PatsBlog: A Patriots Blog

Bill Belichick hasn’t stopped making headlines.  Today, the team announced the release of receiver Chad Jackson and strong safety John Lynch, bringing the team to 51 players.

With Chad Jackson, I was shocked, to say the least.  I thought he had begun to make strides near the end of the preseason, but apparently it wasn’t enough for Bill Belichick.  Jackson had really struggled fitting in near the beginning of camp, and I guess Belichick had finally had enough.  It will be really disappointing to see him go, and it’ll hurt the team too.  Who is going to be that number four option?  Will it be Washington?  Ventrone?  Slater?  At this point it’s hard to say, although I’m going to start looking at receiver prospects for next years draft.

The feeling I’m getting with John Lynch is that he is going to return following the Kansas City game.  The team likely released him so that his contract would not be guaranteed for the season.  Mike Reiss breaks it down nicely:

“I have no regrets about my time thus far with the Patriots,” said Lynch. “The immense respect that I’ve long held for the organization has been only heightened over the past couple of weeks. I am going to keep all options open and look forward with excitement to see what the future brings.”

The “thus far” part of Lynch’s comment seems to indicate this could be a situation where Lynch is not kept on the Patriots’ roster for the opening week — when salaries for veterans would be guaranteed — before returning to the club after the first game.

Head coach Bill Belichick also included a comment in the team’s release:

“It goes without saying but John is an all-time great safety, one of the league’s classiest professionals and his elite play speaks for itself,” said Belichick. “As has been the case in other situations, I would not rule anything out down the road.”

The Patriots also began filling out their practice squad by signing six players to it.  The players signed include Titus Adams, Mark Dillard, Antwain Spann, Mike Richardson, BenJarvus Green-Ellis… and Vince Redd.

Normally, I wouldn’t excited about a practice-squad team… but this year, I am.  We get to keep two very promising prospects in BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Vince Redd, as well as four guys with upside Mike Richardson, Antwain Spann, Mark Dillard, and Titus Adams.  All of these guys happened to be in contention for roster spots (although Dillard was a longer shot) and it’s amazing that all of them sneaked through waivers the way they did.

The Patriots also claimed two players off waivers.  They claimed tight end Jason Pociask from the Jets and offensive tackle Mark LeVoir from the Rams.  LeVoir, 26, is a former Notre Dame tackle who has yet to appear in a game.  Pociask was a 2006 5th round pick, and has appeared in four games, making one catch.

The report from Patriots.com:

The New England Patriots placed two players on the reserve/injured list, placed one player on the reserve/non-football injury list and released 14 players today. Tackle Oliver Ross (shoulder) was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list, while linebacker Bo Ruud (ankle) and defensive lineman Kenny Smith (arm) were placed on the reserve/injured list. Additionally, New England released first-year defensive lineman Titus Adams, veteran cornerback Fernando Bryant, rookie tight end Tyson DeVree, rookie safety Mark Dillard, veteran center Mike Flynn, rookie running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, veteran quarterback Matt Gutierrez, veteran linebacker Victor Hobson, rookie linebacker Vince Redd, veteran cornerback Mike Richardson, rookie tackle Stephen Sene, veteran defensive back Antwain Spann, veteran defensive lineman Santonio Thomas and veteran offensive lineman John Welbourn.

Ok… where to start?

The biggest surprise?  Fernando Bryant.  I didn’t think he played terrific football, but he was starter from day one.  Wow.  I can’t even begin to hypothesize why he would be released.  I’m shocked.  Also released at the cornerback position was Mike Richardson, someone I predicted.  That leaves Ellis Hobbs, Terrence Wheatley, Jonathan Wilhite, and Lewis Sanders.  But that can’t be all can it?  So… that means Belichick must have something up his sleeve, right?  And if you’re a real Patriots fan, you know who I’m thinking.  Is a Ty Law deal actually imminent?

There weren’t any other “big” surprises, but a few noteable names.  Matt Gutierrez was released.  My guess is that he gets claimed off waivers, although he would likely return to the practice sqad if not.  A lot of people were probably surprised by this move, but I really wasn’t (see previous post).  Then there was BenJarvus Green-Ellis.  Although his release was expected, it really is a shame because I doubt he clears waivers.  I was really dissapointed that Vince Redd got released as well.  I really liked him a lot, and I was hoping that his strong preseason play would be enough to earn him a roster spot.  Hopefully he can clear waivers.  Mike Flynn and Antwain Spann were two other big names to not make the team.  There was also Victor Hobson, but a lot of people saw this coming (again, see previous post).

Now, I’ll address the other type of surprise, the surprise of those who made the team.  Ray Ventrone was one of them.  I’m very glad he made the team.  The converted receiver really showed some flashes this preseason, and he could potentially see some playing time in the slot with Welker’s undisclosed injury.  Then, C.J. Jones.  I’m not going to lie, I counted him out after the first preseason game.  But he has shown some strong receiving and return ability, and surprisingly, showed enough to earn himself a roster spot.  Then, there was Dan Connolly.  I really didn’t think he stood much of a chance at making the roster… but again, I was wrong.

So, in the end, there were some big surprises of who was cut, and who remained.  Yet, the roster is not finalized.  Could a Willie Anderson, Ty Law, or Junior Seau be making their way to (or back to) Foxborough in the coming days?  We’ll just have to wait to see.

The Patriots have begun final cuts by releasing four players, Boston Globe writer Mike Reiss reports:

The New England Patriots announced the released of four players today:second-year nose tackle Steve Fifita, first-year offensive lineman Jimmy Martin, fourth-year cornerback Jeff Shoate and rookie tight end Jonathan Stupar.

The release of these four players brings the Patriots down to 71 players on their roster.  They need to be down to 53 by 4:00 PM tomorrow.

I’m a little dissapointed by the releases of Jonathan Stupar and Steve Fifita, two guys who I liked and who I thought could be viable backups for the team.

Stupar is a long, athletic tight end, who can make catches and traffic, and has a frame he can build upon.  He made a few catches in the preseason, but with the early release, it does not look like they are considering him for a practice sqad spot.  Fifita is a short, but thick player.  He makes an ideal fit at nose tackle.  With a good initial burst and strength, plus some solid preseason play, I thought he had a chance at the final roster, but I guess not.

With the first roster cut at 4:00 PM this afternoon, the Patriots trimmed their roster down to the league mandated 75 player limit.  To make the cut, the Patriots released FB/HB Kyle Eckel, cornerback Jason Webster, and rookie interior lineman Ryan Wendell.  The team also placed right tackle Ryan O’Callaghan on injured reserve, effectively ending his season.  Lastly, the team placed right guard Stephen Neal on the PUP list (the reserve one).

The release of Kyle Eckel wasn’t too surprising.  As I’ve said, although unfortunate, his feel good story had to end at some point.  With a fully stacked backfield, it was too hard for him to grasp a roster spot.  So Belichick gave him an extra few days to be able to sign on with a team, rather than cutting him at final cuts.  Jason Webster was the same kind of thing.  Fresh off of a return from injury, the team chose to let Webster go rather than releases him during the final trim-downs.  Webster’s release increases the chances that rookie Jonathan Wilhite not only makes the team, but sees time on the field.  Ryan Wendell was a rookie center/guard who I liked as a rookie free agent pickup, but being a longer shot, didn’t have enough to make the team.

Then two injury moves will be the hardest to bear.  Ryan O’Callaghan was the perfect back-up/fringe starter guy we needed for depth at the tackle spot.  It’s really unfortunate that he won’t be able to suit up this year.  The Stephen Neal move will also hurt.  Neal hasn’t practiced all training camp due to a knee injury suffered in the Super Bowl.  Still, the Patriots line has looked really shaky without him in the right guard spot.  Billy Yates will likely start in Neal’s spot for the time being, but the Patriots really have to hope that they get him back soon.

The Patriots have signed free agent guard/center Mike Flynn, according to reports.

The signing of Flynn is a result of the numerous number of injuries to the interior of the Patriots line.  Ross Hochstein and Billy Yates, two top back-up interior lineman, have also both suffered injuries.

Flynn has started 115 of 134 games in ten seasons, all of which were with the Baltimore Ravens.  So, Flynn could come in and start if needed. 

But I’m not going to lie, I thought Anthony Clement could surprise some people, and I thought James “Big Cat” Williams would be a stud.  With that in mind, lets just hope Flynn has come ready to play.