Eight positive signs....

[fgssand]

Just a few players that look like they will have us all saying that SP/BB have done it again.

Sanders - Looks like a player, impressed me last year, makes the quantum talent leap from year one to year two.

Maroney - Break-a-way speed mixes well with Corey - what a running game we will have this year!!

Jackson - The kid can catch

Thomas - This kid also can catch

Hobbs - future pro bowler?? Everybody raving about this guy, builds on a really good rookie season, what a find!!!

Caldwell - Could he finally play like a #2??

Andrews - Lucky #7 strikes again

Goskowski - I think we wil be OK - he can kick, he will make some field goals for us and kick offs are decent

 

[JoeSixPat]

I like your list but look at different places for my positive signs

1.) The OL should be healthy, with the possible late return of Koppen - but given all the playing time the 2nd stringers and rookies got, its a pretty good squad - and everything starts with the OL.

2.) I'm cautiously optimistic that Jackson will contribute earlier than I had expected and collectively between WR, TE & RB, we look to have lot of different receiving options... we just need to hope that our deep threats stay healthy.

3.) Tedy's back for a full season and the remaining LBs have more experience and know what to expect and what's expected of them (I think Ted Johnson's retirement through everyone for a loop last year, and the team was counting on him to step up while Tedy was out)

4.) Rodney's back. And he's key for the entire secondary, which will also feel the pressure off of them now that the LBs can put more pressure up front.

The rest of the team - with a few exceptions like K, PR etc. remain in the same game shape as before and should continue to meet expectations.

 

[PonyExpress]

I would like to add the forgotten man: Wesley Britt. Granted he was at right tackle supposedly because Kaczur and Gorin were out, but here's hoping he can seize that posiiton and never let go. Good to see he's healthy.

 

[fgssand]

I like your list but look at different places for my positive signs

1.) The OL should be healthy, with the possible late return of Koppen - but given all the playing time the 2nd stringers and rookies got, its a pretty good squad - and everything starts with the OL.

2.) I'm cautiously optimistic that Jackson will contribute earlier than I had expected and collectively between WR, TE & RB, we look to have lot of different receiving options... we just need to hope that our deep threats stay healthy.

3.) Tedy's back for a full season and the remaining LBs have more experience and know what to expect and what's expected of them (I think Ted Johnson's retirement through everyone for a loop last year, and the team was counting on him to step up while Tedy was out)

4.) Rodney's back. And he's key for the entire secondary, which will also feel the pressure off of them now that the LBs can put more pressure up front.

The rest of the team - with a few exceptions like K, PR etc. remain in the same game shape as before and should continue to meet expectations.

I sure cannot argue with anything on your list.....I wsa thinking more in terms of 1st and 2nd year men, which I should have mentioned.

The most positive element on this team (After Brady & Seymour) has to be the strength, talkent level and depth of our O & D lines. We are set for the next 3-4 years, as they are all under contract.

 

[patsox23]

For some reason I am especially intrigued by what we're hearing about James Sanders.

 

[deeds]

For some reason I am especially intrigued by what we're hearing about James Sanders.

Amen Brother!!!

Great post and comments by all!

 

[rookBoston]

Two more points of optimism

Matt Light looks good, after a year on ice.

Ben Watson looks poised for an incredible year.

 

[Drewwho]

The QB is good too!

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The QB is good too!

Yeah, that Cassel kid is really something, isn't he? We should trade Brady . . . he's obviously washed up.

 

[BelichickFan]

Ben Watson looks poised for an incredible year.

He really does. He and Givens seemed to be the two who weren't where Brady expected most often - with Watson's first year being an injured washout, he was basically a rookie last year. But he acknowledged the problem in minicamp and is a very smart guy so I expect him to be where he's supposed to be a lot more this year and should be a major weapon. Seriously, if Jackson or Caldwell comes through it will be difficult for Brady to keep all his receivers happy given the year I expect from Watson and the amount of running we will likely do with Dillon/Maroney.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

I was concerned to hear that Brady wore a knee brace during the final day. Wish I knew what his physical status really is. Supposedly he wasn't as sharp, probably because he was throwing with a brace.

There are positive signs from the rest of the team. Hey, if we won with the group we had in 2001, why not with these guys? We are better at every position except maybe secondary, or linebacker depth.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

I also don't see any teams that will be so much better next year in the AFC. Colts lost Edge, Steelers QB took a tumble, Broncos will probably tread water, Bengals QB took a tumble, Chargers QB got replaced. Am I missing any really promising teams here?

 

[fgssand]

I was concerned to hear that Brady wore a knee brace during the final day. Wish I knew what his physical status really is. Supposedly he wasn't as sharp, probably because he was throwing with a brace.

There are positive signs from the rest of the team. Hey, if we won with the group we had in 2001, why not with these guys? We are better at every position except maybe secondary, or linebacker depth.

Brady's kneee brace on day three concerns me the most of anything negative from mini camp. Is this something new or is it related to last years hit as he sprinted (for Brady) to the endzone Vs Buffalo? Hopefully, it was just a little soreness and the brace was precautionary, but we will never know. Bears watching carefully in weeks. Is a concern no doubt - we have no experience at back up QB right now - none ( I be twe bring in a vet however).

 

[BelichickFan]

Brady's kneee brace on day three concerns me the most of anything negative from mini camp. Is this something new or is it related to last years hit as he sprinted (for Brady) to the endzone Vs Buffalo? Hopefully, it was just a little soreness and the brace was precautionary, but we will never know. Bears watching carefully in weeks. Is a concern no doubt - we have no experience at back up QB right now - none ( I be twe bring in a vet however).

If there was any real issue he wouldn't have been out on the field.

 

[PlattsFan]

If there was any real issue he wouldn't have been out on the field.

Yeah, this is the last day of a minicamp in June, for heaven's sake. If there was a real issue, he would've been off the field.

I really, really like this Patriots team. They had a lot go wrong for them last year, and the negative effect of a really tough schedule was significant. I'd put them as the clear favorites in the AFC. They aren't the perfect team right now, but I can see a path to being a real powerhouse.

Speaking of schedule, that's the elephant in the room of the NFL. It's mentioned sometimes heading into a season, but then sports journalists sort of ignore it as the season winds on. Which is silly, because it has a HUGE effect on the final standings, and no one likes to own up to that fact. Or at least own up to the significance of it. The NFL schedule has a lot of power over how the season plays out ...

 

[shmessy]

I wrote this in another another thread a few minutes ago, but it's more appropo here:

Admittedly, it is pre-TC, but here are some reasons why the 2006 team looks (at the moment) to be in line for a more successful year:

1) The OL line is FAR, FAR, deeper than last year. The two wonder-rooks from last year (Mankins and Kazcur) now have a cycle of experience and know what to expect from the NFL. Britt and O'Callaghan are wildcards with great potential. I'd be very nervous if i were Brandon Gorin right now.

2) The RB situation is nothing like last year. There will be no Heath Evans or Amos Zeroue sightings this year. The middle of 2005 was like trying to fly an airplane without wings.

3) The DL (already the best in the NFL) just got a steal in getting a 25 year old backup NT who was a 6th pick first rounder. Don't think that going from Haslett to BB is not an upgrade for the kid's usage?

4) Corey is PIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSED!

5) The Pats are #6 in available cap money left to spend. Hello Ahmad, or Ty, or Ashley...........

6) One of these years the Patriots will NOT lead the NFL in injuries. It's the law of averages, folks. The streak must end sometime.

7) Maroney, Jackson, Thomas, Mills, Gostkowski, O'Callaghan......

8) 19 DB's trying to win 10 jobs

9) Did I mentioned that Corey is PIIIIISSSSED?

10) A D-Coord who is not looking at this position as a stepping stone to advance his career.

11) McDaniels is no longer a rookie O-Coord. My God, sometimes I feel that the coaches and GM's are becoming so progressively younger these days that soon we'll be watching fetuses run teams.

12) Tedy getting a full pre-season in.

13) This year they are not forcing Square Peq (Beisel) into Round Hole ("Mike"). The young man is finally going to be the "Will" this year and it will make all the difference in the world.

14) Did I mention that Corey Dillon is somewhat perturbed?

 

[Mike the Brit]

Love the post, Shmessy.

My hunch is that we want Dillon (1) p*ssed with the media (2) loving the team. There's probably an equation which correlates performance to the maximum differential between (1) and (2). So p*ssed in and of itself isn't enough.

I don't want to judge our draft picks -- one way or the other -- until we see what they do on the field. But I feel good about McDaniels and Pees.

(Interesting contrast to Saban. Saban takes guys from other organizations (failed head coaches) as his co-ordinators. Belichick -- whose NFL contacts are certainly wider and better than Saban's -- promotes from within. You know that that isn't just inertia on Belichick's part.)