New England Patriots on Paper: The Rich Get Richer

Bill Belichick has been bitching about his special teams all summer.  Apparently he's been secretively working on the solution all summer as well.

Olympic sprinter and former University of Florida Running Back Jeff Demps and his agents have been under a constant barrage from the Patriots' Head Coach to sign with New England ever since Demps announced that he was foregoing the 2012 NFL Draft to concentrate solely on his Track career - and his persistence paid off on Friday afternoon as the Silver Medalist signed on to be a Patriot.

In signing Demps, he not only has solved his kick return issues, but has also caused himself a bit of a roster quandry.  There are four quality Running Backs on the Patriots' depth chart, and many reports had them keeping all four players.  Bringing Demps into the fold causes some rethinking and scrambling amongst not only the "Experts" in the media, but also within Belichick's own inner circle.

This is a make or break deal.  He can not be destined for the Practice Squad despite the fact that he has missed all of training camp - Demps either makes the roster or he will not make it through waivers and will sign with another team.  So unless Demps turns out to be a total flop, he will be on the 53 man roster, which means that one of the other backs, most presumably impressive rookie free agent Brandon Bolden, will not be on the final roster and will end up on the practice squad, provided he clears waivers.

Regardless of the impact on the roster, the Demps signing has the potential of changing the dynamics of the Patriots' offense.  In college, he averaged an absurd 6.8 yards per rush, is decisive and is that rare athlete that can make sudden cuts at full speed.  He has shown toughness between the tackles, though his forte is zipping off tackle and beating the defenders to the edge - and once he's got the seam, the afterburners ignite and he's gone.

In the Patriots "Pass first" philosophy, he is potentially even more dangerous.  Good hands and patience make him an excellent candidate for the omni-present screen game, where he can curl out of the backfield and into the flat behind pulling linemen, survey the field and his blocking, then dash through the smallest of seams.

Add this dynamic to All Pro talent already present on the Patriots' offensive depth chart, and it's clear that 11 players on the opposing defense is just not enough to contain every weapon that New England can put on the field at one time.  With Hernandez, Gronkowski, LLoyd and Welker, the Patriots already had 4 players who are legitimate candidates for double teams.  Adding a fifth makes an already unstoppable offense a literal jaugernaut.

Every scouting report there is on this kid suggests that he is a legitimate threat to take the ball to the house any time he touches it, be it as a Running Back, Reciever or kick returner.  The only thing that is in question in regard to Demps is how Belichick managed to trump all the other teams that were interested in signing him...