Boston Sports Then and Now

The Patriots will likely enter the season without their two time All Pro guard.

With the regular season approaching, it is becoming more and more likely that Pro Bowl left guard Logan Mankins will not be suiting up the Patriots.

Mankins, who is a restricted free agent, has not signed his one year tender and is seeking a deal that will make him one of the highest paid guards in the league. There has been little to no communication between the Patriots and Mankins, as neither side is willing to budge. His agent, Frank Bauer, has said that the team has “totally lost this player mentally.”

Rather then continuing to dig into this dirty standoff, lets focus on the present situation at the Patriots’ left guard spot. The reality is the team will enter the season without their left guard mauler.

The Patriots entered training camp with Nick Kazcur manning the spot. However, last year’s starting right tackle went down with a back injury the second day of camp. He has not been placed on season ending injured reserve, but he did recently have surgery to repair a bulging disk. Even if Kazcur does make a speedy recovery, he has lost valuable practice reps, as he had not played the guard spot since high school.

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Gronk and Hernan may be the Patriots next dynamic duo.

Its only the preseason, but Gronk and Hernan have been quite impressive for the Patriots.

You don’t know who Gronk and Hernan are?  If don’t know already, you will.

Rookie tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez may be New England’s next offensive dynamic duo since Moss and Welker.

When the Patriots selected Gronkowski in the 2^nd round and Hernandez in the 4^th round in this year’s draft, fans may have been scratching their heads. Okay maybe one tight end but two?

New England hasn’t utilized the tight end position in their offense since the retirement of Ben Coates for the most part. Since 2000, Ben Watson(48 catches in ’06) and Daniel Graham(38 catches in ’03) have been the Patriots biggest “threats” at the tight end position.

After the release of Watson and the failed experiment, Chris Baker the Patriots had a gaping hole at the end of the line. Besides the addition of Gronk and Hernan, New England added veteran depth by signing Alge Crumpler. Crump was brought in to be more of a blocker that will assist in the running game. He will not be relied upon offensively, he’ll leave that to the young guns.

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After attending five training camp sessions and the first preseason game, I am starting to see how this team is molding together. Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio and Head Coach Bill Belichick are attempting to stay competitive while also bringing along young players.

I would like to take a look at two second year players that are looking to make a big leap this season. Rather than focus on Sebastian Vollmer and Julian Edelman, who’s names are pretty well known after solid contributions last year, I would like to focus on two second year players that are looking to make a name for themselves.

We’ll start with the offensive side of the ball where wide receiver Brandon Tate has been turning heads in training camp. The second year player out of UNC Chapel Hill appeared in only two games last year, after being activated from the PUP list following a knee injury during his final season at UNC. A third round pick, Tate’s knee didn’t hold up, and his season was over before it started as he did not catch a pass in the ‘09 season.

Brandon Tate has big play potential anytime he touches the ball.

Nearly two years removed from a torn ACL and MCL, Tate appears to be fluid as ever, as he has been running quick and crisp routes all camp. His ascension up the depth chart is obvious, and he has been a favorite target of Brady throughout camp. That is no exaggeration either. Brady has been looking for Tate.

In fact, the 6′ 1″ wide out has been on the field in three receiver sets with Moss and Welker since Wes has rejoined practices over Julian Edelman.

Couple that with his kick and punt return reps he’s been receiving, and Tate looks like a legit weapon for this team.

It may be far fetched to expect big numbers from the inexperienced Tate, but you should expect big plays from this kid.

On the other side of the ball, safety Patrick Chung has been inserted into the starting line-up for the Pats. The second year player out of Oregon, Chung had a quiet rookie season.

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Steve Grogan

We honor Steve Grogan as the Boston Sports Then and Now Athlete of the Month. The former Patriots quarterback left it all on the field during his 16 year career. Grogan was playing the “Patriots Way” before Bill Belichick introduced it in 2000.  He led by example and his teammates were always behind him.

Steve Grogan was drafted by Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks in the fifth round of the 1975 draft out of Kansas State. He was one of the school’s all time passing and total offense leaders. Grogan not only beat you with his arm but he was exceptionally quick for a man standing at 6’4”.

The Patriots already had their franchise quarterback in place when he was drafted. Former Heisman Trophy winner, Jim Plunkett had been the Patriots starter for his first four years in the league. However, Coach Fairbanks was not afraid to make a move if a player was under-performing.  It didn’t matter who he was.

Midway through the 1975 season, Grogan was given the reigns of the Patriots offense.  He started the last seven games with only one victory to his credit. As a rookie, Grogan posted respectable numbers with 1976 yards with 11 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

He also added 110 yards on the ground with three rushing scores.

This would just be a sneak preview for things to come from the lanky quarterback out of K-State.

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Brady is ranked too low amongst QBs this season.

With fantasy football rolling around, it’s time to prep for drafts. Which New England Patriots players will be worth of taking this year?

We’ll help you out.

Tom Brady QB – Many scoring formats had Brady as just the eighth best QB in ‘09 (behind Rodgers, Brees, Schaub, Favre, Manning, Romo, and Rivers). He was amazing by most accounts, but off games against the Jets, Saints, Buffalo, and a meaningless week 17 in Houston (hopefully your league is done by week 17 though) all were games in which he had under 10 points; that really dragged down his value.

However, there is reason for optimism in 2010. Brady had an off-season to recover from broken ribs and a broken finger. He also is almost two full years removed from the dreaded knee injury in week 1 of 2008.

The Patriots have a very tough schedule, but with no additions to the very average running attack, and the development of the team’s young receivers and tight ends, Brady is poised for a BIG season. Maybe not a 2007 big (50 TDs), but there is reason to believe he could be on his way back to the top.

Randy Moss WR - Moss should be the second wideout off the board in your draft behind only Andre Johnson. In his three seasons with the Pats, Moss has averaged a ridiculous 16 games, 83.3 receptions, 1255 yards, and 15.7 TDs per season and that includes one full season with Matt Cassel tossing him the rock.

He’s looked real good in camp this summer; I’ve seen it first hand. Oh yea, he’s entering the last year of his contract too. A motivated Moss will continue to be a scary Moss. Draft him with confidence.

Wes Welker WR - Believe it or not, Welker is back. Amazing isn’t it? When he went down in week 17, no one believed he’d be back before week 7 of this season, but he continues to do what he’s done best his entire career: overcome adversity. Undrafted and cut by the Chargers, underutilized in Miami, too small to play in the league. Welker is used to playing with a chip on his shoulder.

Welker's early return clouds Edelman's value.

Could that be his downfall though? Could he be rushing back? Will it hurt him in the long run? We have to give him and the Patriots organization the benefit of the doubt. You’d have to think he wouldn’t be out there if there was a possibility he could do more damage.

Currently, the Slot Machine is going around the 8th or 9th round. In his three seasons with the Pats, he’s averaged 115.3 receptions and 1229.3 yards per year. He’s reliable alright, and if he’s healthy, you’ll know what you’re getting.

Julian Edelman/Brandon Tate WR – Edelman is a popular guy in fantasy circles this season as a sleeper and there’s reason to believe he could live up to the hype. Upon replacing Welker last season, he hauled in 10 catches in week 17 for 103 yards and in the Wild Card loss he caught two TD passes. Can he play and get the ball with Welker back? The short answer is yes.

However, Brandon Tate, who is entering his second season out of UNC, is back and healthy. Tate’s speed and explosiveness make him a true weapon, and trust me, from what I’ve seen in practices this summer, Brady is finding the 6′1″ wideout often. His size makes him perhaps a better fit than Edelman in three wideout sets, as he can hold down the outside while Welker slides into the slot. Monitor Tate closely.

These two are both worth keeping an eye on. Assuming Welker is healthy, there’s a decent chance these two could be battling for playing time.

Patriots RBs – I’m not going pretend that I know who will be worth owning out of this bunch because I don’t. However, what I do know is that it is unlikely that one emerges as a 15+ carry a game back. Having said that, assuming Laurence Maroney doesn’t fumble the football, he may be in line for goal line carries, as was evident during the first preseason game where he rushed for two TDs within the five yard line.

BenJarvis Green-Ellis started that game and was used often. This can be looked at two ways. He going to be the featured back, or the Pats giving him a chance to show them something. Well, at least in limited action, Boston Legal didn’t show too much on 11 carries

Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor were not used in the first game, and perhaps preseason game number two will be their chance to show off their wheels.

Avoid Patriots RBs in drafts, but certainly monitor the situation.

Hernandez could be a valuble red zone target for Brady.

Aaron Hernandez TE - A deep sleeper, Hernandez instantly becomes a red zone threat for Tom Brady and the Patriots offense. The undersized tight end out of Florida has a nose for the football. Tom Brady, admittedly, is looking forward to more balance in the offense this year in regards to involving this under utilized position more often. Hernandez’s speed and athleticism for the position will allow him to line up in the slot and standing up which should create mismatches.

Patriots D/ST – This is a unit you probably want to avoid. There is nothing sexy about the Pats defense. They don’t have a game-changing player per say, they won’t have a lot of sacks, and their secondary is fairly average. They’re a young unit, but with a tough schedule this year, you could stand to do better.

Having said that, they have improved their return game and with the likes of Edelman, Tate, and rookie Devin McCourty taking returns back, the unit could be good for a couple of return TDs this season.

Happy drafting and good luck in your fantasy football seasons!