New England Patriots Start their Season

Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the start of the 2013 NFL season. And for the New England Patriots, it couldn’t have come any sooner.

To say this offseason was tumultuous is a vast understatement. The entire franchise faced an offseason of scandal, arrests, the departure of Wes Welker, the signing of Time Tebow, and of course another summer of Gronk. Yet through the rolling thunder and crashing waves of a stormy offseason, owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick kept their ship a float for the most part but questions still loom for the AFC powerhouse and none more pressing then: has their Super Bowl window closed?

Training camp opened on Friday in Foxboro, and the Patriots are taking their first steps to disproving that thought. However, with such a striking roster shakeup and injuries already taking affect on the team, the question of has their window closed, seems more apt then ever.

Here are five things to watch for this preseason from the Patriots.

1.) Wide Receivers Remix

Of  Tom Brady’s top five targets from last season only Rob Gronkowski is still on the team. Brady’s receiver of choice over the past six seasons and good friend, Wes Welker, signed with the Denver Broncos. Second on the team in receptions was Brandon Lloyd with 74 catches and he was released due to an inability to mesh with the locker room. Aaron Hernandez was released as soon as he was arrested in connection with a murder. Then do-it-all running back Danny Woodehead, who had 40 catches, signed with the Chargers.

Gronkowski may be the best tight end in the league and Brady’s most familiar target still on the roster but he has gone through five offseason surgeries between his forearm and back and may not be ready for the regular season.

So who does that leave?

Julian Edelman, a five-year vet, had 21 receptions last season but only played in nine games. Edelman has flashed his talent here and there but has never played a full season. Matthew Slater, the only other veteran Patriots receiver on the roster, has been with the team for six seasons but is more of a special teams ace then a receiver. Then there is the new blood.

Over the offseason, the Patriots brought in veterans Danny Ammendola, Lavelle Hawkins, and Michael Jenkins. Between the three they caught 108 passes in 2012…ten less then Welker.

A pair of rookies in Josh Boyce and Aaron Dobson join the mix as well. The team hopes they’ll adapt quickly to the NFL game and provide an instant boost but that is still yet to be seen. All in all the patchwork group looks more like a land of misfit toys for Tom Brady then a Super Bowl caliber receiving corps, however they did win with Troy Brown and David Patten once upon a time.

2.) D-Line Depth

The Patriots once boasted a line of three first-round picks in the shape of Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, and Richard Seymour. Those days are long gone now, with only Wilfork remaining. The team cut veterans Kyle Love and Brandon Deaderick in the offseason and left the defensive tackle position very thin.

To add bodies, the Patriots added veteran and Belichick favorite Tommy Kelly from the Raiders and Armond Armstead from the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.

Kelly is a very similar player to Wilfork and the two should be quite the great wall to get through for opposing running backs. Armstead is an interesting addition. He provides depth behind the two veterans and the Patriots hope Armstead’s six sack season up north wasn’t a fluke. Armstead was a solid player at USC but when undrafted due to medical concerns.

Behind Armstead, it’s open season to fill in the rotation.

Justin Francis was a pleasant surprise last season. An undrafted free-agent, Francis turned a solid training camp into a roster spot and then a roster spot into serious playing time down the stretch and notched three sacks. More will be expected of him this season.

Much like Jermaine Cunningham. The former second-round draft pick has vastly underperformed and is in the last season of his rookie contract. Cunningham looked to turn the corner last season but a late season suspension for violating the league’s policy of performance enhancing substances erased that. He may not make the final cut.

3.) Running Back Carosel

By looking at the Patriots’ offseason moves, one would be compelled to ask the question: are the Patriots turning into a run-first team?

Answer: Probably not. However, it is interesting how they bolstered the position this offseason.

First they signed Leon Washington, then traded for LeGarrette Blount, then signed a slew of undrafted running backs. All-in-all, the Pats currently have nine running backs on their roster. A startling number considering they usually keep just three on their roster but as many as five running backs could make the 53-man roster.

Stevan Ridley is entrenched as the starter after a stellar 1,263 yard and 12 touchdown performance last season. Shane Vereen, will replace Woodehead in the third-down back role. If he stays healthy, Vereen could be in-store for a breakout season of his own. Blount could stay as a short-yardage back — something the Patriots struggled with last season. That leaves Washington, who was brought in for his special teams skills in the return game.

It is worth keeping an eye on if the team keeps all their backs.

4.) Secondary Struggles

No matter what they do, it seems the Patriots can never quite fix their leaky pass defense.

The unit ranked 29th in the league last year defending the pass and only made one significant addition to help strengthen their greatest weakness of defense. Early in free agency, the Patriots signed former All Pro safety Adrian Wilson. Wilson had starred with the Arizona Cardinals  for the past 12 seasons but his played dipped last year and was benched down the stretch.

The Patriots are hoping he can regain form and help their sulking pass defense.

Another snag, is the fate of Alfonzo Dennard.

Dennard, was a big help to the Patriots last season. Originally considered a second-round prospect in the 2012 NFL Draft, Dennard fell to the seventh-round after being arrested just a day before the draft for punching a police officer in Lincoln, Nebraska. The cornerback was sentenced to 30 days in jail, a sentencing which will take place in March of 2014.

That was until Dennard was arrested this offseason. Still on probation from his last incident, Dennard was arrested again in Lincoln, this time for suspicion of DUI. Following the incident, the Patriots announced they would not cut Dennard. However, the legal system in this matter is still to play out.

If anything negative should follow, veteran Kyle Arrington and Ras-I Dowling will have to step in. Dowling, especially will be counted on. A former second-round draft pick, Dowling has dealt with injuries his first two seasons and has barely seen the field. However, he shined in OTAs and minicamp.

And here is your daily dose of Tebow.

The star backup was signed in a rather unsurprising move. Belichick brought the former Florida Gator in for workouts and took him out to dinner in Boston’s North End before the 2010 NFL Draft. Not to mention, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel was the one who drafted Tebow when he was the Broncos head coach.

The signing of Tebow, however, poses a problem for Ryan Mallett.

Mallett has been Brady’s understudy the past two seasons but he was shopped as trade bait during the draft in April. Jeff Howe, of the Boston Herald, reported that the Cleveland Browns made numerous calls to trade for Mallett but a deal never went through due to the Patriots price tag of a second-round pick.

If Tebow out performs Mallett, the former Arksans Razorback could be on the move.