Bedard's thoughts (May 29 OTA practice)

[Italian Patriot]

Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard 57m
Spent some time today at Patriots practice. Didn't observe it as meticulously as I used to, but had a few thoughts.

Passing off is obviously a big work in progress. With all the new faces, there wasn't much of the usual precision. Tho some nice catches.

You can tell Brady knows the score and is being extremely patient. In past years, all the incompletions would have really ticked him off

The new-found muscle and bulk on Ridley and Vereen was surprising.

Cannon isn't as lean as he was back at tackle. Much thicker and has built up his lower body. More power.

Adrian Wilson is huge. Tavon Wilson wasn't in the mix much at all. Wonder if they're having him watch Adrian to see a real pro.

Blount was as advertised...completely missed a blitz pickup. It's a new system for him, so it's still very early.

The defensive continuity in personnel is obviously helping. They're not well ahead of the offense, they're on a different planet. Expected.

It's so odd to see the offense so far behind, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't like that with all the new faces/starters out.

Nothing stood out from the WRs except a couple nice downfield catches. Everyone, including Amendola, is feeling their way. That will change.

This is no. 37 on their to-do list, but the young WRs are going to need to run more precise routes to function highly come game time.

Lot of rounded off routes. That won't fly when it comes down to it. But that comes later. They need to learn the system first.

Oh, and one more thought: still not a Kafka fan. Slow delivery. Not much zip.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Molto bene

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Oh, and one more thought: still not a Kafka fan. Slow delivery. Not much zip.

If Bedard turns into a giant insect, he has no one to blame but himself. :snob:

 

[willard]

Bedard provides some of the best observations so far this offseason.

His description of Cannon would seem that the Patriots want him to be a guard. I hope this happens because I believe it will make our offensive line even more fearsome.

Really like the description of additional muscle on Ridley and Vereen. The concussion Ridley sustained against Baltimore looked bad on TV. I have been concerned about how this could affect his career. More muscle should help him sustain.

With our offensive line and those two we could have an imposing rushing attack.

 

[Lamanai]

If Bedard turns into a giant insect, he has no one to blame but himself. :snob:

We'll just call him 'Gregor'...

 

[Danger Zone]

If Bedard turns into a giant insect, he has no one to blame but himself. :snob:

Well, Kafka would deserve SOME of the blame..

And now I want to eat an apple.

 

[PatsDeb]

If Bedard turns into a giant insect, he has no one to blame but himself. :snob:

This made me LOL. I hated that story. I think Bedard's comments could apply to both the player and the author!!

 

[tonyto3690]

Cannons natural position has always been RG. Out of college I pinned him as a RG that could play emergency RT, not the other way around. Great foot speed, but isn't long enough to play tackle.

Ridley, Vereen, Chandler and Hightower are all going to be big time contributors. Not sure if Ridley can take that much bigger a leap as he did last season, but the other three I expect to big things from. Chandler has All Pro potential, easily.


EDIT:
The notes on the WRs puts into perspective expectations for them for the people who expect them to play at the level Moss-Welker-Gaffney-Stallworth did.

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

If Bedard turns into a giant insect, he has no one to blame but himself. :snob:

Well, if that metamorphosis led to his mother locking him in his room I hope he'd have high def tv and be able to type with all six legs. :rocker:

 

[Rob0729]

Good to have his insights, but it is still OTAs. The only things that really caught my eyes is the physical shape of Cannon, Ridley, and Vereen. At this point, those are the only things we can really gain any insight about.

 

[Jackson 2]

Well, if that metamorphosis led to his mother locking him in his room I hope he'd have high def tv and be able to type with all six legs. :rocker:

A couple of cold six packs and a large pepperoni wouldn't hurt...

 

[Fencer]

If Bedard turns into a giant insect, he has no one to blame but himself. :snob:

Indeed. It would be quite the trial for him.

 

[Joker]

.......One day Gregor Bedard, a traveling NFL writer, wakes up to find himself transformed into a "monstrous vermin", often interpreted as a giant cokkroach or insect. He believes it is a dream, and reflects on how dreary life as a traveling sports writer is.....

Kafkaesque?....No

Jokeresque?....Bullseye, bunky!!!

 

[supafly]

Cannons natural position has always been RG. Out of college I pinned him as a RG that could play emergency RT, not the other way around. Great foot speed, but isn't long enough to play tackle.

While your analysis is probably spot on regarding Cannon's abilities, we haven't really had anything to go on in terms of him actually playing the position of guard aside from a handful of garbage time snaps last season.

There have been numerous comments by Belichick that state that he feels his best traits are used at tackle.

It's possible they want Cannon to be able to potentially back up both positions this year in an emergency basis, or it could simply be speculation on your part stemming from Bedard's comments (which would lead many to believe the same thing based on his description).

I think we'll see Cannon get some reps at guard during TC as Belichick often has players gain some experience with positions outside of their comfort zone in case of emergency. That will probably lead to a total revisitation of the guard vs tackle debate in its fullest, and only time will tell what the answer is.

The notes on the WRs puts into perspective expectations for them for the people who expect them to play at the level Moss-Welker-Gaffney-Stallworth did.

I doubt there are too many here who feel that the 2013 WR corps can equal the production and talent of the record setting passing attack of the 2007 season. If there are, they are likely just overly optimistic. Then again, there probably isn't much to be learned from this early point on in OTA's either other than the obvious physical bulking of a few players + the absence of Spikes.

 

[Wretch]

.......One day Gregor Bedard, a traveling NFL writer, wakes up to find himself transformed into a "monstrous vermin", often interpreted as a giant cokkroach or insect. He believes it is a dream, and reflects on how dreary life as a traveling sports writer is.....

Kafkaesque?....No

Jokeresque?....Bullseye, bunky!!!

He turned in Tomase?

 

[jimache]

He turned in Tomase?

... you had to mention that fat fck's name ... ruined my day

 

[BB4PRez]

While your analysis is probably spot on regarding Cannon's abilities, we haven't really had anything to go on in terms of him actually playing the position of guard aside from a handful of garbage time snaps last season.

There have been numerous comments by Belichick that state that he feels his best traits are used at tackle.

It's possible they want Cannon to be able to potentially back up both positions this year in an emergency basis, or it could simply be speculation on your part stemming from Bedard's comments (which would lead many to believe the same thing based on his description).

I think we'll see Cannon get some reps at guard during TC as Belichick often has players gain some experience with positions outside of their comfort zone in case of emergency. That will probably lead to a total revisitation of the guard vs tackle debate in its fullest, and only time will tell what the answer is.

I think the move for Cannon to guard is as much about Volmer being signed as anything else and I don't put to much stalk in Bedard's comments about Cannon's supposed change in body type. The Pats don't seem to concerned about a linemans body type and where a lineman played in college. They seems to try to find the best big athletes they can and then train/teach the postion to the player. Soldier, Mankins, Cannon and Volmer all finished their college careers as left tackles - the position that the top athlete on a line typically plays.

When healthy Volmer is really good and if Cannon wants to see the field he will need to learn how to play guard because he has a better chance to outplay Connolly as opposed to Volmer.

 

[supafly]

I don't put to much stalk in Bedard's comments about Cannon's supposed change in body type.

Yeah, it's a bit early to think too hard about Cannon showing up with a little more bulk. To me that doesn't really point to much of anything, besides the fact that he's trained hard during the offseason.

When healthy Volmer is really good and if Cannon wants to see the field he will need to learn how to play guard because he has a better chance to outplay Connolly as opposed to Volmer.

First let me say that I think you have just as much chance as being correct as myself or anyone else. All we really can do is speculate at this time.

However, I'm not so sure that Vollmer's health issue would be any different in terms of Cannon's duties, especially since Vollmer played in almost 90% of all snaps last year.

It's possible that you could be correct. It's also possible that they simply want Cannon to continue to progress as a backup tackle. After all, he'll likely be the first man up if/when either one of Solder or Vollmer miss any time.

I think the speculation will be at its highest in TC when Belichick likely gives Cannon some reps at guard. Then we'll be trying to figure out if it's just for emergency purposes to familiarize himself better, or if he's really looking at Cannon as a guard. Only time will tell. My guess is that he's capable of playing either position should it come down to it.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I still think Cannon will be the young, powerful, Right Guard when all is said and done.:rocker:

 

[patchick]

Yeah, it's a bit early to think too hard about Cannon showing up with a little more bulk. To me that doesn't really point to much of anything, besides the fact that he's trained hard during the offseason.

I'm still struggling with the image that Cannon was "lean" last year at 340 lbs.