Upside

As is usually the case (with the notable exception of the Chandler Jones Dont’a Hightower draft), Patriots Nation is hating on Bill Belichick like he was coming off back to back 5-11-0 seasons and traded away the pick that could’ve been Jadeveon Clowney or Sammy Watkins. If he’s so smart, how come he didn’t beat the Jets to Jace Amaro? Instead of a QB we hope never plays a snap for the next three years, why not more weapons for Brady like WR Jarvis Landry or faux TE Jace Amaro?

Maybe a better question is this: If all the haters are right, how does New England keep winning the AFC East and making a run at the Super Bowl year after year?

 

Okay, I like the sexy, too. I’d like to see Sammy Watkins or Odell Beckham catching passes from Tom Brady but the ineluctable fact is that Tom Terrific can’t throw a pass without a little bit better protection than he got last year. Yes, Brady’s struggles in 2013 were due in large part to the learning curve of his revamped receiving corps but he also was pressured and sacked at an alarming rate. Given this, shoring up the offensive line was probably the best thing the Patriots could’ve done in the draft and they did so with three rather large young men in Bryan Stork, Jon Halapio and Cameron Fleming. If free agent guard Davin Joseph winds up signing with the Pats (perhaps unlikely with the Halapio pick and the possibility Marcus Cannon could move to guard with the return of Sebastian Vollmer to right tackle), the center/guard position could go from a liability to a strength.

Better protection and a second year in the program for Aaron Dobson, Kenbrell Thompkins, Josh Boyce and Danny Amendola and TB12 could easily return to MVP form in 2014.

Admittedly, a lot depends on the return of players who went down with injuries or illness in 2013. Vollmer, Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly, Armond Armstead, Jerod Mayo and Rob Gronkowski represent an impressive list of football talent (and here is where I should add the obligatory “when healthy”). I suppose we should add free agent Will “Not the Fresh Prince” Smith and #1 pick Dominique Easley to that list as well.

So why am I feeling so good about the upcoming season?

First of all, the Patriots went 12-4-0 last year, won the AFC East and made it to the AFC Championship without any of those guys. Think of it this way, if the Patriots had just picked Vollmer, Wilfork, Kelly, Armstead, Mayo, Gronkowski, Smith and Easley; what would you think of that draft? You’d be pretty happy with that infusion of talent wouldn’t you? Okay, you just drafted the all ACL team, so, grain or two of salt there.

But (secondly) ACL tears ain’t what they used to be. As I’ve been reminded by several pigskin pundits and bobbleheads, Frank Gore tore both his ACLs in college, too. It’s hard for me to assess the stresses placed on a running back’s knee ligaments in making sharp cuts vs. a defensive tackle running a stunt with a defensive end (I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV) but it’s clear that Gore not only recovered his college injuries; he went on to excel in the NFL. If Easley can do the same and the pigskin cognoscenti were correct in calling him a Top 15 talent, he could have a Pro Bowl career and turn Bill Belichick from idiot to idiot savant. Maybe Easley isn’t the DROY for 2014 but maybe he gets a mention? And if Gronkowski and Smith play to their career averages in 2014, we’d all be pretty happy, wouldn’t we?

Yes, plenty of if’s and maybe’s in that last paragraph. There always are in any best case scenario.

Thirdly (thirdly?) and finally, there are some intriguing prospects joining the Patriots…

Danny Woodhead 2.0

Shane Vereen was tabbed to take Woodhead’s snaps in 2013 and when he was available he was productive as a 3^rd down back but Vereen never really produced those “run for 18 on third and 17 moments” that Woodhead seemed to create on a regular basis. We used to say of Woodhead, “You can’t tackle what you can’t see.” The diminutive Woodhead would disappear behind the much larger offensive linemen and slip through the smallest of openings. When he hit the next level, linebackers and defensive backs were in “where is he?” mode. Woodhead was often behind the linebackers before they could locate Woodhead. Woody wasn’t going to run away from the defensive backs but he was going to get 18 when you needed 17. First down.

Enter UDFA RB Roy Finch.

If you believed Woodhead was actually 5’ 7” then Finch is even smaller, though a little faster and perhaps a bit stronger (though I’m not sure I’d go so far as “Danny Woodhead turned Hulk”). He comes from a shotgun passing offense at Oklahoma. If you check out his highlights (via link, above), you’ll see him run a lot of the same plays that were Woodhead’s bread and butter.

Even when Vereen was on the field last year (and clearly when he wasn’t), there were situations where the Patriots obviously missed Danny Woodhead. ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss rang that bell all year long, noting Woodhead as a case where New England only needed to stack a few more Benjamins to match his value to the Pats offense/the Chargers offer and keep Woodhead in Foxborough.

Can Finch fill Woodhead’s shoes? As Bill Belichick has said about this year’s draftees, we’ll see how it goes. Personally, I’m guessing they both wear size 7s.

With Finch and draft pick James White (whose role model is Brian Dawkins), the Patriots could run everything out of the shotgun. The two tight end offense? So 2012.

Deacon Jones, Jr.

No doubt I’m being overly optimistic here (if not downright sacrilegious) using one of the greatest defensive ends of all time as a comp but Zach Moore certainly looks the part; big, rangy, fast, small school background and a late round pick.

Is it too much to ask that Moore becomes a Hall of Fame DE/OLB, breaking records for sacks and blocked kicks along the way? Well yeah, sure it is. I’m not clinically insane. It’s clearly wishful thinking and it will probably take some time for Moore to develop but with Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich and Will Smith to mentor Moore, he’s in a good place to convert his impressive physical gifts into on field production. If Moore can contribute and Michael Buchanan improves on an inconsistent rookie year, the Patriots might finally have the deep and highly effective pass rush in 2014 that Patriots fans have been dreaming of since 2004.

I’m looking at you, Peyton Manning.

Height Ain’t Nothin’ but a Number

If he was even 5’ 11” he probably would’ve been a first round pick, given his senior year numbers, but Jeremy Gallon is just 5’ 7½”. Pigskin cognoscenti have already consigned Gallon to the slot but at Michigan he played on the outside. He isn’t that much smaller than Steve Smith, who has played outside the numbers over his long and productive career.

Aaron Dobson’s fluky foot is going to give someone an opportunity this summer and Gallon looks more than capable of taking advantage.

Height Ain’t Nothin’ but a Number, Part 2

Remember how excited we were last summer about Zach “Baby Gronk” Sudfeld?

I’m trying to use that disappointment to temper my excitement about gigantic UDFA TE Justin Jones. First of all, he hasn’t played football in a year, as he was academically ineligible for his senior season at East Carolina (I thought Belichick only drafted smart football players). Second of all, did I mention Zach Sudfeld?

Jones may not be the sharpest tool in the box but he ran a 6.88 three cone drill. Remember, he was hauling 6’ 8” and 280 pounds of man around those little orange cones. Skill position players run sub-7; Rob Gronkowski ran a 7.18. Freakishly athletic? Freakishly athletic. If Jones can block and win 50/50 balls in the red zone, he’ll find a home in Foxborough but if this is just a case of a guy who’s got more football IQ than book smarts, New England could have the Gronk insurance it so desperately needs.

Linebacker Depth

He played at Iowa for Belichick BFF Kirk Ferentz. Bleacher Report comped him to Brandon Spikes. (Without the crazy. There was no mention of crazy.) I’d be happy if James Morris was the next Dane Fletcher. Very happy. Morris ran a sub-7 three cone drill (6.94) at the combine and was a tackling machine for the Hawkeyes as a three-year starter.

It couldn’t hurt to have fellow UDFA LB Cameron Gordon turn out to be a player in the Anthony Pleasant mold. Gordon played in a big-time program at Michigan and ran a (wait for it) 6.74 in the three cone drill. Bill Belichick loves him some three cone drill.

Okay, so they’re not C.J. Mosley or Ryan Shazier. So what? The Patriots already have Jerod Mayo, Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins. They need a Brandon Spikes and a Dane Fletcher and maybe Morris or Gordon can be that.

Hey, not all dreams come true.

But some do.