Football Gameplan’s 2013 NFL Team Preview - New England Patriots (by FootballGameplan)
Free agency, the draft, OTAs and minicamp have all come and passed this offseason, leaving us with nothing more to tackle than the dreaded six-week void from now until the end of July and the start of training camp.
Let’s take a look back on the offseason in today’s Q&A. What have been your favorite and least-favorite moves? Who most needs to get healthy between now and training camp?
You’ve got questions. I’ll attempt answers.
Two young pass catchers that continue to stand out are tight end Zach Sudfeld and wide receiver KenBrell Thompkins. Both had plenty of positive moments throughout the session. Sudfeld made a few nice catches in traffic, while Thompkins had some impressive receptions of his own. (That didn’t mean either one of them had a perfect day, however. Thompkins could be seen later in the session taking a lap, while a ball for Sudfeld from Mallett was picked off by Adrian Wilson.)
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| — | It Is What It Is » Tuesday minicamp notes: Brandon Spikes, Alfonzo Dennard on field with Patriots |
Good stuff from Oliver Thomas. Cunningham is another interesting defensive end entering a contract year. Can he make it as an interior rusher again? Competition should be a little more fierce.
OTA observations: Aaron Hernandez gets more involved, Ras-I Dowling keeps it going | Boston Herald »
Some good stuff in here, including:
Armond Armstead has the tools to play anywhere on the defensive line, aside from the nose, but look for him to get some early chances as an interior rusher in nickel packages.
Safety Tavon Wilson got the starting reps with Gregory today.Adrian Wilson was the starter in the previous two sessions.
More interesting nuggets:
Adrian Wilson and Steve Gregory were again the top safeties, andTavon Wilson and Marquice Cole were the next pair. Cole played slot corner last season, but he had to shift due to the limitations of McCourty, Ebner and Harmon.
Marcus Cannon again worked at right guard in Connolly’s absence from team drills. It was telling that Cannon remained inside despite the absence of Vollmer and Svitek, who are the top-two right tackles on the depth chart.
• As it stands right now, the average age of the 90-man roster is at 25.3 years old. The oldest average age group is at quarterback, where the three signal-callers average 28 years old (that group includes the oldest player on the roster in Tom Brady). In addition, the linebackers and offensive line have an average age of 26. Meanwhile, the specialists, receivers, offensive line, defensive line, tight ends and defensive backs all average 25 years old. The youngest average position is at running back, where the group averages 24 years old.
Couple notable nuggets:
- Tom Brady spent a majority of his first-team reps with Danny Amendola as his slot receiver, as expected, but continued the day with a rotating cast as his other options, including free agent signees Donald Jones and Michael Jenkins, as well as rookies Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce.
- Rookie Aaron Dobson snatched a Brady pass out of the air between two defenders, making his mark on the field. He followed up with another dazzling sliding catch later on.
- The highlight of the practice was second-year linebacker Dont’a Hightower picking off backup quarterback Ryan Mallett. Mallett appeared to be rusty through the day’s drills.
And so it begins…
