Impact of PUPies

[MalaysiaPatsFan]

This is pure speculation. I do not have inside information on any of the players on PUP, but speculation can be fun (even if I am wrong most of the time). When the long PUP list first came out I was not too worried. I figured since a player could come off PUP any time it was just an extra precaution to put all players even with a slight injury on PUP. I am still not overly concerned about the PUP list, but since many of the players have remained on PUP and have yet to practice I thought it would be interesting to look at the potential impact.

Nick Kaczur - I was hoping that Kaczur would be our starting RT. It could still happen, but the longer he is out the more likely that he will start the season as a backup. Gorin, Britt and O'Callaghan seem to be his primary competition. Maybe Belichick will start the season rotating guys on the OL like he did a few years ago.

Dan Koppen - This is pure speculation, but I would not be surprised if Koppen is not ready to start the season. He might even end up on the real PUP to start the season. Hochstein will likely be the starting C on day 1. Hochstein is adequate, but Koppen should get his starting C job back sometime in the first half of the season.

Kaczur and/or Koppen may not be ready to start on day 1, but the OL will be fine.

Patrick Pass - The coaches already know what Pass can and cannot do, so I am not sure that his being on PUP has such a big impact other than giving other guys more of a chance to impress the coaches and maybe steal Pass's spot on the roster.

Richard Seymour - Big Sey doesn't need a lot of training camp reps to get ready to play and should be ready to start the season. His absence is giving other guys a chance to work out with the first team DL.

Jonathan Sullivan - Sullivan does not have experience in the Pat's 2-gap system. The longer he is out the more likely he might get cut. I haven't heard much about LeKevin Smith, but did see one report that he was looking good. Personally I would not lose any sleep if the Pat's kept Smith as the backup NT and cut Sullivan.

Big Sey should be ready and the DL should be fine. It will be interesting to see how the backups work out.

Randall Gay - Some people may have been expecting Gay to get a shot at a starting CB role. I was not expecting him to be a starter, but I was expecting him to make the team. Unfortunately, I don't feel that I can say he is a lock to make the team and the longer he is out I am beginning to worry about his chances.

Rodney Harrison - I expect Rodney to play this year and be back to at least close to his old self. But I don't expect it to be the start of the season. I think Rodney could end up on the real PUP. Unlike last year, I think the Pats have decent depth at safety and with Hawkins, Sanders and others getting good reps in TC we will be OK.

The DBs will be better when Rodney is back, but will still be much better than last year. Hawkins and/or Sanders may not have the playmaking skills of Rodney, but will be OK.

Others

Chad Jackson - He is off the PUP list, but still has not been able to practice much. I think he will be OK, but I don't look for him to be our #2 WR at the start of the season.

Deon Branch - I still expect Branch to join the team before the regular season and don't think he leads a lot of reps in TC to be ready. My only concern is that he might turn into a disgruntled player.

Caldwell has looked good so far, so I am not too concerned as long as Branch does end his holdout soon. Troy can still get the job done, so Jackson could even get pushed to the #4 WR at the start of the season.

Daniel Graham - Maybe they are just being cautious with Graham like I think they are with Big Sey. I still expect Graham to be one of our starting TEs on day 1.

Garrett Mills - If Mills doesn't get reps in TC soon he may start the year on the inactive list (That may have been the case even if he was healthy to start TC). I am not looking for Mills to be active in the offense early in the season. I did expect him to be a good ST player.

I guess the Pats may need 4 TEs on the roster just to make sure that they can run a lot of 2 TE sets throughout the year. Watson and Thomas are looking good so this is not a big concern. I did not expect too much from Mills unless he got playing time becomes of injuries elsewhere.

Marquise Hill - Hill needs to get healthy and get his reps in TC. Wright could beat him out to be the next backup DL after Green.

I am not too concerned about the PUP list, but I am a bit concerned about depth in case of injuries during the season. I was hoping that the Pats would not have the injury problems this year that they have had the last few years.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

This is pure speculation. I do not have inside information on any of the players on PUP, but speculation can be fun (even if I am wrong most of the time). When the long PUP list first came out I was not too worried. I figured since a player could come off PUP any time it was just an extra precaution to put all players even with a slight injury on PUP. I am still not overly concerned about the PUP list, but since many of the players have remained on PUP and have yet to practice I thought it would be interesting to look at the potential impact.

Nick Kaczur - I was hoping that Kaczur would be our starting RT. It could still happen, but the longer he is out the more likely that he will start the season as a backup. Gorin, Britt and O'Callaghan seem to be his primary competition. Maybe Belichick will start the season rotating guys on the OL like he did a few years ago. I see Kac starting the season as a reserve,if he doesn't get Pupped.

Dan Koppen - This is pure speculation, but I would not be surprised if Koppen is not ready to start the season. He might even end up on the real PUP to start the season. Hochstein will likely be the starting C on day 1. Hochstein is adequate, but Koppen should get his starting C job back sometime in the first half of the season. Dan has taken snaps with Tommy, I expect him to be the starter for the season.

Kaczur and/or Koppen may not be ready to start on day 1, but the OL will be fine.

Patrick Pass - The coaches already know what Pass can and cannot do, so I am not sure that his being on PUP has such a big impact other than giving other guys more of a chance to impress the coaches and maybe steal Pass's spot on the roster.

Richard Seymour - Big Sey doesn't need a lot of training camp reps to get ready to play and should be ready to start the season. His absence is giving other guys a chance to work out with the first team DL.

Jonathan Sullivan - Sullivan does not have experience in the Pat's 2-gap system. The longer he is out the more likely he might get cut. I haven't heard much about LeKevin Smith, but did see one report that he was looking good. Personally I would not lose any sleep if the Pat's kept Smith as the backup NT and cut Sullivan.

Big Sey should be ready and the DL should be fine. It will be interesting to see how the backups work out.

Randall Gay - Some people may have been expecting Gay to get a shot at a starting CB role. I was not expecting him to be a starter, but I was expecting him to make the team. Unfortunately, I don't feel that I can say he is a lock to make the team and the longer he is out I am beginning to worry about his chances.

Rodney Harrison - I expect Rodney to play this year and be back to at least close to his old self. But I don't expect it to be the start of the season. I think Rodney could end up on the real PUP. Unlike last year, I think the Pats have decent depth at safety and with Hawkins, Sanders and others getting good reps in TC we will be OK. Pup looks likely at this point.

The DBs will be better when Rodney is back, but will still be much better than last year. Hawkins and/or Sanders may not have the playmaking skills of Rodney, but will be OK.

Others

Chad Jackson - He is off the PUP list, but still has not been able to practice much. I think he will be OK, but I don't look for him to be our #2 WR at the start of the season. He likely will see situational and special teams work, I see him in the 5-6 role as of today.

Deon Branch - I still expect Branch to join the team before the regular season and don't think he leads a lot of reps in TC to be ready. My only concern is that he might turn into a disgruntled player.

Caldwell has looked good so far, so I am not too concerned as long as Branch does end his holdout soon. Troy can still get the job done, so Jackson could even get pushed to the #4 WR at the start of the season.

Daniel Graham - Maybe they are just being cautious with Graham like I think they are with Big Sey. I still expect Graham to be one of our starting TEs on day 1.

Garrett Mills - If Mills doesn't get reps in TC soon he may start the year on the inactive list (That may have been the case even if he was healthy to start TC). I am not looking for Mills to be active in the offense early in the season. I did expect him to be a good ST player.

I guess the Pats may need 4 TEs on the roster just to make sure that they can run a lot of 2 TE sets throughout the year. Watson and Thomas are looking good so this is not a big concern. I did not expect too much from Mills unless he got playing time becomes of injuries elsewhere.

Marquise Hill - Hill needs to get healthy and get his reps in TC. Wright could beat him out to be the next backup DL after Green. Wright was ahead of Hill to end last season, I see no difference this year.

I am not too concerned about the PUP list, but I am a bit concerned about depth in case of injuries during the season. I was hoping that the Pats would not have the injury problems this year that they have had the last few years.

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[patsox23]

Koppen has not "taken snaps with Tommy." He hiked the ball a couple of times while in sweatpants. He's not off PUP and will almost surely start the year on regular season PUP. His injury is still healing.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Hiking = snaps for most folks when discussing practice. Undoubtedly he is still healing, unlike Harrison, he comes out and "hikes" the ball to Tommy. Since he has done this on more than one occasion I suspect he is further along in his rehab and will be on the active roster to start the season, even if he is inactive for a game or two.

 

[pats1]

Koppen has not "taken snaps with Tommy." He hiked the ball a couple of times while in sweatpants. He's not off PUP and will almost surely start the year on regular season PUP. His injury is still healing.

And it's a shoulder injury. Since he has demostrated in practice he can use that shoulder effectively to snap, you'd have to think his next step is to just to let it heal up fully and then get back out there.

I don't know why you think he'll "almost surely" start the year on the PUP. Personally, I don't think any player right now will "almost surely" start off on the PUP. Harrison is the most likely candidate too, not Koppen. I agree with Box in saying Koppen will start the season on the active roster, but return when he's 100%, if that means missing the first couple of games or so. But I think it's very unlikely right now that this injury, suffered last November, will cause him to be out until November of this year.