The Patriots kick off three days of mandatory mini-camp today in Foxboro. We have focused on the obvious storylines all off season so I am not going to bore you with those.

Instead, I am going to look for these five things but from a coaching perspective. I want to see how players and personnel are used and what the Patriots are doing schematically.

Here are five things I will be watching this week.

1. Use of formations and personnel on offense: We will be watching to see how new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien uses all of the pieces he has at his disposal. We know the Patriots will use a lot of 11 personnel but how much 12 and 10 personnel will they use? I am looking for that question to be answered this week.

With the addition of Anthony Firkser, I think they will use a lot of 13 personnel as well. Will we see that week? Maybe. I think O’Brien will mix and match his personnel within groupings to not only create match ups but to also find the best groupings that can make plays.

2. Does Gonzalez run with the ones? I am curious to see if rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez will rep with the ones this week. Gonzalez has impressed thus far but has he done enough in OTA’s to rep with the starting defense or will we see more of that in training camp? We will find out this week.

3. Mapu’s reps: Rookie hybrid Marte Mapu impressed those in attendance last week. He played both in the box as a linebacker and played over the top at safety as well. Mapu’s versatility is a big reason why the Patriots drafted him.

We felt from the beginning that he would play a lot more than most people thought as a rookie. So far he has gotten a lot of quality at OTA’s. I am curious to see what situations the Patriots use him in this week and how they use him. I think he will truly be a 3X3 player in this defense like a Kyle Duggar or Carolina’s Jeremy Chinn.

4. Offensive line rotation: I want to see who starts this week and who rotates in with who. The Patriots fortified the offensive line this off-season but there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered. They won’t all be answered this week but we will get a better idea based on who offensive line Adrian Klemm rotates in with who. Keep an eye on rookies Jake Andrews and Sidy Sow. Both will line up at multiple positions this week.

5. What’s In? It will be interesting  to see what has been installed thus far, particularly on offense. Most of the base offense is probably in already and it will be repped and reinforced this week. Same goes with the defense. This week isn’t so much about plays as it will be more about who is repping with who and how the personnel is being used. We will get a better sense of what the offense will like in training camp.

Mini-camp has become a rite of passage around these parts in the Belichick era. Patriots fans get excited about it.  It is our first look at what the team and the new additions.

There are a lot of questions that need to be answered with this team and we may get some of those questions answered this week.