Why I am optimistic about next season already.

Patriots-Lifer

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Players who went down due to injuries that should be back.

Vince Wilfork, yes an Achilles injury can be a long term problem but he is not the type to not do all he can to return.

Tommy Kelly, His knee injury should not be an issue at all. He will also be a season in to exposure to the Pat's program so he will know what is expected.

Jerod Mayo, Had surgery to repair a torn pectoral in October should be fully recovered by April.

Sebastian Vollmer, He needed surgery to repair a broken right leg, which was performed in October. Perhaps this 8 months off will have helped him to heal up from the lingering injuries he has had. I would love to see the Right side of the O-line with Vollmer at RT and Cannon at RG.

T.J. Moe, Yes I really do think that this guy is going to be a very solid WR in the NFL. His Achilles tendon injury Should not be an issue. He is 6'0" 200+ lbs. He is not a high speed guy but is a very quick change of direction guy. Very strong, great hands, Will be a very hard guy to cover. I believe he will be the complement to Edelman that Amendola could not be.

Rob Gronkowski, I do not expect to be back on the field this coming season.

Second year Players that should be much improved:

Aaron Dobson He looks as if he will be a quality player and a much needed deep threat, another season in the program should help him to stay healthy.

Kenbrell Thompkins Came on strong but faded as injuries and pressure of being a rookie thrown into the fire caught up with him. Should be by far a better season for him in 2014.

Jamie Collinscame on strong as his playing time increased in the second half of the season. Really expect he makes Spikes expendable.

This is just a quick look at some of the guys I see as being major role players in the 2014. Much more will be added as the off season unfolds.
 
I too like Moe.

The guy has a grittiness and edge to him that Welker had here... maybe he will be the Welker replacement that Amendola wasn't. Although it should be mentioned that Edelman would've been the Welker replacement had injuries not forced him to change his role. But I digress...

Even though I like Moe, I'm not ready to give up on Amendola. He played through an injury this season and it obviously limited his speed and quickness. IF he can stay healthy, he will have 70-80+ catches...
Of course, his ability to stay healthy is concerning.
 
I would not expect much from Wilfork if he is even on the team next year. Kelly may be gone too. Not expecting much from either of them next year and question whether each could last a whole season. Time for a changing of the guard as far as interior DL is concerned.

Vollmer will make the whole line better IF he can stay healthy. He is starting to get a bit of an injury rep as well, but he and and a healthy Mankins plus some new blood on the oline should go a long way.

I know nothing of Moe, but from what I've read here he has a lot of promise. There was another guy on the PS or IR that people were high on too. Of course, my experience reading this board is that we tend to think all these rookies are the next big thing, but rarely does that pan out. I expect the Pats to draft at least 1 more WR and possibly sign a FA WR. WR is a team weakness.

I don't expect Gronk to play this year either. We will need to sign at least 1 FA TE.

I like Collins and hope he was not just a flash and can keep progressing. I think he will. I think he, Mayo, and Hightower make a decent set of LBs. Not great but certainly good enough. I'd like to see Spikes come back but I'm in the minority on that one.

We must franchise or sign Talib for this defense to get to the next level. Even if he is injury prone. Edlemann would be nice to keep too but if it came to a choice, Talib should be first priority.

I'm optimistic for next year too. I just think there is a lot more we need to do to "get there" though.
 
I would not expect much from Wilfork if he is even on the team next year. Kelly may be gone too. Not expecting much from either of them next year and question whether each could last a whole season. Time for a changing of the guard as far as interior DL is concerned.

Vollmer will make the whole line better IF he can stay healthy. He is starting to get a bit of an injury rep as well, but he and and a healthy Mankins plus some new blood on the oline should go a long way.

I know nothing of Moe, but from what I've read here he has a lot of promise. There was another guy on the PS or IR that people were high on too. Of course, my experience reading this board is that we tend to think all these rookies are the next big thing, but rarely does that pan out. I expect the Pats to draft at least 1 more WR and possibly sign a FA WR. WR is a team weakness.

I don't expect Gronk to play this year either. We will need to sign at least 1 FA TE.

I like Collins and hope he was not just a flash and can keep progressing. I think he will. I think he, Mayo, and Hightower make a decent set of LBs. Not great but certainly good enough. I'd like to see Spikes come back but I'm in the minority on that one.

We must franchise or sign Talib for this defense to get to the next level. Even if he is injury prone. Edlemann would be nice to keep too but if it came to a choice, Talib should be first priority.

I'm optimistic for next year too. I just think there is a lot more we need to do to "get there" though.

According to Miguel, his cap hit is $2,656,250 and if he's let go, then they save $1,736,250 (assuming I read his table correctly)

So it's quite possible BB could decide he's not worth that amount towards the cap. IMHO, the wild card is Vince's health.

Chris Jones and Vellano played admirably, but were overmatched in many games. Siliga helped, but he's still only a few months off the practice squad.

Add a healthy Kelly or Vince to that mix, and one has a much better interior DL.

So if there's any doubt regarding Vince, I'd think they might decide to keep Kelly, unless they find someone else they have confidence can fill that role.
 
What is the point of signing Talib and game planning around him if he can't survive in the playoffs? That's 2 years in a row now where I watched him go down and said "well now we're toast." There is something to be said for reliability especially for such key guys.
 
I can't really get excited until at least after the draft. I have to work myself into it. I'm still busy NOT listening to Felger and Maz and getting over the disappointment. I don't recover from injuries like you youngsters

Cheers, BostonTim
 
Patriots will win the AFC East because there isn't anything else there. That means an automatic home game. This will allow us Boston fans to marvel at how consistent and successful the team has been for so long. Then they will get dominated by a much more talented team, and we'll all applaud them for making it that far.
 
Players who went down due to injuries that should be back.

Vince Wilfork, yes an Achilles injury can be a long term problem but he is not the type to not do all he can to return.

Tommy Kelly, His knee injury should not be an issue at all. He will also be a season in to exposure to the Pat's program so he will know what is expected.

Jerod Mayo, Had surgery to repair a torn pectoral in October should be fully recovered by April.

Sebastian Vollmer, He needed surgery to repair a broken right leg, which was performed in October. Perhaps this 8 months off will have helped him to heal up from the lingering injuries he has had. I would love to see the Right side of the O-line with Vollmer at RT and Cannon at RG.

T.J. Moe, Yes I really do think that this guy is going to be a very solid WR in the NFL. His Achilles tendon injury Should not be an issue. He is 6'0" 200+ lbs. He is not a high speed guy but is a very quick change of direction guy. Very strong, great hands, Will be a very hard guy to cover. I believe he will be the complement to Edelman that Amendola could not be.

Rob Gronkowski, I do not expect to be back on the field this coming season.

Second year Players that should be much improved:

Aaron Dobson He looks as if he will be a quality player and a much needed deep threat, another season in the program should help him to stay healthy.

Kenbrell Thompkins Came on strong but faded as injuries and pressure of being a rookie thrown into the fire caught up with him. Should be by far a better season for him in 2014.

Jamie Collinscame on strong as his playing time increased in the second half of the season. Really expect he makes Spikes expendable.

This is just a quick look at some of the guys I see as being major role players in the 2014. Much more will be added as the off season unfolds.

I think you have forgotten Armstead, Zuscevics, Spikes, and perhaps the big WR who could become a H-Back/move TE to replace APerp.
 
Patriots will win the AFC East because there isn't anything else there. That means an automatic home game. This will allow us Boston fans to marvel at how consistent and successful the team has been for so long. Then they will get dominated by a much more talented team, and we'll all applaud them for making it that far.

Wow you are one sad ****ing sap
 
Brilliant response. Way to engage in intelligent dialogue based on facts.

ROFL You need to learn now that if you express realist and/or factual information in here and it goes against the proverbial PP fans grain, then you will get this type of mental giant hammering from many. :stirpot:

The last 10 years Pats end of not winning SB, playoffs, even regular season motto is simply "There is always next year"..... :thumb:
 
I would not expect much from Wilfork if he is even on the team next year. Kelly may be gone too. Not expecting much from either of them next year and question whether each could last a whole season. Time for a changing of the guard as far as interior DL is concerned.

Vollmer will make the whole line better IF he can stay healthy. He is starting to get a bit of an injury rep as well, but he and and a healthy Mankins plus some new blood on the oline should go a long way.

I know nothing of Moe, but from what I've read here he has a lot of promise. There was another guy on the PS or IR that people were high on too. Of course, my experience reading this board is that we tend to think all these rookies are the next big thing, but rarely does that pan out. I expect the Pats to draft at least 1 more WR and possibly sign a FA WR. WR is a team weakness.

I don't expect Gronk to play this year either. We will need to sign at least 1 FA TE.

I like Collins and hope he was not just a flash and can keep progressing. I think he will. I think he, Mayo, and Hightower make a decent set of LBs. Not great but certainly good enough. I'd like to see Spikes come back but I'm in the minority on that one.

We must franchise or sign Talib for this defense to get to the next level. Even if he is injury prone. Edlemann would be nice to keep too but if it came to a choice, Talib should be first priority.

I'm optimistic for next year too. I just think there is a lot more we need to do to "get there" though.

I understand the Gronk pessimism, but why are you not expecting him to play at all in 2014? ACL's don't take 12 plus months to recover from anymore. Sure he will probably miss training camp, preseason, etc. but I don't see why he could not be placed on the PUP list and come back after the first 6 weeks...
 
Patriots will win the AFC East because there isn't anything else there. That means an automatic home game. This will allow us Boston fans to marvel at how consistent and successful the team has been for so long. Then they will get dominated by a much more talented team, and we'll all applaud them for making it that far.

"us Boston fans" :high::shake::p4e:
 
I understand the Gronk pessimism, but why are you not expecting him to play at all in 2014? ACL's don't take 12 plus months to recover from anymore. Sure he will probably miss training camp, preseason, etc. but I don't see why he could not be placed on the PUP list and come back after the first 6 weeks...

Well I am already factoring in the unexpected infection, a suddenly necessary minor back surgery that should have been done months earlier, and a setback from a mud wrestling event.
 
I understand the Gronk pessimism, but why are you not expecting him to play at all in 2014? ACL's don't take 12 plus months to recover from anymore. Sure he will probably miss training camp, preseason, etc. but I don't see why he could not be placed on the PUP list and come back after the first 6 weeks...

Agreed, I expect him to play. Week 10 would be fine with me as long as he is 100% healthy. We definitely need him and I doubt a rookie TE could have the same impact he has when he's on the field (I hope we draft a TE and I'm wrong).

If he returns and gets injured again it's time to send him packing :/
 
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