PatsBlog: A Patriots Blog

Yesterday, Patriots cornerback Chad Scott was placed on injured reserve.  Scott, who injured his left knee the first day of practice, was going to help fill the void left by Asante’s holdout.  So his injury is a bigger blow than it seems.  Now, the Patriots need Asante Samuel, which helps to fill his side of the argument.

The Patriots have actually moved Meriweather down to cornerback, where he has been playing very well, seemingly knocking away anything that comes in his direction.

• Atttendance
  • Same players out as in the morning, except for safety Rashad Baker, who was not seen at practice
• Chad Scott
  • Injured his knee trying to break up a pass near the beginning of practice
  • Was carted off the field holding his left knee
  • If the injury is serious, as it seems, cornerback depth will become as important as ever.  Right now, Ellis Hobbs and Randall Gay are the starters at corner, with Tory James being the third guy.  My guess, is that if Samuel keeps holding out, that they will move Eugene Wilson down to corner, and hope that Meriweather can man the other safety spot.
• Laurence Maroney
  • Looked good in the receiving game.  However, none of that is very important until we learn the status of his shoulder injury.
• James Sanders
  • Was excelling all of the field.  Stepped in at times for great break ups.
• Jabar Gaffney
  • Once again excelled during practice.  Making several nice catches and big plays.
• Matt Cassel
  • His throws were shaky, and quite off target.  It’s only day one, so I wouldn’t worry yet.

• Attendance
  • The Patriots kicked off day one of training camp in the Gillette Stadium practice fields.  The place was packed to the point that tardy fans were forced to stand.
• Absent Players
  • Brandon Meriweather (contract issues, no longer a problem)
  • Donte Stallworth
  • Asante Samuel (holdout)
  • Kareem Brown
  • Rest of PUP
• Players who donned red non-contact jerseys
  • Junior Seau
  • Eric Alexander
  • Laurence Maroney
• Randy Moss
  • Received big ovations at times, center of attention at practice
  • Looked good sometimes, shaky at others
  • Caught a nice deep bomb from Brady during 11 on 11 drills
• Jabar Gaffney
  • With Stallworth out, Gaffney was able to step up, and he looked very impressive in doing so
• Adalius Thomas
  • Overall, is looking very solid
  • made some nice plays in pass coverage
  • played inside and outside linebacker
• Danny Baugher
  • Was very impressive.  Played very well in Europe, and now he’s translating that to training camp.  Once again, outplayed Tom Malone.
• Sammy Morris
  • Was not wearing a non-contact jersey (as he did during mini camp)
  • Once again, was good receiving passes out of the backfield
• Ellis Hobbs
  • 3rd year, and he may be set to break out, especially if Asante doesn’t show up until week 10.  He made several nice plays in pass coverage during practice.
• Steve Gostkowski
  • Looked very good.  Did not miss during field goal practice.  Leg wise, in my opinion, Gostkowski is better than Vinatieri.  However, we still need to see how that will translate in pressure situations (although he didn’t miss one pressure kick last year).

The Patriots announced the release of rookie runningback Justise Hairston today.  The Patriots selected Hairston in the sixth round of the NFL draft in April.  Hairston was released after being placed on PUP with an undisclosed injury.  I thought he looked good in minicamp, and with his size, and his domination in 1-AA, I thought he had a chance with the team.  Apparently I was wrong.

The Patriots also moved Donte Stallworth to PUP.  Stallworth was not present for todays practice.

From Christopher L. Gasper at Reiss’ Pieces:

A source close to Patriots first round pick Brandon Meriweather has confirmed that the sides have completed a five-year deal. The source said that Meriweather would be at Patriots’ practice tomorrow. We’ll try to track down terms of the deal.

Although Meriweather was not present for the Patriots first practice this morning, he and his agent, Joby Branion of Athletes First, had essentially agreed to terms with the Patriots. The sides were just ironing out a few details, which prevented Meriweather from participating.

The source close to Meriweather said there was never any threat of a holdout as the defensive back was eager to get in on time. He’s a little tardy, but I’m sure the Patriots will take it.

It’s good to hear there will be no holdout, as there likely will be with Brady Quinn of the Browns.  We haven’t seen much of Meriweather yet, and I’m eager to see him play.

Randy Moss has finally selected his jersey number, which will be 81.  Moss had delayed the number for three months, until he finally selected it today.  For the minicamp season, Moss wore #6, but is now wearing #81.

Overview:

For the last five or six years, tight ends have been a very esssential piece of the Patriots offense.  The Patriots generally don’t start a full back and start two tight ends instead (or an h-back).  However, this year the Patriots acquired more than a handfull of potentially star receivers.  Will this take away from the tight ends productivity in the Patriots offense?  Whether or not, the Patriots have a nice core of tight ends.  It starts with fourth year tight end Ben Watson.  Watson has pro bowl talent, but something always seems to be stopping him.  Last year, he was off to a great start the first half of the year, but slowed down tremendously.  The Patriot’s usual other starting tight end, Daniel Graham, left for the Broncos this offseason.  But the Patriots have a new weapon ready.  His name is David Thomas.  In limited playing time in ‘06 as a rookie, Thomas excelled, and showed some of the softest hands on the team.  I expect he’ll have at least 25-30 grabs this year.  Thomas however, is not a blocking tight end (which Graham was).  So they went out and signed the best blocking tight end on the market, Kyle Brady.  Although Brady never lived up to his hype coming out of college, he is a great blocker and a decent receiver (looked very good in minicamp).  Garrett Mills is also an interesting player.  He was very good last year in the preseason, before going on IR.  He is also quite versatile, which is a plus (plays h-back and fullback, as well as tight end).  Matt Kranchick is a big body, he won’t make the roster, but can still make the practice squad.

Roster

Garrett Mills

Matt Kranchick

Kyle Brady

Ben Watson

David Thomas

Predicted Depth Chart

1. Ben Watson. Rating: 91

2. David Thomas.  Rating: 79

3. Kyle Brady.  Rating: 76

4. Garrett Mills.  Rating: 71

CUTS: Matt Kranchick

Training Camp Battles:

Garrett Mills vs. Himself

Can Mills stay healthy?  Can he play well enough and be versatile enough to make it to the roster.  If he gets cut, he probably won’t make it to the practice squad, because he will be taken off waivers.

Tight End Grade: B+

Kelley Washington was cleared from the physically unable to perform list yesterday.  This means he can now practice with the team.  Not like there was any practice that he missed in the first place.  I can see how it made a whole lot of sense putting him on the list then.

Here is the list:

WR Troy Brown
RB Justise Hairston
WR Chad Jackson
CB Eddie Jackson
S Mel Mitchell
DL Richard Seymour
TE David Thomas
WR Kelley Washington

With Troy Brown, Kelley Washington, and Chad Jackson all out, it will give players like Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney a chance to earn their roster spots.  Troy Brown is likely only on PUP so that he can sit out two-a-days.  Once they’re over, he will likely be activated (sort of how Testaverde is waiting to sign his contract).  If Kelley Washington is hurt for more than two weeks, he will likely be cut.  It’s surprising to see Seymour and David Thomas on that list as well.

Overview:

Wide receiver is going to be the most competitive position this year in training camp.  During the offseason, the Patriots acquired four big name receivers: Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Randy Moss, and Kelley Washington.  They will join last year’s crop of Jabar Gaffney, Reche Caldwell, Randy Moss, Chad Jackson, Bam Childress, and Kelvin Kight.  There are no real locks on who makes the team, as each receiver brings something different to the table.  Donte Stallworth is a speed demon on the outside, and is always prime for big plays.  Wes Welker is a slot receiver, who could catch a lot of passes, with defenses focusing on the two outside receivers, Randy Moss and Stallworth.  If Moss says and does all of the right things, he could become a superstar with the team.  After those three, the real competition begins.  There is Mr. Reliable, Troy Brown.  Although I would like to see Troy on the team next year, I don’t know if Belichick will keep him on the squad.  Kelley Washington also brings some versatility to the table.  He is a tall receiver who can play on the outside and the inside, which makes him pretty valuable.  However, he struggled during minicamp, and it will be interesting to see if that translates to training camp.  Then there is last year’s top receiver, Reche Caldwell.  He has some talent, can play multiple receiver positions, and for the most part has good hands.  However, catching passes from Tom Brady may have made him overrated.  Jabar Gaffney became a fan favorite last year in the playoffs (unlike fellow receiver Reche Caldwell).  In three playoff games, Gaffney hauled in 21 passes, including some that were quite amazing.  With a full year in the system, could Gaffney become a lethal weapon?  A big tossup is Chad Jackson.  He tore his ACL against the Colts in the AFC Championship game, and there has been no update on his rehab.  I see three options for him.  He is recovered, and gets cut at the end of training camp, he goes on PUP so the Patriots can wait it out, or he goes straight to IR.  I like Jackson, and he has loads of potential (more than any other Patriot receiver), but he hasn’t shown the ability to use that potential.  One last guy is Brandon “Bam” Childress.  This year will be his third year with the team (however most has been on the practice squad).  He is versatile, and can even play defense (ala Troy Brown).  He has soft hands, decent speed (returning ability), and will likely make the practice squad again.  Kelvin Kight, who played sparingly last year, will also like make the PS as well.  Chris Dunlap is a rookie free agent who impressed at rookie minicamp, but is a long shot at even making the practice squad.  CJ Jones is a 3 year veteran who has never seen any NFL action.

Roster

CJ Jones

Chris Dunlap

Randy Moss

Reche Caldwell

Jabar Gaffney

Wes Welker

Donte Stallworth

Kelley Washington

Troy Brown

Bam Childress

Kelvin Kight

Chad Jackson

Predicted Depth Chart

CUTS: CJ Jones, Chris Dunlap, Kelley Washington

PRACTICE SQUAD: Bam Childress, Kelvin Kight

INJURED RESERVE / PUP: Chad Jackson

Outside - Starter #1

1. Randy Moss

2. Reche Caldwell

Outside - Starter #2

1. Donte Stallworth

2. Jabar Gaffney

Slot Receiver

1. Wes Welker

2. Troy Brown

Training Camp Battles:

Jabar Gaffney vs. Reche Caldwell vs. Troy Brown vs. Kelley Washington

This battle was primarily explained above.  The Patriots will likely keep two or three of the listed receivers.  As of now, Kelley Washington would be my pick to get cut because of his performance during mini camp.  However, he brings height, which the other three don’t.  Jabar Gaffney looked like a stud in the playoffs, was that his actual ability, or was that just a fluke.  Reche Caldwell is a well rounded receiver, but does he bring anything special to the table?  Troy Brown is a fan favorite, but does he have anything left in the tank.  Chad Jackson will be included in this battle if he rehabs quick enough.

Receiver Grade: A-