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Opponent for opener up in the air
We know Roger Goodell is coming to town for the season opener. What we don’t yet know is the identity of the Patriots opponent. Who will the NFL commissioner see when the Patriots play that Thursday night kickoff game, when they raise championship banner No. 5?
We have a list of suspects the Pats face at home this season. With the schedule due out fairly soon, we can take a look at the possibilities.
ATLANTA — From a national perspective, who wouldn’t love to see a Super Bowl LI rematch? To see the Falcons try and overcome the devastation of blowing a 25-point lead and gain a measure of revenge? That would be a hot ticket, but it doesn’t seem likely to happen. Panthers coach
Ron Rivera reportedly made a strong case for not having the Super Bowl losers in the season opener the following year after he had to travel to Denver for a Super Bowl 50 rematch with the Broncos, claiming it was tougher for his team to put that game behind it facing the winner again right out of the gate.
Some might think the opposite, especially if you beat the champs, but it appears that’s not in the cards. Maybe the Pats will see the Falcons in a prime-time game later in the year.
HOUSTON — Would have been great dance partner and top choice if Tony Romo hadn’t opted for TV work over football. Give the Texans a legitimate quarterback and it’s game on, especially with their defense. That unit, with Mike Vrabel taking over as defensive coordinator for Romeo
Crennel, gave the Patriots fits for much of their AFC divisionalround game.
Bill O’Brien’s offense, however, just had nothing to counter with, even with a few weapons sprinkled in at running back and wide receiver. The Texans just don’t measure up at quarterback. And even though they dumped
Brock Osweiler, it’s doubtful Tom Savage will be able to do much better. Romo would have given them some hope and that ratings bump on opening night. They’ll still put up a good fight, which leaves them in contention, but they’ll have little chance against the Pats.
CAROLINA — The Patriots and Panthers have played some entertaining games, several going down to the wire. Plus, there’s enough star power on the Panthers’ side with Cam Newton and
Luke Kuechly. With Newton hoping to have a rebound year and coming back from shoulder surgery, there are plenty of storylines. It’s just hard imagining the NFL sticking the non-champion Panthers in the opening game two seasons in a row.
KANSAS CITY — Tom Brady vs. Alex Smith. Hard to sell that, but the Chiefs could very well win the assignment by default. Under Andy Reid, they are always good. They always make the playoffs and they always have a very good defense, even if they always fall short. So, in theory, it might be a good game. Naturally, a lot will be made of the historical significance should the Chiefs be chosen. The last time the two teams met in an opener, in 2008, Brady tore his ACL, but banking on that as the hook is pretty weak.
MIAMI — The Bills and Jets might get consideration, but the Dolphins are the best of the rest of the AFC East. While it’s hard to call them a threat to the Patriots, they are a team on the rise and made the playoffs last year. Miami also made some interesting offseason moves, and Adam Gase seems to be pushing the right buttons. Not a terrible choice. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — Having the relocated Chargers play the Patriots before their first game in LA — stoke the flames for the move, so to speak — might have some appeal. The league might get behind a couple of oldies but goodies, Brady and Philip
Rivers, slinging the ball around Gillette Stadium. A wild card.
Cornering the market
The Patriots kicking the tires on Seattle cornerback Richard
Sherman inspired quite a bit of discussion last week. The thought of potentially having two shutdown corners had people giddy. While a Sherman deal isn’t in the cards at the moment, it still an interesting topic. NFL Network analyst Solomon
Wilcots believes Bill Belichick’s interest simply comes from understanding what’s necessary to win in today’s game.
“There’s two positions that get you beat in the NFL faster than any other. Quarterback and cornerback. If you are locked down at corner, and locked down at quarterback, that makes you hard to beat in this league. And, there’s no doubt Bill gets that,” Wilcots said when reached Wednesday. “To me, ( Stephon) Gilmore is a top-notch corner. He’s a potential shutdown corner, a perennial Pro Bowler. There’s no doubt in my mind. He’s got the long range, and the speed ability, just like Richard Sherman. I just believe the one place (Belichick) will spend money on, is for a topnotch corner.” And perhaps, two.
Big hopes for Burkhead
Wilcots, who hails from Cincinnati and has attended plenty of Bengals practices, believes running back Rex Burkhead will be a star with the Patriots.
“Bill Belichick hit it out of the park with that dude,” said Wilcots. “He is one of the most fundamentally sound football players in every facet that you can ever ask of a running back. He can run, he can run with speed, he can run with power, he can run inside, he can block, he can pass protect, he can play special teams, he’ll blow somebody up on kickoffs, he can catch it, the guy is an excellent receiver . . . This dude can do everything you want a running back to do. There are no weak areas. That’s all I can tell you. And I’ve watched him four years here.”
Analyze this
Romo didn’t completely close the door on playing football, but for now, he’s happy to stop playing and take over as CBS’ lead analyst. It was interesting to hear him say during a conference call that Houston would have been his choice had he opted to continue playing. If Romo stayed healthy, he would have made the Texans an instant threat in the AFC given their defense, but those chances weren’t good given he couldn’t stay healthy behind the best offensive line in the league in Dallas. We’ll see if he leaps out of the booth and joins them late in the year.
As for jumping into the TV booth and providing game analysis, Romo was quick to explain the adjustment the Patriots made during the Super Bowl.
“Bill Belichick runs a bear front defense, which means he puts three lineman right over the center in guards. Well, guess what Atlanta does? They run wide and gash (the Patriots) in the first half,” Romo said. “Well, how smart is Belichick? He comes right out and runs a completely different front in the second half. They get one run. It’s a really intelligent move. That’s the kind of stuff you have a chance to communicate if you can get out there and recognize it. There are a lot of little things and it’s going to be fun with the evaluation process.”
Kiper’s rough draft
ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper held a conference call last week previewing the upcoming draft, and one of the big takeaways emphasized the outstanding depth at cornerback. Kiper believes this draft could go “30, 35 deep in terms of corners that could play in this league this year.”
Kiper indicated he had nearly 20 defensive backs with grades in the first two rounds, which — like the draft as a whole — will be defense dominated.
“I think the defense is going to dictate a lot about the early portion of Round 1, and really all the way through. There are some really good defensive players,” he said. “As I said, the pass rushers, the combo guys, the front seven guys, I think the safeties and cornerback spot are really good. You talk about corner. I think it goes really deep.”