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New England Patriots 53 man roster - some thoughts

We stay with 2 QB's, LB is a bit weak, TE will be a position to watch, OL is stacked on the interior...let's break it down position by position (props to NESilver for his comment in this thread)

Offense: 25

  • QB: Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer (2) - Odd we keep only 2, but that could change when the season starts.
  • RB: Laurence Maroney, Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, BenJarvus Green-Ellis (5) - Solid group.
  • WR: Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Joey Galloway, Greg Lewis, Saim Aiken, Julian Edelman (6) - Break out the air raid sirens. Edelman looked like "Little Welker".
  • TE: Benjamin Watson, Chris Baker, Michael Matthews (3) - Like this group, Matthews is a big man which must mean "blocking TE". Baker has good hands which we haven't seen in NE TE's for a long time.
  • OL: Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Nick Kaczur, Sebastian Vollmer, Rich Ohrnberger, Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell (9) - Deep on the interior, Vollmer is the next stud.

Defense: 25

  • DL: Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, Jarvis Green, Ron Brace, Mike Wright, Myron Pryor (7) - Liking the depth, glad to see Pryor make the roster
  • DE/OLB: Derrick Burgess, Tully Banta-Cain (2) - Can you say, "4-3?" I knew you could. Here comes the pass rush.
  • LB: Adalius Thomas, Jerod Mayo, Gary Guyton, Pierre Woods, Eric Alexander, Rob Ninkovich (6) - Might be considered a little thin, possibly why NE is experimenting with a 4-3.
  • CB: Leigh Bodden, Shawn Springs, Jonathan Wilhite, Darius Butler, Terrence Wheatley (5) - Wheatley barely hung on to his spot. I hope a "shutdown corner" emerges.
  • S: Brandon Meriweather, James Sanders, Patrick Chung, Brandon McGowan, Matthew Slater (5) - Good group, although Slater will, most likely, be IR'd.

Specialists: 3

  • K: Stephen Gostkowski - What can I say? One of the best kickers in the league. A machine through the uprights and consistently boots kickoffs into the endzone.
  • P: Chris Hanson - Game changer. Massive hangtime and very good accuracy.
  • LS: Jake Ingram - Many laughed when Hoodie drafted Ingram. The rookie wins the long snapper battle.

Injured Reserve

  • OLB: Shawn Crable - Depressing. The dude can't catch a break.
  • RB: Chris Taylor
  • OL: George Bussey - Adds depth for next year.
  • LB: Tyrone McKenzie - Looking forward to seeing him inside for 2010.