{"id":6069,"date":"2016-05-05T06:00:21","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T10:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=6069"},"modified":"2016-05-11T19:50:06","modified_gmt":"2016-05-11T23:50:06","slug":"five-patriots-players-pressure-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/05\/05\/five-patriots-players-pressure-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Patriots Players Under the Most Pressure in 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who is Under the Microscope This Season?<\/h2>\n

The Patriots, perhaps more so than any other team goes by the adage, \u201cwe don\u2019t care what you did for us yesterday, what can you do for me today.\u201d And when it comes to contracts, the team isn\u2019t one to reward a player for past accomplishments. Only what they can do moving forward.<\/p>\n

With free agency slowed to a crawl and the 2016 NFL Draft in the books, the team building phase of the season moves into a new phase. These five players will, unfairly or not be under the most pressure to produce or find themselves moving on from the team.<\/p>\n

So who\u2019s under the Darth Belichick\u2019s microscope this spring? Read on\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAaron Dobson has had three injury-filled, inconsistent seasons and must produce in 2016. (USA TODAY Images)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

#5 Wide Receiver Aaron Dobson:<\/strong>
\nOkay, this one is pretty much a no-brainer. Dobson has had three seasons with the Patriots to make his mark and each one has ended via injury after signing a 4-year, $3.4 million-dollar contract when being drafted in the 2nd<\/sup> round, 59th<\/sup> overall in the 2013 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

The 2015 season began on a high note, in the Week 2 over the Buffalo Bills, he caught 7 passes for 87 yards and things were looking up.\u00a0 But he would catch only five more passes the rest of the year and his final one, Week 11 against the Giants resulted in another injury that caused him to once again end up on IR.<\/p>\n

The Patriots patience has to be razor thin at this point. Brandon LaFell was jettisoned and the team brought in free agents Nate Washington and Chris Hogan. Last weekend, the team drafted wide receivers Malcolm Mitchell and Devin Lucien.<\/p>\n

Dobson has to have a big\u2026not an okay but a big spring and summer. And that means without missing a significant amount of time during OTAs and\/or training camp. The time for injuries and inconsistent play is long past. The team has brought in four players vying for his roster spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"cannon\"
\nMarcus Cannon is carrying a large salary while having a subpar 2015 which could land him being released. (USA TODAY Images)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

#4 Offensive Lineman Marcus Cannon:<\/strong>
\nWhen it comes to the much-maligned Cannon, the question on most fan\u2019s minds is: \u201cWhy is he still on the roster?\u201d Cannon was rewarded with a 2-year contract extension worth $9 million and 2016, his final year of it has him with a $3.4 million-dollar salary with a $4.75 million dollar cap hit.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s far too much for a guy who has bounced between guard and tackle and was really exposed wherever he played in 2015. He was ranked 44th<\/sup> out of 59 offensive tackles by Pro Football Focus last season allowing 19 hurries, eight hits, four sacks on just 359 pass plays.<\/p>\n

If Cannon has a lifeline it is in the form of OL Coach Dante Scarnecchia. Cannon was drafted in the 5th<\/sup> round of the 2011 NFL Draft with the 158th<\/sup> overall pick while Scar was the OL coach before stepping down for a brief retirement. Now he\u2019s back and if anyone can get some solid play out of him, its Scarnecchia. But with a crowded group of interior offensive linemen, including 3rd<\/sup> round pick Joe Thuney and Jonathan Cooper who came over from Arizona in the Chandler Jones trade\u2026the clock is ticking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBlount is looking for a bounce-back type 2016. (USA TODAY Images)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

#3 RB LaGarrette Blount:<\/strong>
\nBlount was brought back on a one-year deal for a modest $1 million-dollar salary with another million in incentives that are available if he earns them. Blount ended up on IR with a hip injury after gaining 703 yards on 165 carries and six touchdowns in 2015.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been a Bill Belichick favorite since arriving in 2013 and has played well in his tenure in New England. But the running game went south in 2015, ranking 30th<\/sup> in the league. While much of that could be blamed on the numerous injuries along the offensive line, the backs were not without criticism, including Blount.<\/p>\n

With nearly all of the pundits having the Pats as needing an influx of youth at the running back position this season, the team stood pat during the draft. With (right now) just Donald Brown and STs standout Brandon Bolden as well as 3rd-year player Tyler Gaffney backing him up as the big back in 2016, Blount is going to be looked to produce in the running game, especially if Dion Lewis starts the season on the PUP list. He too\u00a0needs to get off to a good start to the season, which is a question mark considering his hip injury in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nChris Long is trying to recapture the form that made him one of the best defensive ends in the NFL. (USA TODAY Images)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

#2 DE Chris Long:<\/strong>
\nThe eight-year veteran turned down much more money elsewhere to sign a team-friendly one-year deal worth just $2.375 million dollars in 2016. Long, 31, was once one of the premiere defensive ends in the NFL but knee and ankle injuries have limited him to just 18 games with four sacks the past two seasons.<\/p>\n

With Chandler Jones being shipped off to Arizona in a trade, the onus will be on Long to return to form and pick up much of the slack. Long has never tasted the postseason in his career, and coming to the Patriots, a perennial AFC East Champion was a big part of the draw.<\/p>\n

The Patriots are hoping that a fresh start in New England will re-energize his career with the Pats much like Rodney Harrison, Andre Carter, Roman Phifer, Junior Seau and others have done under Bill Belichick. He\u2019ll be playing with a deep group of players including fellow defensive ends Rob Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard as well as last season\u2019s draft picks Geneo Grissom and Trey Flowers. So the pressure won\u2019t be on Long to be on the field for every snap.<\/p>\n

If he can find the level of play that netted him an\u00a0average\u00a075 combined quarterback sacks, hits and hurries\u00a0from 2010 to 2013, per Pro Football Focus, second only to\u00a0Cameron Wake’s 76 average over that span, then the Patriots will be in great shape.<\/p>\n

Long says he feels good and is looking forward to the challenge. “When I entered free agency, I said whatever team I end up on, I’m going to work,\u201d he told Patriots.com. I’ve worked as hard as humanly possible over the last eight years but I’m\u00a0going to find the next gear<\/a>, whatever it is. I’m very energized by just being a part of this thing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nJimmy Garoppolo is playing for his future…perhaps elsewhere in 2017. (USA TODAY Images)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

#1 QB Jimmy Garoppolo:<\/strong>
\nGaroppolo has been the ever-faithful clipboard holder for Tom Brady, and up to this point, that has been just fine with the Patriots. The Patriots drafted him out of Eastern Illinois in the 2nd<\/sup> round of the 2014 NFL Draft with the 62nd<\/sup> overall pick to backup Brady and he\u2019s done that.<\/p>\n

Now with the Deflategate 4-game suspension being put back into play by the courts, it seems as if Brady will sit for the first four games of the season. Pressure? Sitting in for an HOF QB with a team that many are already picking as the favorite for the Super Bowl?<\/p>\n

If Garoppolo didn\u2019t feel enough pressure, the Patriots drafted Jacoby Brissett in the 3rd<\/sup> round of the draft last weekend, and before he\u2019s even taken a snap in practice, many are anointing him as the new heir apparent to Brady.<\/p>\n

The trade rumors are already heating up for Garoppolo in 2017 so it looks like he\u2019s playing for his future in the first four games of the season. Playing for a perennial powerhouse team that isn\u2019t accustomed to losing, patience will wear thin with him quickly if things don’t go well, especially with home games against Miami and Buffalo in Weeks 2-3.<\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These five players will, unfairly or not be under the most pressure to produce or find themselves moving on from the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[892,799,48,152,34,929,18,204,16,14,17,15,514,45,44,47,70,8,38,201,117,36,13],"class_list":["post-6069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2016-patriots-draft","tag-2016-patriots-roster","tag-53-man-roster-projection","tag-aaron-dobson","tag-bill-belichick","tag-chris-long","tag-danny-amendola","tag-dion-lewis","tag-jabaal-sheard","tag-jimmy-garoppolo","tag-julian-edelman","tag-malcolm-butler","tag-marcus-cannon","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-rob-ninkovich","tag-tom-brady"],"yoast_head":"\nFive 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