@AdamSchefter 3m
Should Aaron Hernandez be unable to start season, Patriots could open 2013 with their 5 leading receivers from 2012 not in lineup.
This kind of cuts right to the heart of how dire a predicament the Patriots are in right now. They'll still make the playoffs regardless, but without Hernandez or Welker, and with Gronk recovering from multiple surgeries, the Patriots could be out of realistic contention before the season even begins.
I'm not all that worried to be honest. Brady has worked with less in the past.
I have no idea what to make of the Hernandez situation, but I have to give props to Bill for stealing Ballard from the Giants and picking up Fells last season. Plus there is Hoomanawanui (god thats harder to spell than to pronounce) and apparently the Sudfeld kid has impressed thus far, so there is plenty of depth there if we end up having neither Hernandez nor Gronk at the start of the season. I think the silver lining is that Gronk will eventually be back so at least we can hold onto that for comfort.
The WR corps is obviously the biggest concern and now that our TE situation is up in the air it makes it an even bigger one. I think Amendola is going to be great (he gets a bad rap for his injuries, but they just happened to come early on in the season I don't consider him injury prone). At least now I guess the rookies are going to get plenty of reps and focus from Brady, so hopefully they will have a better chance of developing than our previous misses.
I think its a gut overreaction to say we could be out of realistic contention. Amendola could easily replicate most of what Welker brought if he clicks with Brady, we will get Gronk back and I really think our defense could improve by leaps and bounds this year.
Topic: Patriots Receivers (Read 4827 times)