Sparked by the reaction to this story from Sunday -- as well as the urging of some e-mailers and other posters over at the patsfans.com messageboard -- we’ve decided to expand our post-minicamp/OTA look at the team to include more of the current Patriots roster. The list includes several suggestions I received via e-mail, as well as other players who might have been question marks when the spring began, but who we have a better sense of where they stand now after six weeks of spring practices.
As we stated in the first edition of “Where They Stand,” these notes are formulated on just 10 practices in helmets and sweatpants from rookie minicamp, organized team activities (OTAs) and full-squad minicamp this past spring -- it’s difficult to get a real handle on players before the pads go on. In the end, this story should be considered a final emptying out of the spring football notebook, a last look at the current status of some key players and how they might fit in on the 2009 Patriots:
Joey Galloway: Through the minicamps and OTAs, the veteran wide receiver looked like he’s spent most of the time just getting his feet underneath him and getting a handle on the offense. One reader asked if Galloway was building a “rapport” with quarterback Tom Brady as of yet -- from what I saw during OTAs and minicamp, when Brady was in one-on-one situations with a wide receiver, it was almost always with Randy Moss, so I really can’t speak to the question of developing a rapport.
But right now, Galloway and Greg Lewis are neck-and-neck for the job of No. 3 receiver. (If the season started tomorrow, based on what I’ve seen, I’d probably give an edge to Galloway.) However, Galloway did get some work as part of the punt return game as a returner (along with Kevin Faulk and Wes Welker), and that potential versatility will almost certainly come into play down the road. And even though he’s 37, he can still flat-out fly.
Sebastian Vollmer: My thought was that with Nick Kaczur’s hold on the right tackle job still tenuous at best, Vollmer would figure into the mix at that position -- and he still could. But throughout much of the rookie minicamp, OTAs and full-squad workouts, he was at left tackle a lot. Not with the starters, but still enough for some in the media to take notice. Not saying he’s going to unseat Matt Light, but positional versatility is always a good thing along the Patriots’ offensive line.
As for how he’s doing, the best way to gauge how a rookie offensive lineman is doing in these settings is to measure two things: how many laps they have to do for false starts, and how many times they get verbally undressed by offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. And I didn’t see Vollmer run a single lap or get called out by Scarnecchia once. So he’s got that going for him, which is nice.
Terrence Wheatley: As a result of last year’s wrist injury, he’s likely behind the rest of the corners, a group that includes fellow second-year player Jonathan Wilhite (who stepped in after Wheatley’s injury and had some good moments down the stretch last year) and new veterans Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden. The practice sessions I saw did nothing to dismiss that notion. However, he appeared to have a mostly solid spring. Two plays from the first day of full-squad minicamp come to mind -- on one, he picked off a ball Kevin O’Connell was trying to get to Terrence Nunn. The second, he knocked away a deep ball, a Matt Gutierrez pass that was intended for Nunn.
Wheatley’s biggest gains this season could come as a kick returner. With Ellis Hobbs gone, the job is now open, and he’s expressed interest in getting a shot at the position. He got some looks in minicamp (along with Laurence Maroney, Matthew Slater, Julian Edelman and Darius Butler), and it appeared he performed well enough to earn another shot when training camp convenes later this summer.
Jonathan Wilhite: Wilhite was the biggest beneficiary of Wheatley’s injury, and it showed this spring. Wilhite got reps ahead of Wheatley, and if the season started tomorrow, would likely be the No. 1 candidate for the job of nickel or slot corner. His best moment of the spring came when he came away with an
RSS Center
