JR4 said:
A response that side steps the issue. Talk about the depth TODAY at
ILB, WR and even the Dline.
if they had to play today tell me who your starters who are your 2nd string
players. Write it out ... show me this wonderful depth you are speaking of.
AS of Today. ( if you use injured players put an '*' next to his name. )
What kind of injured players do you speak of? The only injured players where there's any legit question of their regular season status would be Mitchell, Rodney, Gay, Pass, and Kaczur. Koppen is out there snapping in practice with Brady, so you'd have to imagine he's only days away from returning. There's no solid info on Bruschi yet.
ILB:
Bruschi
Beisel
(Vrabel)
(C. Brown)
Gardner
Izzo
Alexander
Davis
Roach
Mays
OLB:
Vrabel
Colvin
C. Brown
Banta-Cain
Mincey
Woods
As you can see here, versatility (go ask BB about that) is the key. Having a guy like Vrabel who can play both inside and outside is a huge advantage. C. Brown had to start at ILB last year, we know how that turned out, but as the nickel ILB in the playoffs performed well. Now, he's down to basically the #4 or 5 ILB - a situation that probably won't even occur.
It's also possible he'll still see time at ILB in the nickel.
Outside they're even in better shape.
Izzo, Davis, Gardner, Alexander, T.B.C., and Mincey will all bring something to the table on special teams.
You may come back and say if so-and-so plus so-and-so goes down then they'll only have so-and-so left, who is an unproven rookie. Well, unless you want to have a bunch of proven 35-year olds (T.J., Phifer, etc.) as all of your depth, and don't supplement it with younger guys like TBC, Alexander, Beisel, and Mincey, then you're turning a cold shoulder to the future and thus will be in trouble.
WR:
Branch
Caldwell
Brown
Jackson
Childress
With Andrews, Jackson, or Maroney likely taking over return duties, there's no reason to carry the 6th WR as the Pats have done in the past, which has always been Bethel as a KR/PR. Childress could get he boot if the Pats want to add one more vet to the mix later on in camp, or make a trade like they did last year for Andre' Davis.
DL:
Seymour* (we all saw him in the on-field walkthrough, we all heard him say they wanted to be cautious with his quad, but if the season started today he would play, so there's really no reason to even put the asterisk.)
Wilfork
Warren
Green* (injury doesn't appear serious)
Hill* (no word on his injury)
Wright
L.K. Smith
Sullivan
Klecko
Thomas
This position has been traditionally one of the deepest on the Pats, and it has remained unchanged for a few years now. With the 3-4 scheme, the Pats won't be carrying any more than 6 or 7 DLs. The starters are so good that Green and Hill, who would likely start in most other systems, don't see all that much playing time. Green sees his as a situational rusher, while Hill is part of the goalline defense. Wright brings versatility to play either outside or inside, essentially that 7th man on the line. Klecko, Sullivan, and Smith battle it out for that backup NT job. Smith looks to be a favorite, and as a hand-picked draft pick of Beioli, you would think they have confidence in him to do just that.
I can't even see where you have legit concerns of depth on the defensive line.