With Patriots’ rookie minicamp completed, here are the Top 5 questions remaining about New England’s 2009 rookie class.
Will Patrick Chung and Darius Butler star in a sequel to “I Love You, Man”? The two were roommates during rookie minicamp, and were seen encouraging each other throughout the weekend. They have clearly become tight -- they met at the Senior Bowl and spent time together at the NFL Scouting Combine, and could (along with linebacker Jerod Mayo) ultimately become the de facto leaders of the new school, the symbols of a new generation of Patriots’ defenders.
Whether it was simple excitement to get their NFL careers started, an overt wish to make an early impression on the coaches or if that’s just how they really are, both the 5-foot-11, 212-pound Chung and the 5-foot-10, 183-pound Butler came off as really intense, guys who were just dying to get the pads on and hit somebody. There were mistakes -- dropped punts, a missed assignment -- but many of those could be chalked up to rookie enthusiasm. And there was improvement from practice to practice. Screwups that happened early weren’t repeated later that weekend.
If these two are as jacked up about things come late July, preseason or the regular season, New England could have a special pair of defensive backs on their hands for year to come.
Can Sebastian Vollmer figure into the mix at right tackle? It’s hard to really get a sense of how the offensive and defensive linemen did at camp -- they did most of their work in the far corner of the practice field, far away from the media. But let’s just say Vollmer didn’t do anything to call negative attention to himself over the course of the weekend.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Vollmer has played both left and right tackle in college, and could make an appearance on the left side during preseason in an attempt to get him some work there. But it’s not a stretch to say that if he had an outstanding training camp, he could come in and win the starting right tackle job. Belichick isn’t averse to giving rookie offensive linemen a shot -- Dan Koppen stepped in as the starting center midway through his rookie season, and Logan Mankins took over at left guard as a rookie. Both have become Pro Bowlers If the Patriots are dissatisfied with Nick Kaczur or Ryan O’Callaghan, Vollmer could very easily take the job.
There’s also one more thing Vollmer has in his favor -- he was a tight end when he arrived at the University of Houston. Not saying he will be lining up there on more than a handful of occasions a year, but the Patriots are fond of using an extra offensive lineman as a tight end in goal-line situations (Tom Ashworth and Ross Hochstein come to mind), and that previous experience can only be a good thing. And now that Mike Vrabel has moved on to Kansas City (and assuming Vollmer makes the 53-man roster), the big German could take over the role of surprise goal-line tight end in the passing game.
Plus -- and I really can’t stress this enough -- Vollmer is a big guy. Like block-out-the-sun huge. At 6-foot-8 and 315 pounds, he’s one of the biggest guys in the history of the franchise. There’s going to be room for that kind of bulk somewhere.
What will happen in the positional battle between Jake Ingram and Nathan Hodel? The two will be competing to fill the shoes of Lonie Paxton, who is the closest thing to a Hall of Famer in the long-snapping fraternity. (Ingram called him “awesome.”) I haven’t met Hodel yet, but the 6-foot-3, 232-pound Ingram is a wide-eyed Hawaiian who was considered one of the best long snappers in college football last season. (Good enough to get invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and the Senior Bowl, anyway.)
Like a lefty reliever, the long snapper has a very specific job, and if you aren’t good at what you do, you won’t be around for long. But in the eight years I’ve covered the Patriots, I can’t remember Paxton ever blowing a snap. Sure, there were bad kicks and shanked punts, but none of them were ever on Paxton.
Have the Patriots found the next Paxton? Based on one weekend of activity, it’s hard to get a sense if Ingram will be a worthy successor. In fact, no one will really be able to know until that first big situation -- key punt in a tight game, important field goal in bad weather. But based on his collegiate resume, he’s got a good chance.
How will the Patriots utilize Julian Edelman’s unique skill set? Edelman was used as a receiver for much of rookie minicamp (he was also at running back briefly), but that doesn’t mean he’s going to stay there. At Kent State, there was little the 6-foot, 198-pound Edelman didn’t do. He led the country in rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,370, including eight games of 100 yards or more. In addition, he also passed for 1,820 yards. And Edelman lined up as a safety on the punt team … and for the last few games of the season even returned punts.
Like Butler and Chung, there were mistakes, but none so egregious that they made you think he wouldn’t figure into the mix come training camp
He’s is an intriguing prospect, so much so that the Patriots might have a hard time sneaking him through to the practice squad. He’s a guy who could fill in at a couple of different places. A reader e-mailed me about the idea of possibly developing him as a long-term replacement for Kevin Faulk as a third-down back. While I think that prospect is remote, I wouldn’t rule out Edelman eventually becoming a Wes Welker-type, someone who would be available to do a lot of different things, including serve as a wide receiver, possibly Wildcat-style quarterback and return man.
Brian Hoyer or Matt Gutierrez? The Patriots have invested a lot of time and effort in Matt Gutierrez. In my experience, during training camp “Gutz” is almost always the first guy on the field and the last guy off. There’s no question about his work ethic -- he’s the sort of guy who will drink his milk all the way to the bottom of the glass, say “please” and “thank you,” and always ask to be excused before he leaves the dinner table. And he should be saluted for his tireless work as a backup the last few years.
But is this the year they move on from Gutierrez? And is the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Hoyer that next No. 3 quarterback? Hoyer, an undrafted free agent, wobbled some passes this weekend, but certainly looked good enough to include in any discussion about a third quarterback between now and training camp. Of course, this whole discussion is moot if New England goes and gets a veteran backup to Brady, which would push Kevin O’Connell to No. 3, and likely send both Hoyer and Gutierrez packing.
Christopher Price covers the Patriots for WEEI.com.
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