Top Areas of Concern For 2010 Patriots
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Patriots training camp opens Thursday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. In the words of Hank Williams Jr., “are you ready for some football?”
The 6 month quest for a fourth Lombardi trophy will take seed later this week. With great coaching, execution and a little bit of luck, hopefully New England can find its way to Dallas for Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011.
Wes Welker
For that to happen, however, many questions need to be answered. Today is part one of our two part series which concludes on Thursday about the 10 most important issues facing the 2010 New England Patriots.
10. The Mankins Factor – The consensus is that the Patriots starting left guard will be a no-show once camp starts Thursday. Because of the rules in this uncapped year in the NFL, players with 4 or 5 years of experience are considered restricted free agents and can receive one of 5 different tenders from their current team. The Pats offered Mankins the top level tender of 1-year and 3.268 million dollars but this has left him angry. Wanting a long-term contract extension, Mankins skipped mini-camp in June and demanded to be traded. We’ll see if the fence can be mended between the all-pro guard and the franchise. But right now, things don’t look good.
9. Who’s #3? – With the incredible news that Wes Welker may be ready for full participation once camp begins, the Pats have to be confident at the very least of having Brady’s top two targets Moss and Welker ready for the opener against Cincinnati September 12th. But who will be that solid third target. Julian Edelman appears to be the front-runner after a solid rookie campaign but he’s a lot like Welker. Can 34 year-old Torry Holt still stretch a defense with his speed? David Patten was a solid #3 during New England’s first Super Bowl season in 2001 but he returns as a soon-to-be 36 year-old question mark. Rookie Taylor Price will get a good look during the preseason as will Brandon Tate and Sam Aiken.
8. Secondary Concern? – Arguably the worst personnel decision made by Bill Belichick in his 10 years here was letting Assante Samuel walk as a free agent. He succeeded Ty Law as a shutdown corner limiting opposing quarterbacks to one half of the field. For the past two seasons, New England has tried in vain but failed to fill his shoes. Former UConn star Darius Butler may fill that role someday as he showed promise in his rookie season. But it can take a few years, as it did with Samuel, for a corner to develop. Opposite Butler, Leigh Bodden is solid but not spectacular. Familiar faces Jonathan Wilhite and Terrance Wheatley will compete for time as will rookie first round pick Devin McCourty whose impact could be felt more on special teams. Still, cornerback play has to improve for this defense.
7. Carry the Rock – It’s pretty much the same cast of characters as 2009 behind Tom Brady. The enigmatic Laurence Maroney is penciled in as the #1 back. A healthy Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor will also see time at that position and don’t count out BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Kevin Faulk is the third down back who is a great weapon in the passing game. Running the ball is secondary to passing it in this offense but it would be nice if this committee of backs could be productive when called upon or, better yet, have someone step forward and prove to be a true #1 option at that position.
6. Coach it Up – Like most successful organizations, the Patriots have lost not only key players over the years, they have also suffered a tremendous coaching drain. Weiss, Crennell, Mangini, McDaniels and Seely are just some of the key names that have exited Foxboro in recent years making it difficult for the franchise to duplicate its success. Can Bill O’Brien make us forget about McDaniels and Weiss? He doesn’t have the official title of offensive coordinator but the feeling is that he’s it. After defensive coordinator Dean Peas stepped down this offseason, he was not replaced. By contrast, Miami hired Mike Nolan this offseason to be their defensive coordinator. Former Patriot Corwin Brown returns to New England to help Josh Boyer with the secondary. The one constant continues to be Dante Scarnecchia who coaches the offensive line.
These are five areas of concern for the 2010 Patriots. Thursday, we’ll examine five more as we get set for the start of training camp and the upcoming NFL season.
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Comments:
Max Guarino
11:31am on Thursday, July 29, 2010
10: Definitely the biggest concern coming into this season... what they do about Mankins. I think it would be a mistake for Mankins to sit out any of the regular season, and he doesn't seem like that type of player to me. But who knows? Maybe he is listening to his agent... who doesn't play football. They all say we will keep in shape, but its just not the same thing as being out there with the team practicing. I had thought the Pats offered him a pretty decent long term contract, which he decided wasn't good enough...
9: I would be very surprised if Welker started out the season as the #2 WR. My expectations are for him to not be that much of a factor in the first part of the season as he tries to get used to his knew knee. I expect Torry Holt to be a big part of this offense... as well as Crumpler, and the two TEs they got in the draft. Edelman, while no replacement for Welker, did a pretty decent job last year. I expect this to be more of a breakout year for him. I'm hoping Tate has some success as well.
8: It wasn't CB that has been their problem the last few years since Samuel has left... it has been getting at the QB. Sure having Samuel would help, but I think the replacements they have now would be more than adequate as long as they have a good pass rush that doesn't give the QB all day to get rid of the ball. And Samuel wouldn't look as good as he does at CB if he didn't play for a team that has a real good pass rush.
7: I think their running game has not been the main focus since the Superbowl winning years... or actually since 2006. They need to get back to that. That passing offense is never going to be as good as it was back in '07. They need to have a decent running game in order to keep defenses honest. That being said, I think it has been a matter of choice over the last few years. I think they have the tools to have a running game that does its job... keeps the passing game going.
6: Coaching is definitely a big questionmark. I'm hoping that BB is able to concentrate on the defense more this year. They have what could be a great defense... but it is young, and will need BB's guidance.
Max