PatsPropaganda

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Tweets of Note: Patriots Training Camp Practice #7

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The dog days of training camp are here. Guys are in and out of practices, making it difficult to know just who’s actually injured and who’s just being managed. But the good news is that one week from today we’ll get our first preseason game and things will really start to take shape.

Here are the tweets that stood out today:

Not good. We all know the dangers of concussions now and it’s hard to see Stork putting these behind him any time soon. We’re lucky to have David Andrews, and it would look like he’ll be the starter for the foreseeable future. For Stork it’s not just this season that concerns me, it’s the entire future of his career and his life after football.

I don’t usually subscribe to “Brady’s gonna be extra pissed this year” theories. The guy is always uber competitive and pushes himself above and beyond to be the best. But there’s something going on this summer with him. Maybe it’s just extra work to help keep him in shape while he’s away from the team. Maybe he knows he’s getting older and is trying to stay ahead of the curve. Or maybe, just maybe, he really is extra pissed. Regardless it bodes well for his coming 12-game regular season and playoff run.

Mike Reiss posited that it’s just the Pats managing Mitchell, who had knee concerns coming out. Still, no one can feel great about the receiver group we’re rolling out there right now. Though it is good for these guys to get quality reps. Especially Harper and Carter who should be in line for development as Edelman/Amendola replacements in a year or two. Keshawn Martin is probably the guy who’s absence hurts him the most, as much as rookies like Mitchell need every training camp snap they can get.

Rookies just keep showing up. It’s pretty crazy. The team looks stacked every offseason with almost no roster spots for a rookie to seemingly fit into, yet every year the Pats draft well enough that guys step right in and make the team better. That’s what we’re seeing with a number of rookies, including Mitchell and Thuney along with those mentioned above.

Kuhn’s a real dark horse that no one was giving a chance to in preliminary 53-man roster projections. He’ll need to make some noise in the preseason but at 6’4″, 300 pounds he has a bit of a different dimension from Brown, Branch, Knighton and Valentine and could prove useful in some situations.

Ted Karras seemed like a long shot with all the guard depth the Pats already had heading into camp, but things can change quickly. He could be locking up not only a roster spot, but have a chance to play.

This is good news. Shows a grasp of the offense and an understanding of how to attack the defense. Just be prepared for a preseason game where Garoppolo has some rough moments. It’s bound to happen and actually necessary for his development and preparation for the season.

I’m done expressing concern about the running back position. BTW DJ Foster’s hamstring being managed as well so those four RBs are the four RBs and we’ve only had a week of training camp.

Harper and Carter continue to show up. Both probably headed for the practice squad but one of them could very well get a long look as the Amendola replacement next season.

How do you know when the Patriots are hurting at wide receiver? When Matthew Slater is catching passes.