Tag Archives: New England Patriots

AFC, New England Patriots, NFL

Patriots: 5 Training Camp Moves the Patriots Should Make

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patriots.com
patriots.com

As training camp creeps closer, you can see the long days of summer start to wane and autumn is on the horizon. With that, the much maligned New England Patriots start their defense of their much earned, yet much (unjustly) scrutinized title defense. With 90 players on the team, coaches and GM’s are trying to decide who makes the cut and who doesn’t. After observing the first few days of camp, these thoughts about shaping the roster come to mind. Although they might seem drastic, I believe it makes the most sense to make the best Patriots roster available.

  1. Patriots trade G/T Jordan Devey to the San Diego Chargers for RB Danny Woodhead. With RB James White trying to step up in departed RB Shane Vereen’s shoes, the results so far have left some to be desired. Although he faces competition from veterans Dion Lewis, Travaris Cadet and Brandon Bolden, the importance of the “Passing Back” in this offense can’t be understated (see Vereen’s performance in the Super Bowl). Woodhead is 30 and carries a bigger contract (2.5 million), but he knows this offense and has Brady’s trust. He could be a stopgap for a year while White gets a little better and allows Bolden to return to his better suited Special Team role. Devey’s chances of making the team are slim to none with the additions of Tre Jackson and Shaq Mason. The Chargers need offensive line depth and Devy’s size (6’7, 315) can allow him to play both tackle and guard spots for San Diego. With Donald Brown, Brandon Oliver and Melvin Gordon all in the backfield with Phillip Rivers, Woodhead could be the odd man out. I see this as a win/win.
  2. Patriots sign G Evan Mathis. This is a no-brainer to many. He’s the best free agent available and gives the Pats a veteran leader in the place of Dan Connolly. With Ryan Wendell still hobbled and Jackson and Mason being rookies, Mathis can step in at either guard spot and dominate. Although he is 34, he was one of the best guards in football last year, if not the. Although he’s still in high demand from several teams, the appeal to play for a perennial playoff team might bring him up to the North East. If his asking price is too rich for the Pats, then they will pass. The depth inside beyond the rookies is Wendell, Josh Kline and Caylin Hauptmann. I’m not sure any of these guys can step up and be a steady performer if one or both of the rookies start to falter.
  3. Patriots trade DT Chris Jones to the Oakland Raiders for a 2016 6th round pick. With the free agent addition of DE/DT Jabaal Sheard and the 4 rookie Defensive Linemen added in the draft, the need for the pass rushing DT is pretty slim. With the loss of a 1st rounder due to Deflategate, it would be smart to unload players that have a slim chance of making the roster to needy teams. Even better unloading them to teams that will probably yield the Pats a higher pick in the said round. The lack of DL depth in Oakland is troublesome and Jones could provide a better interior pass rush than Stacy McGee or Dan Williams, the current two Defensive Tackle starters. Jones had 6 sacks in 2013 (3 in 2014) as a sub defensive tackle and can provide more depth.
  4. Patriots trade S Duron Harmon to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a conditional 2016 5th round pick and 2017 conditional 7th round pick (both picks go up a round if playing time is met). See the trend? Harmon has a lot of talent that hasn’t seen the field much in the past two seasons. He’s a zone safety that has a skill set more similar to Devin McCourty. With Jordan Richards and Tavon Wilson both playing better as of late, Harmon could take the spot for another position of need (or in Belichicks case, another linebacker or running back). With one year remaining on his deal, they might hold onto him for another year. But the fact that he isn’t an impending free agent could be reason to get more compensation. Getting this compensation for Harmon is a mutual win/win and Tampa has been a favorable trade partner in recent years (Mankins, Casillas). Harmon can compete for reps immediately at FS with Chris Conte (ugh) and Keith Tandy. This might be considered a high price for Harmon, but with his untapped potential and being around some of the best in New England, he could be a player Tampa can build around.
  5. Patriots sign DT/DE Red Bryant. Why add another defensive linemen? If you’re a Patriots fan, then you know that’s a redundant question. Bryant is massive (6’5, 325) and can play both defensive end and tackle. Although he isn’t much of a pass rusher (4.5 sacks in the past 7 seasons), he’s very stout against the run and could be an upgrade over former teammate Alan Branch. At 31, he’s not going to demand a long term deal and could be a nice veteran leader across the line that lost its biggest voice with the departure of Vince Wilfork.
AFC, New England Patriots, NFL

Dominique Easley And Chandler Jones Will Make Or Break Patriots Defense

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Questions surround the Patriots defense going into the 2015 season, and almost all of them come from the secondary. With the loss of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, and Kyle Arrington the cornerback depth chart is thin and will for sure be a work-in-progress throughout the summer and into the start of the regular season.

Also, at the safety position, Devin McCourty will be under heavy scrutiny given his expensive new contract in which the team basically chose him, over Darrelle Revis. Next to him, Duron Harmon is a wild card, and you can’t expect much from Patrick Chung and Tavon Wilson in the passing game. The old cliche is that you can fix a weak secondary, with a good pass rush.

That is something that Patriots fans have been harping on all offseason long, and I understand the optimism. The front seven is bursting with young talent and athleticism, but some players have yet to break out and really help make the Patriots front seven an elite unit. In 2015, they have no other choice but to make that leap, due to the fact that the defense needs to be carried by the front seven.

Chandler Jones has been one of Bill Belichick’s more overrated first round picks. In his three seasons he still hasn’t become that constant pass rusher that he was drafted twenty-first overall to be in 2012. Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia have used him in multiple ways, and he has yet to truly find his spot.

bookofbelichick.com
bookofbelichick.com

Early on he played as a 4-3 defensive end with his hand in the dirt, and that did not pan out well leading to injury. Early last season Jones transitioned from a stand up player that would drop back into coverage, to a 3-4 defensive end. He was ineffective at both positions. In coverage he was much to slow, and inside in the 3-4 he was way too over matched physically.

His toughness has certainly been a question mark at times, especially during September of last season. In addition, when he went down with injury, the team proved that they can be just fine without him when they brought in Akeem Ayers to essentially take over his role.

Jones biggest issue has been his ability to stay on the field. He missed six games last year with a hip injury, and it has been reported that he had surgery in the offseason. Nevertheless, he has been on the field during every training camp practice with the first team defense.

In previous seasons, when healthy Jones has been on the field for about ninety-five percent of the defensive snaps. With the addition of Jabaal Sheard, Jones may be able to rest and stay more fresh on Sundays. This, along with Bill Belichick placing Jones in a better role as a stand up edge player in a 4-3 set, could lead to him finally making the leap to an elite pass pro-level pass rusher. He has the potential to be a fifteen sack player.

Dominique Easley is for sure a player that will need to heavily contribute in order for the Patriots front seven to be an elite unit. After a non-existent rookie season, fans were hoping to see a fresh legged Easley during training camp. This was not the case as he began camp on the physically unable to perform list.

He returned on day number three of camp, and has been in attendance every day since then. However, the team is taking it easy with him, not throwing him into action right away. Most of his reps are coming with the second team. On Thursday, he saw some time with the first team squad and he impressed, blowing right through the line untouched at one point.

Easley has a very unorthodox set of skills. His mixture of speed, power, and physicality really is unmatched to any Patriots defensive player in recent memory. He is not exactly an interior pass rusher or space eater, nor is he an edge setter that can get to the quarterback.

If his knees can hold up this upcoming season, Easley needs to be what he was labeled coming out of the University of Florida. He needs to be a,”disruptor.” Collapsing the pocket, creating lanes for blitzing linebackers, and plugging up space to block running lanes is what he was drafted to do. He was dubbed as a top ten talent if he did not get injured in college, and after a fully healthy offseason Patriots fans should expect to see that talent emerge at the pro level this year.

In the end, Chandler Jones and Dominique Easley are the two players that will make or break the Patriots defense in 2015. The front seven is going to need to carry the load because of the lack of talent in the secondary. The team has lacked an edge rusher since Willie McGinest departed in 2005, and Chandler Jones was drafted to be just that. This may be his last chance to prove he can be that in a Patriots uniform.

patspulpit.com
patspulpit.com

Dominique Easley needs to help fill the void of Vince Wilfork in the middle. Without Vince, there is a lot of space left barren at the core of the defense. Easley needs to prove he can stay healthy and show that aggressive nature that he shows on the practice field often. It is safe to say both Easley and Jones need to show some nastiness in 2015.

AFC, New England Patriots, NFL

NFL: Worst. Circus. Ever.

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featured image: Google search  

 Earlier this week the Tom Brady appeal hearing transcript was released. Inside a number of things came to light but mostly character details regarding those involved in this three ring circus.

NFL: Goodell Makes Money For Owners
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell source theganggreen.com

For instance, we learned Troy Vincent is incredibly ignorant when discussing the deflation of footballs due to atmospheric conditions. Apparently Roger Goodell has terrible hearing for a man his age and will often request those he’s questioning to repeat answers a number of times. We learned that Tom Brady has no idea what a soft football feels like, just the overall texture of the ball itself. We were made aware that it is perfectly acceptable for the NFL to pay Ted Wells to conduct an “independent” investigation because, by golly, somebody has to pay him. Let’s not forget that Lauren Reisner, Ted Wells’ deputy, actually assisted the NFL during the hearing by cross examining Tom Brady. Clearly everything here is on the up and up.

There was a whole bunch of ridiculousness on the NFL’s part and more specifically Roger Goodell during this appeal process, however, Tom Brady did not come out unscathed  either. Brady insisting he did not know much about football psi prior to the October 2014 over inflation fiasco game against the New York Jets , seemed disingenuous at best. How could a man who spends so much time preparing a football not have any idea how much air he prefers inside said football? There is no legitimate proof of wrong doing in this situation but even the most ardent supporter of Brady must realize he knows how he likes his footballs.

It wasn’t all bad for Tom, although the cellphone destruction was a little bit odd on the date that he planned to meet with Ted Wells but it was hardly the proverbial “smoking gun” the NFL wants you to believe they have. Dumb and suspicous? Sure, but all it does is give the rest of the country outside of New England more reason to hate Brady, not clear evidence that he did something wrong. Quite frankly, given the release of his emails this past week, it’s no shock Brady destroyed that phone. The Peyton Manning themed email claiming no.18 had maybe “two years left” and Brady claiming to have “seven or eight years left”, I’m sure has caused him a slew of backlash.

It was particularly interesting that discipline was never implied by Ted Wells when Brady refused to hand in his phone. Patriot lawyers told him not to do so, but Tom said if he knew trouble could come due to this he would have absolutely had handed it in. Wells agreed he never told Brady that there would be discipline for this particular lack of cooperation. Roger Goodell must have had trouble hearing that.

Brady stating that he did not know Jim McNally’s name until deflategate makes total sense. As told in the transcript, Brady signs things all the time and there’s always lots of people in the locker room. It’s quite easy to believe that he would know Jim McNally’s face and not his name.
Roger Goodell at one point claimed that part of his decision to uphold Brady’s suspension rested on the unusual fact that Brady and Jastermski spoke quite a bit after the AFC Championship game. Brady gave sound reasoning for this, stating that the Super Bowl was two weeks away and also that the world was suddenly discussing the Patriot’s deflated footballs! Roger was unsatisfied with this answer. The Commissioner clearly entered this without already having made up his mind.

Roger Goodell is a desperate man and has chosen Tom Brady as his scapegoat and virtual “get out of jail free card” for the Ray Rice scandal that went so horribly wrong for him. Overall these transcripts help us to learn that the entire appeal process was a gigantic circus with our beloved commissioner of the NFL as the ring leader or was he the clown?

AFC, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, NFL

NFL: Game On: The Brady vs. Manning Rivalry Continues

 featured image: USA Today 

GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 01 : Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates holding up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX February 1, 2015 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tom Brady
GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 01 : Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates holding up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX February 1, 2015 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tom Brady

Amidst the rubble of court documents, emails, and newly released material regarding the never ending Deflategate controversy, an interesting email sent from Tom Brady has emerged. In the message, sent just a week before the Patriots rout of the Broncos in week 9, Brady seemed to have no doubts he will outlast veteran quarterback Peyton Manning. Brady is quoted as saying “I’ve got another 7 or 8 years. He has 2. That’s the final chapter. Game on.”  

Ever since Brady and Manning faced off against each other in 2001, every game has been a fight for the title “Greatest of All Time.” Each has their own obsessive fan base, ready at a moment’s notice to list every reason why their QB is the better of the two. It’s no doubt, then, that Brady sees Manning as his biggest competition. For nearly eight months the sports world has wrestled over Tom Brady’s legacy and whether Deflategate is enough to topple it. To Brady, it seems, Manning is the only one able to cast that large of a shadow over his career.  

Statistically speaking, Brady should be worried. Throughout his career Peyton has thrown for more touchdowns, more yards, and higher quarterback ratings than Brady. Manning’s numbers are undeniably better across the board, with his record setting four NFL MVP awards showing just how great of an individual player he is. Head to head, however, is a different story. Out of 16 games played between the two greats, Brady has won 11 of them–nearly 70%. Add to that four Super Bowl rings and three Super Bowl MVP’s and Tom easily evens the contest. 

Peyton calling it quits in two years would be huge for Brady’s sake in the competition. In fact, the idea isn’t unfounded. Manning’s multiple neck surgeries of 2011 and his recent troubles with his right quad and throwing arm leave many wondering how much more the signal caller has in him. Decreased passing numbers over the last two years could also indicate the future hall of famer is finally in decline. In New England, however, the current Super Bowl champion’s numbers have been on the rise as of the last few years.

When it comes down to it, these next few seasons will be critical for both quarterback’s legacies. How Brady handles the current controversy surrounding him will become a defining moment, four game suspension or not. In Denver, training camp attendees are reporting Peyton’s arm is as strong as ever. Receiver Demaryius Thomas has even claimed “it seems like [Manning] has more zip” on his passes. From the sound of it, Manning may have a lot more than two seasons left in him. Sixteen matchups later and no clear cut winner, Tom has poured some much needed fuel on the fire for the Brady versus Manning saga. It may be a decade before a consensus is ever reached on the where the two greats rank, but there is no doubt that both players have more than earned their place in the halls of Canton.

AFC, New England Patriots, NFL

NFL: Deflategate, How Many Lies Does It Take To Punish An Innocent Man??

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With the release of Brady’s appeal hearing transcripts (all 10+ hours and 457 pages worth) it appears that the advantage is swinging in Tom’s favor.

Let me first start off by saying I haven’t read the transcript in its entirety, however I will gather together all the facts I have from there and the whole debacle as it has unfolded so far.

On the night of the AFC Championship game referee Walt Anderson first claimed to have used the “logo” gauge (Which read .3-.4 psi. higher than the “non-logo” gauge) when checking game balls prior to the game. Then Wells re-interviews Anderson later, getting him to say he wasn’t sure about which gauge he used. That way Wells gains an advantage to come to the pre-determined conclusion that the balls must have been deflated by Patriots personell. (Wells gets to subtract .4 psi)

During Brady’s appeal, Wells vehemently stood by the the character of Walt Anderson and the integrity of Anderson’s recollections of the procedures performed on the game balls that evening. Even though Anderson originally said he used the “logo” gauge, Anderson must have got that part wrong, so Wells just goes with the second interview where Anderson wasn’t sure, and assumes he used the “non logo” gauge. (Lie #1)

When the Patriots balls were measured at halftime, after being in the officials locker room for 4 minutes (not enough time to effect the psi coming from 40-50° outside temp.) the lowest ball measures 10.9 psi on the ” logo” gauge, when you add in the ideal gas law which predicts a 1.0-1.2 psi drop (from Exponent inc. Findings) that would make a corrected reading of 11.9-12.1 psi on the LOWEST balls psi measurement! (There were only 3 balls that fell outside the range, other 2 were higher)

This led Wells to ignore the science (buried in the footnotes) Because the findings were not conclusive enough to prove someone had tampered with the balls after inspection. (Unless you can get Anderson to say he may have used the “non logo” gauge) Then you can justify charging your client millions to get to a pre-determined conclusion.

Leak #1: Getting public opinion on your side

The NFL office leaked information to Chris Mortensen that 11 of the 12 balls were 2 psi below minimum of 12.5 psi. (None were – a blatant lie) lie #2

Wells also tells Brady during investigation that he (Brady) will not suffer any disiplinary action for not turning over his cell phone.  And, of course, we all know that was one of Goodell’s two points for upholding his suspension. (Lie #3 on side of prosecution, in case your keeping score)

Wells also testified that a text conversation between Jim McNally and Jastremski was about “inflation” of footballs after the Jets game and it was interpreted by his (crack) legal team as being about “deflation” (yep 5 million dollars for this) Seriously? (Lie #4)

Let’s get to my last point from Wells’ testimony. He said he conducted the investigation pursuant to the “policy on the integrity of the game, and enforcement of competitive rules.”  That’s the other reason for Goodell upholding the suspension. Problem is that the players are not privy to those rules, nor are they bound by them, they are given to Owners and not players. So that’s lie #5 for the league. (There’s many more, I just picked those 5)

Leak #2:  Make Brady Look Bad

Bonus lie #6 stemming from league leaking Brady “destroyed” his cell phone instead of turning it over. Leaking it that way would lead you to believe the line of investigation they had all along, this was not an “Independent” investigation. NFL employees do not “wordsmith” drafts of “Independent” investigations.

Brady also did not get a “fair” investigation either, “fair” finds all the facts to come to a conclusion, it doesn’t “pick and chose” to support a pre-determined conclusion.

#ExonerateBrady

Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, NFL

New England Patriots: Five Things To Look For

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(featured photo: Benny Sieu-USA Today

Green Bay vs New England – It’s An Exhibition Game

New England Patriot fans, have you highlighted August 13 on your calendar? That’s the date the Patriots play their first “exhibition” game. I know King Roger doesn’t like the word “exhibition”, but I don’t like Roger Goodell and, really, when the game doesn’t count…it’s an exhibition! Pre-Season Game…give us some credit for knowing that’s a sham title to make fans think its a real contest.

The NFL may charge full price and force season ticket holders to buy tickets, but they can’t change the facts (although Mr. Commissioner is trying to do that to Tom “Terrific”)…and the fact is: teams play back-up and unknown undrafted free agents and most of the players you see in game #1 will never see the light of a real NFL game.

New England Patriots vs Green Bay Packers

Now that I have that off my chest…the game is at Gillette Stadium against the Green Bay Packers, with kick-off scheduled for 7:30. Despite all the garbage going on with that other issue (last time it will be mentioned in this column) it will be nice to actually see some football, even if we only know 10% of the players that will hit the field.

Here are a few things to look for this Thursday:

Jimmy G at 2015 Training Camp
Jimmy G at 2015 Training Camp (Keith Nordstrom/New England Patriots)
  1. Obviously focus will be on who looks good at QB for the Pats. Tom Brady may get in a series or two, but everyone in the stadium is looking to see if Jimmy Garoppolo is ready to take the helm “if needed” when the real season begins. If not (heaven forbid), who will step up?  It has been reported that they have released Matt Flynn, leaving no one to back him up. Right now Brady & Garoppolo are the only QBs on the Patriots roster, so don’t be surprised when they grab a body (any body will do) to have a back-up available.
  2. There’s a lot of competition at the various running back positions. This game will allow some of the lesser known RB’s to show their stuff. Some players to keep an eye on include: #39 Travis Cadet, #36 Tyler Gaffney, #35 Jonas (the Colt buster) Gray, #28 James White (looking to show he can fill the big shoes left by Shane Vereen’s departure) & #33 Dion Lewis. Don’t expect to see much action, if any, from LeGarrette Blount or Brandon Bolden.
  3. The development of Jake Bequette as a TE should be worth a look or two. In fact Arkansas’ A.J. Derby and Kansas’ Jimmay Mundine will be fighting to show what they have to other teams, since the chance of being on the Patriots opening day roster are slim and none. Michael Hoomanawanui had a rough year in 2014, so he could be on the bubble, especially with the signing of Scott Chandler.
  4. …and then there’s Corner Back.  There are a bunch of bodies fighting to be the next “island” in the Patriots secondary.
  5. There’s been a lot of talk about the defense, but keep your eye on the offensive line. There could be a major shift this season and these are the “unknowns” who keep the QB healthy. If you aren’t cursing them out, they’re doing their job! Players to watch include Tre’ Jackson & Shaq Mason.

    Tre' Jackson Is Worth Watching (printinterest.com)
    Tre’ Jackson Is Worth Watching (printinterest.com)
There’s more, but if you are at the game or watching on TV those five should make it worthwhile to stay awake for the entire game. If not, don’t worry…it’s only an exhibition (yawn). Coaches are just hoping no one gets hurt.
Follow me on Twitter @SnowdonBob
 
AFC, New England Patriots, NFL

Evaluations From Day Five Of Patriots Training Camp

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After getting the day off on Monday, Bill Belichick had his team back out on the practice field on Tuesday afternoon. A later start at roughly 1:30 p.m, the crowd from the weekend diminished drastically, leaving fans in attendance with a much better view point for the practice. The practice schedule and routine was the same as the first four days, things are just slowly picking up as the days move on. Here are my three observations and evaluations from Tuesday’s session.

Injuries Pile Up: With players hitting mostly at full speed comes the increased risk of training camp injuries. At the end of Sunday’s practice, Julian Edelman came up limping after catching a low placed ball from Jimmy Garoppolo. Edelman was on the field in full pads to start Tuesday’s practice. However, after stretches he walked into the field house next to the practice field and never returned.

In addition, halfway through the practice during individual tackling drills between defensive backs and wide receivers, Brian Tyms was rocked by Robert McClain. It did not seem to be a cheap shot, but most players do not follow through with their tackles, except for McClain who took Tyms directly to the ground. Tyms was carted off the practice field with what looked to be an upper body injury.

Also, an injury that looked to slip under the radar at the end of practice was an alleged one to Rob Gronkowski. I first noticed when the first team offense was practicing goal line drills. Gronkowski was kneeling on the side, grabbing at his lower back. There was no sign of trainers looking at his back, but during the two-minute drills at the end of practice, Gronkowski sat out. He was walking okay at the end, so try not to panic to hard Patriots fans.

patriots.com
patriots.com

Jimmy Garoppolo Has His Best Day: Throughout the first four days of training camp, Jimmy Garoppolo was underwhelming to put it lightly. Nevertheless, on Tuesday he was pretty impressive. He started practice off slow, with his first pass being intercepted by Nate Ebner. However, his passes had some very nice touch on them, particularly in red zone situations.

His first two passes in live eleven on eleven situations were beautifully placed passes, hitting Travaris Cadet and Danny Amendola in stride in opposite corners of the end zone. His decision making still needs to speed up, but overall he is slowly progressing day by day.

patriots.com
patriots.com

Miscellaneous Notes: Malcolm Butler continues to build upon his Super Bowl heroics during training camp. During the first eleven on eleven session, Butler picked off a bullet pass from Tom Brady intended for Josh Boyce in the middle of the field. Also, he certainly does not lack in confidence as he continues to chatter back and forth with Tom Brady.

Practice for sure started off very chippy on Tuesday afternoon. It started off right away during seven on seven interior drills. Jonas Gray ran through the hole, only to be absolutely leveled by Jamie Collins from the right side. Gray got up a little ticked off and the two exchanged words for a moment.

In addition, Josh Kline was getting very scrappy as well early on, and Jordan Devey looks terrible as always. Kline was blowing back Jonathan Freeny and getting good contact on Jamie Collins. Especially on Freeny, pushing him all the way back to the sidelines. Devey looked as if he were on roller skates when Zach Moore made one move on him and blew up a run play in the back field.

Josh Boyce is also raising some eyebrows so far. I completely wrote him off from making the team, but he is seeing a lot of time with Tom Brady, and Jimmy Garoppolo especially loves targeting him. Boyce continues to burn seventh round rookie cornerback Darryl Roberts, on almost a daily basis.

The Patriots will have a light practice inside Gillette Stadium for season ticket holders, and residents of Foxborough and South Walpole on Wednesday night after the Hall of Fame induction of Willie McGinest. Stay tuned for more training camp updates on Goal Line Gazette.

New England Patriots, NFL

New England Patriots: Patriots Show Faith In Gronkowski’s Health

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The New England Patriots are not known for paying money to players before they have to, especially with players who have had serious health issues throughout their career. That said, they are obviously convinced that their All-Pro tight end, Rob Gronkowski, is healthy and no risk as they advanced his bonus payment, which they weren’t required to do until after the season.

No one can stop Gronkowski, as the Colts learned on this TD reception
No one can stop Gronkowski, as the Colts learned on this TD reception

According to ESPNBoston.com (Field Yates) the Patriots had little to lose as they assured Gronk will be a Patriot for years to come by moving up $4M of his scheduled bonus. Originally, Gronkowski’s contract called for a $10 million option bonus for the team to decide upon by the end of the 2015 league year that would, in effect, kick in the remaining four years on his deal. New England took the calculated risk and decided to rework the contract by paying Gronkowski a $4 million bonus now, leaving just $6 million to be paid by the end of the league year.

You may ask why, but if you do it’s obvious you didn’t watch what he did last year. He has become, without any doubt, the most feared TE in the game and, if he stays healthy, could well become the best to ever play the game. There really was no negative to moving the bonus date up. after all:

  • It keeps him happy…and keeping Gronkowski happy is…well, smart!
  • It doesn’t impact the salary cap
  • The move puts a positive spin on training camp and, for the moment, takes the spotlight away from legal issues (Duh)

Let the Party Bus roll as family and fans celebrate, Rob Gronkowski is signed, sealed & delivered for at least five more years!

Gronk's
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AFC, New England Patriots, NFL

New England Patriots: Evaluations From Day Four Of Patriots Training Camp

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The first weekend of 2015 New England Patriots training camp is now in the past, and on day four the thousands of fans in attendance witnessed plenty of contact. I was one of those fans in attendance, and I found it to be the best day of camp thus far, from an evaluation standpoint. There was a lot of one on one drills, along with live team drills between the first team offense and the first team defense. So without further a due, here are my three biggest takeaways and evaluations from day four of Patriots training camp.

Aaron Dobson Shines Again: One of the biggest bright spots of camp so far has been the resurgence of third-year wide receiver Aaron Dobson. The former second round has stood out on multiple occasions, and none more evident than on Sunday. During eleven on eleven drills, Tom Brady threw a beautiful pass to Dobson down the sideline even though he was blanketed by Malcolm Butler. Dobson stretched out and made a phenomenal catch, erupting the massive crowd.

Dobson was targeted often by both Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo during practice. In addition, during one on one drills against the cornerbacks, Dobson beat out Logan Ryan making another great grab. Also, he made one move on Bradley Fletcher and left him in the dust.

Aaron Dobson.
patriots.com

Darryl Roberts Continues To Struggle: As one Marshall Thundering Herd succeeds during training camp with Aaron Dobson, the other on the roster, seventh round rookie cornerback Darryl Roberts, continues to have a tough time acclimating himself to life in the National Football League. Going into training camp, I had Roberts listed as my rookie sleeper that would stand out, as did Malcolm Butler last year, and Zach Sudfeld the year before.

For the second straight day, Roberts was toasted by wide receivers on multiple occasions. On Sunday, Roberts was beaten by Josh Boyce three separate times. The first was during one on one drills, where Boyce ran a flag to the corner of the end zone and Roberts did not even turnaround to look for the ball. That has been a common occurrence throughout camp.

The other two times came during team drills where Boyce just ran right past Roberts, and his only choice was to maul Boyce before the ball could get to him. He is certainly living up to his pre-daft billing of being to aggressive down the field.

patriots.com
patriots.com

Miscellaneous Notes: Jerod Mayo for sure came out firing at practice on Sunday. Twice during four on four drills in which two linebackers and two defensive tackles, would go up against three lineman and a running back, Mayo blew past James White sacking the quarterback. He then seemed to take it easy for the rest of practice, riding the bike heavily.

Furthermore, there was a bit of a scare for Patriots fans during practice as Julian Edelman came up limping after he caught a low placed ball from Jimmy Garoppolo where he was then tackled by Patrick Chung. He eventually walked it off, but then sat out the rest of team organized drills.

Also there was some very spirited competition between Julian Edelman and Malcolm Butler during one on one sessions. Butler won three times, but Edelman got the last laugh spinning the ball in Butler’s face.

Stay tuned throughout the week for more training camp updates.

AFC, New England Patriots, NFL

New England Patriots: Patriots Training Camp Day Three Evaluations

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Day number three of New England Patriots training camp has come and gone, and now the real football has begun. Saturday marked the first time that the team has worn full pads during practice, which could only mean one thing, contact! Of course since the new Collective bargaining agreement came out in 2011, the amount of hitting teams can do in practice is limited, but there was certainly still some popping in Foxborough on Saturday morning. Here are my three biggest takeaways and observations from day three of camp.

1. Blount and Easley Back In Action: On Saturday morning, media members and fans were delighted to see the return of both LeGarrette Blount and Dominique Easley to the practice field. After failing his conditioning test on Wednesday, Blount had to spend the following days getting himself in shape so he could get on the field and help his team.

It was evident that Josh McDaniels wasn’t going to just hand Blount all the reps, he had to capitalize when he had them. When it came down to it, he did capitalize. He doesn’t look like he has missed a step at all since we saw him in February. During a drill in which a linebacker had to cover a running back one on one on a passing pattern, Blount made a phenomenal move on Jamie Collins leaving him in the dust as he reeled in a catch from Tom Brady down the sideline. In addition, during goal line drills, Blount showed his power once again plowing through the defense into the end zone. Although, he was stopped on his second attempt by rookie first-rounder Malcom Brown.

patriots.com
patriots.com

There was a report on Friday, stating the Patriots coaching staff was going to be cautious with Dominique Easley. This did not appear to be the case on Saturday as Easley was full go. Even though he was mostly phased out of first team reps by veteran Antonio Johnson, Easley did impress during interior lineman three on three drills. The drill was simulated with a center, guard, and tackle going up against two defensive lineman and a linebacker. Easley really gave it to un-drafted rookie center David Andrews during the drill. The two were really going at it, that could stem from their Georgia versus Florida college rivalry days.

Rookie Offensive Lineman Jumping Right Onto First Team: With the left guard position wide open, and with Ryan Wendell still on the physically unable to perform list, rookie guards Shaq Mason and Tre Jackson have been able to see plenty of action over the past three days. Many believed that Jackson would have the best chance at the starting job based on his size, but Shaq Mason was the one that really stood out on day three.

Mason was in the left guard spot during live team drills, and he stood his ground giving up zero sacks of Tom Brady. Furthermore, during the interior lineman drill period, Mason made a fantastic cut block on veteran linebacker Jonathan Freeny, taking his feet from right up under him.

patriots.com
patriots.com

Miscellaneous Notes: The story with the quarterbacks was very much similar to what it was on Thursday when I was at training camp. Tom Brady took the majority of the reps with the first team with a little Jimmy Garoppolo mixed in. Brady was borderline flawless, and Garoppolo still needs to make quicker decisions. Brady went seven of ten during seven on seven drills, and a perfect twelve for twelve during live team action. Garoppolo also went seven for ten, and seven for nine during team action.

The defensive back group continues to put things together with some bumps in the road, as expected. The two quarterbacks for the most part carved up the secondary. Nevertheless, there was some bright spots on Saturday. Logan Ryan shined by breaking up multiple passes from Tom Brady. That is key because Ryan is the most experienced corner in the Patriots system, which is scary. Second round safety Jordan Richards also continues to impress the doubters.

On Thursday he had a very nice interception of Jimmy Garoppolo, and today he made a great play by knocking the ball out of Scott Chandler’s hands in a one on one drill. The 6-7 Chandler towers over 5-11 Richards.

Lastly, the play of the day for me had to go to one Aaron Dobson. During one of the seven on seven periods, Dobson made an outstanding grab on a post corner route from Tom Brady, over former college teammate Darryl Roberts, who was all over him.

I will also be in attendance at day four of Patriots training camp, so stay tuned for more updates.