ESPN guys' roster projections

[Fencer]

Wasn't mankins playing tackle when he got hurt last year? I definitely remember seeing him at tackle, pretty sure it was lt, and the same game he got rolled up...

Yep. However, I don't have the same never-again feeling about that I got from Seymour at FB. Of course, Seymour was also guilty of more than one false-start at FB, which was part of the whole idea looking like it didn't work.

 

[Fencer]

Meanwhile, at the rate things are going Connolly could easily line up at 4 positions over the course of the season -- all 3 interior OL spots, plus FB .

But then, Hernandez is a threat to line up at every offensive position except QB or OL ...

 

[mgteich]

Five, including kick returner.

If Cannon is the 3rd TE for awhile, then we have no backups at all at OT or TE, even with Vollmer healthy.

Meanwhile, at the rate things are going Connolly could easily line up at 4 positions over the course of the season -- all 3 interior OL spots, plus FB .

But then, Hernandez is a threat to line up at every offensive position except QB or OL ...

 

[patchick]

I am flexible enough to have considered Gallery as the 4th OT "position". Now, for me, that spot should be filled. If Vollmer is out for a game, we need to have a Game Day backup who is ready to play.

That's the key for me. When Gallery was signed, he looked like a G/RT for some extra roster flexibility. When the reports of him looking old and slow starting coming in, some rejiggering was in order.

FWIW, Weems is now on my PatsPicker roster, bumping out one of Koppen and Wendell.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I agree, and keeping Deaderick also leaves them with more flexibility to show old-time-Pats-style 3-4 looks on occasion. But...



...did you just cut Kyle Love? Really? IMO Love is much more of a lock than Deaderick. In fact, inasmuch as there is any 7-man "base" for this defense, it's likely to feature Love in a 4-man line with Jones, Wilfork and Ninkovich.

Love is a lock as well as Deaderick IMO

I think a battle for a final spot will come between Warren and Pryor.....Warren is far from a lock IMO

 

[mgteich]

I agree that the choice is between a healthy Pryor and Warren. You can decide how likely it is that Pryor is anywhere near 100%.

Love is a lock as well as Deaderick IMO

I think a battle for a final spot will come between Warren and Pryor.....Warren is far from a lock IMO

 

[Urgent]

The back end DB roster spot is interesting.

Early in camp Will Allen seemed to be getting some play. He may not offer much on ST, but is good coverage depth at S/CB. If you prioritize coverage for DB depth, he is the best option. If you go just with ST, you want Ihedigbo and/or Barrett.

The Dennard decision sort of comes down to his ability to get back on the field. Last year the Pats somehow saw enough in Tarpinian that they kept him over Niko Koutovides/Marques Murrell/Markell Carter at the camp cutdown even though he missed most of the preseason. Probably too early to write Dennard off.

And on Koutovides vs. Tarp - all three ESPN writers pick Koutovides over Tarpinian. Last year the Patriots kept an injured Tarpinian over a healthy Koutovides, then ended up picking up Koutovides when they needed him. I guess either would be available when the Patriots shed one of them.

 

[patfanken]

The back end DB roster spot is interesting.

Early in camp Will Allen seemed to be getting some play. He may not offer much on ST, but is good coverage depth at S/CB. If you prioritize coverage for DB depth, he is the best option. If you go just with ST, you want Ihedigbo and/or Barrett.

The Dennard decision sort of comes down to his ability to get back on the field. Last year the Pats somehow saw enough in Tarpinian that they kept him over Niko Koutovides/Marques Murrell/Markell Carter at the camp cutdown even though he missed most of the preseason. Probably too early to write Dennard off.

And on Koutovides vs. Tarp - all three ESPN writers pick Koutovides over Tarpinian. Last year the Patriots kept an injured Tarpinian over a healthy Koutovides, then ended up picking up Koutovides when they needed him. I guess either would be available when the Patriots shed one of them.

Staying with the DB's I see Barrett over the Ihedigbu because while the position is less important that in the past, there IS a need for a true strong saftety presence in certain subsets. I think a healthy Barrett gives us that presence over anyone else on the roster.

 

[Avenger]

I think Ebert will beat out branch and stallworth.

 

[Kontradiction]

I think Ebert will beat out branch and stallworth.

Probably not, though.

 

[signbabybrady]

Our #3 OT is considering by many here to be a better RG and certainly not one to count on as a backup LT (I think that Belichick disagrees).

I dont think Cannon at guard has ever developed. There was a thought when he was drafted that it might be with guard in mind Given at the time we had 3 solid tackles (Light, Solder, and Vollmer) two of which are still young. But the bottom line is since he was activated last year from the PUP he has almost exclusively worked at tackle. And based on the depth on this team I see no reason why that changes moving forward.
As far as one to count on as LT I think he would be third up at left tackle Solder obviously as the starter but I think long term if needed Volmer would kick over to LT before Cannon would. I think the 3 of them provide pretty good depth at the position and certainly are your 3 gameday active tackles. I would assume you would want one more tackle on the 53 but certainly the PS if not. This all assumes Vollmer will come back healthy and if he doesnt we are thin and it will be scary.

 

[letekro]

Love is a lock as well as Deaderick IMO

I think a battle for a final spot will come between Warren and Pryor.....Warren is far from a lock IMO

Pryor is irrelevant right now because he is getting PUPped. Chances are, come week 6, someone will be hurt and he will be able to fill that slot. Hopefully he can stay healthy when that time comes.

 

[UK_Pat37]

I dont think Cannon at guard has ever developed. There was a thought when he was drafted that it might be with guard in mind Given at the time we had 3 solid tackles (Light, Solder, and Vollmer) two of which are still young. But the bottom line is since he was activated last year from the PUP he has almost exclusively worked at tackle. And based on the depth on this team I see no reason why that changes moving forward.
As far as one to count on as LT I think he would be third up at left tackle Solder obviously as the starter but I think long term if needed Volmer would kick over to LT before Cannon would. I think the 3 of them provide pretty good depth at the position and certainly are your 3 gameday active tackles. I would assume you would want one more tackle on the 53 but certainly the PS if not. This all assumes Vollmer will come back healthy and if he doesnt we are thin and it will be scary.

I think the Cannon thing is over blown just as much as the 'will McCourty permanently shift to safety?' debate which never had any fruition anyway.

We were crippled at Tackle at the time Cannon as called upon to play. He'll play guard if Vollmer and Solder are able to stay healthy. He's not solely going to be one or the other if he proves to be versatile he'll be shifted across the line according to personnel...but I think we'll get to a point that if Vollmer is ever back 100% we will be able to use Cannon solely as a guard.

I think Hix will stick anyway...giving us three pure tackles and the possibility of Cannon backing up given the need.

 

[signbabybrady]

I think the Cannon thing is over blown just as much as the 'will McCourty permanently shift to safety?' debate which never had any fruition anyway.

We were crippled at Tackle at the time Cannon as called upon to play. He'll play guard if Vollmer and Solder are able to stay healthy. He's not solely going to be one or the other if he proves to be versatile he'll be shifted across the line according to personnel...but I think we'll get to a point that if Vollmer is ever back 100% we will be able to use Cannon solely as a guard.

I think Hix will stick anyway...giving us three pure tackles and the possibility of Cannon backing up given the need.

Cannon is the back up tackle he is not a guard until Vollmer comes back he is your starting RT. And if he matures to his pre-tumor hype he could possibly beat Vollmer.

 

[captain stone]

Staying with the DB's I see Barrett over the Ihedigbu because while the position is less important that in the past, there IS a need for a true strong saftety presence in certain subsets. I think a healthy Barrett gives us that presence over anyone else on the roster.

In the case of Barrett v Diggy, the deciding factor probably should be the ability to play on Defense
better than the other. We need all the coverage help back there we can get.