5 Potentially Swinging Patriots That Have Been This Offseason

COMMENTARY

If a fan followed the New England football team simply through the headlines and screams of his radio, it is conceivable that they did not hear than five Patriot in the last five months: Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Rob Gronkowski, Malcolm Butler and Julian Edelman. Maybe Robert Kraft too.

This is certainly a dripping offseason of endless drama and speculation, but this week, work resumes in Foxborough, where the training camp begins Friday. The recruits have already arrived, while the veterans are expected on Wednesday, and among those who will be going to Gillette Stadium, there will be some who have experienced this experience before and who have not been an important part of the conversation in spring and summer. Performance could make it a major goal sometime this fall.

Here are five potentially pivotal patriots who have thought about this offseason, but let's get back to the field with something to prove:

Of which Hightower

There was He let out a block to drop Marshawn Lynch just before the goal line, before Malcolm Butler makes his legendary interception. Then there was the shoulder bag of Matt Ryan who made the biggest comeback in the history of football. In each of the two Patriots' Super Bowl wins, Hightower delivered a game of decision-making at the heart of New England defense.

Even setting aside how much they lacked such a game in February against the Eagles, Moments are reminders of what kind of Hightower player is, and the playmaker that he is able to be . The question that starts in 2018, however, is focused on what the Pats can reasonably expect to get from the linebacker who tore up his five pectoral games last season – but also about what injuries may have taken from a player who missed 22

In June, he admitted to having embarked on a detoxification approach aimed at preventing future injuries, and the team should accelerate it until the camp is set up. training. His workload was limited during the minicamp. After playing the league's second worst defense a year ago, the Patriots not only need Hightower on the field to ensure continuity and communication at the central linebackers, but as a unit that has sometimes been pushed back. . they also need that he be the powerful tackle and energetic defender that he has proven to be in good health. If he can contribute as a defender, he was launched more regularly a year ago or even better.

There is a chance that the biggest addition the Patriots' defense made during the Hightower return season was. But there is not much buzz about it – maybe because people have got used to adapting to life without it.

Marcus Cannon

Most of the chatter on the offensive line of the Pats put the emphasis on the start. Nate Solder or the decision to pbad a first round on Isaiah Wynn, who has a shot to open the year to the left guard. As a result, little attention has been paid to the fact that on the other side of the line, the Patriots should return a player who was named an All-Pro team in 2016.

Cannon's ankle injury in October wound up on an injured reserve after appearing in just seven games. It has spoiled the first year of the $ 32.5 million extension over five years in the middle of its escape campaign, and thus leaves some questions about the kind of impact Cannon can do. This 2016 season marked the first time that he started more than eight contests, and he also presented a significantly better and more consistent performance than he had through his first five pro slates. If it's really an All-Pro, and if Wynn's first-round picks and Sony's return Michel are indicators that the Pats have the intention of using the ground game over this season, Cannon has the skills to play a major role. However, if there are residual after-effects of the ankle injury, or if 2016 was a peak, New England could end up weakened from the outset, where there are already two critical points at stake

Patrick Chung

Back to the Patriots in 2014, Belichick made better use of Chung's skills and, in so doing, the former second-round pick played an important role in his ability to cover points tight and casual niche receiver while helping against the race. He's still considered a goalkeeper, but Chung spends so much time near the line of scrimmage that he's more of a hybrid between a defensive back and a linebacker – and considering how the Pats are built this season they are counting on him to succeed again in this role. Unofficially, the depth chart shows that the base defense of the Patriots is a nickel look, with only two linebackers and Chung starting out as one of the three safeties on the pitch. The team has more than doubled his salary from 2018 to extend his engagement until 2020.

Chung got this contract by matching career highs with nine breakouts and 67 tackles there is a season, when he led an effort that Football Outsiders ranked the Patriots as the NFL's top-eight defensemen. But there were points in the playoffs where he seemed to be fighting – it was too late to prevent Marcedes Lewis from Jaguars from a clash in the AFC game, then he gave up 56 yards trying to cover Nelson Agholor before leaving Super Bowl with a head injury – and next month the 10-year veteran will be 31 years old. He has played 75 of the 76 possible matches since returning to Foxborough, all with rugged physique.

The Patriots are already in a hurry with the task of replacing cornerback Malcolm Butler, who has moved to Tennessee. But they had time to plan that. If Chung is out of breath, or if these playoff failures herald some slippage, it is difficult to see a backup plan elsewhere on this list

Trey Flowers

You could say that Flowers was the best defender Patriots. season. Not bad, considering that he was paid a base salary of $ 615,000 for his efforts, and is online to play this season under the rookie contract which promised him just over 2.8 million dollars for four years of work. Its slice of taxation is about to change by next spring, of course, and before that, it will be up to the New England team to determine whether it is worthy of The money mbadively carried to the rush through the football – or if Flowers is another quality defender of the Pats let go when the price goes up.

Flowers is 24 years old, and ranks favorably league-wide according to Pro Football Focus graders. By awarding her a "high quality" rating, they credited her 59 strikes last season, 19th among rush rushers, and placed her 75th on their list of top NFL players in 2017. It was four places ahead of Chandler Jones, who led the league in sacks two years after being traded by the Pats. And he was well ahead of Danielle Hunter of the Vikings, who was not among the top 101 players in PFF, but who nevertheless received a $ 72 million ($ 40 million guaranteed) extension of Minnesota this summer after scoring seven sacks. last season.

meanwhile, he has accumulated 6.5 sacks in 2016. He has collected 13.5 in the last two seasons, which is good, but could also put him in a difficult position regarding his future in Foxborough. The Patriots had little hesitation to part with more productive players, so if the number of Flowers stays in that range this season, or it does not catch the opponents' attention , New England could be content to let someone else pay it. However, if the additions of Adrian Clayborn and Danny Shelton help Flowers to flourish in an edge presence that produces double-digit bags, it will be all the more difficult for the Pats to treat it. like another revolving wheel, especially with his

Brian Flores

Officially, he is still the coach of the linebackers of the team, but Matt Patricia having taken the position of Head coach in Detroit, it will be Flores who will lead the defense on gameday. He has been part of the Belichick team long enough to have the desired institutional knowledge, and by not giving Flores the official title of defensive coordinator, there is a reasonable badumption that Belichick will pay attention to the preparations and the this side of the ball is put into play. there does not seem to be much anxiety during the transition. But it is worth noting that these circumstances did not work particularly well for the Pats in the Belichick era.

During the seasons when the coaches under Belichick took his defense, with or without the title of coordinator, slipped. When Patricia and Pepper Johnson (Belichick's two disciples) took the reins in 2010, defense rankings dropped from fifth to eighth place in allotted points, and from 11th to 25th in the allowed yards. The duo also shared their bonds in 2011, when the decline continued – at 15th point and 31st place. The other example came in 2005, when Eric Mangini took the place of Romeo Crennel. The Pats slipped from second to 17th in points and ninth to 26th. The only transition that went well was the transfer of Mangini to Dean Pees, who was promoted internally as coach of linebackers, but who had previously been a defensive coordinator and college head coach.

. Flores, who has worked for the Pats since he's played at Boston College. He was apparently prepared for this opportunity in recent seasons, and his appointment was not a surprise. His players speak highly of him, and expect him to succeed, especially considering Belichick's wisdom. However, as with a number of things surrounding this New England team, the reality remains to be seen.