Shane Foley
Connector Editor
The Patriots preseason could be described as turbulent at best, with many secondary players seeing a lot of playing time to make the 53-man roster. Unfortunately, the end of the preseason may have left us with more questions than answers.
First of all, we know Brady is back, but we aren’t sure who he will be throwing to. Last year, Julian Edleman was Brady’s best friend, catching 105 balls thrown by him. He will most likely be the number one option this season, even with the acquisition of Brandon LaFell. Danny Amendola is slated to be Brady’s main slot receiver, but with a history of injury and a risky style of play, that spot is arguably not solidified. Behind Amendola, Kenbrell Thompkins was the next guy on the draft chart, but Aaron Dobson’s stock may rise after his 57 yards against the New York Giants, including a 33-yard touchdown.
Dobson and Amendola both had seasons cut short last year due to injury. The other player who we were anxious to see return to the playing field was Rob Gronkowski, but his status is still fairly uncertain at this point. He was able to practice in full pads, but was left off the starting roster of the final preseason game against the Giants. It is impossible to know whether it was due to his injury, or just simply because the Pats rested their starters.
Running the football may also be a cause for concern for the Patriots. We said goodbye this season to Legarrette Blount, who racked up 772 yards last year, which was one less than leading rusher Steven Ridley’s 773, though Blount had 25 less carries. With Blount in Pittsburgh, Ridley will most likely get the job, even though his competition, Brandon Bolden and Shane Vereen, each averaged more yards per carry last year. Ridley also has a tendency to fumble the football in key situations. Look for Vereen to be a passing option as usual, while Bolden will most likely be a 3rd down back, but these are certainly not set in stone.
Then, as usual, the Patriots defense will be a work in progress this year. A unit not new to criticism got a major upgrade with the acquisitions of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. However, they also moved Rob Ninkovich back to defensive end.
With Dominique Easley, the defensive tackle they drafted from Florida, playing with Chandler Jones and Vince Wilfork, we may see some more four down linemen packages from Belichick and the boys.
Finally, the preseason showed interesting developments in the sweepstakes for Brady’s backup quarterback position. Jimmy Garoppolo, rookie from Eastern Illinois, dominated the playing time of the preseason, including an entire 60 minutes against the Giants in their latest game. Apparantly this was enough to seperate himself from now former second string qb, Ryan Mallet. Mallet was traded to the Houston Texans for a 6th round draft pick on Sunday, firmly placing Garoppolo in the number two qb slot behind Brady.
It may be impossible to predict exactly who will be on the field to open the Patriots season in week one in Miami. Then again, with Belichick at the helm, when have we ever been able to?
