2018 Patriots OTAs

lexrageorge

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I had meant to post this gem from Volin from earlier this week:

But Brady and Belichick didn’t get the memo about showing a united front. All Brady had to do was bite his lip and show up for OTAs, but he purposely didn’t. All Belichick had to do was say some nice platitudes about Brady in his news conference, but he purposely said, “I’m not going to talk about the people that aren’t here.”
Two teams are already scrambling to replace impact players who are lost for the season after suffering torn ACLs in practice this past week. The biggest gut punch was the Chargers losing potential star tight end Hunter Henry, who has caught 12 TD passes over his first two seasons. The Chargers opted not to re-sign Antonio Gates because of Henry, who was expected to take on a full-time role for the first time. And the Eagles lost backup linebacker and special teams ace Paul Worrilow, who has started 52 games in five seasons and was going to be a key depth piece. These injuries illustrate why it’s hard to blame any veteran who chooses to stay away from voluntary OTAs.
 

InstaFace

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Didn't the Pats have some major, roster-significant season-ending injury in OTAs in one of the recent years? I don't think it was Gronk, might've been, but I definitely remember a major talent going out before training camp even started.
 

Harry Hooper

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Here's a photo from the Pats workout today.
 
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SMU_Sox

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Mike Reiss is a great twitter follow. Here are his observations from OTAs this week:


* Brian Hoyer productive in 3 red-zone reps -- TDs to Rex Burkhead (tight window between Patrick Chung/Jordan Richards), Chris Hogan (crossing to right side) and Jordan Matthews (left corner, over Ryan Lewis). * TE Jacob Hollister showing up.

I think we’ve heard positives about Jacob Hollister a couple weeks in a row.


* QB Danny Etling's arm strength is notable compared to others who have been in program in his situation. He can sling it.
* Devin McCourty INT on Elandon Roberts tip (Brian Hoyer intended for Cordarrelle Patterson over middle) had D buzzing

Note though that it was Damarius Travis who made the INT which Reiss corrects later.


* Rookie CB Keion Crossen, who flashed last week, was limited in his work (spent time on rehab field). Undrafted CB JC Jackson (Maryland) took quality reps in his place and had some ball disruption. * Rookie WR Braxton Berrios also limited

And finally:


* In walkthrough work, Trent Brown was LT & Isaiah Wynn LG. As usual, team will work linemen at multiple spots.
* DE Eric Lee's strong rush at LDE on OT Cole Croston helped create INT.
* Rookie CB Duke Dawson gets work as personal protector

Malcolm Mitchell is still having knee issues. I worry about that given the number of receivers for competition.
 

Reverend

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It’s sarcasm I thought regarding Jules.
I would actually be thrilled to learn that they are quietly playing the long game to lead a player revolt against activities that help the game at the expense of player careers and earnings.

Isn't Brady supposed to be a Good Union Guy?
 

lexrageorge

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I think it was Chris McKenzie, a rookie LB, that hurt his knee badly first day of OTA’s.
 

Reverend

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Edit: NM, covered
We should probably write a primer on the topic. I've never seen a community with a more developed on-going discussion of irony.

I know the internet never forgets, but are we the Benedictine Solution or do we have a responsibility to not just preserve but to spread the way of the New Englander?
 

kenneycb

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I had meant to post this gem from Volin from earlier this week:
Well if Brady showed up he would’ve made his lip bleed from biting. That alone would cost him millions on the modeling circuit. Tyson Beckford sure as shit isn’t showing up to a shoot with broken lips.
 

SMU_Sox

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My mistake. Forgot Jules was in a game but remembered it was pre-season. The scars haven’t fully healed.
 

Harry Hooper

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Remember, Brady is the only NFL starting QB not at OTAs:

Le’Veon Bell is spending another offseason avoiding the team because of ongoing frustrations with his contract, and while Ben Roethlisberger did attend the first OTA (apparently at the request of center Maurkice Pouncey) he hasn’t been back to the voluntary workouts since. Roethlisberger’s absence has, according to reports, been the reason that Antonio Brown has missed the last three OTAs.
PatriotsWire
 

BaseballJones

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From: http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23668225/best-fits-unsigned-2018-nfl-free-agents-landing-spots-dez-bryant-more

"Delvin Breaux, cornerback
Once the bright spot in a turgid Saints defense, Breaux has been limited by injuries to just six games over the past two seasons. The breakouts of Marshon Lattimore and Ken Crawley and the return of Patrick Robinson led the Saints to non-tender the former Louisiana high school star this offseason, and he has yet to find a home in free agency.

The risk-reward ratio for Breaux is enormous. Given his injury history, it's difficult to imagine Breaux commanding more than a one-year, $2 million deal. His upside, though, is as a legitimate starting cover corner in a league in which those often cost $10 million per season in free agency. The Patriots have a track record of taking shots on similarly talented players, and while they traded for Jason McCourty and drafted Duke Dawson this offseason, Bill Belichick has a way of finding uses for talented cornerbacks.

New home: New England Patriots"


Thoughts?
 

joe dokes

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From: http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23668225/best-fits-unsigned-2018-nfl-free-agents-landing-spots-dez-bryant-more

"Delvin Breaux, cornerback
Once the bright spot in a turgid Saints defense, Breaux has been limited by injuries to just six games over the past two seasons. The breakouts of Marshon Lattimore and Ken Crawley and the return of Patrick Robinson led the Saints to non-tender the former Louisiana high school star this offseason, and he has yet to find a home in free agency.

The risk-reward ratio for Breaux is enormous. Given his injury history, it's difficult to imagine Breaux commanding more than a one-year, $2 million deal. His upside, though, is as a legitimate starting cover corner in a league in which those often cost $10 million per season in free agency. The Patriots have a track record of taking shots on similarly talented players, and while they traded for Jason McCourty and drafted Duke Dawson this offseason, Bill Belichick has a way of finding uses for talented cornerbacks.

New home: New England Patriots"


Thoughts?
Not sure the writer knows what "turgid" means.
 

BigSoxFan

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Leave it to Tom Brady to go to a football camp and still look like he was interrupting someone else's conversation.
“We win this scrimmage, you’re honored! Your kids are honored! Your families are honored! Hey, are you listening guys?”
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Doesn't this happen regularly? I recall stories of Vince Wilfork needing to catch a punt to get the last OTA practice canceled
Pretty sure that was just to avoid laps, not to cancel a whole day. And I'm pretty sure he's done the "defensive player catches a punt and we're done for the day" thing more than once.

Ordway was jumping through some impressive mental hoops, even for him, trying to say this was because Brady was at the US Open.
 

dcmissle

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Pretty sure that was just to avoid laps, not to cancel a whole day. And I'm pretty sure he's done the "defensive player catches a punt and we're done for the day" thing more than once.

Ordway was jumping through some impressive mental hoops, even for him, trying to say this was because Brady was at the US Open.
Orway has lost his fastball. Old Orway had B.B. not caring about what anybody else thinks or does.
 

InstaFace

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Reiss and ESPN have even more detail and it's both awesome and pure Belichick.

Bill Belichick turns back the clock for Patriots OTAs

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Before Bill Belichick canceled the New England Patriots' final two voluntary organized team activities this week, he transformed parts of Gillette Stadium into a real-life "Back to the Future" movie.

Specifically, Belichick made Tuesday a wide-ranging history lesson on the roots of football, essentially creating an environment in which players were going back in time. That, of course, meant that there were leather helmets on the practice field, digital clocks covered up in the team meeting room, black-and-white recordings of old football plays shown, and a no-frills lunch menu that resembled what players in the 1930s and 1940s might have eaten (e.g., hamburgers and hot dogs rather than sushi).

"It was a lot of fun. We walked in and you could tell something different was going on than the normal practice day," explained one player.

The 66-year-old Belichick, who had surprised many on the team the day before by taking the team to Fenway Park, has a well-documented appreciation for the history of the game. Now in his 19th year as head coach, he has been likened by some players over the years to a professor because of his teaching-based approach.

"The thing I've learned about Coach Belichick is that he loves history, loves the military, and any time he can incorporate teaching us about that, he loves to do it," said one player who took part in Tuesday's turn-back-the-clock day.

"It was cool for him to get a chance to teach us about the sport that we're in, the National Football League and kind of how it started. We got to watch some old clips from football back then -- the '30s and '40s -- that I had never seen before. I didn't know what type of offenses were run, so it was really neat to see. We even looked at high school football back then, all the way up to NFL."

The discussion, with players in the room as young as 21 and coaches as old as 70, went beyond football.

"You think about it, if it was at a certain time back then, a lot of us wouldn't be playing. We would have been drafted and fighting for our country [in World War II]," said a player. "When we do stuff like that, it's special."

Earlier in the offseason program, Belichick surprised players by having Kobe Bryant speak to them, and Bryant watched the team practice that day. That was another highlight of what one member of the organization felt was a good offseason for the team, extending beyond the team's official offseason program.
(plenty more at the link)

Probably no coincidence that Reiss stuck the "It was a lot of fun" quote right at the top, to stick it to the haters.

I'm not sure how much I would pay for a day-long history lesson with Professor Belichick, but it would be a fair amount of money.
 

joe dokes

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It doesn't fit Phuckwit Volin's narrative, so it gets barely a mention. Nor did he talk to any players (or report what they said if he did):

Lane Johnson would be shocked to learn what the Patriots did this week as they wrapped up nine weeks of offseason workouts.
On Monday, Bill Belichick canceled practice and instead held a team bonding experience at Fenway Park. On Tuesday, the Patriots returned to practice, but Belichick turned it into an opportunity to teach his players about football history, using props including leather helmets, I’m told.
------
Has Belichick made football — dare we say it — fun again?
accusations this offseason were a bit overblown. Belichick has done this in previous years, whether it’s cancel one or two OTAs at the end of spring or bring his players to the movies or bowling, etc. He also takes seriously the history lessons he gives to his players each Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

But nothing happens by accident in Foxborough. And after a contentious spring between the organization and Tom Brady and Gronkowski, and continual accusations that the Patriots have a miserable working environment, the events of the last week sure seemed like Kraft and Belichick extending olive branches to their star players.
 

Van Everyman

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It doesn't fit Phuckwit Volin's narrative, so it gets barely a mention. Nor did he talk to any players (or report what they said if he did):
IIRC, Howe stuck it to Volin a few years ago for basically reporting from his sofa during training camp while guys like him were busting their asses trying to get a crumb.

It’s kind of too bad – Volin isn’t untalented and started fairly strong. But he clearly lost the plot trying to leverage Deflategate into a national gig and hasn’t recovered since.