-----The Official New England Patriots 2018 Season Thread - (14-5) - 6 Time Super Bowl CHAMPS!!!

[DeadsetAce]

With training camp underway, figured it was time to make this thread.

Key Additions:
Trent Brown
Jason McCourty
Sony Michel
Isaiah Wynn
Coradelle Patterson
Jordan Matthews
Danny Shelton
Adrian Clayborn
Braxton Berrios
Duke Dawson
Christian Sam
Keion Crossen
JC Jackson (undrafted)

Key Departures:
Nate Solder
Malcolm Butler
Dion Lewis
Danny Amendola
Brandin Cooks



#QuestForSix

 

[DeadsetAce]

^ that's why i listed him under key additions even though he's undrafted. he's been making some noise already

 

[DeadsetAce]

no need to rush Wynn if Brown can hold his own. Wynn's also versatile and can play G so he's prob first man up with any injury to the starting OL

 

[7th Chamber]

52 stung a little bit, but I'm hype to see the squad back at it

I feel like there's questions at almost every position coming into this season, but there's a lot of upside despite some of the pieces we lost.

I like the addition of Jason McCourty and feel like he'll fit into his role seamlessly. I don't know if he's as physical as Butler, but he seems to have good technique and IQ. Hightower byke Hopefully we can get a full 16 out of him, but if we don't, we're kind of in the same position as we were last season relying on guys like Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts and Marquis Flowers to step into roles they aren't necessarily built for. It'd be nice to see Christian Sam come up though. Danny Shelton and Adrian Clayborn add some nice depth up front on defense. If we can have another pass rusher along with Trey Flowers get pressure consistently, I think our secondary can hold their own for the most part.

 

[DeadsetAce]

^ word i should add those dudes to the additions list...could have a huge impact

 

[DeadsetAce]

 

[DeadsetAce]

there's hope for the OL

 

[DeadsetAce]

Sony Michel fumbled again: That’s twice in three days for the first-round pick out of Georgia and it’s going to continue to be a concern until it’s not for a player Michel averaged a fumble on every 54.6 carries in college, where the average was 124.5 in this year’s draft.

hope they can get this corrected. this was the big red flag along with the knees

 

[DeadsetAce]

Sony Michel Training Camp Fumble Watch:

Day 1: Fumble
Day 2: Fumble
Day 3: Fumble
Day 4: NO FUMBLES!!!!

 

[DeadsetAce]

Trent Brown impressing so far in camp. should make us forget about Nate Solder's departure (not his tenure, just his departure )

 

[getback]

Now that Jordan Matthews is gone, does that pave the way for the likelihood of Big D*ck Decker?

 

[DeadsetAce]

Now that Jordan Matthews is gone, does that pave the way for the likelihood of Big D*ck Decker?

i hope so, man. we're thin like crazy at the position

 

[getback]

The answer to the last part is no.

 

[DeadsetAce]

i think Decker will do well with us. don't need him to be a #1, or even #2. he's going to find some good matchups.

 

[DeadsetAce]

HBD to the GOAT today




Patterson been flashing in practice. excited to see what he can in addition to the kickoff return game

 

[7th Chamber]

Mitchell will always be appreciated for his 4th quarter in LI.

 

[DeadsetAce]

so at WR, what's left?

Edelman (after week 4)
Hogan
Britt
Dorsett
Patterson
Decker
Berrios
McCarron
Lucien
Slater (doesn't really count)

am i missing anyone else that has a legit shot at the team?


gonna be a heavy dose of James White in the passing game weeks 1-4

 

[DeadsetAce]

also, i hate to be negative on this, but i don't see Sony Michel doing all too much for us. that knee is already acting up and he's missing valuable practice reps. going to be a struggle for him

 

[getback]

so at WR, what's left?

Edelman (after week 4)
Hogan
Britt
Dorsett
Patterson
Decker
Berrios
McCarron
Lucien
Slater (doesn't really count)

am i missing anyone else that has a legit shot at the team?


gonna be a heavy dose of James White in the passing game weeks 1-4

I think you got it covered. Looks a lot like 2006

We've seen Tom do more with less, so I'm not too too worried.

As has been the case over the past few years, I really want our defense to be a problem for other teams.

also, i hate to be negative on this, but i don't see Sony Michel doing all too much for us. that knee is already acting up and he's missing valuable practice reps. going to be a struggle for him

I had this in the back of my mind too. Good thing we have 25 backs. He won't command a workload at all. We should be committed to getting him 100% and learning the offense.

 

[7th Chamber]

I don't see Michel being much of a factor this season either and that pick confused me a bit. Hopefully he can get healthy, stay healthy and show us something. My question is who makes the team?

White
Burkhead
Hill
Michel
Bolden
Gillislee

 

[DeadsetAce]

all of em is my preference. our backs have a tendency to get banged up pretty easily i feel like. if anyone gets cut, it'll be gillislee IMO

I think they'll thin out elsewhere (WR probably) to carry an extra back if needed. maybe keep a couple of the WRs on the PS (McCarron and Lucien)

 

[DeadsetAce]

interesting read. not a prediction from greg but more like a "what if"....

Bedard: If passing offense starts slow, Bill Belichick should take heat, not Tom Brady

ByGreg A. Bedard
Posted on August 7, 2018

FOXBOROUGH — One of the bigger discussion topics during the Patriots’ offseason of discontent was the decision by Tom Brady to emphasize the voluntary in voluntary workouts by sitting out the team portion of offseason practices, only showing up for the mandatory minicamp.

That decision rightfully brought criticism on the league’s best quarterback. After years of being present for just about every offseason activity — and Brady touting how he’s given up his life to be the best while others don’t — he invited the criticism. In the process, he put himself in line for even more of it if the Patriots, who have only one core receiver (Chris Hogan) returning this season, start slowly out of the gate on offense.

But then training camp started and, now, there are two things that we know.

The first is, there has been absolutely no public retribution — hidden or blatant — by Belichick against Brady (and fellow vacationer Rob Gronkowski, for that matter) for skipping offseason workouts. There haven’t been any extra reps or anything else that would indicate Belichick had any problem whatsoever with the decision made by Brady and Gronkowski. If anything, they’ve been rewarded for it. Camp has basically been Club Med for the quarterback and tight end. They’ve had more veteran rest built into the first two weeks than Chris Sale.

And that leads into the other thing we’ve learned so far in camp. Forget all the talk about Brady getting the blame should the Patriots start slowly on offense early in the season — including the first two weeks against the formidable defenses of the Texans and Jaguars. If anyone peddles that, they haven’t been paying attention to what’s been going on in Foxborough.

No, if the Patriots can’t move the ball out of the gate — and no one here is saying that will happen, so don’t take this out of context — the blame should squarely be pointed at Belichick. Brady may have missed the offseason, but there has been plenty of time to make up for it. It has been Belichick’s decision not to do that.

We won’t get into rep numbers because this camp — even more so than last year’s slow simmer — has severely dialed back the competitive periods. In terms of judging a QB’s effectiveness when it comes to stats, I don’t count non-competitive periods or those involving cards (amounts to scout team). So my stats will be lower than those from other reporters. (I’m not saying I’m right and they’re wrong; it’s just the way I do things).

And we won’t get into how there have hardly been any reps at such camp staples as physical one-on-ones between receivers and cornerbacks, or full-go (to thudding, not tackling) 11-on-11 competitive periods — you could count the number of times a DB separated a WR from the ball on one hand. We’ll leave it open that, with no joint practices, the Patriots might be slowly building to that with, still, 34 days left before the opener.

Let’s just go with this: In nine days since July 29, Brady has had two moderate throwing days (Aug. 1 and 2). That’s it. July 30 was the stadium practice, which was a glorified walkthrough. July 31 was an off day before two days of practice. Then Brady was given veteran rest on Friday and Saturday. The team had two off days on Sunday and Monday, where there was no practice. And then Tuesday was another light day.

Say whatever you want about the offseason practices, but the much bigger deal (at least in terms of getting on the same page) is training camp. And, for whatever reason, Belichick hasn’t decided to do that yet.

The only legitimate excuse for why Brady has thrown just twice in over a week is if they are managing an injury with the 41-year-old. And that’s not totally out of the question.

There was a practice — and we think it was the stadium practice but aren’t sure because we didn’t think it was a big enough deal at the time to note it (yes, I’ll run a penalty lap — everything’s a big deal when it comes to Brady, idiot) — Brady was shaking his throwing arm out after making a handful of throws. It’s quite possible that his dramatic decrease in workload was as a result of this.

If that’s why Brady hasn’t been throwing much of late, then that’s totally valid and Belichick is doing the smart thing.

But if Brady’s healthy and the Patriots go on to struggle with the timing of their passing offense when the season starts, don’t fall into the lazy trap of heaping the blame on Brady for missing the offseason. That may have happened, but it’s ancient history now that camp has started. Belichick’s been in charge of the schedule and reps this summer, so if things don’t look great in September don’t bring the pitchforks and torches to Brady’s doorstep. Take them to Belichick.

 

[DeadsetAce]

ugly first half, mayne

offense looks terrible but with Hoyer at the helm and no Brady/Gronk...expected. starting OL looked good.

defensively not great. we're still trash at linebacker and too slow there. Bentley definitely a guy to watch. maybe the one bright spot there? the pass rush actually looks like it might be OK. Rivers and Clayborn looked nice. Wise showed a little. they were punching through the Skins OL, at least. in the secondary, Crossen looks alright. might be next big UDFA that contributes for this team


looking forward to seeing Christian Sam, Patterson, Berrios, and Etling in the 2nd half

 

[DeadsetAce]

we're really trying to play power football and run to get a good look at Hill v Gillislee


Hill running away with that battle so far

 

[DeadsetAce]

going for it twice on 4th and 1 and running. this team isn't going to be soft up front like last year. well, it won't be cause they didn't work on it