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Breaking down the 92

Email|Link|Comments (6) Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff May 14, 2009 07:00 AM

The Patriots currently have 92 players on their roster, which is the most of any team in the NFL. Teams can have up to 80 players under contract, but draft picks don't count against that limit until they sign contracts.

Here is the fourth part of a continuing breakdown of the roster, with quick-hit thoughts:

Inside linebacker
Personnel: Jerod Mayo, Tedy Bruschi, Gary Guyton, Tyrone McKenzie, Eric Alexander, Antonio Appelby, Vinny Ciurciu, Tank Williams
Quick hit: Main question comes next to Mayo, where Bruschi and Guyton split time last season; Depth a concern after McKenzie, a third-round pick, tore his ACL in rookie minicamp.

Outside linebacker
Personnel: Adalius Thomas, Pierre Woods, Shawn Crable, Tully Banta-Cain, Vince Redd, Angelo Craig
Quick hit: The top question is who replaces Mike Vrabel opposite of Adalius Thomas? Woods, Crable, Banta-Cain and Redd have a combined 18 career starts between them; Jason Taylor could have helped ease some uncertainty.

(next up: cornerback, safety)

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6 comments so far...

MIke-

Why not include Tank Williams in your coverage of ILB? He was working out their last year, and could be a key to having depth in the secondary as well as ILB on passing downs.

Posted by Jeremy May 14, 09 08:26 AM

Jeremy. That is a very good point. I see Williams as more of a LB than a S. He is now added.
--Mike

Posted by Mike Reiss May 14, 09 08:46 AM

Its funny, the other day I remembered an old copy of Sports Illustrated with 'The Backerhood' on the cover from 2007/early 2008: Vrabel, Bruschi, Colvin, Seau and Thomas. Bruschi wont play much, Thomas is still a starter, but the rest have gone.
How things change

Posted by Glasgow May 14, 09 10:56 AM

Mike,

You should have not wasted your time with this one. I will simplify for you.

Inside Linebacker: Mayo, Guyton, Bruschi

Quick hit: SCREWED!

Outside Linbacker: A.D.

Quick hit: REALLY SCREWED!

Posted by Realistic May 14, 09 11:41 AM

some of you people make me laugh so hard it hurts...wait can't type side splitting.....
You sound like the former slaves of Egypt who'd seen the miracles of God 10 times & still did not believe....
You've seen BB work his magic for years & still doubt him...
FA is still ahead when teams start trimming rosters & even if Pats don't add anyone, there's probably players already in camp that BB is confident in, just like he was with Cassell - when most of you were begging for him to be cut.
It wouldn't surprise me if there's a diamond in the rough sitting on the roster right now, who has a tremendous year.
Who knows, maybe somebody like Crable will step right in there & produce 15+ sacks - you just can't tell with this team, until you see the players on the field - lighten-up bandwagoners - you're giving the haters exactly the kind of ammo they need to keep bashing our fan-base

Posted by stop Newport, RI corruption May 14, 09 12:37 PM

Who else thinks "Realistic" is the most ironic user name on here?

Posted by Scott May 14, 09 01:15 PM

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Mike Reiss, Christopher L. Gasper and the rest of the Globe team provide regular updates –and a behind-the-scenes look– on the daily happenings of the Patriots.

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