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THE VULNERABLE FIVE (IMHO)
OC Cave (PS material)
OG Barker (PS material)
TE Mulligan (should be upgradable)
LB/ST Beauharnais (PS material; and made surplus by the signing of Chris White)
DT Vellano
Mulligan - pure garbageWe have a temporary 53 man roster.
THE VULNERABLE FIVE (IMHO)
TE Mulligan (should be upgradable)
Beauharnais is a typical end of the roster guy who's spot depends more on where injuries occur than what he does.
Why is UDFA Vellano, who made our roster and spent all camp in our system, be vulnerable and UDFA Francis who did not make the Dolphins roster and has participated in 3 practices as a Patriot not?
Agree the OL moves seem like tryouts
Not sure we got Mulligan as more than a blocking TE while Gronk is out.
Beauharnais is a typical end of the roster guy who's spot depends more on where injuries occur than what he does.
We have a temporary 53 man roster.
THE VULNERABLE FIVE (IMHO)
OC Cave (PS material)
OG Barker (PS material)
TE Mulligan (should be upgradable)
LB/ST Beauharnais (PS material; and made surplus by the signing of Chris White)
DT Vellano
Would be surprised if Beauharnais gets cut, he had a very good pre-season, looks to have above average instincts and could possibly be the first off the bench were one of the starters to go down with an injury.
We have a temporary 53 man roster.
I agree with the other 2 players being at risk, and my list of players in order would be:
1. Mulligan – because he sucks, and Belichick only added him because he likes to prove he can win the opening game even with a really ****ty player on his roster.
2. Barker – no room, we don’t need 9 OL, he offers less upside than Cave and as you said is PS material.
3. D. Aiken – if Cave can prove that he can handle the LS responsibilities it is a no brainer to cut Aiken lose and have the extra roster spot, also Ninkovich’s ability to LS allows us to do so without serious concerns over an in-game injury.
4. Svitek – if he doesn’t get healthy soon they will move on, Cannon give them depth at RT and Vollmer can swing to LT if need be.
5. C. White – If it comes down to him or Beauharnais in a roster squeeze I see him being the odd man out.
6. Cole – if they can upgrade with a player who can also provide better depth as an outside CB.
7. A.J. Francis – if he doesn’t pick up things quickly, or he isn’t what they expected
I think Vellano is a lock considering their lack of DT depth.
I agree there are at least 5 players that are susceptible to being cut; that said I am not so sure I agree with all the players you’ve selected.
• I don’t think Cave is at risk, he was a player considered as a mid-round (4-6) draft selection, he has good metrics, a strong pedigree coming out of Notre Dame, one other huge thing that I want to point out about Cave is he was Notre Dame’s long snapper last year, so he could fill the role of Danny Aiken along with adding depth at interior lineman. Also he has a lot of upside, and Wendell is quickly approaching free agency.
• Beauharnais was second on the team with 18 combined tackles during the preseason, here is a nice quote from NEPD on Beauharnais preseason performance “- I was impressed with the backup middle linebacker tandem of Dane Fletcher and Steve Beauharnais. The Patriots have had serious depth issues at linebacker the past three years, but that shouldn’t be a problem this year. Both Fletcher and Beauharnais offer smarts, physicality and leadership. Add in the fact that both contribute on special teams and you have players that will be on the gameday roster.”
• Vellano is not going anywhere in my opinion this guy player very well in the preseason, in 3 games he had 6 combined tackles and a sack, he quickly beat out Fortson and the rest of the competition and earned starts in game 3 and 4 of the preseason, I believe he will be a very strong player for us.
I agree with the other 2 players being at risk, and my list of players in order would be:
1. Mulligan – because he sucks, and Belichick only added him because he likes to prove he can win the opening game even with a really ****ty player on his roster.
2. Barker – no room, we don’t need 9 OL, he offers less upside than Cave and as you said is PS material.
3. D. Aiken – if Cave can prove that he can handle the LS responsibilities it is a no brainer to cut Aiken lose and have the extra roster spot, also Ninkovich’s ability to LS allows us to do so without serious concerns over an in-game injury.
4. Svitek – if he doesn’t get healthy soon they will move on, Cannon give them depth at RT and Vollmer can swing to LT if need be.
5. C. White – If it comes down to him or Beauharnais in a roster squeeze I see him being the odd man out.
6. Cole – if they can upgrade with a player who can also provide better depth as an outside CB.
7. A.J. Francis – if he doesn’t pick up things quickly, or he isn’t what they expected
You would add Cole, Aiken and Svitek to those most vulnerable. I disagree. That's what we're here for. Also, you like Cave more than I do. BTW, I think that he is a fine addition, and would be even better after a year with Scar on the Practice Squad.
SPECIAL TEAMERS
I strongly disagree with your assessment of the lack of need for specialists Aiken and Cole. They are solid special teasers. Long snapper is NOT a throwaway position for Belichick. Belichick has always thought that a LS was worth a roster position. He'd probably pay more for the position if Paxton would come back. If the LS is the emergency 3rd center, then fine, but the LS position must be filled by the best long snapper. And so it is with #2 gunner. Cole is one our best special teamers. Unfortunately, the depth at corner has been so bad that Cole has been called upon to play corner. Perhaps, it is best to simply list Cole as a STer.
CORNER
I would be absolutely 100% fine in adding a corner. I just wouldn't cut a top special teamer to free up the roster spot. I would cut another position.
CAVE
I'm fine if Belichick has decided that Cave is our OG/OC. That is the need. Personally, I think that we could do better and put Cave on the Practice Squad, but if that is too big a risk, then the 53 is fine.
GAME DAY BACKUPS
We need Cannon and Svitek. If Svitek is not on the team, we need another player able to start at more than one position. I have suggested that I am fine with Nick McDonald in that role. I have no problem with Cannon being the backup OT. However, as many here suggest, if Cannon is our future starting OG, then we need Svitek to be our Game Day backup OT.
BOTTOM LINE
We have LOTS and LOTS of room for roster additions and/or upgrades on the lines and at cornerback.
Cole isn't at risk and NE will always have a dedicated LS under Bill's watch.
Couple of points I have to make:
1. I listed Svitek only for health reasons. If he was cut because he was unable to get healthy we'd likely bring someone else in, but durability has been an issue throughout Svitek career, he missed all of last year if I'm not mistaken.
2. As you may remember I was a huge advocate of Cole making the roster, but the type of player he is you always have to consider him at risk.
3. Aiken isn't an elite LS, and Cave was very good during is time at ND, so if he can fill the need and provide depth at OG and OC I don't see why you would want to keep Aiken.
To be clear, it doesn't matter to me whether the long snapper is an emergency backup at any other position, as is the case for a punter or place kicker. This is as it has been at least since Belichick arrived. We have three specialists, and are likely to always have three. It's been many, many years since a long snapper took a rep at any other position; Belichick wasn't the coach.
So, I am 100% fine if Cave can beat out Aiken for his long snapper position. I just don't see that happening.
I think that Belichick is quite fine with "the type of player" that Cole is. We disagree with how highly Belichick value this type of player, players like Cole and Slater.
Everyone is vulnerable because of health reasons.
IMHO, there is plenty of weakness at the bottom of the roster without out looking to cut locks like Cole and Aiken.
Braxston Cave is severely overrated.We have a temporary 53 man roster.
THE VULNERABLE FIVE (IMHO)
OC Cave (PS material)
I think Vellano is a lock considering their lack of DT depth.
I agree that Vellano is a lock for the next couple of weeks. My suggestion is that he is very vulnerable to upgrade.