The Patriots play a meaningful football in 10 days when the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles come to town. Are they ready? And if not, where do they need to improve?
Those questions are among the many you contributed in this week's Mailbag. Let's get to answering them...
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Thanks, Dave. Same to you and yours. Could always see something along the offensive line, though they just added two players via trade who they wanted on their active roster. They look maxed out there numbers-wise at the moment.
Where I'm looking for a potential trade? Quarterback.
The Patriots made it very clear they weren't satisfied with Bailey Zappe as their No. 2 when they released him. This quote from Bill Belichick back in 2016, I think, details how we should view the move to expose Zappe to the rest of the league via waivers.
"If you really want that player and you just can’t bear to live without them, then you shouldn’t be exposing them to the wire," Belichick said that summer. "That’s the reality of it... If you’re prepared to waive them, then you’ve got to be prepared to lose them. That’s just the way it is."
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If they were prepared to lose him, they were prepared to be on the lookout for something better. I think that would have to happen via trade, unless you view Colt McCoy as an upgrade. I think a trade there is still in play.
Could they dial up Nick Caserio in Houston for Case Keenum or Davis Mills? Would they want Pittsburgh's No. 3, Mason Rudolph? What about Minnesota's experienced backup, Nick Mullens, who shares a position room with Kirk Cousins and rookie Jaren Hall?
UPDATE (4:30 p.m. ET): The Patriots have claimed quarterback Matt Corral off waivers, per multiple reports. The 2022 third-round pick out of Ole Miss was waived by the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday.
I don't see how they could be, Kevin. They're currently held hostage on the offensive side of the ball by what they're dealing with on the offensive line. They're banged up. They haven't practiced much together. They're going to have to coach around it in some capacity against what looks like one of the best teams in football. That to me doesn't constitute "ready."
Add in the fact that they chose to bail on joint practices in Tennessee and go into full-on survival mode for Exhibition No. 3, and it's clear they haven't been able to maximize every opportunity to get ready. But had they participated in all of those things and racked up even more injuries in the process, then they'd be even less prepared for Week 1.
I get why Bill Belichick approached it the way he did. I would've done the same thing when it came to the final preseason game. But my guess is if you gave him truth serum even he would say they aren't as well-prepared as he'd like them to be.
In the here and now, it's fair to look at the 2023 draft and wonder why there wasn't an investment made at tackle before Sidy Sow in the fourth round. Only natural to look at the roster, look at what appears to be a real issue, and ask yourself why they couldn't have come across an answer with all the draft capital they had.
That said, in my opinion, years from now, this draft has the potential to be viewed as one of Bill Belichick's best.
As is the case with any draft class, we need to give it a few years. Even after the 2022 class was panned in real time -- outside of the Marcus Jones pick, there were few who received positive immediate grades from us -- that caveat was relevant. But if they end up getting five or six real contributors that's an excellent class. Christian Gonzalez, Keion White, Marte Mapu, Demario "Pop" Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and Chad Ryland are off to good starts.
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Now... if the Patriots don't figure out their tackle situation, if Gonzalez doesn't work out, and if Georgia tackle Broderick Jones (taken by the Steelers with the original New England first-rounder) ends up an All-Pro? Then maybe even long-term this class doesn't look the way I think it could.
But after seeing a full training camp, it's hard not to be intrigued by the long-term potential of several of these players.
Clare! This may seem callous, particularly to lovers of the position. But you probably don't need three tight ends on the 53 if you don't feel as though you have three players who are coveted by other clubs.
They'll be able to call up Matt Sokol to the game-day roster -- which, as things stand right now, I would anticipate -- and if he continues to be a regular game-day option then eventually they'll have to get him on the 53-man roster. (Players are allowed three call-ups from the practice squad before they need to get on the active roster to play in another game.)
Sokol is the best option to be used as a blocker, in my opinion, but it's interesting they brought Pharoah Brown aboard given his experience with Bill O'Brien (Texans, 2020).
Like where your head is at with the Carolina mention. Something has to work itself out there, you would think.
Would be interesting to see if Tommy Tremble -- an aggressive blocker out of Notre Dame a couple of years ago -- would be of any interest to them if he shook free. Former tight ends coach Nick Caley was in South Bend to scout Tremble back in 2021.
The Mailbag is a royal blue LL Bean backpack with my initials on the back. You're probably thinking, "Boy, that's non-traditional for mail transport." And you'd be right. But it's what I'm comfortable with.
Robert Kraft wants to win Super Bowls. But I think he's also trying to be realistic. If you've paid close attention to some of his public commentary, there have been suggestions that the Patriots need to get to the playoffs and win a game. Then at the owner's meetings this year, there seemed to be an acknowledgement of the talent in the division, and he made mention of the goal being to make the playoffs. Subtle difference there.
The standards remain high for Kraft, but there's a balance I believe he wants to strike between demanding a championship and being a quick-trigger owner whose results-oriented perspective negatively impacts his ability to make sound decisions in the process of building toward one.
If Kraft believes the people he's put in charge to make the bulk of those decisions for his football team -- namely Bill Belichick -- aren't holding up their end of the bargain consistently, then I believe he'll pivot.
Great question, Uncle Jim. I'm with you. I'd be surprised to see Cole Strange take every snap in Week 1. He was very limited -- he really looked like a non-participant after stretching -- in a fully-padded practice on Wednesday.
If that's the case, look for rookie fifth-rounder Atonio Mafi to be the fill-in. Mike Onwenu looks healthier right now. But at right guard, if they needed someone, it could also be Mafi. Could be newcomer Vederian Lowe, who's seen reps at guard in practice. Could be a p-squad callup like veteran James Ferentz or Kody Russey.
Rookie center Jake Andrews is on the active roster so he's an option as well, though I haven't seen him rep at guard very much since early in training camp. Sow, meanwhile, has played all tackle, so I wouldn't anticipate him bumping back inside even though he played there for the vast majority of his college career.
It'll be interesting to see how many players Belichick is willing to dress on the offensive line for Week 1 given the health of some of his top guys. Would he roll with more than eight out of 46 total?
Anything after the fourth round -- unless you're a specialist -- is a gamble. That's my opinion on it. I think most in the league view it similarly.
Should you be able to get more out of a Day 3 running back? Yes. But if you don't, odds are he wasn't drafted to take on a real role immediately anyway. Dart throw.
He's healthy, KO. Has had an up-and-down camp in coverage. Will be the team's primary returner.
What's been interesting to note -- though not completely unexpected -- is that he hasn't been used offensively in the practices we've seen. Doesn't mean they can't sprinkle him in on that side. And they should, if they want one of their top playmakers to have an opportunity to change games offensively. But I understand wanting to let him focus on his top-two responsibilities.
If he kept up with the schedule he had at times last year -- going to meetings for all three units and having to be prepared to play high-usage roles in all three phases -- the team would be asking for him to burn out.
Like it, Chuck. They're going to pressure. Quite a bit, if you ask me. They've been doing it all summer. And defensive backs coming from all angles feels like it's a very real possibility.
I think Douglas is the No. 4 receiver with or without Tyquan Thornton, Paulie. His performance this summer was more consistent than anything we saw from Thornton last year. That includes Thornton's brief-but-impressive camp and his flashes of production against Cleveland mid-season.
They're used differently. Douglas has speed but looks like a slot option, primarily, whereas Thornton looks like more of a vertical threat. But don't be surprised if Douglas has a role right off the bat.
My guess is J.J. Taylor will be back on the practice squad soon, James. And I'm with you on Ty Montgomery. It's been a while since he's been consistently productive. But if they both end up on the practice squad -- Montgomery is already there -- you'd think they both will have the opportunity to compete for a game-day call-up role.
It's Rhamondre Stevenson. Division of labor in the backfield is much different now than it was with LeGarrette Blount and James White. They have two guys now who can do a bit of everything versus two guys who split up specified responsibilities.
Teams can protect up to four practice-squad players from other teams on Tuesday of each week. Every p-squadder is available to be signed to another team's active roster after their team's game until the following Tuesday's deadline.
Some other key p-squad rules that may be of interest now that there are a couple of high-profile players on that unit in New England...
- Teams can elevate two players from the practice squad to the game-day roster every week.
- A player can be elevated three times per season. If that player is needed for a fourth game, he has to be signed to the active roster.
- Practice-squadders can't leave one practice squad for another. To go to another team, a practice-squad player has to sign to the new club's active roster.
- P-squadders can't sign with upcoming opponents unless the signing happens six days before the upcoming game. (That bumps up to 10 days if the team is on a bye.)