The Patriots closed out two-a-days today as they packed up and headed down to Atlanta to practice with the Falcons prior to their second preseason game on Thursday night. After hearing all the praises sung about the bonus of practicing with another team, it’s clear that the young Pats are acquiring some great experience.
When you’re starting so many young players, and have the need to come out of the gate with a good start, the benefit of these practices will be huge. This will accelerate the learning curve for the rookies and second year guys who will need to have an immediate impact.
The loss of Ty Warren is significant, but it happened early enough in camp that the Pats shouldn’t suffer a letdown from losing him and they should be able to replace him much more adequately with so much time and practice to work with before the season starts. Every team will have injuries this year, and it’s better to have them early in training camp so you have a good chance to fill that hole, as opposed to the middle of the season when you have to make do with what you have already. As always Labor Day weekend will be an interesting one.
Ron Brace is back, and the Pats will really need him to play like the second round draft pick that he was. If he can make an impact this year the Pats will be looking even more stacked for the next five years. If not, defensive line becomes even more of a priority in the 2011 draft.
The Pat also need to get healthy. Jermaine Cunningham, Gary Guyton and Tully Banta-Cain are all currently hobbled, to what extent we don’t know. It is vital that Cunningham gets back on the field asap so that his development is not hindered. Though the return of Derrick Burgess takes some pressure off him he needs as much experience as possible if he’s to contribute early and often this year.
