Four Questions as Patriots Mini-Camp Opens
 The Patriots mini-camp opens today, and the team has some questions to answer. (SBalestrieri Images) |
The Patriots open their mandatory three-day mini-camp starting Tuesday. It will be running through Thursday this week before the players get an early summer break that will last until the end of July when training camp starts at Foxboro.
As in OTAs, head coach Bill Belichick has stated that the mini-camp is still more focused on teaching than competition but there will be plenty of that going on as well.
The current CBA does not allow pads so the big men in the middle won’t be able to show much of what they can do yet. But there is plenty to be accomplished this week before the players return…with numbers on their jerseys in July.
Team building is a process and this is still very early in this course of action, the team we see now won’t be the same one that will emerge from training camp and won’t be the same one we’ll see in late December.
So here are four questions heading into Mini-camp that will need to be addressed:
 Malcolm Butler will be attempting to parlay his playoff success into a full time role on defense this season. (USA TODAY Images) |
How the will Secondary Flesh Out: Raise your hand if you’ve heard this one before. With the departures of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Kyle Arrington and Alfonzo Dennard, the Patriots lost their three starters at cornerback and another who has played significant snaps.
The drop-off in talent this season is tangible, there’s no way around it. You can’t just replace a Revis-esque talent off the vine; he’s one of, if not the most talented corners in the game but it also doesn’t mean that it is the end of the road for the Patriots secondary. But the look of this year’s team will be different.
Logan Ryan, Malcolm Butler and Bradley Fletcher are the top three players competing for the starting slots. But Daxton Swanson, Darryl Roberts, Justin Green and Jimmy Jean will also be vying for some playing time.
Ryan had a very good rookie season but dropped down the depth chart with the arrival of Revis and Browner last season. Butler the hero of Super Bowl XLIX came out of nowhere last season and showed great promise all through training camp that earned him a roster spot. Now he’ll be looking to take the next step and become a full-time starter. Fletcher had some success in Philadelphia before having a miserable 2014. Now with a new team and a clean slate, he’s looking for redemption.
Butler and Ryan are the two guys to watch closely both this week and into training camp. Both have the talent to be successful and it will bear watching as they get more and more reps as to how they’ll handle the pressure.
At safety, Pat Chung had a very good 2014 playing up close to the box where he’s at his best and wasn’t expected to be a deep cover safety. Devin McCourty was re-signed and is one of the better centerfielders in the game. But with a change in philosophy, what happens next to DMac?
Duron Harmon, Tavon Wilson and newly drafted Jordan Richards will all be pushing Chung for reps and we could very well see a different starting safety next to McCourty once the season starts in September. We’ll be interested in seeing what kind of formations the team uses. If they go to more of a two-deep safety look, that may crack the door open for Harmon or Richards to see more action.
 Brandon Bolden will be looking to get more reps in the offense this season as the Patriots 3rd down back replacing Shane Vereen. (USA TODAY Images) |
Who Replaces Vereen as the 3rd Down Back: Shane Vereen who excelled out of the backfield for the Patriots and who caught 11 passes in the Super Bowl is gone. He signed a free agent deal with the Giants and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, provide mismatches when split wide and pass block will be missed.
So far the reps for the 3rd down back have been split among 2nd year player James White, veteran Brandon Bolden, Dion Lewis and former Saint Travaris Cadet.
White had a red-shirt type rookie season and is looking to make a big jump in his second year. He shined early last spring but quickly fell into the background as the coaches put more on his plate.
Bolden is a core special teams player and at 220 pounds is bigger than most third down backs. He’s done a little bit of everything in his Patriots career and having the most time on the roster has a leg up on his competition. Lewis didn’t play in the NFL last season and is a dark horse.
Cadet is an intriguing player; he has been successful at catching passes out of the backfield, having hauled in 38 for the Saints and Drew Brees in 2014. He’s tall at 6’1, 210 and will have to work on his pass blocking, something he wasn’t asked to do in New Orleans, but is very important in the Patriots offense.
 Rob Gronkowski will be paired with tight end Scott Chandler in 2015, giving the Patriots a pair of huge targets at tight end. (USA TODAY Images) |
How Will the Two-Tight End, Red Zone Offense Work: One of the Patriots best signings this spring was the inking of former Buffalo Bills TE Scott Chandler. Chandler is big, 6’7, 260 and has always been a thorn in the Patriots side. And a Bill Belichick staple has always been, “can’t beat ‘em, sign them.”
Chandler can line up inside or split wide, he has the ability to stretch the seams of the opposing defenses and now lined up with the Patriots Rob Gronkowski, the two will have the opportunity to present a two-headed monster catching passes from Tom Brady that will present matchup nightmares for opposing defenses.
The Patriots have already been working on goal line situations with the two towering tight ends and Brady off to the side while the rest of the team works on the kicking game. That’s usually a good sign that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Belichick have plans to use those players frequently together.
In the red zone, specifically in goal line situations, Gronkowski and Chandler will present a host of options for Brady to utilize. An obvious mismatch for linebackers to try to cover from just a size aspect, expect to see a lot of jump balls as Brady and McDaniels will attempt to isolate those two on smaller linebackers.
Check out Ian Logue's player profile of Gronkowski here: https://t.co/H5kVTQkjbZ
 Tom Brady's appeal of his four-game suspension will be of huge importance to the team this fall. (USA TODAY Images) |
How Will Tom Brady’s Appeal Go: The last question has zero to do with football but may be the most important question facing the team in the early going of the 2014 season. Brady is facing a four-game suspension as a result of the Wells Report and the Deflate-gate flap.
He’s scheduled to appear in New York with his legal team on June 23rd and if the appeal needs more time, to be extended, again on June 25. Commissioner Roger Goodell will hear Brady’s appeal and all eyes will be watching for that result.
The NY Times last week posted a story on their own version of Deflate-gate with an independent investigation conducted by American Enterprise Institute (AEI), that skewered the Wells Report as “deeply flawed.”
How Brady’s legal team will use this, if at all is a question of itself. Will Brady’s suspension be reduced to two games? One? Be completely thrown out or not reduced at all? No one knows for sure but whatever he does Goodell is bound to catch heat.
The Patriots are already having a plan in place with backup QB Jimmy Garappolo getting nearly 50 percent of the snaps during OTAs and having just signed backup QB Matt Flynn as insurance for Garappolo should Brady’s appeal fail.
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our Patriots 4th and 2 podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from PatsFans.com discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.
