Image courtesy of the New England Patriots
The Patriots officially opened training camp yesterday but their first practice is not until today. There are plenty of question marks facing this team as they open camp. Here are the top five questions that need to be answered by the time this team breaks camp.

1. Who is calling the plays on offense? Enquiring minds want to know. It is the number question fans and media alike will be asking all camp. It is not asking much to ask who the primary play caller will be. We will get a good look at who is calling the plays in practice and pre-season games but we may not really know until the season starts. Bill Belichick has openly said that he doesn’t care about titles. He might not but the rest of the region does. The coordinating question is going to linger throughout camp.

2. How is Mac Jones progressing?: Belichick said he is very happy with where Jones is in his development. Jones played well as a rookie but he had his moments where he looked like a rookie. This is his team now and he is seen as one of the leaders of the team. He has to take the next step and be even better in his sophomore campaign. In many ways, the team will go as he goes. Jones development is also tethered to who the primary play caller is. If that relationship struggles to develop in camp, it will reflect in Jones play.  

3. What will the skill distribution be on offense?: I know this is hard to believe but the Patriots have a lot of mouthes to feed. How they distribute the ball in camp will go a long way in telling us how they will use the talent on the roster. The Patriots are deep at wide receiver, running back and tight end. How they rep these positions and what personnel groupings they use will be a key story line of training camp.

4. How will the new faces fit in? : The defense wilted down the stretch last season and the goal this off-season was to re-tool and get faster. Gone are stalwarts like Dont’a Hightower, J.C Jackson, Kyle Van Noy and Jaime Collins. The Patriots believe they got faster by getting younger so it will be interesting to see how the new guys specifically Mack Wilson, Terrance Mitchell, Jabril Peppers and old friend Malcolm Butler fit in. The onus will also be on some of the young guys like Cameron McGrone and Ronnie Perkins who missed their rookie seasons with injury but are back and ready to contribute. 

5. Will the rookies make an impact? : If the Patriots truly want to contend for a Super Bowl, they will need this year’s rookie class to step up and contribute right away. Cole Strange starting at right guard is given but the Patriots will also need contributions from wide receiver Tyquan Thornton and Marcus and Jack Jones. It will be interesting to see how many reps they get in training camp. If mini camp was any indication, these guys are going to play meaningful snaps right away.