Top Areas of Concern For 2010 Patriots

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

Patriots training camp opens Thursday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. In the words of Hank Williams Jr., “are you ready for some football?”

The 6 month quest for a fourth Lombardi trophy will take seed later this week. With great coaching, execution and a little bit of luck, hopefully New England can find its way to Dallas for Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011.

Welker

Wes Welker

For that to happen, however, many questions need to be answered. Today is part one of our two part series which concludes on Thursday about the 10 most important issues facing the 2010 New England Patriots.

10. The Mankins Factor – The consensus is that the Patriots starting left guard will be a no-show once camp starts Thursday. Because of the rules in this uncapped year in the NFL, players with 4 or 5 years of experience are considered restricted free agents and can receive one of 5 different tenders from their current team. The Pats offered Mankins the top level tender of 1-year and 3.268 million dollars but this has left him angry. Wanting a long-term contract extension, Mankins skipped mini-camp in June and demanded to be traded. We’ll see if the fence can be mended between the all-pro guard and the franchise. But right now, things don’t look good.

9. Who’s #3? – With the incredible news that Wes Welker may be ready for full participation once camp begins, the Pats have to be confident at the very least of having Brady’s top two targets Moss and Welker ready for the opener against Cincinnati September 12^th. But who will be that solid third target. Julian Edelman appears to be the front-runner after a solid rookie campaign but he’s a lot like Welker. Can 34 year-old Torry Holt still stretch a defense with his speed? David Patten was a solid #3 during New England’s first Super Bowl season in 2001 but he returns as a soon-to-be 36 year-old question mark. Rookie Taylor Price will get a good look during the preseason as will Brandon Tate and Sam Aiken.

8. Secondary Concern? – Arguably the worst personnel decision made by Bill Belichick in his 10 years here was letting Assante Samuel walk as a free agent. He succeeded Ty Law as a shutdown corner limiting opposing quarterbacks to one half of the field. For the past two seasons, New England has tried in vain but failed to fill his shoes. Former UConn star Darius Butler may fill that role someday as he showed promise in his rookie season. But it can take a few years, as it did with Samuel, for a corner to develop. Opposite Butler, Leigh Bodden is solid but not spectacular. Familiar faces Jonathan Wilhite and Terrance Wheatley will compete for time as will rookie first round pick Devin McCourty whose impact could be felt more on special teams. Still, cornerback play has to improve for this defense.

7. Carry the Rock – It’s pretty much the same cast of characters as 2009 behind Tom Brady. The enigmatic Laurence Maroney is penciled in as the #1 back. A healthy Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor will also see time at that position and don’t count out BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Kevin Faulk is the third down back who is a great weapon in the passing game. Running the ball is secondary to passing it in this offense but it would be nice if this committee of backs could be productive when called upon or, better yet, have someone step forward and prove to be a true #1 option at that position.

6. Coach it Up – Like most successful organizations, the Patriots have lost not only key players over the years, they have also suffered a tremendous coaching drain. Weiss, Crennell, Mangini, McDaniels and Seely are just some of the key names that have exited Foxboro in recent years making it difficult for the franchise to duplicate its success. Can Bill O’Brien make us forget about McDaniels and Weiss? He doesn’t have the official title of offensive coordinator but the feeling is that he’s it. After defensive coordinator Dean Peas stepped down this offseason, he was not replaced. By contrast, Miami hired Mike Nolan this offseason to be their defensive coordinator. Former Patriot Corwin Brown returns to New England to help Josh Boyer with the secondary. The one constant continues to be Dante Scarnecchia who coaches the offensive line.

These are five areas of concern for the 2010 Patriots. Thursday, we’ll examine five more as we get set for the start of training camp and the upcoming NFL season.