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BigKen
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I was watching a short take on this year's New England Patriots and for the first time someone took a cold, Hard look at what the team has to deal with, with training camp opening next week.
1. Tom Brady suspended for the first four games of the regular season. This was a possibility since last January and now it's come true. Will Jimmy Grapollo step up and take the team or will Jacoby Brissett be required to handle things as a rookie?
2. Both tackles recovering from season ending injuries. Most people think that Solder and Vollmer are completely healed and ready to play. The truth is that both have been rehabilitating and are on schedule. Question is, can they play full steam in practice?
3. Julian Edelman was at Fenway Park last night taking grounders and hitting batting practice. He appears to be very flexible and he was covering a lot of ground going after sharply hit balls at shortstop. The big question .....Is his foot ready for a 300 lb defensive lineman to fall on it at full speed?
4. Danny Amendola is still wearing a knee brace full time. Admittedly it's a spandex and Velcro unit, but his knee is still being supported. Will he still be able to run and cut when camp opens or will he be on PUP?
5. Lagarrett Blount has a serious hip injury that ended his season last year. Once RBs hit 30, they tend to head south quickly and injuries only speed up the demise.
6. Dion Lewis tore his ACL last year and has been rehabbing since surgery. Every month we heard that he was ahead of schedule. Does that schedule all ow him to come to camp ready to play NFL football?
We're talking 5 skill positions and two critical offensive line positions. The AFC East is drooling and the rest of the AFC is giddy at the prospect of a less than complete Patriot offense taking the field weeks 1-4. The rest of the season may be in question if the OL isn't in tact.
The Patriot haters will say that we're already making excuses, just in case the Patriots don't get off to good start or get their ass handed to them early and often. To Patriot fans it's a time to wonder how healthy the team is and is the only concern having an unknown quantity at QB?
From my cheap seat, I think that a great deal of pressure will be placed squarely on the shoulders of the defense to keep teams out of the end zone and allow the Patriots offense some time to get in sync. As you take a step back and look at this team, Belichick attempted to put together a formidable defense to assure the offense that they would not have to put 35 points on the board every week, but set things up so that 16-20 points would be adequate until Brady gets back.
Was a great 15 minutes of Patriots football and was like going a whole day without food and being handed a fork with a small taste of steak.
1. Tom Brady suspended for the first four games of the regular season. This was a possibility since last January and now it's come true. Will Jimmy Grapollo step up and take the team or will Jacoby Brissett be required to handle things as a rookie?
2. Both tackles recovering from season ending injuries. Most people think that Solder and Vollmer are completely healed and ready to play. The truth is that both have been rehabilitating and are on schedule. Question is, can they play full steam in practice?
3. Julian Edelman was at Fenway Park last night taking grounders and hitting batting practice. He appears to be very flexible and he was covering a lot of ground going after sharply hit balls at shortstop. The big question .....Is his foot ready for a 300 lb defensive lineman to fall on it at full speed?
4. Danny Amendola is still wearing a knee brace full time. Admittedly it's a spandex and Velcro unit, but his knee is still being supported. Will he still be able to run and cut when camp opens or will he be on PUP?
5. Lagarrett Blount has a serious hip injury that ended his season last year. Once RBs hit 30, they tend to head south quickly and injuries only speed up the demise.
6. Dion Lewis tore his ACL last year and has been rehabbing since surgery. Every month we heard that he was ahead of schedule. Does that schedule all ow him to come to camp ready to play NFL football?
We're talking 5 skill positions and two critical offensive line positions. The AFC East is drooling and the rest of the AFC is giddy at the prospect of a less than complete Patriot offense taking the field weeks 1-4. The rest of the season may be in question if the OL isn't in tact.
The Patriot haters will say that we're already making excuses, just in case the Patriots don't get off to good start or get their ass handed to them early and often. To Patriot fans it's a time to wonder how healthy the team is and is the only concern having an unknown quantity at QB?
From my cheap seat, I think that a great deal of pressure will be placed squarely on the shoulders of the defense to keep teams out of the end zone and allow the Patriots offense some time to get in sync. As you take a step back and look at this team, Belichick attempted to put together a formidable defense to assure the offense that they would not have to put 35 points on the board every week, but set things up so that 16-20 points would be adequate until Brady gets back.
Was a great 15 minutes of Patriots football and was like going a whole day without food and being handed a fork with a small taste of steak.
