some roster thoughts

[rookBoston]

Is the FO is planning for life without Troy Brown?

Really, I started thinking that Troy was on the outs when the Pats moved aggressively to acquire Welker. With the Stallworth signing, is there even roster space for Troy?

I have the depth chart at WR listed:
#1 Stallworth -outside
#2 Gaffney (not Caldwell!!)
#3 Welker -slot
#4 Caldwell
#5 Jackson

How, exactly, is Brown doing to see the field? Even if the team goes 5-wide, he's not a sure thing to get the fifth spot. Remember, we still have Watson, Brady AND Thomas to compete as the fifth receiver from the five wide.

How do you like Brian Leonard at #28, now?

With WR packed so tight with talent, a first rounder at WR would not seem prudent. Not that BB hasn't proven willing to draft BPA in the first round, even if that person is the #3 TE or #2 NT... or an OG. But taking a WR to play behind at least four talented veterans, and a promising sophomore, seems risky and wasteful.

Adalius takes the urgency out of drafting an OLB, if Seau comes back ILB is really not an urgent need.

If #24 addresses depth in the secondary, then it leaves the FO free to do whatever with #28. The idea of filling out the offensive backfield with a team-first, versatile, physical player like Leonard seems like pretty close to idea.

 

[BelichickFan]

Is the FO is planning for life without Troy Brown?

How, exactly, is Brown doing to see the field?

There's still room for Troy on the roster as a 6th WR who can do other things. But we've certainly moved beyond needing him now - time moves on I'm afraid.

How do you like Brian Leonard at #28, now?

I'd still much prefer to use both #1s on defense. MUCH prefer. That said, I'm more amenable to Leonard now that we've improved the team prior to the draft. But with Faulk, Mills, Morris I don't see it happening.

 

[skaIownsIyou]

first off, welker probably wont be the #3 guy...pushing caldwell to #4 is just a slap on the face...he'll(welker) be #4 at best, unless someone gets injured....better yet, it'll probably be caldwell and gaffney gunning for the #2 spot, with the loser of the competition moving to the first slot, and also, theres no guarantee that stallworth will be the #1 guy...probably by seasons's end, heading into the playoffs, stallworth will be #1, but we know BB will move everyone around, theres no set 1 and 2...

welker will probably be the return man for punts and kickoffs to give hobbs a rest and he and cj are signed long term...welker will get his playing time in 1 or 2 years time...

and leonard at #28 is way too high...if leonard was on target, BB would do the smart thing and trade out of the 1st round, get a 2nd and pick up a 3rd roudner while he's at it...

 

[BelichickFan]

first off, welker probably wont be the #3 guy...pushing caldwell to #4 is just a slap on the face...he'll(welker) be #4 at best, unless someone gets injured

It's roles not numbers.

Welker will be the #3 WR, the slot guy. Whoever doesn't start between Stallworth, Gaffney and Caldwell will be the "#4" guy. But if one of the starting two gets hurt, the #4 guy will become the #2 and Welker will keep his role.

 

[psychoPat]

It's roles not numbers.

Welker will be the #3 WR, the slot guy. Whoever doesn't start between Stallworth, Gaffney and Caldwell will be the "#4" guy. But if one of the starting two gets hurt, the #4 guy will become the #2 and Welker will keep his role.

Right now that position
ALL looks good to me!

Who cares?
who plays where ... when.

 

[Fencer]

1. A WR's most important jobs are to A. Get open and B. Catch the ball. The two best WRs at that will be the top two WRs. Extrapolating from past performance, Stallworth and Welker are the leading candidates.

2. Three of the consensus top 4 WRs are effectively on 1-year deals. Yes, the Pats have a good chance of retaining any of them that they want to. Drafting another guy would not be ridiculous, however.

3. I love the idea of Brian Leonard. Power RB is an incredibly important situational role. Probably the only USC Trojan I truly admired growing up was Sam Cunningham. But there would be a real "ouch" factor to using 5 roster slots on RBs. So I'd prefer for him to be a screaming bargain, perhaps in one of the scenarios were the two picks are traded for a first and a second.

4. What I want most from this draft is an impact FS -- in every sense of "impact" -- and a talented CB.

The chance that Samuel, Hobbs, and Gay are all playing for the Pats in January, 2009 -- and I mean actually playing rather than being on IR -- seems pretty low; we need more CB depth.

 

[Scott37]

Right now that position
ALL looks good to me!

Who cares?
who plays where ... when.

Who's on first, what, I don't know, third base!

 

[Rob0729]

I don't see Caldwell being dumped from the starting spot to the #4 WR. I think he is the starter because he and Brady have the best rythm amoung the current WRs. Gaffney can steal the job away by proving he is what we saw in the playoffs, otherwise Caldwell will start.

 

[PATRIOTS-80]

I don't see Caldwell being dumped from the starting spot to the #4 WR. I think he is the starter because he and Brady have the best rythm amoung the current WRs. Gaffney can steal the job away by proving he is what we saw in the playoffs, otherwise Caldwell will start.

Agreed. In camp its between Gaffney and Caldwell for the #2. Wes is the slot. The loser of the battle will be #4 but will play on the outside if there's a injury. Wes will still be in the slot no matter what.

 

[groundgame]

I'd sign him on at least to the practice squad, and while continuing to be active and working out with the team, hire him also as a part-time asst. coach (re: Otis Smith) to the receiving corps, for example. With the injuries this team has sustained over the past few years, this veteran would be a valuable commodity at a number of positions if the ranks are stretched thin.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

H'mm, Brown, Branch, Givens, Patten...they were rotated in an out as formations changed, though if you think about it, the deep threat guy was more of a #4. If Watson is stretching the field up the middle, is it necessary to have Stallworth stretching it at the same time? Anyone know how well Stallworth blocks? Does he do well running the DBs deep on his side to clear out for the running play (Dwightening was great at that)? Ideally, Stallworth and Welker mesh with Caldwell and Gaffney forming a foursome who can do enough of what the other three do to keep opponents off balance. Kight, Childress, and Smith come to camp fighting for roster spots, but also bringing complementary tools to the equation; Smith (aka: Fast Freddy) has some speed and return skills, Kight is a nice big body possession type with STs experience from last season, and Bam always made me think of Troy with his sneaky style and can-do attitude (he's been used as a WR, RB, CB, and PR in very limited reps).

Given BB's interest in trying to build a complementary running & passing game into his offense, calling Stallworth a clear #1 seems a stretch if he can't block or run off defenders to help the running game - so we'll just have to wait and see how the WRs get used (and how they perform each task) in preseason before "numbering" them.

 

[Fencer]

I'd sign him on at least to the practice squad,

The last time Troy was eligible for the practice squad, we'd never heard of Monica Lewinsky.

 

[BradyManny]

H'mm, Brown, Branch, Givens, Patten...they were rotated in an out as formations changed, though if you think about it, the deep threat guy was more of a #4. If Watson is stretching the field up the middle, is it necessary to have Stallworth stretching it at the same time? Anyone know how well Stallworth blocks? Does he do well running the DBs deep on his side to clear out for the running play (Dwightening was great at that)? Ideally, Stallworth and Welker mesh with Caldwell and Gaffney forming a foursome who can do enough of what the other three do to keep opponents off balance. Kight, Childress, and Smith come to camp fighting for roster spots, but also bringing complementary tools to the equation; Smith (aka: Fast Freddy) has some speed and return skills, Kight is a nice big body possession type with STs experience from last season, and Bam always made me think of Troy with his sneaky style and can-do attitude (he's been used as a WR, RB, CB, and PR in very limited reps).

Given BB's interest in trying to build a complementary running & passing game into his offense, calling Stallworth a clear #1 seems a stretch if he can't block or run off defenders to help the running game - so we'll just have to wait and see how the WRs get used (and how they perform each task) in preseason before "numbering" them.

Are you penciling CJ in as a PUP as well?

If Stallworth could block well, that'd be pretty super. It seemed to me they used CJax as a bit of a speed decoy in a one-wideout, run-first set at times in the season when healthy. They were always extremely effective running the ball in this set - though they didn't do it too often - and if Stallworth can block, then his speed can likewise be used to keep the DBs honest in a similar manner.

 

[rookBoston]

and leonard at #28 is way too high...if leonard was on target, BB would do the smart thing and trade out of the 1st round, get a 2nd and pick up a 3rd roudner while he's at it...

The guy ran a 4.5 at the Combine, he's got FB size, soft hands and did the most bench presses out of anyone at the RB/FB position. His mental makeup is prototype Belichick.

What is it that makes everyone think that he's not good enough to be 28? We're talking 28, which is a lot closer to 35 than 15...

The analogies I'm thinking of are Logan Mankins, Ty Warren and Ben Watson, who were all widely mocked as 2nd rounders.

 

[patsox23]

Day One - LB/DB all day long

RB in round 4.

 

[Urgent]

Right now the Patriots WR depth chart is essentially four deep:

Stallworth
Caldwell
Welker
Gaffney

With 61 catches last year, Caldwell earned a #2 spot until someone unseats him.

Troy Brown is not signed. Jackson is likely on PUP.
I guess the #5 guy right now would be Bam Childress.

With Stallworth on a one-year deal, it certainly doesn't rule out taking a receiver anywhere on Day One. The draft gods don't favor first-round receivers, but if that's the value, that's where the Patriots will strike.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Are you penciling CJ in as a PUP as well?

If Stallworth could block well, that'd be pretty super. It seemed to me they used CJax as a bit of a speed decoy in a one-wideout, run-first set at times in the season when healthy. They were always extremely effective running the ball in this set - though they didn't do it too often - and if Stallworth can block, then his speed can likewise be used to keep the DBs honest in a similar manner.

CJ? I'm not penciling him, I'm not even thinking about him until he's reported practicing.