«««2013 Official Patriots Thread»»» (1 Viewer)

[captain_amazing]

Thought I'd get the ball rolling for this year's Pats thread.

An unusual amount of juicy story-lines this offseason and into training camp.

How will the Pats adjust to the loss of AHern and the likely temp loss of Gronk early in the season? Who steps up as TE1 and TE2 in the interim? Are they productive?

How does the WR position shake out? Does Amendola not reach, meet, or exceed Welker's production? Will a rookie fill the deep threat role that the team has been missing for several years?

Does Tebow make the team? If so, in what way will he contribute (if any)?

Does the young secondary leave the woes of allowing too many deep plays to be made against them? Who emerges at SS?

Does Armstead make an impact transitioning from the CFL? Will Collins make a significant impact his rookie year? Does Jones have a sophomore slump?

 

[captain_amazing]

Also, I'll be attending camp tomorrow, so if anyone wants me to look out for something in particular or update on someone or something specific, just let me know.

 

[Anarchy99]

Not to derail what should otherwise be a decent thread, but as far as Tim Tebow goes . . . WHO REALLY CARES?!? Whether he makes or doesn't make the Pats roster is pretty much irrelevant. If he plays ANY sort of significant role at all this year, then really bad things would have had to have happened to NE. He's a developmental 3rd string QB. If he somehow catches a pass, gets a couple of runs, or is involved on a fake on special teams, so be it. But I don't see where he plays any sort of meaningful role this season in New England, as he should rarely even see the field of play. He's their version of Paris Hilton.

 

[Late225]

Also, I'll be attending camp tomorrow, so if anyone wants me to look out for something in particular or update on someone or something specific, just let me know.

I want to know what happened to Mark Harrison. I heard good things and then radio silence. Can you tell me if he's there and if he does anything? Also, interested in Thompkins.

 

[Sir Psycho]

When is Edelman coming off the PUP ?

 

[captain_amazing]

Also, I'll be attending camp tomorrow, so if anyone wants me to look out for something in particular or update on someone or something specific, just let me know.

I want to know what happened to Mark Harrison. I heard good things and then radio silence. Can you tell me if he's there and if he does anything? Also, interested in Thompkins.

Will do.

 

[steveski]

Not to derail what should otherwise be a decent thread, but as far as Tim Tebow goes . . . WHO REALLY CARES?!? Whether he makes or doesn't make the Pats roster is pretty much irrelevant. If he plays ANY sort of significant role at all this year, then really bad things would have had to have happened to NE. He's a developmental 3rd string QB. If he somehow catches a pass, gets a couple of runs, or is involved on a fake on special teams, so be it. But I don't see where he plays any sort of meaningful role this season in New England, as he should rarely even see the field of play. He's their version of Paris Hilton.

I know your point was to NOT discuss him, but you actually make a pretty valid point. He would make a perfect extra point holder.

 

[Sir Psycho]

When is Edelman coming off the PUP ?

Rotoinfo_NFL Rotoinfo_NFL
#Patriots: Julian Edelman--WR: Bill Belichick said WR Julian Edelman has been taken off PUP list http://t.co/AdBmuyZdua

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Can you check with BB and find out why Bolden hasn't been practicing?

Also, is Bolden practicing?

 

[captain_amazing]

Can you check with BB and find out why Bolden hasn't been practicing?

Also, is Bolden practicing?

Haha... I'll see if I can get his attention.

 

[msommer]

Will Don'ta Hightower be an every down linebacker this year?

 

[captain_amazing]

Not to derail what should otherwise be a decent thread, but as far as Tim Tebow goes . . . WHO REALLY CARES?!? Whether he makes or doesn't make the Pats roster is pretty much irrelevant. If he plays ANY sort of significant role at all this year, then really bad things would have had to have happened to NE. He's a developmental 3rd string QB. If he somehow catches a pass, gets a couple of runs, or is involved on a fake on special teams, so be it. But I don't see where he plays any sort of meaningful role this season in New England, as he should rarely even see the field of play. He's their version of Paris Hilton.

I completely agree... But he undoubtedly is a storyline, just very likely not one that has a significant fantasy or real football effect.

 

[zilladog]

In light of the fact that this has been by far the worst offseason of the Belichick era...

Pats 19-0. Gettin it done suckahs!

Go Pats.

 

[captain_amazing]

Will post my thoughts from today's practice tonight.

 

[captain_amazing]

So, here’s my observations from Pat’s training camp today….

Given the fact that the real interest of many FF and Pats fans is the ongoing development of the WR and TE position, I tried to focus on drills that incorporated those positions. I jotted down things I thought were noteworthy, however I tended to find negative things more noteworthy than positive things, so you’ll see me point out things that didn’t go well more often than things that did go well.

Kenbrell Tompkins looked great. Caught everything thrown at him (as far as I could tell), ran crisp routes, and just looked overall smooth and comfortable. However, nothing about him really stood out from the rest of the bunch.

Kamar Aiken, Aaron Dobson, and Mathew Slater struggled catching early on – but Slater made what was arguably the play of the day when he hauled in a end zone diving catch from Brady.

Mark Harrison was absent from today’s practice (as he’s been from every practice thus far, I believe). I’m not sure why, though.

Danny Amendola had a mixed day. I thought he displayed great route running skills and quickness similar to Welker, but he made some drops on endzone throws that he should’ve otherwise had. He did make some nice catches during the day too – hence the mixed day.

The bright spot today was Edelman. I was very impressed by everything he did. He fought CBs for footballs that were equally competitive. He displayed quickness and speed that no one came close to matching. He caught everything thrown at him with what seemed to be ease. Even if I didn’t see every play or everything on the field, I would find it hard to believe that anyone had a better day than he did.

Dobson did nothing that I saw to stand out from the crowd. He has been reportedly been a bright spot in Pats camp, but I’m not sure he was that today (but, again, I was trying to watch a lot of what was going on, and simply could have missed things he did or didn’t do).

Josh Boyce made a bad read on an over the shoulder throw by Brady in the redzone. Boyce beat his man pretty easily, but simply misread the ball’s trajectory and missed what would have been a TD.

Daniel Fells is huge. That’s what I wrote down in my notes. I don’t think he’ll fill in productive-wise if Gronk is out for any significant time, but he is one big man, and displayed smooth pass catching skills. However, he doesn’t posses the deceptive speed or overall athleticism that Gronk sports (at least he didn’t show it today).

Ridley bobbled some catches midway through practice.

Michael Jenkins made a great catch early, and fought one off later.

Leon Washington had a tough time hauling in catches today. He bobbled a lot of balls thrown his way and didn’t really look all that comfortable catching.

Quentin Simms had a tough day with a few drops.

I noted that, in a real gameday play, Rob Ninkonvich would have blown up would of the RBs during an inside run play. Of course, he let up on it, but came at the RBs blind side and would have made a crunching hit if it was a real game.

Aquib Talib had what I thought was a pretty good practice. He seemed to cover every receiver he matched up against well, and made a pick-6 on Brady late in the day.

A specific coach (I’m not sure who but I’ll try and find out) worked exclusively with Tebow for nearly the entire practice. He had at least one pass tossed at a WR’s feet early on, but seemed to get better throughout the day. While I never saw a lot of Tebow prior to his NFL career, he seems to be shortening his release time and improving his overall mechanics (that’s just my un-experienced perspective).

A humorous observation: Ryan Wendell was a scout QB for some drill the OL and DL were running. I thought it was funny seeing him pump fake a few times – maybe he’s their emergency fifth sting QB.

One last note: Mallet has an incredibly quick release. At least on one play, he did. I was watching the play unfold, and saw a WR pull out in the flat, to which Mallet turned and fired a pass at such an incredible speed.

 

[ImTheScientist]

I remember the days when this was the most popular team around. Guess there are not as many people living in Boston as I thought.

Anyways, good to see some fans around still and Im interested to hear more about Vereen. GO.

 

[captain_amazing]

I remember the days when this was the most popular team around. Guess there are not as many people living in Boston as I thought.

Anyways, good to see some fans around still and Im interested to hear more about Vereen. GO.

I am still under the belief that Vereen will essentially fill in Woodhead's role, but with more carries. Looking at Woodhead's stats from last year...

Rush Rece Year G GS Att Yds TD Rec Yds TD2012 16 2 76 301 4 40 446 3 In addition to accounting for Vereen's stats last year...

Rush ReceYear G GS Att Yds TD Rec Yds TD Lng2012 13 1 62 251 3 8 149 1 83And assuming all other factors being equal (of which, of course, they won't be), we could project Vereen at something like

Rush ReceYear G GS Att Yds TD Rec Yds TD2012 13 1 130 500 7 45 550 4 I think the TD totals are slightly too high - maybe something combined around 8 - 9 TDs is more realistic. But, if Vereen simply assumes Woodheads role and doesn't lose any of the attempts from his role last year, we could see him become a productive RB. But, I think there are still way too many IFs in this equation to have too solid of an opinion on this, such as what will the role of Blount and Bolden be, will Leon Washington get any touches, does the Pats style of play change at all if Gronk is out for an extended amount of time, etc.

 

[ChainsawU]

Mark Harrison was absent from today’s practice (as he’s been from every practice thus far, I believe). I’m not sure why, though.

@NEPD_Loyko

With Edelman still on PUP, they need to add another WR for reps/depth. I also know for a fact Mark Harrison is progressing nicely.

2:33 PM - 31 Jul 13

@Nick_Underhill

Forgot to mention this. WR Mark Harrison did some conditioning work yesterday. Big dude (in a good way). Real interested to see him.

9:11 AM - 31 Jul 13

@LukeFHughes

WRs Mark Harrison and Julian Edelman - both foot injuries - doing some running and agility drills on the far practice field.

11:46 AM - 30 Jul 13

 

[captain_amazing]

Mark Harrison was absent from todays practice (as hes been from every practice thus far, I believe). Im not sure why, though.

@NEPD_Loyko

With Edelman still on PUP, they need to add another WR for reps/depth. I also know for a fact Mark Harrison is progressing nicely.

2:33 PM - 31 Jul 13

@Nick_Underhill

Forgot to mention this. WR Mark Harrison did some conditioning work yesterday. Big dude (in a good way). Real interested to see him.

9:11 AM - 31 Jul 13

@LukeFHughes

WRs Mark Harrison and Julian Edelman - both foot injuries - doing some running and agility drills on the far practice field.

11:46 AM - 30 Jul 13

So he hasn't been absent at every practice, but was yesterday. Reading way too much into that, but I wonder if he's had some sort of setback?

 

[NE_REVIVAL]

I remember the days when this was the most popular team around. Guess there are not as many people living in Boston as I thought.

Anyways, good to see some fans around still and Im interested to hear more about Vereen. GO.

Band wagon jumping seahawk fans having bandaged their skinned knees taking shots at NE fans? Really?

Why not just be happy for your own team?

Do you remember the days when the seahawks were the most popular around? You ought to, it was yesterday. Seems seattle had an overnight population explosion for some unexplained reason? Guess there are suddenly a lot more people in Seattle then we all thought.

Nothing better to do than to take shots at NE and their fans? Honestly, why the animosity, why not enjoy your flash in the pan teams success and it's own suddenly over flowing band wagon? Who knows, maybe the flavor of the month hawks will actually win something some day and if they do, then good for them and their fans. However, it is more likely the hawks will slip back into the mediocrity from which they only recently escaped from. Enjoy their 15 seconds of fame while it lasts.

If you want to use this thread to gain or give player information, then be our guest. If you want to compare Boston and seattle or trash NE and their fans then act like you have been here before, start your own thread and have at it.

 

[TheFootballJesus]

I remember the days when this was the most popular team around. Guess there are not as many people living in Boston as I thought.

Anyways, good to see some fans around still and Im interested to hear more about Vereen. GO.

Band wagon jumping seahawk fans having bandaged their skinned knees taking shots at NE fans? Really?

Why not just be happy for your own team?

Do you remember the days when the seahawks were the most popular around? You ought to, it was yesterday. Seems seattle had an overnight population explosion for some unexplained reason? Guess there are suddenly a lot more people in Seattle then we all thought.

Nothing better to do than to take shots at NE and their fans? Honestly, why the animosity, why not enjoy your flash in the pan teams success and it's own suddenly over flowing band wagon? Who knows, maybe the flavor of the month hawks will actually win something some day and if they do, then good for them and their fans. However, it is more likely the hawks will slip back into the mediocrity from which they only recently escaped from. Enjoy their 15 seconds of fame while it lasts.

If you want to use this thread to gain or give player information, then be our guest. If you want to compare Boston and seattle or trash NE and their fans then act like you have been here before, start your own thread and have at it.

In fairness, he didn't mention Seattle at all in his post (for once).

I'm probably in the minority here but I'm not really all that concerned about the Patriots offense this year. Pre-Randy Moss, Brady was getting it done with the likes of Deion Branch, Givens, and Patten. The offensive line is still elite and they have a deep stable of talented running backs. His receiving corps this is by no means the worst of his career, not even close. The record-setting days of this offense are probably over but I'm not concerned at all about their overall effectiveness.

On defense, I believe the team's front 7 is one of the deepest/most talented in the league, but the secondary is going to make or break this team. Dennard is probably going to get suspended for a period of time....can Ras-I Dowling or Kyle Arrington fill the void while he's out? IMO aside from Brady, Talib is probably the most crucial player on this team. Losing him would be devastating. With Talib on the field last year the defense seemed championship-caliber; without him they couldn't cover anybody.

My prediction is they win the division and make a solid run into the playoffs. They don't have the means to contain Denver's offense at all, but I think they're very capable of beating every other team in the AFC.

 

[ImTheScientist]

I remember the days when this was the most popular team around. Guess there are not as many people living in Boston as I thought.

Anyways, good to see some fans around still and Im interested to hear more about Vereen. GO.

Band wagon jumping seahawk fans having bandaged their skinned knees taking shots at NE fans? Really?

Why not just be happy for your own team?

Do you remember the days when the seahawks were the most popular around? You ought to, it was yesterday. Seems seattle had an overnight population explosion for some unexplained reason? Guess there are suddenly a lot more people in Seattle then we all thought.

Nothing better to do than to take shots at NE and their fans? Honestly, why the animosity, why not enjoy your flash in the pan teams success and it's own suddenly over flowing band wagon? Who knows, maybe the flavor of the month hawks will actually win something some day and if they do, then good for them and their fans. However, it is more likely the hawks will slip back into the mediocrity from which they only recently escaped from. Enjoy their 15 seconds of fame while it lasts.

If you want to use this thread to gain or give player information, then be our guest. If you want to compare Boston and seattle or trash NE and their fans then act like you have been here before, start your own thread and have at it.

In fairness, he didn't mention Seattle at all in his post (for once).

I'm probably in the minority here but I'm not really all that concerned about the Patriots offense this year. Pre-Randy Moss, Brady was getting it done with the likes of Deion Branch, Givens, and Patten. The offensive line is still elite and they have a deep stable of talented running backs. His receiving corps this is by no means the worst of his career, not even close. The record-setting days of this offense are probably over but I'm not concerned at all about their overall effectiveness.

On defense, I believe the team's front 7 is one of the deepest/most talented in the league, but the secondary is going to make or break this team. Dennard is probably going to get suspended for a period of time....can Ras-I Dowling or Kyle Arrington fill the void while he's out? IMO aside from Brady, Talib is probably the most crucial player on this team. Losing him would be devastating. With Talib on the field last year the defense seemed championship-caliber; without him they couldn't cover anybody.

My prediction is they win the division and make a solid run into the playoffs. They don't have the means to contain Denver's offense at all, but I think they're very capable of beating every other team in the AFC.

Thanks! What are your thoughts on how the splits between Ridley and Vereen will shake out. Are both viable starters in fantasy? How has each looked in training camp?

 

[Boston]

This is a big loss for the Pats...

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/10334546/dante-scarnecchia-long-new-england-patriots-offensive-line-coach-retiring

Losing Scar could have a huge impact...the Pats O line has been consistently good during the BB era...Scar has turned quite a few nobodies into solid players and the high picks (ex. Solder, Mankins, Volmer) have usually panned out very well...as a Pats fan you never really have to worry about the O line...they have had off games like the Super Bowl against the Giants and this year definitely wasn't their best but it's a unit that usually delivers...the new Coach has gigantic shoes to fill...