The Waiting

Nothing to do now but wait for training camp to open five weeks from now. As Tom Petty noted, it’s the hardest part.

Nothing is perfect, of course, but it’s hard to imagine things having gone any better for the New England Patriots this offseason. I know Bill Belichick is right in his assessment of the obvious but I refuse to let my Pigskin Yoda harsh my buzz.

Sebastian Vollmer, Jerod Mayo, Big Vince, Tommy Kelly, Will Smith and Dominique Easley have all made it onto the practice field.

With Brandon Browner, Darrelle Revis, Kyle Arrington, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon and Devin McCourty the Patriots defensive backfield could easily be the best since Ty Law was locking down the left side and Rodney Harrison was bringing the pain. Maybe better.

Jamie Collins seems ready for his close up.

LB Steve Beauharnais and WRs Josh Boyce, Kenbrell Thompkins and Danny Amendola are “playing faster” in their second year in Foxborough

Julian Edelman’s 2013 looks like the new normal for him.

What am I forgetting?

Oh, right. Gronk may be ready to go Week 1.

The bad news?

Aaron Dobson’s foot, Alfonzo Dennard’s shoulder and it turns out Jimmy Garoppolo may need a redshirt year. That and the fact there just aren’t enough roster spots to go around. Intriguing young players like WR Jeremy Gallon, RB Roy Finch, OTA superstar CB Daxton Swanson, DE Zach Moore and TE Justin Jones may not have a seat when the music stops playing. Well, not in Foxborough, anyway.

A lot of teams would like to have the Patriots’ problems. Three of them play in the AFC East…

J-E-T-S (You know the rest)…

In Florham Park, Michael Vick is still talking Super Bowl even as he and presumptive starter Geno Smith are going a combined 4-13 in team drills. Love the rationalization that this was really all about the young playmakers in the Jets’ defensive backfield (for context, remember Tom Brady is throwing against Revis and Browner). Chris Johnson has barely made it onto the practice field but that hasn’t stopped him from predicting a second 2,000-yard rushing season. These guys spend an awful lot of time talking about themselves or is that just me? Not that Rex Ryan would be unhappy if Johnson can make those numbers happen. Because CJ2K led the Tennessee Titans to a Super Bowl when he rushed for 2,006 yards back in 2009, right?

The NYJ continue to look like a train wreck waiting to happen and I am sitting patiently by the tracks. At a safe distance, of course; this could get messy.

Michael Vick would also like us all to know that he revolutionized the QB position, serving as the prototype for all of those running QBs who dominate the modern NFL. You know, QBs like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees…

Wait a minute.

I’m not so sure Vick knows what revolutionized means.

Michael Vick has been talking a lot this offseason and it’s hard to characterize his public statements as “saying all the right things.” His pronouncement that he could take the Jets to the Super Bowl implied that Geno Smith cannot. His announcement that there was no “open competition” for the starting QB spot implied he was led to believe otherwise and worse; that the Jets might not be putting the best team possible on the playing field come September. That’s got to resonate with veterans on the Jets’ roster.

Maybe the Jets told Michael Vick they’d give him a fair shot at the starting QB gig and maybe he believed them. Maybe no other team was messed up enough at QB to give him a chance and he had to sign with the Jets. (The Houston Texans would rather have Ryan Fitzpatrick under center than Michael Vick. Seriously. That’s got to sting.) Geno Smith could still underperform or get hurt. (Vick has got to have a Voodoo doll of Geno Smith. I’m pretty sure Vick is still connected. Vick could call a guy who could call a guy who could find an actual Voodoo priest who could make a Voodoo doll of Geno Smith. If I was in Vick’s place that Voodoo doll would look like Pinhead from the Hellraiser movies.) Vick could still get a chance to play meaningful snaps for the Jets in 2014. (Nobody’s confusing Geno Smith with Nick Foles, after all.)

Were the Jets just a fragile, turnover-prone QB away from the Super Bowl?

If so, didn’t they already have their answer in Geno Smith?

It’s not a dry heat…

In South Beach, it’s been all about turning the page; putting 2013 in the rear view. Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin are both gone and the offensive line has been rebuilt from the ground up. WR Mike Wallace and DE/LB Dion Jordon have a chance to make amends for underwhelming freshman seasons in aqua and orange. And Ryan Tannehill gets to learn a new offensive system which is good news insofar as the offensive system they were running in Miami the first two years of Tannehill’s career was just that; offensive.

The Dolphins are another one of those teams that are going to play faster on offense in 2014, with new OC Bill Lazor bringing Chip Kelly’s shock and awe-fence attack to Miami. Who knows? That may work. But running a mediocre offense faster doesn’t strike this observer as the best strategy; you’re giving your defense even less rest by going three and out in under a minute.

The imminent loss of Knowshon Moreno will hurt but Tannehill does have reliable “move the chains” options in TE Charles Clay and WR Brian Hartline as long as that new and improved offensive line can keep him clean. Given the level of coordination and communication involved in successful offensive line play and the fact there are three or four new starters involved, I’d be worried about false starts, missed assignments leading to sacks and holding penalties running the no huddle.

Is the Dolphins’ offense a match up nightmare? One of the advantages to playing no huddle is to keep the other team’s defense from making situational substitutions. Is there a skill player on Miami’s offense that keeps opposing defensive coordinators up at night?

Buffalo Soldiers

It’s all about EJ Manuel in western New York. And rookie WR Sammy Watkins. And their defensive front seven.

Manuel wasn’t particularly impressive in minicamp. We’re cautioned not to read too much into what happens until they put the pads on but it’s always better to hear your franchise QB was looking sharp in 7 on 7 work. Interceptions on underthrown passes into double coverage on the other hand are a bit disconcerting and difficult to dismiss. A story about how much better 3^rd string QB Jeff Tuel is playing is probably just summer time filler and a dot that can’t and shouldn’t be connected.

QB-WR chemistry ain’t easy and the challenge is compounded by youth in the case of Manuel and Watkins. There’s plenty of pressure on 1^st round picks generally but the Bills mortgaged their future to secure Sammy Watkins. (Okay, next year’s 1^st and 4^th isn’t so much mortgaging the future as opening a line of credit with an 18% APR.) It’s unfair but the expectations for Watkins lie somewhere between A.J. Green and Jerry Rice.

C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson are still the key for Buffalo’s offense. A productive running game will take pressure off Manuel and Watkins and keep the Bills’ impressive defense fresh. It’s old timey football. The Bills should wear throwback uniforms all season long in 2014 and I don’t mean Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas, I mean Jack Kemp and Cookie Gilchrist.