The Major Questions for Patriots Training Camp
2 days. #PatsCamp pic.twitter.com/6kcgMW17aE
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) July 25, 2017
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This should come as no surprise, but as we walk through this vale of tears we call life, there are few things I enjoy more than football training camp. There’s just something about the subtle beauty of watching dozens of young guys, many of whom will be wearing vest with a name tag on it and working a pricing gun in a few weeks, running through drills while middle aged men yell at them and spin whistles on their fingers that speaks to me. This is actually the first year where I’ll be going on a press credential, but I’ve been going to Patriots camp since at least the mid-1990s, when it was at Bryant College in Smithfield, RI.
I distinctly remember going with my brother down there in 2001, as the Pats were coming off a 5-10 season and Terry Glenn was racing the Tour de Sidelines with another fake hamstring pull. And I asked my brother to give me some reason – just one – to feel good about the team’s prospects. He listed a bunch of them, including the additions of guys who meant nothing to me at the time. Joe Andruzzi. Mike Compton. Mike Vrabel. Just to name a few. I don’t think it helped, but it was the foundation of a dynasty and I haven’t missed a camp yet. And I’m sure as hell not about to skip this one after the best offseason by a champ in the Super Bowl era.
With that preamble, with full squad practices starting Thursday, here are the major questions we should expect to be answered in the six weeks until the season opener:
Who’s the third cornerback? First World problems, I know. The starting five in the secondary is arguably as set as it’s ever been. And with the exception of Malcolm Butler, all three safeties and Stephon Gilmore are secure with long term contracts. But slot corner has evolved into an actual position in today’s Arena League NFL, so we’ll be looking for someone to lock down that spot. The incumbent would appear to be Eric Rowe, who got significant reps in the Super Bowl run. Justin Coleman improved somewhat from the Darius Butlerish turnstyle he was as a rookie. But the biggest issue will be Cyrus Jones, who was so gawdawful at handling punts that it distracted from how bad he handled pass coverage. If there’s anything left of his confidence (Jones has said he didn’t even “feel like a part of the team,” which is bad juju) coaches can tap into and turn him into the guy they drafted out of Nick Saban’s system, the time to salvage his career is now.
Will a lead running back emerge? You can feel pretty good about a running back situation that replaces LeGarrette Blount with Mike Gillislee (5.7 YPA each of the last two seasons) and Rex Burkhead (119 yards on 27 carries in Week 17). And God knows they’ve won before with a Justice League of Running Backs approach, since in 2014 they became the first Super Bowl champ without a single back having 100 carries. But Blount was a bellcow last year. His 299 rushes were not only the sixth most in team history, they were three times the total Gillislee had. Right now Gillislee looks like the logical choice to be the tough mudder that gets the ball at the goal line and short yardage situations, but he gives away 35 pounds to the guy who produced a franchise record 18 rushing touchdowns last year. And that production will have to come from somewhere. Of course if worse comes to worst, the Pats can always wait until Blount pisses everyone off in Philly or smokes weed in a car before a preseason game and then re-sign him. It worked before.
Who’s in the rotation on the edge? This is the most unpredictable position in the Belichick system. A few years back, Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones were among the league leaders in defensive snaps. In the last three or so seasons, they’ve gone much more to situational packages with a mix that’s included various guys like Akeem Ayers, Jaball Sheard, Akiem Hicks and last year, Chris Long and Trey Flowers. This off-season they’ve added Kony Ealy and drafted Derek Rivers and Deatrich Wise. Add Shea McClellin and Geneo Grissom, who play off the line as well as rush from the outside into the mix, and this will be a position worth watching from Day One.
How will Brandin Cooks fit in? The hardest thing on the Patriots to handicap is which receiver can function in this system and which ones can’t. For every Deion Branch who establishes a psychic/emotional link with Brady and thrives here, there are a half dozen Chad Johnsons, Joey Galloways and Doug Gabriels who don’t pack the gear to hack it in Brady’s beloved Corps. And with rare exceptions like Malcolm Mitchell last year, once Brady loses confidence in a target, he tends to look elsewhere. How Cooks functions be hard to tell in 7-on-7s or with D-linemen going “3 Mississippi” before rushing the passer. As we’ve seen, he’s got Warp Factor 9 speed and runs precise routes. But he’s not someone who’ll high point a ball to win the 50/50s. So we might have to wait until scrimmages and games to really get a feel for him. But you’d be insane to bet against him being a lethal weapon in Brady’s arsenal.
What’s with Arya’s wolf? I don’t think any of us are too up on our Season One by this point. But Arya did send Nymeria away so he wouldn’t get killed for biting King Joffrey. And that was him, right? In spite of what she said about “That’s not you,” which I think was more a metaphor for her own personal journey and a callback to when Ned told her she’d grow up to wear pretty dresses and marry a prince and she said “That’s not me.” I think I’m right about this. And that whole scene was to set up a moment later in the season when the wolf pack will show up deus ex machina and totally save Arya’s bacon. Sorry. The Patriots don’t have a lot of questions this camp. But I’m sure they’re wondering this too.
Who will be the surprise cut? On a team where even talented athletes like Dominique Easley and Jamie Collins aren’t immune from visits from The Turk, practically no one is safe. Last year the surprise cut of camp was Terrance Knighton. This camp it will be … somebody. Brandon Bolden seems a likely candidate, since he’s a non-factor in the offense and Burkhead is also a Special Teams stud. This time last year, insiders were all excited about watching Grissom’s Year Two Jump, which was made by Flowers instead. Right over Grissom, in fact. So he wouldn’t be a shock. The addition of David Harris probably spells doom for a linebacker who had significant snaps last year, maybe McClellin, Kyle Van Noy or Elandon Roberts. And again, Cyrus Jones might want to consider a Tenant at Will rental for now. But the trendy pick right now is Dion Lewis because of his inability to stay healthy. While I think he shows too much when he does have the ball in his hands, the only thing that should surprise us any more is that Belichick is still able to surprise us.