Patriots 2013 Training Camp, Tight Ends, Questions Questions...

[PatsFans.com Article]

Patriots 2013 Training Camp, Tight Ends, Questions Questions...
By: Steve Balestrieri

One area that will be missed with Hernandez gone is surprisingly the running game....

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[NEPettyOfficer72]

We will be fine at Tight End

- Rob Gronkowski sounds like he is doing good, and will be back at some point during the regular season, maybe even sooner then that.

- Jake Ballard is a proven, SB winning tightend that can get it done in both the passing and run game and is a very good receiving tightend who Tom Coughlin almost had a heartattack over.

- Michael Hoomanawanui caught only 5 passes for but 109 yards. Do the math, and tell me how many yards for each catch. The guy's versatility is highly valued

- Zach Sudfeld has the size, speed, routes and hands and production out of college. He also has the hair and the name. Plenty of upside and potential to be a factor in the offense.

- Daniel Fells is a solid guy to me.

With Rob Gronkowski out for a little while and Hernandez gone, I think we can really see the other talent on display now. Which will be good for when Gronk does return, possibly leading to him being kept fresh by decreasing his snaps.

 

[jmt57]

I'm really interested in seeing/reading/hearing how both Sudfeld and Ford perform in training camp and preseason games.

As for Fells, I'm hoping that last season was an off year due to the shin injury he had last August.

From what I read Ballard was moving a little slow in OTAs. I'm cautiously optimistic that he'll be fully recovered and ready to go 100% right away.

Right now I'm looking at the Tight Ends in a similar way as the Wide Receivers: a lot of question marks, a lot of unknowns, and curious to see who it will be that takes advantage of the opportunity and separates themselves from the rest of the pack.

 

[Brady6]

I'm really interested in seeing/reading/hearing how both Sudfeld and Ford perform in training camp and preseason games.

As for Fells, I'm hoping that last season was an off year due to the shin injury he had last August.

From what I read Ballard was moving a little slow in OTAs. I'm cautiously optimistic that he'll be fully recovered and ready to go 100% right away.

Right now I'm looking at the Tight Ends in a similar way as the Wide Receivers: a lot of question marks, a lot of unknowns, and curious to see who it will be that takes advantage of the opportunity and separates themselves from the rest of the pack.

Not to imply that their literary geniuses but I've noticed that the writers who do the rankings and biggest surprises type articles on bleacher report all seem to include Ford in every positive group.