Sadly enough, the Patriots will be quiet until they steal Mathias Kiwanuka in the late first round of the draft (when they will convert him to OLB and he replaces Willie McGinest in 2007). The Red Sox are still a couple of weeks until we get story after story about how the team will miss Johnny Damon and that the trade of David Wells is imminent. All that leaves us with is the Bs & Cs. The Celtics have finally given up and turned towards the 2006-7 season. The Bruins are hot now, but are not winning any Stanley Cups in the near future. So I guess I have to ramble on about Patriot happenings.
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WHAT NEXT, NEW ENGLAND?
My god, thoughts turn to the draft. Sure, as I said above, I would love to see Kiwi drop to the Patriots and become the next Willie McGinest, but I doubt he will be there. I mean, I saw the Boston College-NC State game this season, and no one could tell me that Mario Williams was better than Mathias Kiwanuka. Yet Mario Williams is likely to be among the first defensive players selected and Kiwi has dropped to mid-to-late first round.
Somehow, someway, Bill Belichick will pull out another draft day melange that results in a few new starters. Look at the results from the draft last year:
1: Logan Mankins, G/T: Started all 16 games and helped keep Brady upright. Projected long-term starter at left guard.
3: Ellis Hobbs, CB: Injected enthusiams and swagger into the defense in the second half of the season. Projected long-term starter at CB.
3: Nick Kazcur, LT: Kazcur stepped in for long-time starter at left tackle Matt Light and helped keep Brady upright next to fellow rookie Mankins. Projected long-term start at RT.
4: James Sanders, S: Looked OK at times, other times was lost. Did miss a lot of valuable time injured. Projected to be a solid back-up at safety in the future.
5: Ryan Claridge, OLB: No one knows as he spent the season on injured reserve.
7: Matt Cassel, QB: Hey, he beats having Rohan Davey as the back-up. At least Cassel has potential. Projected to be the back-up QB for the next few years.
7: Andy Stokes, TE: Is this the guy that played Gollum in Lord of the Rings? Oh wait, that was Andy Serkis. Stokes was released during training camp.
Of course, the team also needs to look at free agents. Wide receiver is a position that needs attention, as does linebacker. Richard Seymour, Adam Vinatieri, and David Givens should be ready for new contracts this off-season (with Vinatieri likely being franchised again and Seymour being taken care of before he hits free agency in another year). The team needs influxes of speed and youth on defense and a big playmaker in the secondary, and could really use a playmaker on offense.
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* * *
WHAT NEXT, NEW ENGLAND?
My god, thoughts turn to the draft. Sure, as I said above, I would love to see Kiwi drop to the Patriots and become the next Willie McGinest, but I doubt he will be there. I mean, I saw the Boston College-NC State game this season, and no one could tell me that Mario Williams was better than Mathias Kiwanuka. Yet Mario Williams is likely to be among the first defensive players selected and Kiwi has dropped to mid-to-late first round.
Somehow, someway, Bill Belichick will pull out another draft day melange that results in a few new starters. Look at the results from the draft last year:
1: Logan Mankins, G/T: Started all 16 games and helped keep Brady upright. Projected long-term starter at left guard.
3: Ellis Hobbs, CB: Injected enthusiams and swagger into the defense in the second half of the season. Projected long-term starter at CB.
3: Nick Kazcur, LT: Kazcur stepped in for long-time starter at left tackle Matt Light and helped keep Brady upright next to fellow rookie Mankins. Projected long-term start at RT.
4: James Sanders, S: Looked OK at times, other times was lost. Did miss a lot of valuable time injured. Projected to be a solid back-up at safety in the future.
5: Ryan Claridge, OLB: No one knows as he spent the season on injured reserve.
7: Matt Cassel, QB: Hey, he beats having Rohan Davey as the back-up. At least Cassel has potential. Projected to be the back-up QB for the next few years.
7: Andy Stokes, TE: Is this the guy that played Gollum in Lord of the Rings? Oh wait, that was Andy Serkis. Stokes was released during training camp.
Of course, the team also needs to look at free agents. Wide receiver is a position that needs attention, as does linebacker. Richard Seymour, Adam Vinatieri, and David Givens should be ready for new contracts this off-season (with Vinatieri likely being franchised again and Seymour being taken care of before he hits free agency in another year). The team needs influxes of speed and youth on defense and a big playmaker in the secondary, and could really use a playmaker on offense.
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