Every week I will be accepting a handful of questions from you all on Twitter and post the best ones here on Premium Pats.Com! This week was our first week accepting questions from my Twitter followers so lets get to it and see what they have to say!
@1CrazyPATSfan Who is your surprise pick to get cut at the end of training camp?
@MikeOnofrio Well Shelly it seems like every year the Patriots cut a player that everyone least expects. I am not sure this year a big name will get cut, however I can certainly see them cleaning house with some stagnant talent on the roster to give newer players an opportunity. Looking position by position I think the most crowded positions are the running back position, wide receiver, defensive lineman, and defensive back. I think at running back you will see a cut between Brandon Bolden and Danny Woodhead. I do not see both of them making the team. At wide out I think there is a chance they carry 7. Typically they only carry 6. If there is a cut to be made at wide out I think it will be Donte Stallworth. At the D Line there are 14 total players there. This year I spell the end of Ron Braces 3 year tenure in New England. He can't seem to get on the field and at this point I would rather have Gerard Warren over him. Also the clock is ticking for Defensive End Jermaine Cunningham. I like this kid but for some reason he also can't see the field. I hope I am wrong about him. At defensive back there are 16 defenders-more than any other position on the Patriots roster so there will most definitely be cuts there. I dont see any real surprises here but the interesting battle will be the nickel corner slot/4th+5th corner. You Have Kyle Arrington,Sterling Moore, Marquise Cole, Will Allen, Malcom Williams and Alfonso Dennard fighting for 3 spots. Will be interesting to watch that is for sure!
@JoeDeMayo4 Outside of the obvious Chandler Jones and Donta' Hightower, What rookies are you expecting the most impact in 2012?
@MikeOnofrio This is a tough one to project Joe because I think there are a handful of rookies that can contribute day 1 for the Pats defensively. I like 3rd round pick out of Arkansas, Jake Bequette who will have a real chance to show what he can do. Jake has great size at 6'5 274lbs who is slightly heavier than 1st round pick Chandler Jones. I pick Bequette to have the impact of the rest of the rookies simply because of the lack of depth and compettition at the position. While the Pats brought in a lot of veterans who will also get their shot, none were ever starting caliber Defensive Ends in their NFL careers. Like the old saying goes you can't teach an old dog new tricks. If they haven't done it to this point, I don't see them doing it in New England. I see the veterans brought in as rotational role players. The Patriots lucked out last season with Andre Carter and Mark Anderson. I don't foresee lighting striking twice for New England so with that leaves a tremendous opportunity for Bequette to step in and show what he can do and rightfully so - The Patriots desperately need some fresh legs at the position. Bequette has a great motor and has an opportunity to make plays for this defense this season.
@RaQuanO With the return of Josh McDaniels, will the running game become more of a factor in the Patriots offense?
@MikeOnofrio Ra'Quan, I do expect the running game to become a bigger factor for the Patriots this upcoming season, but I am not sure if I am ready to give all of the credit to Josh McDaniels. The Patriots are a pass first team. With all of the offensive firepower this offseason I expect the Patriots to continue their potent passing arsenal however, the running game should be better. I believe the Patriots running game has been slowed over the past few years by journeyman, veterans and guys that simply didn't fit what the Patriots needed to do. Think about it-IF the Patriots had an explosive running game to couple with the Patriots elite passing attack-who is going to stop them? Benjarvis Green-Ellis was great for getting the necessary yardage but he was never a big play back. Josh McDaniels loves an explosive running attack and he must be licking his chops with the big play potential of Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen. We got a glimpse of what the running game could look like when New England put the ball in Stevan Ridley's hands and while explosive he had ball security issues. If Ridley can fix that going into the season we could have something special with this offense in 2012.
@nflchicfan Do you think Andre Carter will return? We have new faces and a brighter look on defense but he was an asset before injury.
@MikeOnofrio I still think there is a chance but as each day passes I think that chance becomes slimmer and slimmer. I do not think Carter is still fully 100% healthy from his injury sustained last season. The Patriots have showed interest bringing him in a few times this offseason but I still think as he is recovering and getting back into form the Patriots will move on without him and go with the players they have. Best bet is to add Carter in season if a player goes down unexpectedly. If not the Patriots will look to the youth of the team to dominate their defensive line.
@osbornekojak Do you believe Wes Welker, I mean butter finger Welker deserves a new contract?
@MikeOnofrio Well the Patriots sure didn't otherwise they would have locked him up before the deadline! I do think Welker deserves a new contract but what he deserves and what he earns are two different things. I think he has to earn this next contract and prove at his age he can stand apart from the weapons added and continue to make plays and be a significant part of the Patriots offense going forward.
@J_Wolfe5 Who will be starting RB? Ridley? Addai?
@MikeOnofrio Interesting question Justin. The Patriots will continue their committee back system but I think Week 1 you will see Stevan Ridley in the backfield opening play. As I said previously if he fixed his fumbling issues- and that is a big IF- then we will have quite the offense this season! The Patriots run a committee system so realistically you could start any of the backs on the roster as their is no true starter. Everyone will get a chance and the best runners will get the most significant reps.
Thanks for everyone who submitted! If you wish to submit for next week's Monday Mailbag send it anytime before Monday to me on Twitter @MikeOnofrio and make sure you hashtag #MondayMailbag so I know you wish for the question to be answered here! Go Pats!
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