I guess all good things do come to an end. Godspeed Deion Branch. Matt Cassel is going to love you. Here’s to all the good times, Dan Koppen. Some team out there needs a center. Some team always needs a center.
We’re almost there. Still the practice squad to fill out. Always the possibility the Patriots would pick up a player cut by another team or – perhaps less likely – make a trade. A number of reports have New England saving that 53rd roster spot for Brian Winters. Wishful thinking? Perhaps.
More disappointing than the Branch cut? Seeing speedster Jeff Demps placed on IR.
So, what are we thinking this fine New England Saturday, a cool breeze stirring the leaves, whispers of autumn promising pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin-flavored coffee, pumpkin bread and pigskins?
Are two quarterbacks enough? Well, Belichick has gone with 2 QBs before. It seemed, given the less than promising preseason performance by the offensive line that Brian Hoyer would’ve had more value. Then again, did we think that Hoyer could lead the Patriots to the playoffs in a 2008 scenario? Anyone? Yeah, no, not so much. Rumor has it the Pats tried to trade Hoyer but there were no takers. That should tell those of us who believe in the invisible hand of the marketplace all we need to know. Cutting Hoyer opened up a spot the Patriots needed more than they needed someone who could lead the Patriots to an 8-8-0 record.
Defense wins championships? Defense wins championships. The current New England roster features 6 defensive ends, 5 defensive tackles, 6 linebackers, 6 cornerbacks and 4 safeties. It’s hard to say who wound up taking Hoyer’s or Branch’s roster spots but it seems reasonable to assume that UDFA DE Justin Francis, UDFA DT Marcus Forston, 3rd round pick DE Jake Bequette or 7th round CB Alfonzo Dennard would not have cleared waivers and made it to the practice squad. Looking over the names on the defensive side of the ball, there really aren’t any head scratchers. The talent is there to make a significant improvement on the defensive side of the ball in 2012. (Just keep repeating that last sentence; it’s working for me.)
Who is the #3 wide receiver? The Patriots kept 4 tight ends (Gronk, Hernandez, Daniel Fells and Visanthe Shiancoe – who I have yet to add to my spellcheck dictionary). Is Aaron Hernandez really a TE or a WR? He’s certainly one of the top four options for Brady (with Welker, Gronk and Brandon Lloyd). Taking a step back and considering Hernandez’s abilities it’s easy to see why Branch was let go. Did we have confidence in Deion coming off the bench for a few snaps? Sure, but Julian Edelman and Matthew Slater have value on special teams and let’s face it, the fewer times they line up on offense, the better.
Who will return kickoffs? If you’re like me, you had Jeff Demps penciled in for this assignment and were looking forward to a watching him sprint down the sidelines for a TD. I just don’t see a lot of good options here. Danny Woodhead? No. I’m tired of Tom Brady and the offense starting drives on the 14-yard line. Shane Vereen? May be unfair to call him fragile but he’s had a little too much downtime in his brief NFL career. Still, I like him better than Woodhead. Edelman is better suited to returning punts and Slater has the speed but I get the feeling he’s better covering than returning kicks (3 fumbles on 26 career returns). Despite his issues fielding punts, I’m intrigued by UDFA RB Brandon Bolden who has a north-south mentality in his running style well-suited to returning kicks.
Breaking down the AFC East
I do fear Tim Tebow. I do. There’s no reasonable explanation for what he does but he does it anyway. He’s a career .214 hitter winning the World Series with a bottom of the 9th walk off homerun only he does it every Sunday. I’d much rather see Mark Sanchez on the field. As a Patriots’ fan I can only hope Jets’ management keeps telling themselves it was Sanchez – and not their defense – that took them to back-to-back AFC Championship losses. Meanwhile, I don’t get all the secrecy regarding the Wildcat. Was the premise that if other teams saw the Wildcat in the preseason they’d be able to prepare for it for the regular season? If so, what happens after Week 1 when everyone has seen it? Is that when everyone remembers why the 31 other teams in the NFL look for a quarterback who can stand in the pocket, make good decisions and complete 60% of their passes? Is Santonio Holmes demand a trade to the Cleveland Browns, hoping to join a team with a better chance at the playoffs? We have every reason to believe the Jets’ defense will be stout but how many games can the NYJ win 4-3?
The Buffalo Bills have the best defensive line in the NFL and that will be true until the week Mario Williams suffers his inevitable season-ending injury. As for the offense, I don’t see that much difference between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Mark Sanchez. Yeah, that’s not something Bills’ fans want to hear. The Bills will go as far as Fred Jackson can carry them.
Maybe Hard Knocks wasn’t a good choice for a team with a new Head Coach and a new Quarterback of the Future and a roster that needs names on the front and back of their jerseys. Even if the Miami organization had taken a left turn toward competency they’d still be a few years from relevance. Did I say years? I meant light years.
No comments:
Post a Comment