The Patriots traveled to Atlanta to face Matt Ryan and the Falcons.  The Falcons are coming off a year in which they missed the playoffs and had many injuries.  The Falcons have many weapons on offense and would put some pressure on the young Patriots defense.  As I mentioned in the last post, the Pats have showed some swagger and look like they have something to prove with each snap.

Game two welcomed backed Wes Welker to the offense and Tom Brady threw to him right away.  Welker finished with 2 catches for 20 yards.  It was a dropped pass that made him feel like he was back; he took a hard hit as he was going down.  As many players say, it’s that first big hit that makes you feel back in the game.  Brady continued to impress, 10/12, 84 yards, and a TD.  He did take a big hit in which he fumbled but the Pats recovered.  Second year backup Brian Hoyer looked good as well, 8/15, 94 yards and a TD as well.

The always interesting story at RB became more interesting as veterans Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris both contributed and Lawrence Maroney was a “healthy” scratch.  Many have said that Maroney may be on his way out, but Belichick stated that it was his turn to sit in the RB rotation.  Taylor looked ready, as he burst for a 28 yard TD run, out running several Falcons on the way to pay dirt.  Taylor finished with 11 carries, 54 yards, a TD, and averaged 4.9 yards per carry.  Sammy Morris looked like the Sammy from 2008, breaking tackles and running people over.  He also had a decent line, 6 carries, 52 yards, a TD, and 8.7 yards a carry.

What added to the great run stats was the offensive line.  The O Line still has some holes, but they looked good in the run blocking.  Dan Connelly, who is filling in for Mankins as he is still holding out, had some great pulls that lead to big gains and one TD run.  Connelly does have his deficiencies, but with time the Pats hope he can become more consistent.  The Pats did add Quinn Ojinnaka, an OT from the Falcons for an undisclosed draft pick.  Ojinnaka has not been too productive in his career with Atlanta, the Pats did have two practices in ATL, and they might have seen something useful.

The passing game was very efficient and the ball was spread around to 11 different receivers.  Rookie TE Aaron Hernandez continues to contribute and connected with Brady for the second TD of the game.  Hernandez had 4 catches (five targets) for 46 yards, with a TD.  The other rookie TE also was impressive.  Gronkowski had 4 catches (4 targets) for 38 yards and a TE (from Hoyer).  The only other note was that week one standout; Julian Edelman only had one catch (one target) for 8 yards and was involved in only 6 snaps this game.  He did speak with reporters after the game and did not appear to be injured, but Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston has reported that Edelman has not been at practice for the first 2 days this week.  Let’s see how the Edelman story pans out.

I like the matchups that the Pats have had so far.  I know it is pre season, but it is great for the defense to play against good offensive teams, the Saints and the Falcons.  The young guys continued to impress against the Falcons, with the defensive backs continuing to be the standouts.  First round pick Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, and Brandon Merriweather all had 5 tackles in the game, as well as a couple passes defended.

The linebacker position continues to be something to watch.  Brandon Spikes continues to impress having another great game with three tackles.  Gary Guyton is set to return to the practice field this week and should fight Spikes for the starting ILB position.  Guyton has dropped to third in the depth chart as Tyrone McKenzie had another good game and looks like he was before the knee injury.  With all of the veterans that have left this team in the last few years, the Patriots have loaded up on some great young talent and if they can understand the schemes, these guys will be feared.  Not to mention that Derrick Burgess has yet to get on the field as he just reported to camp.  Having Burgess on one side with Banta-Cain on the other, we should see more QB pressures this season.

With the loss of Ty Warren for the rest of the season, the D line is going through some changes.  With the 3-4 defense, the DE position is crucial in stopping the run as the NT will take a few blockers up in hopes to let the linebackers run wild.  Former BC Eagle, Ron Brace has looked good for the last few weeks and look for Belichick to use him as a DE, but also as a NT backing up Wilfork.  To fill in the Void left by Warren, 6 year veteran Mike Wright and former Raider and Brown Gerard Warren will get the starts at each end.

The Pats did beat the Falcons fairly easily, scoring a TD in each quarter.  The most impressive thing is the continued improvement in the defense, and the way the offense is looking to establish the run.  Let’s not chalk up another Lombardi Trophy just yet, but if they continue to improve, the Patriots will have a great season.  Next week, they face first overall pick, QB Sam Bradford and the St. Louis Rams.

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I do not know if the Belichick “Jedi Mind Trick” has worked, but the Patriots seemed to come out fired up in their first game since the playoff loss to the Ravens.  Belichick has removed everything that reminds the team of prior success, pictures, clippings, whatever, it’s gone, like most of the players from that run.  I know the Saints had been on the road for a week before the game, but it was good for the Pats to come out the way they did against the Super Bowl Champs.

I still have not been able to look at Tom Brady with a straight face with his “Beiber” cut, but the man without a contract for next season looked in game shape throwing the ball down the field very easily against the Saints, connecting on 5 of 8 passes for 67 yards.  It is the first game, but he looked much better than he did a year ago.  Brian Hoyer was impressive as well, going 8/13 for 106 yards.

I was pleasantly surprised to see BenJarvus Green-Ellis, the “Lawfirm” get the start at running back.  I feel that he did well; the Saints do have a tough front 7 can stifle a running back, even preseason.  He had 11 carries for 34 yards and a TD run of 6 yards.  I know that is not mind blowing stats, but it was nice to see a running back run hard towards the line of scrimmage rather than dance around.  Lawrence Maroney had 8 carries for 30 yards and two touchdowns, and did look good running the ball, but he was playing against most of the Saints second and thirds units, so do not get too excited yet.  Mop up duty was left for Chris Taylor and Thomas Clayton, a couple free agents that will most likely be relegated to the practice squad or cut.  Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor are still on the roster and will contribute, from what I hear; Taylor looks great in camp and is motivated to make up for last year.

One of the biggest questions going into camp was the wide receiver position, what to expect from Welker?  What is Randy Moss going to be like one year older?  Who can step in and catch the ball when Welker and Moss can’t?  I know this is week one, preseason week one, but this once thought weakness looks pretty good to me.  Julian Edelman did answer some questions right off the bat with a forty yard punt return that set up the Patriots first point of the game.  Edelman finished with 6 catches (of 6 targets) for 90 yards and 15.0 yards per catch.  Edelman continues to impress, remember this kid was a life long QB until the Pats got a hold of him last season.  Edelman will contribute in the passing game, making a great case to be the third receiver.

Randy Moss showed that even a year older, he has not lost a step and almost nobody can guard him one on one.  He had only 2 catches (3 targets) for 30 yards, but the cushion that the CBs gave him was humorous.  Brandon Tate, who was injured in camp in 2009 and missed the whole season, had one catch (1 target) for 20 yards, but looked really good running routes and has been very productive in camp.  Look for him to get more reps and targets in the next two games.

We had a chance to finally see all three of the new tight ends in action against the Saints.  This is the first time that Brady has all new tight ends and I am curious on how this story will develop.  Many times in the game the Patriots lined up in a three tight end set.  Aaron Hernandez, who was lighting up the Saints defenders in their drills and scrimmages in Tuesday and Wednesday, did the same in the game, catching 3 passes (of 6 targets) for 26 yards and added one carry for 6 yards.  It looks like he could be a big weapon for Brady as Hernandez is very athletic and may be used in the red zone.  Alge Crumpler, and Rob Gronkowski both did not have a catch, but provided excellent blocking.

The offensive line struggled at times, with Nick Kaczur out with a serious back injury that could keep him out for the season and Logan Mankins still unsigned this could be a huge liability.  Again, I know it is preseason, but they O line let up 2 sacks (not bad), 7 tackles for loss (not good), and 8 hits on the QB.  I know all the hits were not taken by Brady and it is a big boy’s game, but I cringed when I saw Eli Manning get hit this past Monday and would really not like to see Brady take a hit like that in preseason.

What I was really impressed about was the defense and how the young guys look like they are getting it.  Everyone has seen the highlight of Marques Murrell’s sack on Drew Brees in the beginning of the game, but there were more important highlights than that one.

Rookie Brandon Spikes led the team with 8 total tackles.  What Spikes lacks in “technique” makes up for with amazing instincts and a nose for the ball.  Gary Guyton, (who was out with an injury against the Saints) who started all 16 games at inside linebacker last year may lose his starting role if Spikes continues to impress.  Belichick raves about the way he plays on the field and is determined to make his style fit in the Patriots system.

It will be interesting to see how the linebacker position works itself out.  We all know that Jarod Mayo and Tully Banta-Cain will be starters, but Pierre Woods and Guyton will have their hands full with competition from Spikes, Murrell, and Tyrone McKenzie, a third round pick from 2009 that is returning from a knee injury.  It will be interesting to see what happens with Erik Alexander, who has been up and down in the depth chart and finished the game against the Saints, something a six year player does not expect to do.

I was the most impressed by the defensive backs throughout the night.  This defensive backfield has to be one of the youngest in the league, and will Belichick’s schemes; they need to catch on this season for the Patriots to make a run at another Super Bowl.

Three defensive backs stood out to me on Thursday.  Safety Patrick Chung looked like he belonged out there and had 7 tackles, 5 being solo tackles.  Chung, a second round pick out of Oregon in 09, often looked lost and out of position last year, looked much better in his preseason debut.  Terrance Wheatley looked great in coverage and had six solo tackles, if he continues to play well he will continue to fight for a starting spot along side of Leigh Bodden.  Jonathan Wilhite, a third year player out of Auburn looked very good as well, he did contribute in 2009 but not consistent.  If these guys as well as Deon Butler and Devin McCourty can continue to improve, the Patriots secondary will be fine.

Belichick is a former special teams coach and he has always stressed special teams.  Rookie punter Zoltan Mesko averaged 43.8 yards per punt with a long of 52 yards.  First round pick Devin McCourty had 3 kickoff returns for 111 yards, two for 50 plus yards.  One negative was kick return coverage; the Pats allowed a 97 yard return for a touchdown and gave up average of 40 yards a kickoff return.  Field position has always been important to the Patriots, and this will be addressed.

After seemingly dominating the game, the Patriots did give up a 24-7 lead and won the game by field goal at the end of the game by Stephen Gostkowski.  A win is always great, but let’s remember the Lions were 4-0 a few seasons ago in preseason and we all know how that turned out.  The Patriots are on the right track after week one, they have a lot of injuries that they need to overcome, let’s see what Atlanta brings this week.

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According to Mike Reiss from www.espnboston.com the Patriots have placed WR Wes Welker on the Active PUP list for the start of training camp.  I originally wrote that he would be a full participant in camp, earlier than expected, which is still the case.  Once again, Belichick pulls a great move, by putting him on the Active PUP List, this allows Welker to participate in team activities and frees up a roster spot.  This is a loop hole that the Colts used two seasons ago when Manning had his knee surgery.

Everyone knows Welker will be back and on the team, the “active PUP list” tag allows the Pats to look at other receivers and players longer and determine what to do with them.  A position that was once thought of as a critical need has become a position that will have a lot of figuring out.  We all know that Moss and Welker are on the team, but there is going to be a fight for the last three or four roster spots.

Tory Holt is a good possession guy, but who knows if he can run the routes and create the space he needs as he has lost a step, the Pats do not want another Joey Galloway situation.  Holt has had two down years, but he was on bad teams and not Brady throwing to him. Julian Edelman looks like another Welker type guy and was productive last year, but needs to stay healthy.  David Patten was an odd sign this off season, I don’t know what he has left in the tank, and he hasn’t been productive since 2007.  That leaves Sam Aiken, Brandon Tate, Matt Slater, and their third round pick, Taylor Price.

Aiken (20 Rec, 326 yds, 2 TDs) had a decent numbers for being thrust in the third receiver role in the middle of last season, but he has been around for 8 seasons with various teams.  Tate, a third round pick from 2009 was only active for three games last year and did not have a catch.  He is more known for his KR/PR skills and with Kevin Faulk getting older, he may be valuable.  Matt Slater, listed as a WR, but he is a special teams wiz and we know how Belichick loves special teams guys and NFL pedigree (He is the son of HOF lineman, Jackie Slater).  Unless Tate or first round pick Devin McCourty steps up, there will be a place for him somewhere.  That leaves 2010 3^rd round pick, Taylor Price. I feel with his talent, he can be productive and he has an NFL build.  He needs to show what he can do right away with the opportunity he has.

All and all, they have a strength that looked like a weakness heading into the offseason.  They need to get younger and make sure Brady likes the younger guys, so I have a feeling that baring a crazy injury, Sam Aiken and David Patten may not make the roster and that will allow the young guys to step up and show us what they have!  It should make an interesting battle at training camp.

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According to sources including 98.5 FM Boston, The Sports Hub and Chad Finn of Boston.com and the Boston Globe (he also mentioned it on the Hometeam today), Wes Welker will report to practice with the “full participation” label on him, this just less than 8 months after tearing all three major ligaments in his knee.  All signs showed that he was ahead of schedule and most people thought he would start on the PUP list and then be activated week 6, once again, Welker proves everyone wrong.

What does this mean for the Patriots heading into the start of camp next Thursday?  It means that baring any set back, their worry at the wide receiver position has decreased tremendously.  This leaves Tory Holt, Julian Edleman, Sam Aiken, rookie Taylor Price, and a slew of others to fight for the last few spots to solidify the potent Patriots offense.  It also means Tom Brady can focus on other things (his contract, maybe?) rather than trying to find a new go to guy while Welker was healing.  Brady already has to get use to three new tight ends this season.

It was heart breaking to see Welker on the sidelines after his injury, and the Patriots seemed to lose a little of that “toughness” that Welker brings to the field.  Observing the way he plays as well as how he works, it is not surprising that he is back earlier than expected, but this early is border line amazing.

The next few weeks will be a big test on Welker’s knee, he runs very specific patterns and if his stop and go moves and quick cuts are not there, he becomes just an average guy.  So keep this in mind Patriots fans, Wes Welker is back, but give the man some time to get back in to the swing of things, and if he drops a few passes and has a few “average” games in the first few weeks, don’t worry, he has always defied the odds.

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In closing the 2009-2010 NFL season, the Baltimore Ravens ripped apart the Patriots defense.  Ray Rice looked like a hall of famer and ran through everything that was thrown at him.  This past season was definitely a transition year for the vaunted Patriots defense, no Bruschi, no Harrison, no Seymour.  It was the first year I could remember saying, “who was that?”  2010-2011 may have a similar feel to it, but the master, Bill Belichick has taken back over the defense, there were some losses, but some good additions.

Defensive Line Losses

Jarvis Green- Signed with Broncos.  Green was primarily a reserve with the Patriots, until last year with the loss of Seymour.  He has always been productive eating up blockers and slowing down the running backs, as well as getting some sacks.  His sack totals have dropped, that may be due to losses on the D Line, or different schemes that made him hold blocks more that get to the QB.  He now joins “Patriots West” and the Denver Broncos.

Defensive Line Additions

Gerrard Warren- Free Agent from Oakland.  Warren has been on some bad teams, the Raiders, Browns, and a couple years with Denver, but has always been productive.  He is older, 31, but knows the 3-4 defense well and at 6-4 325 lbs, he will be able to assist Wilfork in holding the blockers and will break through for some coverage sacks.  He will also add some attitude to the team, similar to Rodney Harrison when he came to the Pats.  Warren has been somewhat of a “hot head” but brings some great energy on the field.

Vince Wilfork- Franchise Tag, then resigned to a long term deal.  This was a no brainer, but almost turned bad.  After the issues with Seymour and the trade to Oakland, the Pats had to come back and sign this massive force in the middle.  He is the most consistent player on the defense, he is still young (28), and has only missed 6 games in his 6 year career.

Derrick Burgess- Resigned.  As long as he can remain on Belichick’s good side and on the field, he should be productive this year.  He averaged double digit sacks with the Raiders a few years back with an aging Warren Sapp along side him, expect him to pile up some sacks with Warren and Wilfork taking up multiple blockers.

Brandon Deaderick- 7^th round pick from Alabama.  Deaderick is a big guy, 6-6, 314, he could be a great reach for the Patriots.  He was a started at Alabama in 2008 when they sky rocketed to #1 in the nation.  He outplayed “MT” Cody in some cases with 36 tackles, 5.5 for loss, and 4 sacks.  He was shot by a car jacker during the 2009 season and struggled to get back on the field.  If he is fully healed, he could be a contributor.

Kade Weston- 7^th round pick from Georgia.  Any time you can get starters from programs like ‘Bama and Georgia in the 7^th round you are doing good.  Another big guy standing 6-5, 315 lbs, and is great in the 3-4 defense having played in the scheme at Georgia.  With great upper body strength, he could have an immediate impact as a reserve lineman.

The Patriots picked a couple undrafted free agents, Dane Fletcher and Kyle Love.  Dane Fletcher was a DE/LB from Montana State.  He is the all time sack leader of the Big Sky conference.  He will be moved to LB, he is fast (4.61 in the 40) and can get to the QB, may be a project, but with the lack of LB depth, he may make the roster.  Love, a 6-1, 315 lb DE, played in the SEC at Mississippi State, a bit undersized, but played with a good defense in college.

Line Backer Losses

Adalius Thomas- Cut- He peaked on Sunday night football when Phillip Rivers threw a “pick six” to Thomas in the second game of the 2007 season.  He had a decent season in 2007, but it seemed that he never really fit into the Pats system as he should have.  2008 and 2009 he had his worst statistical seasons he has even had.  We all know the story about the guys who showed up late for practice during a snow storm and were sent home, he eventually shot himself out of town.  This is no loss at all.

Junior Seau- retired.  I will believe this when the 2010 season is over and he has not played a snap, sorry, but its true, and you know it.

Line Backer Additions

Tyrone McKenzie- Return from injury.  McKenzie was a third round pick from 2009 that was lost to an ACL injury all last season.  This guy is the definition of versatile; he was a stellar weak side LB in the Big 12, then transferred to South Florida and became a solid strong side LB in the Big East.  He was supposed to replace Vrable after he was traded, but the injury prevented that.  Look for him to step into a big role and become a tackling machine that he was in college.

Brandon Spikes- 2^nd round pick, see draft recap.

Linebackers resigned- Tully Banta-Cain, Erik Alexander, and Pierre Woods.

Defensive Backfield Losses

Shawn Springs- Cut- This was a head scratcher for me.  He had a mediocre year and was not making a ton of money, only $2.25 M this year after $4.55 M last year.  He may resign for lower money if there are no other teams that sign him that is if he doesn’t retire.

Leigh Bodden-resigned.  This guy played for some real bad teams, including the 0-16 Detroit Lions, but he did produce when he was there and it earned him a chance to play for a contender.  He earned a contract extension after posting up some great numbers for a secondary that was loaded with question marks.  Another year in the system and with the younger guys getting better, Bodden should have another solid year.

Devin McCourty- See the 2010 draft recap, but again, I stress, this was not a bad pick, he is talented enough to start this year.

Undrafted Free Agents- Ross Ventrone- Safety, Villanova, and his brother is a former special teams player for the Pats (now with Cleveland), so Bill is giving him a shot.  Terrance Johnson, CB, California PA, small school guy, needs to work on his footwork, but if he continues to improve he can add some depth.

Just as the offense was not exciting in free agency, neither was the defense.  They have built a younger defense through the draft the last couple years, and not that Belichick is completely taking over the defense, look for some immediate improvements and player development.  The 2010-2011 defense should be much improved, but they still will have some ups and downs.

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Each year in the Patriots off season is a new chapter of “what will Bill do.”  If you look at all of the years Belichick has done things different, one year it is barely doing anything and picking up a few no names of “washed up” veterans, then another making a huge splash by trading for Randy Moss and Wes Welker.  2010 was restocking and keeping the veterans that have always produced on the field and in the locker room, which was lacking last season, even Tom Brady mentioned the lack of leadership.

Offensively, the Pats were very up and down looking great sometimes and extremely poor other times.  They lacked the consistency in the play calling that they had with Josh McDaniels and Charlie Weiss.

Offensive Changes/Additions

Tight End

Benjamin Watson-TE- Signed with Cleveland.  Since Watson has been with the Patriots he was the definition of inconsistency.  Coming out of college Watson was highly touted as an athletic and gifted tight end.  Whether it was the Patriots not using him correctly or Watson not living up to his potential, we will always remember him for chasing down Champ Bailey in the AFC playoffs.

Chris Baker-TE- signed with Seattle.  One year was apparently enough for this former Jet.  He was used primarily as a blocker in New York, also getting some goal line routes.  In the preseason it looked like he was going to be a valuable addition to the team, catching multiple touchdowns in a game with Brady throwing to him, but that was preseason.  He is an aging veteran, but can block with the best of them, and will valuable to any team.

Replacements

Alge Crumpler- Other than Vick, Crumpler has been the most affected by Vick’s legal troubles, he production has been non existent since Vick left the Falcons.  Last year he was with Tenn, who had a lackluster passing attack.  Crumpler is still big and had proved he can catch, the Patriots are hoping he can get back to the form he had with the Falcons.

The Rookies- Aaron Hernandez and Ron Gronkowski, will be contributors the day they walk into training camp.  Many believed that Gronkowski was the most complete tight end in the draft, losing his last season to injury only dropped him to the second round which is impressive.  Hernandez was consistent throughout his career at Florida and can be used in many different ways.

The only concern here is that Brady does not have any rapport with any of these guys and a tight end is a QBs friend, it will be interesting to see what happens to this position.

Wide Receiver

Losses

Other than Wes Welker’s knee injury, there were no major losses at wide out.  Even though Welker was amazingly productive, when he was not healthy, there was a drop off in the offense.  Sam Aiken and Julian Edelman were nice complimentary players, but together their stats can’t add up to Welker’s.

Additions

Torry Holt- The former pro bowler has had two very tough seasons, one with the Rams and one with the Jaguars.  Last year the word was that Holt just didn’t care during the season and it showed with his stats, just 51 catches for 722 yards and not one touchdown.  So what does a receiver do when his talent is in question?  Sign with the Patriots and have one of the best QBs of all time throw you the ball.  Unless he gets hurt, this signing should help both parties.

David Patten- A former Pat realizing the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  Honestly, I do not know the reason for this signing other than maybe for depth and someone who is familiar with Brady.

Taylor Price- As I once mentioned in my draft recap, this kid can play.  He has the tools to make a difference now, but may benefit from being behind some good veterans.

Offensive Line

Potential Loss

Logan Mankins, the two time Pro Bowl guard, who is considered one of the best in the NFL is still without a long term deal.  He is only 28 and has played in 80 of the games that he was dressed for, if that isn’t consistency I don’t know what is, and he is a lineman, a left guard, who protects Tom Brady.  We have all seen the Patriots deal with contract issues before (Deon Branch, Lawyer Milloy, Richard Seymour), and other than Vince Wilfork, it never ends pretty, lets hope that Bill gets this one done.

Key Return

Steven Neal, the one time college wrestler and non drafted free agent has been a consistent player on the Pats line for quite some time.  This is a great resigning, but they do have to look to get a little younger on the line in the next few seasons.

Additions

Ted Larsen, 6^th round pick, NC State.  There is a reason I did not recap all the late round picks.  This guy is a converted defensive tackle who played offensive line for two years at NC State.  He is 6-2 and 304, a bit shorter than most linemen, but he is athletic and has shown sign of becoming a good linemen.  He has the tools; he will just need a few years to develop.

Thomas Welch, 6^th round pick, Vanderbilt.  This guy is huge, 6-6, 307, a converted tight end, he has the body to be a linemen, but not the tools yet.  He is a project according to most scouts.  We have seen the Pats pay a project well and keep them on the practice squad until they are ready.

John Wise (6-5, 260), undrafted free agent, Illinois.  Another former wrestler and Belichick is 1-2 when signing former wrestlers.  They good news is that Wise did play football at Western Illinois before transferring to Illinois, so there is some knowledge there.

Running Backs

Key Return

Kevin Faulk- This guy is so underrated and forgot about more than any player I have ever seen in the NFL.  He has been so consistent for the Pats throughout his career, need a third down, pass it to Faulk in the flats, punt returner not producing, put Faulk back there, honestly if Troy Brown didn’t beat him to it, I think he could have played cornerback, just because.  He isn’t a spring chicken anymore, but continues to produce, and adds a dimension that they do not have in the other running backs.

Undrafted Free Agent

Pat Paschall, North Dakota State, 5-11, 206.  He runs a 4.5 40, so not lighting quick but he produced enough in school to be invited to the combine and be projected to be a late round pick.  His senior he doubled his carries and yardage, carry the ball 207 times for 1397 yards and 16 touchdowns, averaging 6.7 yards per carry.  He also caught the ball 12 times for 186 yards.  The Pats have a lot of veterans that are on the roster, and some of them (Morris and Taylor) get hurt often, the Pats should keep him on the practice squad.

Quarter Back

Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer are still there.  They have keep two QBs on the active roster for some time, but look for them to carry a third and another on the practice squad.

Additions

Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State, 6-2, 214, 7^th round pick.  He played in the Big 12, getting less press because of Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, but Robinson produced throughout his career.  He is athletic and mobile, recruited as both a QB and Wide Receiver, he ran for 1858 yards and 22 TDs, but did more damage in the air passing for 8317 yards, 66 touchdowns and 32 interceptions.  He has the tools, the smarts, and the drive.  The only “weakness” he has is arm strength and downfield accuracy, but showed improvement in the Senior Bowl and his pro day, but that was a knock on Tom Brady too.

Mike Teel, free agent signee from Seattle Seahawks.  Teel was Seattle’s 3^rd string QB last year seeing no action as a rookie.  If you read my draft recap you will understand why he was brought in, he played at Rutgers, one of the two schools that Belichick spent some time at and watched their practices.  A three year starter at Rutgers, he did put up decent numbers throughout his career, throwing for 9398 yards and 59 touchdowns, he will compete with Robinson for a roster spot.

It wasn’t an exciting off season for the offense, which leads me to believe that 2010 was for the defense and 2011 (baring a lock out) will be the year of the offense.  They still have a great nucleus with the offense, the Pats will have to incorporate some younger talent or find a good free agent in the off season to continue to make this great offense potent for years to come.

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“With the 27^th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft the New England Patriots select……WHO?”  Let’s meet their first pick, Devin McCourty, cornerback from Rutgers University.  Many think that Bill Belichick made a mistake with this pick; they could have picked Dez Bryant, but traded down with Dallas and let them take the receiver.  I disagree that this pick was a stretch, to me, this pick shows the Belichick is back to taking his kinda guys.

During the draft they really did not do Devin McCourty justice when they were talking about him.  Yes, he is considered a “special teams demon,” but he also had 80 tackles last season.  His numbers are amazing, opponents completed just 35% of the passes that were thrown his way last year, and he shut down every receiver he faced, just letting up 2 touchdowns the entire year.  He may not pick off a ton of passes, but this kid is a drive killer, he recorded 94 third down stops and 33 fourth down stops, he accounted for killing 39% of the drives he faced.  He is capable of being a shut down corner, but he is also not afraid to get his nose dirty and stop the run, 91 of his 236 career tackles were inside the box.

He is a complete player, a former point guard in high school; he possesses great leadership skills and is considered “a coach on the field.”  He is a student of the game and studies film and can diagnose the plays before they happen.  This is the type of player that the Patriots have been missing since Harrion, Bruschi, and Samuel left.  Look for McCourty to step in and be a contributor right away.

Talking with several people after the first round, people were already questioning if the Pats have lost “it.”  What makes the Patriots so good, is the rest of the draft, and the “value picks.”

That brings us to the second round, and this is where they made a huge splash drafting a tight end, a defensive lineman, and a linebacker.  Let’s start with Rob Gronkowski, tight end from Arizona.  This guy is massive at 6-6 265 pounds, and he is the most complete tight end in the draft, sure Gresham is good, but he is more of the receiver type, Gronkowski is a stud.  “Gronko,” as he is referred to is a traditional tight end that has soft hands and can catch anything thrown his way, and can also line up next to the tackle and be an effective blocker.

Blessed with great hands, he holds many records at Arizona after just two seasons in the Pac-10.  He is a solid route runner and a force to be reckoned with once he gets the ball in his hands.  Often compared to Jason Witten, “Gronko,” should make an immediate impact.  The one downside is that he missed the entire 2009 season with a back injury electing to have surgery in September and just started running again in January, but it should not be a factor in the upcoming season.

The next pick started a trend for the Patriots taking Florida Gators, Jermaine Cunningham, defensive lineman.  This was a questionable pick in my mind, he is a decent pass rusher, but I wonder what they would like to use him for.  His total tackles have decreased each year, but he was still able to get in the backfield and disrupt plays consistently.  He is not the big guys that the Pats usually have on the line in a 3-4 scheme.  By no means and I calling him small, 6-3, 266lbs, but traditionally in a 3-4, the lineman occupy blockers and the linebackers make the plays and Cunningham is not built to do so.  He lacks the overall strength to hold up blocks and blow up run plays, he is more of a off the end pass rusher.

Don’t get me wrong this guy played in the SEC and performed his entire career; he is a good football player that makes plays.  He has great stunting ability and has the football smarts to get in the way of plays, as well as the knack of putting his hands up and batting passes down.  Again, I just question how he fits into the Pats defense.

I was surprised what the Pats did next, but I did like it, they went Gators again and picked Brandon Spikes, the Gators’ middle linebacker.  I love how Spikes fell into the second round because of his lack of speed, the combine kills me sometime, this kid produced and made plays in the SEC, that should be enough to go on.  Spikes was to the defense as Tebow was to their offense, he was their leader and captain like his fellow Gator/Patriot Cunningham.

Often compared to his cousin, Takeo Spikes, Brandon, has great explosiveness and can read plays very well.  He is cerebral in his approach to the game and can break up plays as they happen.  He is athletic enough to also sit back in coverage and be affective in covering a back or tight end.  The things he needs to work on is to not be overly aggressive where he plays himself out of the play and opens up lanes for the ball carriers and he does need to work on his hands to disengage from blockers better.  All in all, Spike is a solid addition to the linebackers.

The only pick in the third round was spent on a receiver, Taylor Price, an underrated receiver out of Ohio University.  He is impressively built at 6-1 and a solid 212.  Ohio doesn’t throw the ball often as Frank Solich, former Nebraska coach runs the option, but even with that against Price, he was 28% of the Bobcats office and can be used in the “Wildcat” formation.

Price is a solid route runner and has decent speed with the ability to blow past cornerbacks and he is gifted athletically to make tough catches in traffic as well as in the air.  Price has great hands and can catch well with his arms extended, and can catch just about any type of pass that is thrown to him.  The only drawback I have seen with Price is blocking, but he has shown flashes of downfield blocking.  Price maybe the sleeper pick in the Pats draft, as he seems very poised and ready to contribute right away.

Round four brought the Patriots the third player from Florida in the draft, Aaron Hernandez (Connecticut Native, too), a tight end and one of Tim Tebow’s favorite targets last year.  Like everyone else, I was forced to watch a ton of Florida football as they were on TV almost every weekend, and this kid is a legit player.  I am very surprised that he was picked this late in the draft, but at least he fell to a team that needs him.

Hernandez is 6-2, 245, and is a athletic tight end, more like a Chris Cooley and Dustin Keller rather than a traditional tight end that is a blocker that can catch.  After Harvin and Murphy left Florida for the NFL, that was Hernandez’s time to step up and he did, catching 68 passes for 850 yards more than any other tight end in the country.  Those numbers gained him all SEC honors and he was the first Mackey Award winner out of the SEC.

Hernandez has great ball skills and he poses a threat coming out of the three point stance or out of the backfield.  He has a decent burst of spend which makes him a tough match up for LBs and he has a tremendous vertical leap to get to the high passes.  He is not the strongest blocker due to his size, so you may see him split out more like a WR.

The only thing that held him back in this draft was his size, but how many times have we heard that before and the player became a perennial pro bowler?  I am not saying that Hernandez will even make one pro bowl, but he played in the SEC against some of the best competition in the country and produced game in and game out.  Just add Hernandez to the list of weapons for Tom Brady to through too.

So that is the recap from rounds 1-4.  The Patriots draft was widely criticized by fans, talk show hosts, and sportscasters all over.  I think “at the end of the day,” (my favorite cliché) we will look back on this draft as a time that the Patriots restocked with some good young talent.

Lastly, there were two schools that Belichick has visited the last several years for clinics, Florida and Rutgers, interesting that he knew more about some of these guys then anyone else.

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