Knee-jerk reactions:
Offense
This offense has struggled to score, struggled to block, struggled to get open, and struggled to catch during the preseason. Yet few are worried. Nor should they be. The starting line has yet to play together, the starting receivers have yet to play together. However the Patriots is entering the season healthy, the line is improving, and there is depth and explosion at both receiver and running back.
QB - not unlike the 2011 Colts. Great starter, but really unproven back-ups. The Pats the past couple seasons have moved away from the young-potential/experienced-mediocre combo's for young/young. A lot of teams opt to carry a Carr/Leinart complement - a guy with 10-20 games starting experience. Neither of these two QB's was able to generate much offense, much accuracy. Of course, Cassel looked awful in preseason in 2008, but I don't think looking awful then correlates with 11-5 performance from that sample.
RB - I think Bolden made the team with his pre-season at RB and ST* - with that big asterisk that he pretty much proved he's not a PR option. That's fine - Pats have Edelman and Demps who are both above-average PR. We could be surprised by Vareen to IR or Woodhead release, but it looks like Ridley, Vareen, Woodhead, Demps, Bolden. I think by Woodhead's absence his chances to make the roster improve. Interesting question is whether Kettani did enough to make the roster over an OL or defender.
WR - there was always a Sean Morey or Tiquan Underwood, a hero of the fourth quarters coming from the ranks of the late rounders and undrafted rookies. Not this year. Very limited WR depth now after Welker, Lloyd, Branch. And all the depth is really at slot - Welker, Branch, Hernandez, Edelman. After all sorts of depth at WR at both slot and flanker, now it's really just Lloyd as an outside receiver.
OL - in a very brief cameo, Vollmer looked comfortingly stable. Huge relief. Solder, Mankins, Koppen/Wendell, Connolly, Vollmer is better than the Cannon option. Very interesting that the Patriots have never, to my recollection, played Cannon at guard.
Defense
Across the preseason a huge improvement in the defense from last year. Better tackling, better pressure. Pretty solid run defense, and an improved front seven, even with the loss of the two top pass rushers. The biggest question is whether the improvement in the safeties can make up for continued weakness at corner.
DT - great depth here. Brace and Deaderick look pretty competent and should provide strong rotations. Big improvement from Brace. Deaderick has enough flexibility to take an LDE rotation if needed.
DE - some interesting depth here. I am not sold on Ninkovich at DE, and I didn't see what the Patriots did to feel so secure that he is the fulltime starter at LDE. Maybe Carter comes back in a couple weeks. Cunningham had his best month ever in August. Really a highlight of the defense in pre-season, with the first round rookies. Based just on game play, he made a lot more impact than Ninkovich. Scott looked good when he played, often against back-up but also early against the Giants starters. Scott also plays on a number of ST groupings, and seems to have played his way onto the team in the pre-season games. Francis was up and down. Bequette really dropped out of the rotation. So do the Patriots keep six (Jones, Ninko, Cunningham, Scott, Francis, Bequette)? That's a lot. Five, and drop either Francis or Bequette? Francis has outplayed Bequette, but Bequette carries that third-round spot and college production. Hard to read.
LB - if healthy, a really good run defense with three strong starters and a pretty versatile vet to back up all three spots. Not exactly 2004 with Colvin-McGinest-Vrabel-Bruschi-Phifer-Johnson, but the best LB rotation since 2007. I guess the final roster depends on Belichick's view of the Tracy White injury vs. Koutovides and Tarpinian. All three decent ST, all three poor defensive depth. Assume two of those three make it.
CB - pretty weak. McCourty and Arrington have clearly locked down the top two spots, but comparing them to league average I think both are below average starting CB performance. AFC Championship game darling Sterling Moore has a tendency to get out of position and has whiffed on some receivers. Ras-I Dowling looks stiff. Is Cole the #3 - this year's Arrington? Dennard may have the most potential among the back-ups, but showed little in the pre-season. Could they keep six here, based on the very limited differentiation between Moore/Dowling/Cole/Dennard?
S - depth has dramatically improved. Chung and Gregory are the best starters since what, Harrison/Wilson in 2006? The 2006 team had Harrison, Wilson, Artrell Hawkins, James Sanders. While Chung is no Harrison, the back-ups in Wilson and Ebner have looked better each game. Both Wilson and Ebner got a lot of derision in the draft. A second rounder not invited to any All Star games or the Combine? Huge reach! Wait, then a rugby player when there are still highly rated safeties on board, what? Wilson and Ebner have earned respect, and are a huge upgrade over Brown and Ihedigbo.
ST
If nothing else, we could have a Pro Bowl punter this year.
