Patriots Training Camp: A Look Ahead July 7, 2009

We’re currently in the “dark days” of the sports calendar. No football, no college basketball. It’s too early in the season to care about baseball much. I’m stuck with golf, tennis, NASCAR, cycling. Occasionally a soccer match of interest will come along (¡viva FC Barce!) but really I’m stuck pleading with the calendar for NFL training camps to start.
The New England Patriots open camp on July 30. There’s a lot to anticipate this season, what with the return of Brady and all. In particular, here’s the news out of training camp I’m looking forward to hearing:
Brady’s Timing
By all accounts, the leading man under center’s knee is completely healed and he’s not limited in any way… the fact that he suffered the injury at the beginning of last season (as opposed to, say, Carson Palmer, who was rushed back after blowing his ACL in the playoffs) means that he’s further along physically than most QBs returning from a knee explosion. However, that doesn’t mean he’ll be his old self immediately, and in particular I think it will take some time to re-establish communication and rhythm with the receiving corps, which features some new faces that weren’t around last time Brady played (e.g. the ageless Joey Galloway).
Emerging Secondary
It seems like there’s always a lot of offseason turnover in the Patriots’ defensive backfield, but the youth present this year seems unusually prominent, with Hobbs having been traded and Harrison retiring. I’m really curious to see who earns significant playing time. Will much-ballyhooed rookies Pat Chung (S) and Darius Butler (CB) see much time?  How will second-year CBs Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite fare, competing with the new additions of Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden?
Replacing Vrabel
There’s been a lot of hang-wringing going on among both fans and pundits regarding the gap at OLB the team created after trading Mike Vrabel. While it’s hard to see a veteran leader with gas still in the tank let go, it’s hard to argue that things were headed in the right direction for the team: he was clearly slowing down (no TD receptions last year!) and his salary was shooting up. I don’t think the team’s failure to secure Jason Taylor or Julius Peppers means the OLB spot is now deficient. But I am curious to see who winds up getting the starting spot as there are a lot of names in the ring: Gary Guyton, Pierre Woods, Shawn Crable… even Tully Banta-Cain is back and in the mix.
Backfield Deployment
Not content with aging the roster by adding Galloway, the Patriots also signed veteran RB Fred Taylor. Maroney and Sammy Morris should both be healthy, and of course Kevin Faulk is still around. LaMont Jordan, on the other hand, isn’t. While it’s clear how Faulk will be used, everyone else’s role seems up the air. How much does Taylor have left? Is Maroney going to cement his status as a first-round bust, or was he legitimately hampered by his shoulder injury last season?

We’re currently in the “dark days” of the sports calendar. No football, no college basketball. It’s too early in the season to care about baseball much. I’m stuck with golf, tennis, NASCAR, and cycling. Occasionally a soccer match of interest will come along (¡viva FC Barce!) but really I’m busy pleading with the calendar for NFL training camps to start.

The New England Patriots open camp on July 30. There’s a lot to anticipate this season, what with the return of Brady and all. In particular, here’s the news out of training camp I’m looking forward to hearing:

Brady’s Timing
By all accounts, the leading man under center’s knee is completely healed and he’s not limited in any way. The fact that he suffered the injury at the beginning of last season (as opposed to, say, Carson Palmer, who blew his ACL in the playoffs) means that Brady is further along physically than most QBs returning from a knee explosion. However, that doesn’t mean he’ll be his old self immediately. In particular, it will take some time to re-establish communication and rhythm with the receiving corps, which features some new faces that weren’t around last time Brady played (e.g. Joey Galloway).

Emerging Secondary
It seems like there’s always a lot of offseason turnover in the Patriots’ defensive backfield, but the changes this year seem unusually extensive, with Hobbs having been traded and Harrison retiring. I’m really curious to see who earns significant playing time. Will much-ballyhooed rookies Pat Chung (S) and Darius Butler (CB) see much time?  How will second-year CBs Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite fare, competing with the new additions of Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden?

Replacing Vrabel
There’s been a lot of hand-wringing among both fans and pundits regarding the gap at OLB the team created after trading Mike Vrabel. While it’s hard to see a veteran leader with gas still in the tank let go, it’s difficult to argue that things were headed in the right direction for the team: he was clearly slowing down (no TD receptions last year!) and his salary was shooting up.

While I don’t think the team’s failure to secure Jason Taylor or Julius Peppers means the OLB spot is now deficient, I’m very curious to see who winds up getting the starting spot. There are a lot of names in the ring: Gary Guyton, Pierre Woods, Shawn Crable… even Tully Banta-Cain is back and in the mix.

Backfield Deployment
Not content with aging the roster by adding Galloway, the Patriots also signed veteran RB Fred Taylor. Maroney and Sammy Morris should both be healthy, and of course Kevin Faulk is still around. LaMont Jordan, on the other hand, isn’t. While it’s clear how Faulk will be used, everyone else’s role seems up the air. How much does Taylor have left? Is Maroney going to cement his status as a first-round bust, or was he legitimately hampered by his shoulder injury last season? It’ll be interesting to see who gets the carries.

Only 23 days until camp starts!

Author: Ben
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