Patriots Mailbag: Where things stand heading into Preseason Week 1
The Patriots are off from training camp on Sunday, as they get ready for their first game week of the year with the preseason opener coming up on Thursday. Here’s what fans are asking heading into the week.
Welcome into another edition of the Patriots mailbag! It’s another off day for the Patriots on Sunday, heading into the biggest week of the summer so far. The team will start (very basic) game prep on Monday, with the preseason opener coming up on Thursday against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium.
“When you start to put games in there, you’ve got to approach a day or two out as a game week,” head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters on Saturday when asked how much next week’s practice schedule will be dictated by Thursday’s game. “Like I said, it’s a dress rehearsal for us and it’s a dress rehearsal during the game for all of the coaches as well, who’s on the headsets and things like that. We’ll still be out here competing to be on the New England Patriots roster and saying that, we have to start getting ready for our opponents.”
Still, that preparation only goes to a certain level at this point of the season. “Honestly, it’s more about who you’re playing against. The first preseason game is a very basic game. It’s all about fundamentals, running, tackling, all those things,” Mayo explained. “That’s the most important thing. We’re not going to game plan against our first preseason game. We just won’t do it. If they want to game plan against us, that’s fine, but we need to be able to go out there and run our basic fundamental calls and run them at a high level.”
Fans minds seem to be in the same place, focusing on the internal competition rather than the external. Most of the questions in this week’s Patriots mailbag are about players fighting for roster or depth chart spots on the team. Let’s get to answering them, starting on offense…
Look, it’s a fair concern. Center will be a key position in this new Patriots offense, helping the quarterback set protections. There’s no concerns about David Andrews’ ability to function in that role, but with the importance of the position overall the depth there is notable.
That being said, free agent signing Nick Leverett has emerged as a seemingly solid option behind Andrews. The only question is, Leverett may also be the team’s top backup guard – at least until Cole Strange returns during the season. If there are injuries at both spots, does he play his natural position of guard for the more pivotal position of center? Hopefully, the answer to that question isn’t needed.
It’s not so much about the Patriots not knowing what they have in Shaun Wade, rather his role. If Jonathan Jones is going to play on the boundary most of the time, Marcus Jones becomes the starting slot corner. That leaves Wade as the remaining primary slot cornerback. They have other guys who can play in the slot like Isaiah Bolden and Marcellas Dial, but if the Patriots want to keep another player with real experience in that spot – especially given Marcus Jones’ injury history – Wade would be the guy internally.
They can certainly be top 10, but a few things will have to break their way. Christian Barmore is a ‘blue chip’ player – can anyone else fill that elite playmaker role? That could be a big Year 2 jump from Keion White and/or Christian Gonzalez. Or, does the unit as a whole get elevated by slight improvements across the board. Back to the original question – they can but it will take multiple players elevating their game from where it was last year (but still within reason).
Speaking of, let’s get to Christian Gonzalez. It’s been an up-and-down camp for him. He started strong, but the first three padded practices he was getting beat more than you’d like to see from a top cornerback. Saturday was better, but he’ll need to continue to trend in that direction. I’m not worried about him being a non-competitive player, but the jump to being an elite shutdown guy hasn’t been visible just yet.
As for the Patriots cornerback group as a whole, Marcus Jones has probably been the best player so far (at least until he got hurt on Thursday). His ability to play both inside and outside at his size remains impressive.
I’m assuming by “Cole Strange situation” you mean not having a starting job available when he comes back? If so, I don’t see that as a likely result for Kendrick Bourne. Bourne is the Patriots’ most experienced receiver, and the most proven playmaker. With so many young and/or unproven players in that room, there should be a chance for Bourne to at least re-prove himself when he comes back.
If he doesn’t look the same coming off the knee injury, and younger players are playing well, his playing time could dip. But I don’t think he’ll return without a spot on the field waiting initially.
Going left to right – Caedan Wallace and Chuks Okorafor at tackle has been my favorite pairing, with the middle staying consistent. I was hoping to get to see that group in a preseason game, but it’s been Vederian Lowe mixing in the last few days, and Chuks Okorafor didn’t practice on Saturday. So, that group getting on the field in live action may have to wait.
Where is Rhamondre Stevenson? On the field. He’s had a fine start to camp, although fell off the last few days with the run game as a whole as the Patriots’ defense experimented with some bigger fronts.
As for the wide receivers, no I don’t see seven. I think the question is five or six, which will come down to a few things. A few key questions – is Kendrick Bourne going to be ready to start the season? Is Tyquan Thornton healthy? How confident are they in Pop Douglas to stay on the field?
I think it will look something like that. Although it’s not a lock Jacoby Brissett plays in every game. Most veteran quarterbacks don’t at this point. Maye could end up getting a ‘start’ or two in the preseason, and play a full half before turning it over to Joe Milton and/or Bailey Zappe.
