- Tre Jackson is the young guard we’ve needed since Stephen Neal retired.
- If Shaq Mason can learn to pass block, the Pats O-Line is set for a while.
- The door is wide open for Jonas Gray, would love to see him run well against the Packers.
- I really hope this “minor” hamstring issue that caused Dobson to miss Thursday practice really is minor.
- Fine with Edelman missing a few practices on the other hand. The more wear and tear we can save on him the better.
- Defenses better choose their personnel to match up against Gronk and Chandler wisely, especially inside the 20.
- Tavon Wilson vs. Jordan Richards might be the best head-to-head training camp battle we’ve had. Wonder how the trickle down effect will affect Chung and Ebner.
- Brandon Gibson and Josh Boyce could be seeing a small ray of light for a chance of making the roster.
- If I was at camp I’d be most curious where Flowers and Grissom are lining up and being utilized. They’ll play a ton in preseason.
- With Chris White and Dane Fletcher out, there’s an open roster spot or two for a linebacker. Curious how James Morris and Eric Martin look in live action.
- Getting the feeling Bradley Fletcher will be in the fight of his life to beat out Jimmy Jean and/or Darrelle Roberts for a roster spot.
- Logan Ryan’s best spot might be in the slot, but I can see him and McClain both seeing time there.
- Pray Tarrell Brown keeps up his solid early pace. One of those vets had to emerge.
- Positive rumblings about Easley’s burst being back. If it really is, look out NFL.
- Have to wonder how long Alan Branch has to get on the field. They certainly need his veteran presence, but he won’t have forever.
- The potential of the defensive front seven is so intriguing. Add in the linebackers and it will be so hard to prepare for everything they can do.
- Malcom Brown’s going to see a lot of snaps this year. He and Siliga side-by-side is an intriguing run-stopping front that will be needed especially against the Bills and Eagles.
- Vollmer will still start at RT to start the season. Despite trade speculation I think he sticks. Hard to trade someone still in recovery somewhat.
- Zach Moore is the wild card of the defense, no clue how he’ll be used but I think he’s going to make some unexpected noise.
- Brady won’t miss a game.
analysis
New Faces Standing Out at New England Patriots Training Camp
New Faces Standing Out at New England Patriots Training Camp
New one up on Athlon, taking a look at some of the new guys who have stood out in the first four practices. Obviously a long way to go, but a good start is a good start.
Pats Posits: Notes on the Early Days of Camp
We’re fighting the good fight on two fronts this summer. First, and most important, is training camp. And there’s Deflategate, which took a turn on Friday for the Patriots’ good, and seems to be headed for a conclusion as quickly as the judge can make it happen.
Let’s stick to real football today, with things that are sticking out to me right now.
– Having Jerod Mayo full-go and Dont’a Hightower close to full-go is an amazing development to start camp off. I thought there was a realistic chance both would start on the PUP list and without Spikes or Fletcher, there’s basically be Jamie Collins as the only legitimate starting NFL linebacker in camp. Just having the veteran presence to make all the calls is going to help the defense get up to speed a lot quicker.
– Speaking of Collins, he continues to look like a superstar in the making. I watched a lot of his film this offseason and I was only more and more impressed with how well-rounded he is. I would love to see what he does when there’s a complimentary cover linebacker like Mayo in the mix with him.
– While I still don’t think we can write Ryan Wendell off right away, it’s good to see the Pats starting and sticking with an interior line featuring two rookie guards – Shaq Mason and Tre Jackson. Last year they had no continuity at any position except right tackle in the early part of the season, even Solder was getting rotated out in camp. At least the rookies are getting their feet wet and from the sounds of it, Stork looks even more impressive this year. Have to say I’m most curious to see Shaq in pass protection, that could determine if he’s ready to start. He should be a wrecking ball in the running game. He’s one to focus on this preseason.
– Here’s how I see the current offensive depth chart after the first four practices, based on various reports. Nothing is set in stone but for the most part this is how it seems like they’re starting off.
Dobson has made some impressive catches but we’ve seen that before from him. The key will be to staying healthy and building on his good plays. Can he do enough to eat into LaFell’s snaps once he returns? I still have my doubts but a good start is a good start.
– While many of us could see Vollmer getting traded based on his age, salary, injury history and depth behind him, I’m not reading too much into Cannon getting more starter snaps early. Vollmer is coming off surgery and they’ll manage his return. Let’s not write Vollmer off completely, he’s one of the best right tackles in the game and could play left tackle if anything happens to Solder. I have my doubts Cannon or Fleming could slide to the left.
– Seems like James White and Travaris Cadet will be neck and neck all summer for the starting passing down back. Most important will be watching how well they pick up pass rushers when asked to block. White might be undersized but that didn’t stop Danny Woodhead. He still has the inside track as I see it.
– Defensively things are starting to become a little clearer as well especially at cornerback where it seems like Butler and Brown have made the most plays the first few days. Logan Ryan will get plenty of snaps and Robert McClain has drawn some praise as well. Not much mention of Bradley Fletcher so far, but it’s all very fluid. If Brown excels on the outside it could shift Ryan into more of a slot competition with McClain.
– Jordan Richards has the only interception of camp and has drawn consistent praise for being in the right spots. Another strong safety Belichick was said to have reached on, Richards is showing that he just might be a player worthy of his draft status. Still a long way to go.
– Jeff Howe reported that Flowers was ahead of Grissom on the depth chart so it’s reflected above. The Pats have also been using packages with Nink/Chandler and Sheard. That will be fun to watch.
– Eric Martin is a random name that has popped up a bit as well, even moreso after he won an offseason award. The backup/special team linebacker roles are always the hardest to project but he should be in the mix if White doesn’t get healthy sooner than later. Who knows how Fleming/Freney/Morris plays out. They’ll see plenty of time this preseason, would love for one of them to show potential on defense – a fourth LB would be hugely helpful, there’s not much depth there as is.
Did the NFL Want Tom Brady’s Phone Or Not?
Did the NFL Want Tom Brady’s Phone Or Not?
Uncovered this detail yesterday and it blew up on twitter, but not enough for any major outlets to pick up on it. Seems very significant to debunking how big a deal Brady’s cellphone was.
Patriots Pre-Training Camp 53-Man Roster Projection
The PatsPicker over at PatsFans.com is up and it’s a fantastic app to quickly put together your own 53-man roster projection. Here’s where I’m at right now as I see the opening night roster shaping up. Share yours below!
QB (2) T.Brady, J.Garoppolo – I’m just assuming Brady will be good to go and not sit out any games. So no drama here.
RB (5) J.Gray, T.Gaffney, J.White, B.Bolden, T.Cadet – Tough cutting Develin and I just can’t see how Gray/Cadet/Gaffney plays out. Blount enters the mix Week 2.
WR (5) J.Edelman, B.LaFell, D.Amendola, A.Dobson, M.Slater – Tyms vs. Dobson and for some reason I’m going with Dobson here even though I like Tyms special teams ability and deep threat-y-ness.
TE (3) R.Gronkowski, S.Chandler, M.Hoomanawanui – Hooman continues to be the unsung stalwart of the tight end group, but Chandler will bump him down the depth chart. Very solid threesome.
C (1) B.Stork – Excited about Stork taking a big step in Year 2.
G (3) T.Jackson, R.Wendell, S.Mason – Wendell sneaks on again as I don’t think Mason beats him out. Both he and Mason could play center too in a pinch.
T (4) N.Solder, S.Vollmer, M.Cannon, C.Fleming – Very good group with some guard versatility for Cannon and Fleming.
DE (6) R.Ninkovich, C.Jones, J.Sheard, Z.Moore, G.Grissom, T.Flowers – Been a while since the defensive end group has been this deep. Could see Moore in an interior tackle role as well, or Grissom could shift to OLB as well. Nink/Chan/Sheard a solid rotation at the top.
DT (5) M.Brown, D.Easley, Chr.Jones, S.Siliga, A.Branch – Heavy rotation early on with this group, but they can do it all and there’s enough talent to replace Wilfork. Easley and Brown are real wild cards. If they play like first round picks…
ILB(3) J.Mayo, D.Fletcher, C.White – Sticking with the knowns here, as Fletcher and White can both play special teams and fill in on defense in a pinch. Mayo faces a critical year.
OLB(3) J.Collins, D.Hightower, D.Fleming – Two of the best young LBs lead the way here with Darius Fleming showing some promise and taking a positive step being two years removed from knee surgery.
CB (5) L.Ryan, M.Butler, B.Fletcher, T.Brown, D.Roberts – Really hope the young guys take the jobs, but Fletcher and Brown were once very promising starters so they’re a good fallback option. McClain was a tough cut in the slot. Swanson could be a dark horse there too.
SS (3) P.Chung, N.Ebner, J.Richards – Swap Tavon Wilson for Richards. Ebner could be on the bubble but BB doesn’t mess around with STs.
FS (2) D.McCourty, D.Harmon – McCourty leading the way in the secondary and Harmon is a good back up for him who should play more snaps this year than last.
ST (3) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona – Perhaps the best K/P combo in the NFL and Cardona has the makings of a special LS.
Week 1 Suspension: LeGarrette Blount – I always kinda like having a guy or two suspended to allow an extra roster spot heading into the regular season. If the NFL wanted to make it hard they’d make suspended guys count during final cuts.
Total players: 53
Created with Pats Picker: http://patsfans.com/patspicker
Tough cuts: Matthew Wells/Xzavier Dickson (both need a PS year if they can sneak them on), Josh Klein (might be my biggest mistake here, could see a scenario he’s starting), Brian Tyms, James Develin.
Tom Brady Must Take the NFL to Court Over Deflategate
Tom Brady Must Take the NFL to Court Over Deflategate
New one up on Athlon. There’s no other option for Brady.
An Inconvenient Super Bowl Win (for those who hate the Patriots)
“The Patriots haven’t won anything since Spygate.”
That was (once) a popular refrain around NFL media circles when looking for an easy crutch to knock down a franchise on an unprecedented run of success over the last decade-and-a-half.
Of course, the Patriots had won more games than any other team in the league, including seven division titles and three AFC championships since they were caught videotaping the Jets’ defensive signals from an illegal location in September of 2007, but why let facts get in the way of a good sound byte?
Falling just short of another Super Bowl title from 2007-2013 kept the door open for the #HotTakez pundits to say their success was somehow dependent stealing signals.
The elusive fourth Super Bowl title was supposed to be the one that silenced those still banging the Spygate drum so many years later.
It was supposed to be the one that cemented the legacy of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, and perhaps Patriots fans naively hoped it would win some good will back from general NFL fans.
After another title, even the two Super Bowl losses would look like more like feathers in the cap than examples of a team that couldn’t win without cheating.
The legacies of Brady and Belichick would be cemented with their fourth Lombardi Trophy together, but it was not a win of redemption, it was one inescapably as the villain.
The Patriots have gone from a team that an entire nation felt connected to after the attacks of September 11, 2001, to one of the most hated franchises in sports.
When the Patriots came out of the locker room announced as a team in Super Bowl 36, no one thought about how much they hated Bill Belichick or Tom Brady. That they were cheaters.
No, this wasn’t a dynasty. It was an upstart team of underdogs led by a bunch of castoffs, including their head coach, and a second-year quarterback who was drafted 199th overall the year prior.
The Patriots’ failure to hang on for the win in Super Bowl 42 only empowered the Spygate crowd.
Yes, the Patriots had been busted and punished in September and had gone 18-0 while not taping opponents’ signals from an illegal location, but one miracle catch by David Tyree and the causation between taping opponents signals and winning Super Bowls was cemented in the minds of anyone looking to discredit the Patriots’ success.
By the time the Patriots took the field for Super Bowl 46, ten years after their first Super Bow victory, few outside their fan base were pulling for the them to win. And when Eli Manning put together another last-minute Lombardi-winning drive, the “they haven’t won anything since Spygate” crew were smiling.
In 2014, with their best defense in a decade, the Patriots once again were the top seed in the AFC, but both games en route to the Super Bowl would be filled with controversies.
The use of deception with ineligible receivers was nothing new to the NFL, but when executed by the Patriots in a playoff game, they cheated!
With Deflategate, the Patriots were once again in the national spotlight for the wrong reasons. Even today, no one argues that any deflation of footballs before the first half of the AFC Championship had any impact on the game, but the implication of secretive operations to circumvent the PSI rules was more than enough for the torches to be lit, once again calling for asterisks and sanctions.
Then, months later, comes the Wells Report, itself igniting another powder keg of controversy as Patriots fans dug in, with plenty of ammo from the Washington Post, New York Times, and even Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
Super Bowl 49 was a crowning moment for Tom Brady, but it wasn’t quite the universal coronation many Pats fans might’ve hoped for.
Brady, facing unprecedented controversy with his integrity being called into question, put together one of the greatest games of his life against one of the best defenses he had ever played against.
Brady went 13-of-15 for 124 yards and two TDs in the fourth quarter against the vaunted Seattle defense. There was no taping of signals. The balls were all legally inflated. Neither mattered, just like they never mattered.
What we were left with was a legendary performance that no one can disregard or discredit, and Brady did it under the harshest off-field circumstances of his career.
Spygate was about Belichick, but Deflategate was about Brady, and when the confetti fell on him in Arizona, Brady was far removed from the charismatic backup who defeated the Rams 14 years earlier.
The Patriots fell just short of another Super Bowl numerous times after September 2007, allowing Spygate to be held over their head for eight long seasons. They were under the dark cloud of Deflategate for just two weeks.
But the both were erased in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 49 in Glendale and the haters can never say Brady and the Pats haven’t won anything since Spygate… or Deflategate.