Roche: Judge Haynesworth, Ochocinco Deals Later
BOSTON (CBS) - How much fun was Day One of Patriots Training Camp in Foxboro?
Just about as good as it gets for us folks and judging by the reaction around Boston and New England, I think the fans are loving it.
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Are the Patriots better Friday than they were Wednesday? Absolutely.
But, the questions that we don't have the answer to here in July are - will they be better on September 12.. or playoff game number one... or Super Bowl Sunday?
I think that's when you have to judge the acquisitions of Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco. Not today.
The luxury you have with Haynesworth is that you can say good-bye to him at any time during this season and it won't kill you.
He causes any problems in the locker room? Good-bye. Off-field trouble? See ya' Albert.
If you get him to buy into the Patriot way? The Belichick system, the team-first motto that Wilfork, Warren, Brady, Branch and company carry around? You've struck gold!
Haynesworth's impact could blow away what the dynamic Ochocinco brings to the table. At 6-6, 335 pounds, this guy could help a pass rush that was one of the worst, if not the worst, in the NFL last season. He's an MVP-type player. A Julius Peppers, but at virtually no cost.
Why not?
As for Ochocinco, the guy has wanted to play for Bill Belichick for years. There's a man-crush on both sides. However, what's more important in this one is Tom Brady.
And, from what we've seen, you come into this offense and simply get open, number 12 will find you.
He will take care of you and your numbers will be great. Look at Welker, Branch, Moss, etc. They get open and all is good.
That's what makes it appealing to play here.
Yes, it starts with Bill. But, when it comes to this offense, it's all about Tom.
I know there's a lot of talk of the personality of Ochocinco. His 2-million plus followers on Twitter. However, I think if you watched Hard Knocks a few years ago you walked away with a far better appreciation of Ochocinco.
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He stays in tremendous shape, wants to win, and has fun along the way. I think he'll be more than fine wearing a Patriot uniform.
And, finally, I think it certainly doesn't hurt that the Patriots brought a couple of big-time names in here.
They made a splash following 7 months of lousy lockout talk. They lit up the phone lines. They followed the path of the Celtics with Shaquille O'Neal, the Red Sox with Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, and the Bruins with the Cup.
They created a nice buzz around the team.
Good for them. And, now we'll see if that splash is indeed good for the fans.
