brown answered the question, "Which young Patriots teammate can we expect to hear from in the future?" with the words: "Ryan Claridge, the rookie linebacker."

2) TE Ben Watson
We saw flashes of greatness from Watson last year, but it was his first year playing in the O, and it wasn't optimized for him. This year will be different; he'll be used as the versatile weapon that he is. Everyone is predicting greatness for Watson this year, including Brady himself who called Ben out in his recent Q&A

So to expect these guys to come in and expect Chad Jackson to be David Givens, I don’t think that’s fair to Chad. David is an awesome player. David is one of the premier receivers in the league. You don’t draft a guy out of college and expect him to come in and fill his shoes. But hopefully over time, he can find a role. But that’s why we have Reche [Caldwell]. That’s why we have Troy [Brown]. And Ben [Watson], who I think is really going to have a terrific season this year. Dan [Graham] coming off some tough breaks last year with injuries; he’s going to be healthy.

I'm expecting a pro-bowl season for Watson.

Others: Jackson, Moroney, Hobbs

 

[BelichickFan]

Hobbs looks like a breakout waiting to happen. And I'm going with Beisel too. On offense, Watson and Caldwell (as I think Jackson is a year away). And something tells me Maroney get more carries than Dillon and looks great by the second half.

So . . . Hobbs, Beisel, Watson, Caldwell, Maroney.

 

[drewdagreat]

Reche Caldwell and Ellis Hobbs.

 

[zippo59]

I agree that we will be pleasantly suprised by a young LB this year.

 

[Remix 6]

Deion Branch and Rosevelt Colvin or Eugene Wilson

Deion- 5th year is a time to be a superstar. He'll get over 1000 yards this year

Colvin- He'll be playing more this year and take a bigger role in the scheme more stuff that Willie did to get there and get to QB: Prediction: 11 sacks..over 75 tackles

Wilson-well hes played with Rodney..and hes played without him. Hes going to step up as a leader and will get 5-7 picks and will get 65 tackles.

you'll see improvement in these guys not in stats as much as on the field with plays that dont get on stats

 

[zippo59]

Deion- 5th year is a time to be a superstar. He'll get over 1000 yards this year

The way the offense is set up it is very difficult for one receiver to get 1,000 yards. Branch got 998 in a very pass happy offense last year, and if the coaches have there way this year the offense will not be throwing nearly is much. I'm not saying he can't do it, but it will be tough.

 

[Remix 6]

yeah but with Caldwell and Jackson's speed..takes some double coverage off Deion

 

[Digger44]

TBC is going to pick up where Willie left off.

 

[flutie2phelan]

This thread having turned into a lovefest ... i've got some strange sweethearts
to throw in.
"Breakout" may not be the best description ... but let me nominate 3
high-probability surprises:

Three offensive linemen, of all creatures ...
Wesley Britt ... Ross Tucker ... and Ryan O'Callaghan.

Mammoth Britt will be fully over his SEC injury. Colvin credited him with being a top-notch sparring partner
while on the p/s. And the man himself said that he learned more about playing O-Line
in his first week under Dean Dante
than he did in months with the Chargers.

Tucker is the mean, nasty bastid ... a starter ... whom an inept coach in Buffalo made the fallguy
for a feckless offense. His ex-teammates all but mutinied when that went down.
But he is here now, and has learned our offense.

If those two lads come on like i foresee them doing, Ashworth and Mankins have to share reps with them.

If manster O'Callaghan's shoulders stay sound ... and further concussions stay away ... after a half-season or so
of acclimating, he could become the roadgrader RT so many here have insistently been whistling up.

That would displace Kaczur ... who could then stand in for any of 4 OL spots.
Not a half-bad sixth, seventh, or eighth OL !

Russ Hochstein would remain as Koppen's backup ... the ninth (and last) O-Lineman.

Anything that plays out like that makes Gorin ... Mruc ... and Yates ... all superfluous.
Barring injuries higher up the food chain, of course.

 

[The Gr8est]

Mammoth Britt will be fully over his SEC injury. Colvin credited him with being a top-notch sparring partner
while on the p/s. And the man himself said that he learned more about playing O-Line in his first week under Dean Dante
than he did in months with the Chargers.

Interesting, I was looking through a national football magazine today and I was reading the write up on O'Callahan. He sounds like a decent prospect who needs to become familiar with the weight room, but as I was reading it Britt's name came to mind. I was thinking that he may be the guy to surprise moreso than O'Callahan. He was rated as a potential 1st rounder last year before his injury and he's had a year to absorb the system. It seems like a lot of people have forgotten about him but I think he's a guy to watch.

I agree with rookBoston's pick of Claridge as a guy who would surprise on defense. He seems to have gotten some of the veteran's respect, and he was a pick a whole lot of us were happy with last year but were concerned where he would fit with the roster crunch. THAT won't be a problem this year and he will get his shot.

Just one more note that made me smile as I read the writeup on David Thomas, the TE from Texas. The last line in the writeup told me "Yep this guy belongs on the Pats", it read simply "football is important to him".

 

[BruschiOnTap]

I'll take the odds on Colvin and maybe throw down on some Hobbs as well.

 

[jaj18]

Watson has all the tools to become a perennial pro-bowl Te, He is fast enough to burn most LB's and big enough to get by safeties. Other than that I think Colvin is going to return to his pre-injury form and hopefuly claridge will live up to his hype that all the other players have given him

 

[Murphys95]

My hopeful guess is....Ty Warren. This young man has the capability. I would love to see him pour it on full time.

 

[rookBoston]

Branch, Warren and the rest... I count them as already "broken-thru". For Branch to breakout from Superbowl MVP status would be... well, almost unthinkable. And Warren is already a solid, reliable 4-down DE. How much further can he break out?

 

[wistahpatsfan]

Breakthrough implies offense, but I like defense, and Rodney will be comeback player of the year, so that makes him the breakthrough guy, even though he's had great stuff in the past. Also look for Wilfork to become one of the defensive greats this year.

 

[Murphys95]

Branch, Warren and the rest... I count them as already "broken-thru". For Branch to breakout from Superbowl MVP status would be... well, almost unthinkable. And Warren is already a solid, reliable 4-down DE. How much further can he break out?

Interesting POV. When Seymour was out last season, Warren and Wilfork did not carry their weight and the Pats defense struggled - big time. I think both have the potential, but have yet to meet it. IMO, Warren needs to prove he can carry without an all-pro opposite him. That's why I would love to see a "break-out" season from him - one in which he consistently plays to his potential.

Branch is certainly a number one receiver for the Patriots, but would he be a number one elsewhere? He still needs to improve, and I'd love a "breakout" 1000 yard season out of him. Super Bowl MVP is awesome, but one good game does not make a stellar career - just ask MVP's Dexter Jackson and Larry Brown.

 

[rookBoston]

Compare the 2005 version of Deon Branch to the rookie version, who showed flashes of brilliance but ran out of gas at the end of the year. He has gotten significantly better.

If the NFL was chasing Givens as an elite receiver (and paying him accordingly), then for sure Branch is a #1 receiver-- in the same mold as Steve Smith or Santana Moss. He doesn't fit every system, but he is a #1.

Warren and Wilfork struggled without Seymour. But so did Vrabel and Colvin. Struggling without Seymour isn't so much about Warren and Wilfork as it is about Seymour.

Warren is everything that Bobby Hamilton was for us, and more. I call that established. Room for improvement? Absolutely, but not to the degree that's already been seen since his rookie year.

 

[BelichickFan]

Branch is a #1 receiver-- in the same mold as Steve Smith or Santana Moss.

I'm sorry, but Branch can't hold Smith's jock. Branch can be taken out of a game - I think Smith can be triple teamed and still get open; he certainly can beat a double team consistently.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Who I hope for: Bethel, Klecko and Tully Banta-Cain, of course (so what else is new?). Who I expect: I have no idea, but unless there is someone stepping up at linebacker/WR it's going to be a hard season.

 

[dhamz]

Deion hasn't broken out already? We are talking about a SB MVP who has over 130 yards rec/rush in 4 of his last 6 playoff games.

Is he one of the top 5 guys in the league? No but he is never going to be. Guys his size will always get shut down at times. It happens to every WR of that size - even Steve Smith who no showed the NFC title game and pretty much decided to take his helmet and go home after the Seahawks made him their focus early.