Some Obvious Camp Battles

[DaBruinz]

Super super early attempt:

(2) QB: Brady, Garoppolo
(5) RB: Ridley, Vereen, White, Houston
(4) TE: Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui, Jones, Keller
(7) WR: Dobson, Edelman, LaFell, Amendola, Boyce, Thompkins, Harrison
(8) OL: Solder, Mankins, Stork, Cannon, Vollmer, Fleming, Halapio, Connolly

(10) DL: Cha. Jones, Wilfork, Kelly, Ninkovich, Chr. Jones, Easley, Armstead, Buchanan, Moore, Siliga
(5) LB: Mayo, Hightower, Collins, Morris, Beauharnais
(4) CB: Revis, Dennard, Arrington, Ryan
(4) S: McCourty, Harmon, Chung, Thomas

(1) K: Gostkowski
(1) P: Allen
(1) LS: Ott
(1) ST: Slater

PUP:
Smith

Suspended:
Browner

Practice squad:
Kline, Watson, Finch, Cave, Mattes, Logan, Orton

Big-T - Who is your 5th RB? You say 5, but only have 4 listed.. I don't see the Pats carrying 7 WR and 4TE.. but that is just me.

 

[Big-T]

Big-T - Who is your 5th RB? You say 5, but only have 4 listed.. I don't see the Pats carrying 7 WR and 4TE.. but that is just me.

Oh! Think I had 52 players then went to put Develin back in and forgot to add him but changed the RB number. Nice catch, changed it now.

With the WR numbers, I think Boyce is going to be the primary kick returner and Harrison wouldn't be on the PS long before another team took him. WR/TE is also the easiest place to add numbers whilst Browner is suspended and Smith is on the PUP.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

An interesting related aside, watching NFL live on ESPN and for some reason they have been referring to Pete Carroll as the inventor of "competition" for roster spots in the NFL.... strange but true.

Hey, we had some dominant pre-season teams when he was here.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

Interesting discussion. Why is Stork a lock?

I liked Buchanan and he is very fast but a one trick pony benched at the end of the year.

Stork is a lock because he's a cost-effective developmental center with more upside than anyone else. If he shows he can function as a backup, I would not be surprised to find Connolly become a cap victim. $2.6M is a lot of cap space, if he is not a big upgrade over Kline/Cannon at RG. Stork was picked, so he can battle for the starting center job next year. They won't cut him this year before he gets that chance, unless they decide their scouting was a complete failure. (This won't happen."

I'm looking for Buchanan to come back bigger and stronger, having the chance for an offseason in the weight room recovered from the wired-shut jaw. This will give him the chance to work more pass rush tricks and stand-up better in the run game.

Every year we have a surprise cut, too. I'll guess that the one who walks will be Kelly

I had the same thought. I like him, but with $750K cap savings on the table and a full allotment of DLmen, his position on the team may be dependent on how successful rehab goes for him, Wilfork, Easley, and (to a lesser extent) Smith.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

You really think LaFell is in competition but Amendola is not, are you OK? LaFell has better production and is a more talented player. No special teams player is ever a lock, so I would not put Slater on that list.

They are both locks. Cutting LaFell comes with a $1.5M cap hit, and cutting Amendola comes with a $2.6M cap hit, although I suppose Amendola could be IR'd at any point in time because he is Amendola.

Slater was a lock last year. Now, in the last year of his deal, there's a small chance that he could be cut, but he's pretty much the best STer in the league and comes at a fair price for that, so it's unlikely that he'll be replaced.

 

[CelticPatriot]

LaFell is a lock because of his contract, I'd say WR is pretty much set actually

Edelman, Dobson, Amendola, LaFell will all be there. I think Gallon will be IR'd or PUP'd, so it will probably be 1-2 of Boyce/Thompkins/Harrison or whoever else they sign to get the last spot.