Offseason Catch-up

Hi Pats fans and welcome to Armchair Nation!  Lots of stuff going on in New England that you should know about.  First things first, the veteran RB Joseph Addai has been dropped from the roster.  I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I thought Addai was going to be around at least for this season.  Alas, no.  Reports out of the northeast state that Addai simply quit during a conditioning test.  As unfortunate as it is to not have a veteran presence in the backfield, I think we'll be okay this year.  Besides, who wants an RB that can't cut it physically?  Anyways, we have Ridley and Vereen, and I have high hopes for the pair.

I loved Ridley against the Raiders last year and was hoping to see more from in 2011, but he wasn't ready to be a dominating force then.  Now with BJGE gone to the Bengals and a full offseason under his belt, Stevan Ridley has the opportunity to really stand out this season.  I have the feeling that we could look to the run quite a few times this year and I hope that Ridley is the go-to man.

Guard Brian Waters was a no-show for Day 1 of Patriots Training Camp yesterday.  Coach Belichick was quoted to say that Waters was "excused for personal reasons" similar to June's mandatory minicamp.  At this time, we know Brian is considering retirement and that would just be one more blow to our already depleted O-Line.  I know that BB will have a solution worthy of his past genius.

And just a quick note on Wes Welker.  What a beautiful machine!  You know, Tom Brady is one of the greatest QBs of all time and the Gronk had the best season for a TE, but Wes is my favorite Pat.  I personally think he deserves a long-term contract despite his age and what some think, a decline in skill and production.  Last year he had 122 receptions for 1569 yards and 9 touchdowns.  Sure, not as many TDs as say, Megatron, but I have confidence in his ability.  Wes produces, plain and simple.  Not everybody is a long bomb receiver.  You have to have the slot guys like Welker to move the ball downfield and into the redzone.  Regardless, he signed his $9.5 million franchise tag and is back to getting into "football shape" as he says on Twitter.  Here's to you, Wes!  I pray that you have an insane season even with all the competition, and blow BB's mind.

Tom Brady is going to be 35 in just a few days.  Don't let that scare you!  I have faith that he has 3-5 more good years in him if we can keep a strong enough O-Line.  I'm calling it now; Thomas is going to break the passing record again this year and take it from Brees (Sorry, Drew, but gotta go with my QB, no matter how talented you are!).  40 plus TDs with the combination of Welker, Gronkowski, Hernandez, and Lloyd.

Day 2 of training camp has kicked off and I can't wait to hear the news from them today.

Pat's Nation, I believe we're going to have a great year!

Written by Will Spaid

Photographs by John Tlumacki (Boston Globe)