Cold cuts: Q&As on New England’s “final” 53

By Os Davis  |   Monday, September 01, 2008  |  Comments( 3 )

New England Patriots
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The New England Patriots shuffled 21 players – waiving 18 – Sunday in trimming the roster down to its final* 53. (*Please see below entry on Lynch, John.) Though these moves are something of a definitive, if not final, answer, plenty of questions still remain regarding a number of at least minor surprises among the casualties.

A few such questions follow, dutifully answered by a source close to the Patriots. OK, a source who knows something about the Patriots. All right, me. Never mind that right now and just ponder mysteries like ...

• Q. What happened to Fernando Bryant and Jason Webster? Two seemingly competent veterans, two guys who appeared to want to win, two players who were all set to become Patriots who raise their game under the Bill Belichick system ... two cuts. With all the shakeups in the secondary going into the preseason, this pair – and particularly Bryant, who registered a career year with the Detroit Lions last season with 69 tackles and two interceptions while playing in all 16 games – looked like shoo-ins. Instead, they’re getting the boot.

A: Who knows (perhaps Bryant’s shoulder injury is more serious than popularly known), but these particular releases indicate that Belichick & Co. are either enamored with or resigned to pretty much immediately employing rookies Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite, both of whom saw marginal time in preseason games. Sorry, what's that? New England just signed Deltha O'Neal? Never mind.

• Q: Does Chad Jackson have a future in the NFL? Talk about waiting for the other shoe to drop. Two seasons of classically underwhelming play on offense and special teams chased by an abbreviated season thanks to injury and lots of bench time behind superstars spells B-U-S-T and today’s win-demanding New England fans have smelled blood on Jackson for some time. It’s no surprise that Jackson was released prior to the 2008 season opener; it was slightly surprising it took this long.

A: Nah, probably not. But hey, if Charles Rogers can draw interest from the CFL ...

• Q: What about BenJarvus Green-Ellis, then?

A: I’ll spare more gushing about a guy who inexplicably fell through the cracks on draft weekend seemingly because of a poor combine performance and then unfortunately found himself on the same roster with a rejuvenated LaMont Jordan. However, the fact that New England Patriots Football Inc. signed him to the practice squad immediately after clearing waivers was a good sign. Green-Ellis could be one of the great stories waiting to happen.

• Q: Is Matt Cassel really still the No. 2 QB in New England? Most shocking (despite the pleas of Belichick and Tom Brady to just give the laddie a chance) to the general public was this particular keeper, especially because Matt Gutierrez appeared to have outplayed the man throughout the preseason.

A: Apparently so (and mysterious are the ways of The Belichick), but tell you what – figure that, in an emergency, Pats fans would hate seeing rookie Kevin O’Connell out there less than Cassel. Anyone else remember the days of Matt Cavanaugh?

• Q: How long will it be before Lynch re-signs with the Patriots? (Not resigns.) Gotta love this line from Belichick: “It goes without saying, but John is an all-time great safety, one of the league’s classiest professionals and his elite play speaks for itself. As has been the case in other situations, I would not rule anything out down the road.” Though that may have “been the case in other situations,” rarely has it been so blatantly insinuated. Because Lynch is granted certain special rights as a long-term NFL veteran, he is now listed as a free agent rather than given status as an ordinary waived player. Is it me or are the Patriots and Lynch merely testing his market value? Today, Boston media is taking it for granted that Lynch will be back; it must be nice to be able to sign 35-plus-year-old borderline Hall of Famers, squeeze the last of their ample talent and repeatedly win, all for the minimum amount of expenditure.

A: How long? What time is it now?

• Q: What’s up with the offensive line, anyway, now that Oliver Ross is on injured reserve? Both Ross and Stephen Neal -- who is on PUP -- are listed as right guards on the depth chart. Could Billy Yates actually be a Week 1 starter? Whoa.

A: The answer remains a mystery, but New England suddenly looks thin (only three natural guards on the roster?) and vulnerable (Pete McMahon) in what has been the team’s under-the-radar powerhouse this entire decade. Detached sangfroid aside, Patriot backers have to be a tad concerned here.

• Q: Is Junior Seau coming back? No, this has nothing to do with Sunday’s personnel moves. But you've gotta admit it’s an intriguing question. (Still.)

A: Maybe.

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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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