The Big Questions

All questions are answered in time. Not that you’ll care about the other questions after you get the answer to, “When happens when I die?”

 

Some questions are bigger than others, of course. Aside from health – a concern not only for me but for every team in the NFL – New  England’s questions pale when compared with those facing most franchises. That’s the good news. That doesn’t mean finding the answers to these questions isn’t vital. The distance between good and great may be small but the traverse is still far more difficult than the journey from bad to good.

The Quarterback Question

The offseason has been spent by pigskin pundits and bobbleheads trying to figure out if they’re queuing up behind the premise that Tom Brady is so totally over or if TB12 is still a Top 5 player; not just a Top 5 QB but one of the five best players at any position.

Every game Brady plays this season will be a chapter in this story. When he throws for 300+ yards and 3+ TD passes he’ll be praised; when he throws for less than 250 and more picks than TDs he’ll be vilified. In both cases, the pigskin pundits and bobbleheads will really be saying, “See! I was right! Look at me!”

The excuses/rationalizations/explanations for Brady’s 2013 season have been well documented; injuries, inexperienced wide receivers, an offensive line that produced historically bad advanced stats. Injuries can’t be predicted, of course, but those inexperienced wide receivers now have a full year in the system and HC Bill Belichick invested heavily in offensive linemen in the 2014 draft. Aaron Dobson, Kenbrell Thompkins, Josh Boyce and Danny Amendola will be better in their second year in Foxborough. As for the offensive line, it will be hard for them to play worse than they did in 2013.

So, it’s all good, right?

As Bill Belichick would say, we’ll see how it works out.

Count me as one who thinks we’ll see 2012 Brady in 2014 and not just because of more consistency in the wide receivers, better offensive line play and a much improved defense. Tom Brady may have lost a little hop on his fastball but he showed in 2013 that he hasn’t lost any of the competitive fire, work ethic or leadership skills that have made him the greatest 6^th round pick in the history of the NFL.

The Other Quarterback Question

Patriots Today recently asked if New England would keep three QBs on the 2014 roster. The consensus is the Patriots will keep incumbent backup Ryan Mallett and rookie Jimmy Garoppolo to back up Tom Brady. New England has had the luxury of an additional roster spot with only Mallett on the depth chart and keeping three QBs will have an impact on the back end of the roster. I’ll hate seeing Roy Finch or Jeremy Gallon in a Jets or Dolphins uniform. Neither one of those guys will make it to the practice squad.

The reasoning for keeping three QBs seems to be that going into 2013 with only a rookie backing up Tom Brady would be irresponsible. I wonder if it really matters. If Brady should go down for 3-4 games then maybe Mallett’s experience helps the Patriots win a couple of games till Brady can get back on the field but if Brady is lost for the season, would you count on Mallett to play well enough for New England to win the Super Bowl?

I’m already on record; Garoppolo will play well in the preseason and convince everyone Mallett’s roster spot would be better filled with (let’s say) Nate Ebner. As noted above, watching Garoppolo trot out to the huddle while Brady is carried off to the locker room seems hardly more terrifying than seeing Mallett in that same scenario. If anything, the current Patriots receiving corps seems more compatible with Garoppolo’s quick release than Mallett’s pigskin howitzer.

Let me entertain another possibility. What if it’s Mallett who lights up the preseason? Something like 65% completion rate, 5+ TD, 1 interception, 7.5+ yards per attempt. His trade value would never be higher. Forget the Houston Texans, there’s another team in Texas, run by a fellow University of Arkansas alumni, with a quarterback coming off back surgery. What if Tony Romo can’t go and Kyle Orton decides he’d rather stay home? I’d also like St. Louis in this scenario (Sam Bradford is made of spun sugar) as a possible destination for Mallett if he shows he’s ready for his close up.

I hope I’m right about Garoppolo but if I had to bet the mortgage on the outcome I’d take the Patriots keeping three quarterbacks in 2014.

Sorry, Nate.

The Moveable Pieces

James Develin isn’t making many early roster projections but Develin is the kind of player Bill Belichick loves. He’s the very definition of roster flexibility. He’s a fullback for all intents and purposes but he could also provide depth at tight end and he’ll have a role on special teams. I wouldn’t be surprised if the former college defensive end took a few snaps in training camp at linebacker where the Patriots have some depth concerns.

Develin’s fate is not his to control alone, of course. Will former Mackey Award winner D.J. Williams start to show returns on his promising college career? That would help solidify the tight end position.

Williams had a short, nondescript 2013 with the Patriots after starting the year in Jacksonville. He’s been saying all the right things during the offseason; taking responsibility for his underwhelming NFL career, verbally committing to the work necessary to get on the field and contribute in 2014. Could Williams and Ryan Mallett – his college quarterback – help each other out this preseason?

Michael Hoomanawanui or Williams could take snaps at fullback, often the starting position for the move tight end. Will we see Brandon LaFell line up in the backfield? Could rookie RB Stephen Houston take a few snaps at fullback?

That seems unlikely; why not just keep an extra lineman to line up at fullback or tight end in goal line situations?

Okay, that’s a rhetorical question because I think that’s just what the Patriots will do. They have better options at other positions than D.J. Williams, Asa Watkins or Justin Jones at tight end.

Can Jamie Collins be as Good as the Hype?

Yes.

Will Dominique Easley Make a Run at Defensive Rookie of the Year?

Please, God, yes.

Will Rob Gronkowski Stay on the Field in 2014?

If I knew the answer to that question (and the answer was yes) I would’ve already booked my flight and hotel for Super Bowl XLIX.

Who is the Feel Good Story of 2014?

Because the New England Patriots are run as a meritocracy, every year there’s a 7^th round pick, an undrafted free agent or a castoff from another team who makes the Final 53. This year, WR Jeremy Gallon, RB Roy Finch, CB Daxton Swanson, DE Zach Moore and TE Justin Jones have made early claims to a place in our hearts and our game day programs.

The numbers at WR and RB do not argue in Gallon’s or Finch’s favor as much as recent trends in NFL offensive schemes do. Teams like New Orleans, Philadelphia, Denver and Green Bay or any of the teams trying so hard to emulate them aren’t waiting for the Patriots to cut Brandon Bolden or Brandon LaFell. Gallon and Finch are game-breakers, a threat to score from anywhere on the field. If Gallon or Finch is cut, they won’t make it to the practice squad. The worst case scenario is Gallon in Miami, where he becomes everything Mike Wallace was supposed to be and Finch winds up playing for the Jets, where he totals 8 TDs as their 3^rd down back.

Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. Let’s hope Bolden winds up providing depth for the Jets running game and LaFell winds up re-signing with the Panthers while Finch becomes Darren Sproles 2.0 with Gallon doing a fair impersonation of Deion Branch.

The numbers don’t look good for Daxton Swanson at CB, either. Not with the addition of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. Not with promising young talent like Logan Ryan, Alfonzo Dennard and Justin Green, slot specialist Kyle Arrington and rookie Jemea Thomas. Swanson flashed impressive ball skills in OTAs but he might not have gotten those reps had Dennard not been recovering from shoulder surgery. Revis, Browner, Ryan and Arrington look like locks for the Final 53 at cornerback. After that, it’s Swanson, Dennard and Thomas in an open competition for two roster spots.

Unlike Gallon and Finch, Swanson’s chances for folk hero status is far more limited unless something catastrophic happens involving Darrelle Revis.

I’m going to pretend I didn’t just say that.

As for gigantic rookies Moore and Jones, the early returns have hardly roused local poets to celebrate the first step of their journeys to Canton. Zach Moore may shine more brightly once the young DE puts on his pads in training camp but TE Justin Jones apparent inability to tell his left from his right in under two tries during OTAs hardly bodes well for his long-term future with Patriots. I’m still hoping Jones is the anti-Sudfeld; rather than start fast and fade, perhaps Jones will build on his slow start and continue to develop throughout training camp and preseason. Okay, wishful thinking; I’ve already mastered the spelling of “Hoomanawanui” (actually not that hard, it’s spelled just like it sounds, after all). Maybe Jones makes it to the practice squad. Fingers crossed!

As much as I’d like to see New England find an effective and equally enormous compliment to Rob Gronkowski at tight end, DE Zach Moore’s potential may be far more important. Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich are highly effective starters who had to play too many snaps in 2013 and appeared to fade in the playoffs. Michael Buchanan, who flashed potential as a rookie and free agent signee Will Smith should help with the snap count but it’s Moore’s measurables, athleticism and upside (yes, I’ll go there) that has already led me to giddy comparisons to David “Deacon” Jones. Yes, as I’ve admitted before, it’s totally unfair to compare a rookie from a DIII school who hasn’t yet taken the field to the greatest defensive end who ever played the game (you know I’m right so just shut up about Reggie White and Bruce Smith already). Having said that, what if?

What if the kid has game? What if the Patriots could put a young, fast, athletic “NASCAR” front on the field in passing downs with Jones, Moore, Easley and Buchanan? With Jamie Collins and Jerod Mayo at linebacker and Revis, Browner, Arrington at DB with Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon at safety, we’re getting off the field on 3^rd Down 2014.

And we'll dance on the sidelines...