Patriots news
- Thread starter LordSensei1958
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HSanders
Cracker bitch
kirwan and miller gave the pats secondary a 9,worst in the afce. nyj got a 15 i think.
FOXBORO, Mass. — Practice for the New England Patriots had long since wrapped up. It was a good 15 minutes after players completed their session-ending sprints, but rookie quarterback Drake Maye was still working on the far field with Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, the pair of wide receivers the team drafted last month.
Though most of the team retreated to the locker room, Maye and his receivers ran through plays, jogging more than sprinting as they got in extra work.
The development of those three players is arguably more important than any other trio on the team. If they emerge the way the Patriots hope they will, this rebuild might not take as long as some fear.
Though a few extra reps in the middle of May aren’t necessarily going to result in September wins, it was a notable sight for a Patriots team in need of optimism. On this Monday, the first of 10 voluntary organized team activities, it offered a chance to imagine what could be with those three leading the offense.
Here are 10 other things we saw, heard and learned on the first day of OTAs.
1. Coach Jerod Mayo sent a message to the team’s wide receivers on their first day together on the field, emphasizing the competition ahead of them.
The Patriots have eight or nine wide receivers who could feel like they’re worthy of a roster spot, but they’re only going to keep five or six on the final roster. That means some tough decisions are ahead, both in determining the starters and finalizing which players round out the bottom of the depth chart.
Kendrick Bourne, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker are virtual roster locks. Demario Douglas and K.J. Osborn should feel very good about their chances. But there’s a whole other group of receivers fighting for perhaps just one more spot, including JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor and Kayshon Boutte.
“It’s a wide-open competition,” Mayo said. “We have some young bulls, we have some older players, we have guys who are really unproven. So this is an opportunity for them to get a leg up going forward, especially when you don’t have a guy like Bourne out here during the spring. Guys will have opportunities.”
2. On the offensive line, the Patriots might have a competition at more than just left tackle. Everyone knows Chukwuma Okorafor and Caedan Wallace will spend training camp competing for the left tackle job, perhaps the most important battle of training camp. But there’s quietly a potential opening at left guard, the spot the Pats once hoped Cole Strange would occupy for years to come.
But after a turbulent couple of seasons, Strange underwent knee surgery at the end of last year and remains unable to practice because of it, potentially opening the door for someone else to take that job.
On Monday, Sidy Sow took most of the first-team reps at left guard with Nick Leverett at right guard.
“That is an interesting one,” Mayo said of Strange’s status. “He is … you would normally say day by day. He’s more of a, let’s say, week by week or you can go month by month if you want to. But he is working hard, he is doing his rehab. He is here every day. He is in the meeting room, so I am happy where he is.”
3. Mayo wants the Patriots to trim from the four quarterbacks on the field Monday to only three quarterbacks in training camp.
Though that theoretically means a competition between Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton for the third quarterback spot, the Pats didn’t draft Milton just to cut him. So it wouldn’t be a shock for the Patriots to seek a trade for Zappe in the coming weeks, or else he could eat into the available reps Milton needs in training camp to develop.
4. Organized team activities are optional practices before the sessions become mandatory during minicamp in mid-June. So it provides a glimpse into which veterans are around and taking part in drills even when they don’t have to.
On Monday, Matthew Judon, Anfernee Jennings, Josh Uche and Davon Godchaux were the presumed healthy veterans not spotted.
Judon, of course, is the noteworthy one as he has only one year remaining on his contract and is likely seeking an extension. But his absence isn’t abnormal this time of year, as Mayo noted.
“He has been in and out,” Mayo said. “At the same time, look, he is one of those guys. Historically, he has been in and out, so that is not really a big story there.”
5. The Patriots opted not to take their bye after the team’s Week 7 trip to London, something all teams that play international games get to choose.
But when they turned that down, they didn’t know they’d get the latest possible bye, not getting their week off until Week 14.
“It is what it is,” Mayo said, though he did not seem thrilled about the Dec. 8 bye. “At the same time, I think it will be a welcome break for our guys. We will be grinding through, and I think our guys will be up for the challenge.”
6. The first practice offered a glimpse of Alex Van Pelt’s role with the team.
Under former coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots typically had their offensive coordinator also serve as the quarterbacks coach, a function of a smaller-than-average coaching staff.
Even though that’s no longer the case, Van Pelt spent the majority of his day with the quarterbacks, putting them through footwork drills and staying near them during team periods. When the team split into drills on different fields, Van Pelt stuck with the offensive unit that included Maye and Brissett.
7. Mayo’s coaching staff is considerably larger than Belichick’s typical group, an easy difference to spot at practice with several more people on the sidelines and working with players.
“Historically, we have always had a small staff, and so now it feels like a lot of coaches out here, but really that brings us back to par,” Mayo said.
8. Mayo’s news conference Monday was the first since Eliot Wolf was officially named the team’s executive vice president of player personnel, a role that gives him — not Mayo — final say over the 53-man roster. Even though differences between the two will surely arise at some point, Mayo said he believes they will work well together.
“Look, we are 0-0, so there will be a time when we probably won’t see things the same,” Mayo said. “But at the same time, I think we can work through it. (I’m) excited to work with him.”
9. Smith-Schuster was one of the team’s most disappointing free-agent signings in years, recording just 260 yards in his debut season with the Pats after signing a three-year, $25 million contract.
But Smith-Schuster said Monday he was playing at about 60 percent health at this time last year due to a lingering knee injury he said is close to 100 percent now.
“It feels good to be out here early and show these guys that I’ve still got it,” Smith-Schuster said.
10. Marcus Jones said he’s “100 percent ready” after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 2 last season. He’s a welcome return for a cornerback group that has some questions about its depth. And unlike his rookie season, it seems the plan is for Jones to remain at cornerback and not get any work as a wide receiver.
Though most of the team retreated to the locker room, Maye and his receivers ran through plays, jogging more than sprinting as they got in extra work.
The development of those three players is arguably more important than any other trio on the team. If they emerge the way the Patriots hope they will, this rebuild might not take as long as some fear.
Though a few extra reps in the middle of May aren’t necessarily going to result in September wins, it was a notable sight for a Patriots team in need of optimism. On this Monday, the first of 10 voluntary organized team activities, it offered a chance to imagine what could be with those three leading the offense.
Here are 10 other things we saw, heard and learned on the first day of OTAs.
1. Coach Jerod Mayo sent a message to the team’s wide receivers on their first day together on the field, emphasizing the competition ahead of them.
The Patriots have eight or nine wide receivers who could feel like they’re worthy of a roster spot, but they’re only going to keep five or six on the final roster. That means some tough decisions are ahead, both in determining the starters and finalizing which players round out the bottom of the depth chart.
Kendrick Bourne, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker are virtual roster locks. Demario Douglas and K.J. Osborn should feel very good about their chances. But there’s a whole other group of receivers fighting for perhaps just one more spot, including JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor and Kayshon Boutte.
“It’s a wide-open competition,” Mayo said. “We have some young bulls, we have some older players, we have guys who are really unproven. So this is an opportunity for them to get a leg up going forward, especially when you don’t have a guy like Bourne out here during the spring. Guys will have opportunities.”
2. On the offensive line, the Patriots might have a competition at more than just left tackle. Everyone knows Chukwuma Okorafor and Caedan Wallace will spend training camp competing for the left tackle job, perhaps the most important battle of training camp. But there’s quietly a potential opening at left guard, the spot the Pats once hoped Cole Strange would occupy for years to come.
But after a turbulent couple of seasons, Strange underwent knee surgery at the end of last year and remains unable to practice because of it, potentially opening the door for someone else to take that job.
On Monday, Sidy Sow took most of the first-team reps at left guard with Nick Leverett at right guard.
“That is an interesting one,” Mayo said of Strange’s status. “He is … you would normally say day by day. He’s more of a, let’s say, week by week or you can go month by month if you want to. But he is working hard, he is doing his rehab. He is here every day. He is in the meeting room, so I am happy where he is.”
3. Mayo wants the Patriots to trim from the four quarterbacks on the field Monday to only three quarterbacks in training camp.
Though that theoretically means a competition between Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton for the third quarterback spot, the Pats didn’t draft Milton just to cut him. So it wouldn’t be a shock for the Patriots to seek a trade for Zappe in the coming weeks, or else he could eat into the available reps Milton needs in training camp to develop.
4. Organized team activities are optional practices before the sessions become mandatory during minicamp in mid-June. So it provides a glimpse into which veterans are around and taking part in drills even when they don’t have to.
On Monday, Matthew Judon, Anfernee Jennings, Josh Uche and Davon Godchaux were the presumed healthy veterans not spotted.
Judon, of course, is the noteworthy one as he has only one year remaining on his contract and is likely seeking an extension. But his absence isn’t abnormal this time of year, as Mayo noted.
“He has been in and out,” Mayo said. “At the same time, look, he is one of those guys. Historically, he has been in and out, so that is not really a big story there.”
5. The Patriots opted not to take their bye after the team’s Week 7 trip to London, something all teams that play international games get to choose.
But when they turned that down, they didn’t know they’d get the latest possible bye, not getting their week off until Week 14.
“It is what it is,” Mayo said, though he did not seem thrilled about the Dec. 8 bye. “At the same time, I think it will be a welcome break for our guys. We will be grinding through, and I think our guys will be up for the challenge.”
6. The first practice offered a glimpse of Alex Van Pelt’s role with the team.
Under former coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots typically had their offensive coordinator also serve as the quarterbacks coach, a function of a smaller-than-average coaching staff.
Even though that’s no longer the case, Van Pelt spent the majority of his day with the quarterbacks, putting them through footwork drills and staying near them during team periods. When the team split into drills on different fields, Van Pelt stuck with the offensive unit that included Maye and Brissett.
7. Mayo’s coaching staff is considerably larger than Belichick’s typical group, an easy difference to spot at practice with several more people on the sidelines and working with players.
“Historically, we have always had a small staff, and so now it feels like a lot of coaches out here, but really that brings us back to par,” Mayo said.
8. Mayo’s news conference Monday was the first since Eliot Wolf was officially named the team’s executive vice president of player personnel, a role that gives him — not Mayo — final say over the 53-man roster. Even though differences between the two will surely arise at some point, Mayo said he believes they will work well together.
“Look, we are 0-0, so there will be a time when we probably won’t see things the same,” Mayo said. “But at the same time, I think we can work through it. (I’m) excited to work with him.”
9. Smith-Schuster was one of the team’s most disappointing free-agent signings in years, recording just 260 yards in his debut season with the Pats after signing a three-year, $25 million contract.
But Smith-Schuster said Monday he was playing at about 60 percent health at this time last year due to a lingering knee injury he said is close to 100 percent now.
“It feels good to be out here early and show these guys that I’ve still got it,” Smith-Schuster said.
10. Marcus Jones said he’s “100 percent ready” after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 2 last season. He’s a welcome return for a cornerback group that has some questions about its depth. And unlike his rookie season, it seems the plan is for Jones to remain at cornerback and not get any work as a wide receiver.
Lord Chevy
I'm home
What's his platform ... "My Dad got a happy ending and now you can, too!"
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HSanders
Cracker bitch
love him but no
