Camp Battles: Safety

[Metaphors]

Locked Down Roster Spots
FS: Meriweather

Camp Battle
Harrison vs JSanders vs TWilliams for SS

Age and injuries are starting to catch up with Rodney. He will be 36 when the playoffs roll around so counting on him to be a full-time contributer and be effective in January is a bit of a stretch. Like Bruschi, this year will be one of transition for Harrison.

Sanders is a real success story. He has worked hard and forced his way onto the field. Solid in run support. Effective but unspectacular in coverage. Seems like he has been around forever but will turn 25 during the season so his best is yet to come. Is this they year he takes the next step to becoming a playmaker in the secondary?

Tank is a reclamation project. ACL tear cost him 2006 and muddled around with the Vikings last year. Still in his prime at 28 and is now 2 years removed from the surgery. He was a fixture in some solid Titan defenses before he was injured. Questionable if he has regained his speed and aggression, but big upside if he is back to form.

Metaphorically Speaking

This battle is for roles, but probably not roster spots. The roles at the beginning of the season will likely be different by playoff time. Harrison and Sanders will likely be the starters based on experience (remember the Pats are breaking in some new linebackers as well) but Meriweather is too talented to keep off the field.

If Tank has his mojo back, look for him to be a situational guy that takes some of the wear and tear off Rodney. If he isn't up to the job, could that open a spot for Law at safety? Hmmmm...

When the playoffs roll around, look for Sanders and Meriweather to get a lot of snaps with Rodney and Tank flexing all over the field (coverage LB, blitzing end, etc.). Spann and Ventrone get to battle for special teams. Big deal is that an injury at safety won't send a sinking feeling through Patriot Nation this year.

Roster So Far...
1-2: QB Brady, Gutierrez
3-5: RB Maroney, Faulk, Morris
6-9: WR Moss, Welker, CJackson, Gaffney
10-11: TE Watson, DThomas
12-18: OL Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Kaczur, O'Callaghan, Hochstein
19-23: DL Seymour, Wilfork, Warren, Green, Wright
24-29: LB AThomas, Hobson, Mayo, Vrabel, Bruschi, Crable
30-33: CB Hobbs, Bryant, Wheatley, Webster
34-37: S Harrison, JSanders, Meriweather, TWilliams
Gameday Inactives
46: QB O'Connell
47-48: OL Britt, Yates
49: DL LSmith
50: LB Guyton

Cut or Traded: Cassel, Pollard, Ross, Mruczkowski, SThomas, LSanders
Battling for Special Teams: Evans, Eckel, KWashington, Aiken, Spach, Stupar, Izzo, Woods, Alexander, Ruud, Redd, Guyton, Richardson, Wilhite, Spann, Ventrone

Special Teams up next...

 

[TheComeback]

Why is Meriweather a lock for safety? And why do you believe Cassel will be cut when he has been our #2 QB for a few seasons now? Did I miss something?

 

[bbabin]

Why is Meriweather a lock for safety? And why do you believe Cassel will be cut when he has been our #2 QB for a few seasons now? Did I miss something?

You think Meriweather will be cut...? Care to make a wager?

 

[TheComeback]

No, I don't think he'll be cut. What I don't understand is why he is a lock, and Harrison and Sanders aren't--especially Sanders, who is a young and proven talent.

 

[blackglass3]

You're not going to bring back up all that "MERIWEATHER IS TEH CB~~`!!1~`!11`!" crap, are you? Because I think we beat that to death back in March.

I think the OP is saying there is no way Meriweather is cut, short of a criminal situation. Everyone else on the other hand...Sanders could be outperformed by Tank Williams, Rodney could get Milloy'ed...I know it's highly unlikely either of those situations arise, but things happen.

 

[N0vice33]

Meriweather is a lock because he is the man and is filthy.

 

[bbabin]

No, I don't think he'll be cut. What I don't understand is why he is a lock, and Harrison and Sanders aren't--especially Sanders, who is a young and proven talent.

I see. I think the OP meant that he was a lock for the team, since he is trying to construct a full roster. I agree that he is not a lock to be a starter.

 

[Pats726]

Don't understand why he is as well...a LOCK for the team...but HOW...WHY is he not even challenged for position..sorry that makes no sense at all.

 

[blackglass3]

Meriweather is a lock because he is the man and is filthy.

Exactly.

10 characters

 

[bbabin]

Don't understand why he is as well...a LOCK for the team...but HOW...WHY is he not even challenged for position..sorry that makes no sense at all.

I don't think that's what the OP was saying. See:

This battle is for roles, but probably not roster spots.

and

Harrison and Sanders will likely be the starters based on experience (remember the Pats are breaking in some new linebackers as well) but Meriweather is too talented to keep off the field.

I think the idea was merely that there is no competition for his roster spot, while for the others, though unlikely, competition could lead to cuts.

 

[mgteich]

I suggest that you remove your binky Guyton from a locked roster spot (I already did in quoting your roster). As you point out, he is competing for one of the Special Teams spots. That would give you a roster so far of 37 active and 4 inactives with 12 roster spots still to be filled.

I would suggest that other than Guyton (who is in two spots), that this has been a fine analysis and a fine set of threads.

Finally, I would note that the remaining 12 spots will likely NOT all be special team spots.

For example a 7th DL has been on every Game One roster for quite some time. Also I can't see Belichick going with fewer than three TE's. What do think would happen if there were an injury? There is plenty of room on the squad for a 3rd TE. We also might have a spot or two for developmental players at almost any position who would not be expected to contribute this year and who would always be inactive, perhaps even Guyton.

Personally, I would add both a 7th DL and 3rd TE to your inactive list.

=============================================

Locked Down Roster Spots
FS: Meriweather

Camp Battle
Harrison vs JSanders vs TWilliams for SS

Age and injuries are starting to catch up with Rodney. He will be 36 when the playoffs roll around so counting on him to be a full-time contributer and be effective in January is a bit of a stretch. Like Bruschi, this year will be one of transition for Harrison.

Sanders is a real success story. He has worked hard and forced his way onto the field. Solid in run support. Effective but unspectacular in coverage. Seems like he has been around forever but will turn 25 during the season so his best is yet to come. Is this they year he takes the next step to becoming a playmaker in the secondary?

Tank is a reclamation project. ACL tear cost him 2006 and muddled around with the Vikings last year. Still in his prime at 28 and is now 2 years removed from the surgery. He was a fixture in some solid Titan defenses before he was injured. Questionable if he has regained his speed and aggression, but big upside if he is back to form.

Metaphorically Speaking

This battle is for roles, but probably not roster spots. The roles at the beginning of the season will likely be different by playoff time. Harrison and Sanders will likely be the starters based on experience (remember the Pats are breaking in some new linebackers as well) but Meriweather is too talented to keep off the field.

If Tank has his mojo back, look for him to be a situational guy that takes some of the wear and tear off Rodney. If he isn't up to the job, could that open a spot for Law at safety? Hmmmm...

When the playoffs roll around, look for Sanders and Meriweather to get a lot of snaps with Rodney and Tank flexing all over the field (coverage LB, blitzing end, etc.). Spann and Ventrone get to battle for special teams. Big deal is that an injury at safety won't send a sinking feeling through Patriot Nation this year.

Roster So Far...
1-2: QB Brady, Gutierrez
3-5: RB Maroney, Faulk, Morris
6-9: WR Moss, Welker, CJackson, Gaffney
10-11: TE Watson, DThomas
12-18: OL Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Kaczur, O'Callaghan, Hochstein
19-23: DL Seymour, Wilfork, Warren, Green, Wright
24-29: LB AThomas, Hobson, Mayo, Vrabel, Bruschi, Crable
30-33: CB Hobbs, Bryant, Wheatley, Webster
34-37: S Harrison, JSanders, Meriweather, TWilliams
Gameday Inactives
46: QB O'Connell
47-48: OL Britt, Yates
49: DL LSmith

Cut or Traded: Cassel, Pollard, Ross, Mruczkowski, SThomas, LSanders
Battling for Special Teams: Evans, Eckel, KWashington, Aiken, Spach, Stupar, Izzo, Woods, Alexander, Ruud, Redd, Guyton, Richardson, Wilhite, Spann, Ventrone

Special Teams up next...

 

[Metaphors]

Don't understand why he is as well...a LOCK for the team...but HOW...WHY is he not even challenged for position..sorry that makes no sense at all.

Meriweather is a lock for the team and for the cover safety role. Who else on the team can fill that role? None of the other safeties. J.Sanders can cover some but it isn't his strength. About the only one I can think of is Lewis Sanders (who is big enough and has cover skills), but he is a JAG and a stretch to make the cut.

As I said in the original post, this really isn't a battle for a roster spot (unless Tank isn't back to full speed) but a battle for roles. Meriweather's skill set (unique on the team) pretty much defines his role on the team. The rest bring different skills to the table but they all generally fall into the traditional strong safety role. I would imagine this will sort itself out over the course of the season. Sanders takes on more leadership. Tank gains confidence in the scheme. Rodney tires and gets the inevitable dings and bruises.

Basically this thread would have been pretty boring with all 4 of the safeties being roster locks. Had to spice it up a little.

 

[Metaphors]

I suggest that you remove your binky Guyton from a locked roster spot (I already did in quoting your roster). As you point out, he is competing for one of the Special Teams spots. That would give you a roster so far of 37 active and 4 inactives with 12 roster spots still to be filled.

I would suggest that other than Guyton (who is in two spots), that this has been a fine analysis and a fine set of threads.

Finally, I would note that the remaining 12 spots will likely NOT all be special team spots.

Not really my binky...though I did get to see him play a couple of times. Not really that impressive though he can really fly and hits like a ton when he happens to be in the right place at the right time. Has the look of a ST demon and that seems like it is worth a developmental spot. He is listed on the special teams list because that is his only way of making it to the active 45. I probably should have let the special teams thread play out before giving someone like Guyton a developmental spot. Live and learn I guess...

As for how many spots are dedicated for special teams, have to tune in for that battle. Your concerns about DL and TE depth should definitely be part of the decision-making process. Probably FB too. As you suggest, there are likely to be only a couple of spots that are just ST (not really providing useful depth elsewhere).