With the conclusion of OTAs, the New England Patriots will no hit a brief summer break before the start of training camp in late July. There’s been plenty of moves this offseason that should make the 2016 version of the team a unique flavor, and while there’s plenty to be excited about, there are still a number of questions that face the team.
Here are the things that I’ll be most curious to watch once training camp opens and the 2016 season gets underway.
Running Back Plan — At the start of the offseason I felt like it was time for the Patriots to re-commit to their ground game a bit. It’s been well documented how much the Pats struggled to move the ball on the ground once Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount were lost for the season. But the Patriots did barely anything at the position — signing Donald Brown and undrafted rookie D.J. Foster was it. Neither of those players are even locks to make the roster. So what now? Assume Lewis and Blount return and stay healthy all year? Believe James White will earn the coaching staff’s trust to carry the ball? That Tyler Gaffney can stay healthy and contribute? Those are big questions and nothing leaves us feeling confident that the Patriots will have a running game resurgence unless Lewis comes back in the same form he left and plays the entire season. Perhaps the offensive line will be better and it won’t really matter who’s carrying the ball. Still, it tough to see how it will play out and another injury to Lewis or Blount would be devastating.- Tom Brady Suspension — Of course this one’s a headline but really, in the grand scheme of the season, I don’t think whether or not Brady sits the first four games will have a huge impact overall. That’s assuming that Garoppolo would at least lead the team to a 2-2 record which seems manageable considering the opponents, veteran Patriots defense and weaponry around him. The problem could be a lack of running game in those early weeks. Being one dimensional with Tom Brady is one thing, but with Garoppolo it could be hairy.
- Defensive Scheme Tweaks — The two interesting twists from minicamp was Shea McClellin playing defensive end instead of middle linebacker and Rob Ninkovich playing middle linebacker instead of defensive end. I still believe that these are not major position switches, rather a chance to see what Ninkovich can do at a spot where depth is limited, and that we’ll still see McClellin in a linebacker role more often than with his hand on ground. But this does point to some more front seven versatility. We’ve already seen Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins playing all around the front and now it would seem the team is preparing to be even more fluid with where they can align everyone.
- Offensive Line Coming Together — There’s going to be some great competition along the offensive line in training camp and we didn’t really get much of a glimpse of it in minicamp with so many players still out, including Solder, Vollmer, Kline, Jackson and, for most of the practices, Mason. This left a starting offensive line of Waddle–Thuney–Stork/Andrews–Cooper–Cannon. Stork and Andrews should be a tight battle at center with the loser possibly ending up on the street. Does Cannon’s salary make him a potential camp casualty? Jackson and Mason had promising moments as rookies, how will they progress under Dante Scarnecchia? Is Joe Thuney better than both of them? Can Cooper re-find his elite talent level that made him a top-10 pick? Can Vollmer and Solder get (and stay) healthy)? So many questions at such an important position grouping.
- Health — Every year at the start of camp the dreaded PUP list comes out for those not fully recovered yet. The list of integral Patriots who weren’t able to go in the spring is long and there’s no guarantee who will be back and ready to go in six weeks. If guys like Edelman, Amendola or the significant offensive linemen are still recovering it will open up opportunities for other players, but could also adversely affect how good the team will be in September. It’s important to take the long view and having guys in January is much more important, but who knows what kind of injury management will be happening through camp.