Pats Pulpit
Football is here. The New England Patriots will officially begin the Mike Vrabel era on Sunday as the Las Vegas Raiders come to Foxboro for Week 1.
So before the fun begins, let’s get right into this week’s #PostPulpit Mailbag.
Who covers Brock Bowers Sunday? – NewEnglandWhalers
Outside of Brock Bowers, who was named All-Pro his rookie season, the Raiders pass catchers are not entirely threatening. Jakobi Meyers is a good player as we know, while Tre Tucker and rookie Dont’e Thornton Jr., who has had a strong summer, are a pair of burners.
When asked about Bowers this week, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams have stated that the tight end can be treated as a wide receiver in addition to his ability to in-line block. That leaves the door open to use a cover cornerback like Carlton Davis, much like Bill Belichick use to do against Travis Kelce and other specific matchups.
In Bowers’ rookie season, Denver was one of the few teams to use a corner in coverage where reigning DPOY Pat Surtain limited the tight end to a pedestrian 4/38 stat line in November.
Things get trickier for New England, however, with Christian Gonzalez looking unlikely to suit up due to a hamstring injury. While Davis would be a good matchup against Bowers, the would leave the Patriots with Marcus Jones, Alex Austin, and D.J. James at corner to face Meyers and Thornton on the outside. Trust in those corners would allow Davis to handle Bowers, but if not, New England could opt for more bracket/double coverages against the young tight end. Williams also noted how Vegas could target any corner covering Bowers in the run game.
Seems obvious that Gonzalez is going to miss time to start this year — when do we start to worry about his growing injury history? – ghosthaus
Speaking of Gonzalez, I’m more worried that the injury is a hamstring injury as those can linger throughout the season — especially for skill position players. I would not expect Gonzalez to suit up for Week 1.
And while we’re on Gonzalez, I would not pay much attention to the narrative that he’s sitting out with his contract in mind as he’s extension eligible next offseason. He is injured, and if he was thinking about his contract then availability should be his focus after playing just four games his rookie season.
Any prediction on how the snap counts will end up week 1 for running backs and WRs?
It seems like they must want Henderson, Williams and Chism to blossom but there are guys who are ahead of them on the (on paper) depth chart. Will Boutte, Mondre, Gibson, etc dominate the snaps in the early season or do you think it’s going to be a real rotation? – ed.liebfried
The veterans will likely dominate the snaps in the wide receiver room. DeMario Douglas, Stefon Diggs, and Kayshon Boutte will likely work as the top three...
