Who am I to question Bill Belichick? In fact, who am I to question anyone, for that matter? But, this one has me on the fence. Had Tank been in the Patriots system for a few years, you may not have seen him on the field for more than a few plays. However, a veteran of other squads, the coaching staff needed to see what he had and what happened? Whammo! Boff! Boom! He's on IR with a knee injury. I'm really bummed about this one. Tank was never projected to start at safety; those roles are owned by Meriweather and Harrison. But, Tank could've filled that magical hybrid role of safety/cornerback. He would've played that "in between" nickel spot during pass defenses so critical for backing up the corners and giving the safeties time to react. He would've given offenses fits. But NOOOOOOOO!! Tank's season is effectively over. I was looking forward to seeing him play.
The pickup of Jeff Shoate is a mystery to me. Do we really need to carry 9 cornerbacks? You read that right NINE! Most assuredly, some number of them will be cut. What did BB see last Thursday that caused him to pull in another corner? What does he know that we don't know? Tons probably, but I'm not seeing it right now. Head...itch...scratching.
DE Richard Seymour seems to be back. On Thursday, he drew a holding penalty that lead to Adalius Thomas' strip sack. Richard had this to say recently:
I'm feeling stronger. I feel good, just ready to get the season rolling," he said. "At the same time, there is a lot of work we have to do, a lot of fine-tuning. We're excited about the season coming up, and we're looking forward to finishing the season.
Seymour is one of the best DEs in the league and it's good to see him having a productive preseason. Big, smart and experienced, he'll be unstoppable if he stays healthy.
Junior Seau and the team have yet to decide if he'll be back:
"Yeah, we talked, but again there is nothing to report," Seau responded. "Obviously, I have to be healthy enough to get in there and perform at a high level and right now I'm not ready."
At the end of the interview, Seau also pointed out that even if he could return, the Patriots would have to have a need for his services.
I like Junior. I like him a lot. I just don't see where he fits at this point. If Belichick brings him back, it would be a nostalgia move and not one based on logic, IMO.
Finally, there's 3 public training camp sessions left: tue-thu, 2:30-4:30. Given the weather forecast for Foxboro, it looks like Wednesday will be the only day with a ray of hope.