Roster

who does he have to compete against? Doesn’t he currently have the #4 spot?

WR – In the patriots offense, which is a three reciever set, theres an X, Y, and Z (Slot). Moss is the X, because hes the best guy we have obviously. Hes everything you look for in an X reciever. Tall; Fast; Great hands; Smooth route runner; And Moss’ greatest attribute, he is immune to double coverage. The Y reciever, which this year will more than likely be Galloway, pending an injury-free training camp, can be a number of different types of players. Ideally, the Y reciever is someone who can stretch the field ala Donte Stallworth when he was here. The Y reciever in NE is prototypically our 3rd best WR, even though its listed as our #2. The Z reciever, Welker, is the most important WR in the Patriots offense. Say what you want about Moss’ importance to the team, but the reason he doesnt see double or triple coverage EVERY play is because of the presence of Welker. Hes the safety valve for Brady. When you cant get the ball to whomever the play is designed for, Welker is the man to look to. All of this is common sense, im sure, as all it takes is a look at the statistics. Lewis was brought in to spell out guys and hold down the #4 spot, which does get used frequently, however, I wouldnt expect anything over 350 yards and 3-4 TDs from Lewis this year. Im really big on Galloway, even though were basically renting him for 1 season.

RB – While everyone is talking about Maroney as though hes a dead man walking in NE, I dont see it. I think hes doing exactly what hes been asked of so far. We dont ask for a 1500 yard RB anymore. The injuries have been frustrating with him, it would be nice to see him last an entire year, but like someone said earlier, his shoulder injury has been bugging him; you can tell; just watch tape from him pre-injury and from post-injury. He isnt as bruising and he tends to not fight as hard now. However, thats the beauty of our offense, we are a true RB by committee approach. We may not have one guy get 1500 yards, but we’ll have 3 or 4 guys combine for 1800 yards. It keeps everyone fresh, but kills any chance of one guy earning a big payday or a pro bowl roster spot. Also, NE really has no need for a FB, as that spot is taken by either a fourth reciever or second TE. So we can afford to keep 5 RBs this year, as we did last. Maroney, Faulk, Taylor, Morris, and “Law Firm”. I dont see us dumping Green-Ellis because he has tremendous upside. Really, I think the guys with the biggest risk of being let go are Morris, Faulk, or Maroney. But thats only if we draft someone, which contrary to Mel Kiper and all his genious (Naaaattt), I dont see happening. How many times has anyone seen anything Mel Kiper says come to fruitition in the draft? If he was such a good scout, someone would have offered him a job to run their draft.

S – I dont see Rodney coming back to us. Hes just not the same player anymore. Dont get me wrong, Im a huge fan of his. I love his play, and i think alot of why people dont like how he plays is because he was so good. However, I do think its time to start developing different players. Its time for Merriweather to take a bigger role. Its time for Sanders to step up.

CB – While the addition of Springs and Bodden strengthened what was our weakest spot on defense last year, it didnt put it to rest altogether. Springs is intelligent, and thats what we look for in our CBs. Speed isnt a necessity (Otis Smith?) if you have the intelligence and experience to cover a reciever. However, by no means can he be viewed as a long term solution. He was brought in to play, but I think having Wheatley and Wilhite learn from someone of his insight is just as important to us. As for Bodden, he could fare well or he could end up like the countless other corners we’ve brought in to “resusitate” their careers and have failed. He did good in Cleveland, under Romeo Crennels defense, and got traded to Detroit, and then didnt show up. Maybe it was the scheme in Detroit; maybe it was the losing atmosphere; at any rate, we dont know what we have at this point in him. Hobbs is a good corner, not a #1 corner, but a good corner. If we had the right people he should be our #2 or slot cover corner. Hes playing our #1 because hes the best of the guys we have. Im very high on Wheatley. I think when he matures he will do great things for us. I havent seen enough of Wilhite to give a judgment on him. But from what i hear he has potential too.

Odds and ends – OL is a need for us. A big need. And i see us using a couple picks on it this year. DL wont be a need if we can get our own guys resigned. But drafting for the future now will cause less of a worry. As for TE.. lets be honest, they dont do too much for us in our offense. Yeah im sure if we had a great one wed use him alot, but playing a three reciever set takes alot away from them. If Watson would step up we wouldnt need to talk about getting a TE. I dont see it as worth taking with our #1 pick though, as that should be devoted to one of the LBs available (cross your fingers we get Maualuga) or a DL (Tyson Jackson anyone?) Even a OT would work.

Well i think ive covered just about everything i wanted to.