Pats Posits: All In – Do the Patriots Finally Want to Win the Super Bowl Now?

With the draft now in our rearview mirror, we’re quickly approaching The Void, aka the deadest time of the NFL offseason where everyone goes on vacation and it’s all quiet on the football front. Before that though the Patriots will have a number of organized team activities that will give us a brief glimpse at the rookies and new guys, as well as some brief relief for our football obsession.

Here’s the list of OTAs coming up in the next couple months before everything goes dark in the lead up to training camp:

• 5/22 — Patriots Organized Team Activity (closed to the public and media).
• 5/23 — Patriots Organized Team Activity (closed to the public and media).
• 5/25 — Patriots Organized Team Activity (closed to public, open to media).
• 5/31 — Patriots Organized Team Activity (closed to the public and media)
• 6/1 — Patriots Organized Team Activity (closed to the public and media).
• 6/6 – 6/8 — Patriots Mini Camp (closed to public, open to media only).
• 6/12 — Patriots Organized Team Activity (closed to public, open to media).
• 6/13 — Patriots Organized Team Activity (closed to the public and media).
• 6/15 — Patriots Organized Team Activity (closed to the public and media).

Let’s dive into some thoughts on the Pats draft and the state of the team as it looks like most of the 2017 roster is now in place.

— It is important to remember that the Patriots will keep on team building right into the regular season. Every year there seems to be an in-season acquisition who makes an impact. Kyle Van Noy and Eric Rowe were just two last year who weren’t necessarily injury replacements and more about improving what the team already had. So while we can spend the next three months imagining how this roster all comes together, let’s not forget that the roster is always fluid.

— Are the Pats ALL IN!?!?! That’s what people are asking now after an offseason that was somewhat new territory for Belichick. Giving up a first round pick for a wide receiver, adding two running backs with solid salaries via free agency and targeting specific needs in the draft rather than a blanket, “throw it all at the wall” approach they usually take are all moves that could be interpreted as the Patriots being even more aggressive than usual. I don’t buy it. And man, do I hate saying they’re “all in.” They’re all in every year whether people realize it or not. Just because their aggressiveness this offseason made it seem like they just missed out on a Super Bowl win as opposed to actually winning it, doesn’t mean they’re suddenly panicking and making bad value moves that will come back to bite them in the ass.

— Check out yesterday’s draft review podcast if you haven’t had a chance. I mentioned that it felt like the picks of Rivers and Wise seemed like they specifically were to fill the Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones holes in the roster. Not that they are the exact same kind of players, but there are similarities. Rivers will likely see some time as a designated pass rusher early on, but I think he’ll need a full year like Collins did to get fully acclimated to the jump he must make. As for Wise, it will be interesting to see where they start him.

— Will be diving into some of the notable rookie free agents, including Austin Carr, Harvey Langi and DJ Killings, the trio that would appear to have the best shot at a roster spot based off of the initial depth chart.

— Belichick signing a set of twins in the Hollisters is another one of those weird footnote trivia bits to go with random records like Doug Flutie‘s dropkick and Vinnie Testaverde’s touchdown record.

— Every year there seems to be one important position with no depth. In 2013 it was defensive tackle and the team struggled when injuries struck there. In 2014 it was having only two good defensive ends, but they escaped injury. In 2015 it was running back and they again struggled when the spot was hit. In 2016 it was offensive tackle and they were lucky Solder and Cannon went wire to wire. In 2017, the spot that scares me is linebacker because after Dont’a Hightower it’s a mix and match potpourri that won’t be as effective. Can Shea McClellin or Jonathan Freeny take a major step forward? Could be critical.