August 28th - The Battles

[mgteich]

Of course, players from any position could take one of the last roster spots. See below for some of the fights for positions. I don't include battles for the Practice Squad.

WR (5)
Given that Amendola is still out, and that Edelman is just coming back, both Martin and Dobson should make the 53.

RB/FB (4)
The opening day rotation should include Blount, Gaffney and White (with Develin as our FB).

TE (3)
Derby seems to have won the the backup TE spot. However, that is no lock. Williams could get it. Or, we could sign someone.

OT (3-4)
Vollmer will likely stay on the PUP, with Cannon, Solder and Waddle being our 3 OT's. Fleming could make the 53, or the Practice Squad. Belichick will likely look at the waiver wire for another choice.

OG (4)
Thuney, Mason and Kline seem to be locks, with Karras likely to make the 53. Cooper could push someone out or be put on IR (an outright cut seems unlikely).

C (1)
Andrews is our center. Belichick might sign a backup.

WAIVERS (OFFENSE)
Belichick might find an upgrade at RB, OT, TE or C.

DT (4-5)
Brown, Branch and Valentine are the locks. We will keep one or two more out of Kuhn, Johnson and Knighton. My choice is Kuhn. Most here choose Johnson. They could both make it.

EDGE (6-7)
The only battles among the six are for playing time: Ninkovich, Long, Sheard, Flowers, McClellan, Mingo. Grissom could make it as a developmental player. There is always room for a couple of these.

LINEBACKER (3)
Hightower, Collins and Freeney are our position linebackers. They are our base linebackers (although we run base about a 1/3 of the time). Our backups are from our EDGE players.

CORNER (5-6)
Butler, Ryan and Jones are the starters. Coleman is the first off the bench. The battle for the additional roster spots is between LeBlanc (my choice), Jones and Roberts. We could keep six, although I doubt it. Jones could make the 53 as a special teamer.

SAFETY (4)
There is no battles at all. We have McCourty, Chung, Harmon, and Roberts.

SPECIAL TEAMS (8-9)
We have our five locks, the specialists plus Ebner and Slater. Bolden, King, and KGH seem likely to make the team as special teamers. J Jones may also make the squad, as an additional special teamer or instead of one of the others.

 

[BTTA]

SPECIAL TEAMS (8-9)
We have our five locks, the specialists plus Ebner and Slater. Bolden, King, and KGH seem likely to make the team as special teamers. J Jones may also make the squad, as an additional special teamer or instead of one of the others.

The coverage teams this year could be amazing.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The coverage teams this year could be amazing.

Typically teams have 4 core STers. With Ebner, Slater, King, KGH and perhaps Jones.

If they think that Foster will help them on offense, will not clear waivers or get signed off the PS at some point, that kinda makes Bolden expendable.

 

[jefmblrd]

Typically teams have 4 core STers. With Ebner, Slater, King, KGH and perhaps Jones.

If they think that Foster will help them on offense, will not clear waivers or get signed off the PS at some point, that kinda makes Bolden expendable.

I have to agree on Bolden being expendable. I understand that he's a core special teamer and a serviceable back for a few plays a game, but there are younger players who can do what he does.

I like Ebner, but is he still vital to the team's success?

 

[RobertWeathers]

I have to agree on Bolden being expendable. I understand that he's a core special teamer and a serviceable back for a few plays a game, but there are younger players who can do what he does.

I like Ebner, but is he still vital to the team's success?

As part of the regular or sub defense, no. I'd like to see King get more time there. Maybe KGH when he learns the D more.

As part of ST's hes a damn good player. Smart.Hits hard. Good tackler.

Every NFL team has a different value system it places on STers.

As we all know BB puts a premium on STs and Ebner is a good one.

Quite frankly if Slater wasn't so good, I'd suggest that he gets the axe but that would be dumb.

 

[Joey007]

Were you referring to Michael Williams at TE? He's on IR..

 

[BelichickFan]

Were you referring to Michael Williams at TE? He's on IR..

Bryce.

 

[jefmblrd]

As part of the regular or sub defense, no. I'd like to see King get more time there. Maybe KGH when he learns the D more.

As part of ST's hes a damn good player. Smart.Hits hard. Good tackler.

Every NFL team has a different value system it places on STers.

As we all know BB puts a premium on STs and Ebner is a good one.

Quite frankly if Slater wasn't so good, I'd suggest that he gets the axe but that would be dumb.

I tend to agree with that analysis. I was just throwing it out as a thought.

 

[Joey007]

Bryce.

Still.. People really think he'll beat out Derby/Harbor?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Still.. People really think he'll beat out Derby/Harbor?

No chance. Derby is on this team.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I tend to agree with that analysis. I was just throwing it out as a thought.

Yep.

You can make a case for any player who's primary role is on ST getting cut.

I can't prove this but I do believe that non-FG related ST wins you 1-2 games a year.

Last year you can argue that ST lost the @ Denver and home vs PHI game so I think having a strong ST unit is pretty damn important this year.

 

[patfanken]

I see 5 RB's with Foster earning a spot, assuming he remains healthy and productive the rest of the preseason.

Don't overlook Clay Harber. I know he hasn't flashed as much as Derby, but he is a proven and experienced commodity that BB might value more in the end. I won't be pissed either way.

Don't forget the Pats have an extra roster spot with Brady's suspension, so someone is going to get 4 more games to create a role for themselves. My guess is that someone is a CB. It will be a lot easier to hide either Jones or LeBlanc 4 games into the season, than on final cut down day.

Cooper is going to be on the roster. His money is already guaranteed so it makes no sense to cut him. Its not like he's a stiff. When healthy he's proven to be a decent starting OG. What makes him a bust is really his draft position. The question is really his health. I CAN see the Pats simply cutting bait with him if they think his injury situation will be chronic and they need the roster spot to keep someone they want more. They've eaten money before.

 

[Tunescribe]

I don't know how it should be done but I want Foster on the 53. I'd hate to see him cut or assigned to the practice squad only to have another team snag him and see him flourish elsewhere.

 

[mgteich]

Still.. People really think he'll beat out Derby/Harbor?

There are positives and negatives with regard to all the #3 TE choices. For example, based on where he is, I doubt that Derby would be active, except as an emergency TE with on of the top 2 injured. He would be a developmental player, which is fine. Someone else would be the #3 TE in 3 TE sets, probably a guy like Fleming.

As far as a player who could add immediately, Harbor is a better choice than Derby or Williams.

 

[BradyFTW!]

So something like this?

QB (2) J.Garoppolo, J.Brissett
RB (6) L.Blount, J.White, T.Gaffney, J.Develin, D.Foster, B.Bolden
WR (5) J.Edelman, C.Hogan, D.Amendola, M.Mitchell, K.Martin
TE (3) R.Gronkowski, M.Bennett, A.Derby
C (1) D.Andrews
G (5) J.Thuney, J.Kline, S.Mason, J.Cooper, T.Jackson
T (3) N.Solder, M.Cannon, L.Waddle
DE (5) R.Ninkovich, J.Sheard, C.Long, T.Flowers, G.Grissom
DT (4) M.Brown, A.Branch, V.Valentine, A.Johnson
ILB(1) D.Hightower
OLB(4) J.Collins, S.McClellin, J.Freeny, B.Mingo
CB (5) M.Butler, L.Ryan, C.Jones, D.Roberts, J.Jones
SS (3) P.Chung, J.Richards, N.Ebner
FS (2) D.McCourty, D.Harmon
ST (4) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona, M.Slater

Total players: 53
Created with Pats Picker: Pats Picker 2015

That's surprisingly workable, Knighton was the only 'surprise' cut, and given how he's played so far I wouldn't even call that a surprise at this point. I also left Dobson out, since keeping him would've probably required trying to pass one of Gaffney/Foster through waivers. Could easily see that being flipped though, with Dobson on the team and Foster being cut (and probably claimed by someone else). If Amendola is more than a week or two away, he could also enter the season on PUP with Dobson taking his spot. Coleman was also a borderline cut, but I dunno if anyone would really miss him given how bad he's looked a lot of the time. I'd rather see what we have in Roberts and Jones.

 

[mgteich]

The "extra" 4 game position could be at CB as you say. It could also be Cooper or Foster. Personally, I don't see Foster unless Bolden is cut.

I see 5 RB's with Foster earning a spot, assuming he remains healthy and productive the rest of the preseason.

Don't overlook Clay Harber. I know he hasn't flashed as much as Derby, but he is a proven and experienced commodity that BB might value more in the end. I won't be pissed either way.

Don't forget the Pats have an extra roster spot with Brady's suspension, so someone is going to get 4 more games to create a role for themselves. My guess is that someone is a CB. It will be a lot easier to hide either Jones or LeBlanc 4 games into the season, than on final cut down day.

Cooper is going to be on the roster. His money is already guaranteed so it makes no sense to cut him. Its not like he's a stiff. When healthy he's proven to be a decent starting OG. What makes him a bust is really his draft position. The question is really his health. I CAN see the Pats simply cutting bait with him if they think his injury situation will be chronic and they need the roster spot to keep someone they want more. They've eaten money before.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I don't know how it should be done but I want Foster on the 53. I'd hate to see him cut or assigned to the practice squad only to have another team snag him and see him flourish elsewhere.

Given how much interest there was in him as an UDFA, I doubt Foster would make it through waivers. If we want to keep him, we'll probably need to find a spot for him on the 53. I think room can be made for him at Dobson's expense, but that would mean going into the season with only three healthy WRs (4 if Mitchell is good to go) and running a lot of 2TE sets. This all assumes that Amendola is close enough to being healthy that they won't leave him on PUP going into the season. If not, then Dobson gets his spot and this issue is pretty much resolved.

Foster could also beat out Gaffney (unlikely, IMO, as Gaffney is exactly what we need behind Blount), Develin (unlikely, IMO, as he adds too much versatility to the offense) or Bolden (more likely, IMO, but he'd have to beat out Bolden's ST value). If the Pats are adamant about keeping only 5 RBs, I think Foster's best shot is to beat out Bolden and stick as RB5 along with Blount, Gaffney, White, and Develin. To do that, he probably has to bring some ST value to the table.

 

[Tunescribe]

Given how much interest there was in him as an UDFA, I doubt Foster would make it through waivers. If we want to keep him, we'll probably need to find a spot for him on the 53. I think room can be made for him at Dobson's expense, but that would mean going into the season with only three healthy WRs (4 if Mitchell is good to go) and running a lot of 2TE sets. This all assumes that Amendola is close enough to being healthy that they won't leave him on PUP going into the season. If not, then Dobson gets his spot and this issue is pretty much resolved.

Foster could also beat out Gaffney (unlikely, IMO, as Gaffney is exactly what we need behind Blount), Develin (unlikely, IMO, as he adds too much versatility to the offense) or Bolden (more likely, IMO, but he'd have to beat out Bolden's ST value). If the Pats are adamant about keeping only 5 RBs, I think Foster's best shot is to beat out Bolden and stick as RB5 along with Blount, Gaffney, White, and Develin. To do that, he probably has to bring some ST value to the table.

In Lewis's absence I think Foster has potential, especially as a third-down back (assuming he can block blitzers adequately).

 

[Joey007]

No chance. Derby is on this team.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[RobertWeathers]

That's what I was thinking.

2nd year in the system and has shown too much promise and upside. You don't cut guys like that- especially when Marty is a FA next year.