Rank these in order of significance

[BTTA]

From today's Boston Globe practice report:

With Mankins not in attendance, Nick Kaczur lined up at left guard with the other starters, which included Sebastian Vollmer at right tackle.

Rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez spent a lot of time working with Brady and the other potential offensive starters.

Rookie linebacker Brandon Spikes was calling plays when he was on the field for seven-on-seven work.

(Hey, it's June. What else is there to do but random, wild, uninformed speculating?)

 

[Bertil]

I'll go with Spikes calling plays. The ascendancy of a rookie into a much needed leadership position trumps the other two.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Those are all pretty badass, but I think the first one edges out the other two. With Neal near the end of the line and being as injury-prone a she is, and Mankins in the last year of his contract, guard depth, both this season and especially going forward, is a glaring issue. If the Pats decide to move Kaczur inside (which I'd be okay with since I think LeVoir's a decent enough backup), that would help tremendously.

 

[woolster22]

Its still very early, but i like the bit on Spikes, and love that Hernandez is already working on developing something with Brady. I remember thinking he was a Dallas Clark type pass catching TE watching him in FL (as many people have said). If he can get on the right level with the offense he could easily provide migraines for D-Coordinators in the match up department. It would be huge for the defense if he could step into a prominant role this year, and if he lives up to expectations, he and Mayo will be a dynamic duo in the league for years. I dont think its any surprise that Kaczur was kicked inside. Light is a better LT than Nick was a RT, and Vollmer will be the best of the three of them at either spot (not sure he is quite past Light yet, but clearly will be by midseason would be my guess). In any case, it will be an interesting year for tracking the youngins, and thats the rooks and sophomores.

 

[PatsChamp88]

Training camp can't get here soon enough

 

[stinkypete]

I think Spikes calling plays already is big. Mayo hasn't fit into the leader role. He's a damn fine linebacker, but Spikes seems to have the personality and the mean streak to be the glue of the unit.

 

[StraightCashHomey81]

Hernandez is the most important by a long shot. PFW and others reported that Guyton was paired w/ Mayo (aka the first unit), so Spikes was likely calling plays with the 2nd unit. Still a good sign, but not surprising given the lack of other veterans at ILB. Kaczur playing G is another one of BB's "just in case the unthinkable scenario happens we have a guy with some reps there" practices. Mankins will be back by training camp and some combination of Connolly/Ohrnberger/Wendell/Bussey/Larsen will be the backups. Hernandez already getting reps with the first unit is a very good sign, as it shows that at least at this point of the offense's installation, he is picking things up mentally. Hernandez's ability to excel physically at the NFL is not really the question. His ability to pick up the Patriots playbook and run a different and more diverse route tree than he did at Florida is.

1. Hernandez w/ the 1st team
2. Spikes calling signals on defense
3. Kaczur at LG.

 

[Kontradiction]

Hernandez's time with the first team already isn't of any suprise to me. I think he'll be a solid addition to this year's team. Kaczur filling in at guard isn't a suprise to me either. Spikes calling the plays at this point IS the most significant.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I think all are sanguinary developments foretelling good things to come, as we watch Belichick craft a new generation "Contendah".

Now as the perpetual optimistic homer, nevertheless I will toss in a Black Cloud. Fred Taylor supposedly did not look good at the workouts. He consistently dropped passes.

Older RBs can suddenly lose it, and we have to be prepared for that to happen, and look for the ominous first signs. IMHO, Jabba Wrecks bought a bag of wishes with Ladainiain Tomlinson, who fell off the cliff last season with a good Chargers Team.

Fred hasn't done that yet, but one must be cautious.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Brady's body language

 

[patriotscpfc]

Hernandez's time with the first team already isn't of any suprise to me. I think he'll be a solid addition to this year's team. Kaczur filling in at guard isn't a suprise to me either. Spikes calling the plays at this point IS the most significant.

Except he wasn't calling first team plays. Mayo was. Mayo and Guyton were in there together most of the time.

 

[Water Boy]

I think all are sanguinary developments foretelling good things to come, as we watch Belichick craft a new generation "Contendah".

Now as the perpetual optimistic homer, nevertheless I will toss in a Black Cloud. Fred Taylor supposedly did not look good at the workouts. He consistently dropped passes.

Older RBs can suddenly lose it, and we have to be prepared for that to happen, and look for the ominous first signs. IMHO, Jabba Wrecks bought a bag of wishes with Ladainiain Tomlinson, who fell off the cliff last season with a good Chargers Team.

Fred hasn't done that yet, but one must be cautious.

I'm not too worried about Taylor. I don't expect too much from him. If he's washed-up, he can be cut.

 

[JMarr]

I'm not too worried about Taylor. I don't expect too much from him. If he's washed-up, he can be cut.

I am (even though I don't read anything into the fact that Taylor dropped some balls in OTAs). We need a solid, bruising RB to compliment Maroney and there really aren't any other candidates besides Taylor at this point.

Maroney+JAGs=no running game=largely ineffective passing game=inability to convert on 3rd down, plus no ball control ability to close out games. Taylor (or someone not yet on the roster) is a key this year.

I don't care how many weapons BB gives Brady in the passing game or how many TE/H Back/Aaron Hernandez schemes BB comes up with--this team will fail in 2010 without another legit ball carrier besides Maroney.