2020 Pats: The Training Camp

Bowhemian

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Nov 10, 2015
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It's marketing.

You're talking about it.
I might be talking about here, but in real life I don’t really care what writing style he uses. What is he trying to market anyway? His brand I guess? Not sure what that means anyway.
But in all seriousness, as a man in mid-50’s, I highly doubt that I am even close to his target demographic.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
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Pats on the field today? Finally.

The Patriots are moving into Phase 2 today and Patriots.com will have exclusive coverage live from practice. Be sure to head over to Patriots.com at 10am as the team moves from a conditioning phase into more of an OTA-type scenario.
 
Apr 24, 2019
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They'll have live coverage from practice on Monday, too. Some of today's practice - the first 30 minutes maybe? - the PFW/PU crew will broadcast live video. Then it'll be audio as they watch and share their impressions.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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I need video of Jeff Thomas catching a bomb from Cam and I'm all set!
 

Gash Prex

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Apr 18, 2002
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Alright well I'm excited even if nobody else is:




https://www.clnsmedia.com/lazars-pats-camp-notebook-qbs-take-equal-reps-rookies-heavily-involved-in-day-one/
– Stidham looked the best out of the three quarterbacks. At the end of 11-on-11s, he made a great read in his drop to see the safety rotation closing the middle of the field (post safety), working inside-out to Damiere Byrd on a comeback route received applause from Newton and others. Stidham had a play-calling mishap early in practice, but the ball is coming out nicely, and he’s making the right reads out there. Stidham also made a few connections with Gunner Olszewski during the final period of no-huddle work. In a way too early guesstimate, Stidham seems to be the slight frontrunner for the starting job.
– Newton is coming along as quickly as one could expect, given the circumstances. He seems to be cycling through his reads to get a feel for where his answers are in the offense, which led to some late throws and one coverage sack. The Pats are doing things with Newton under center that one would expect with his skill set, but the focus remains on learning the same playbook we saw with Tom Brady at QB. Newton’s best throw of the day came on a crossing route to Julian Edelman as the ball got in there right before Devin McCourty could contest the catch; Pats defenders continue to note the zip on his ball. Newton’s energy is contagious and evident as his voice carries around Gillette Stadium. It was cool to see him cheering on Stidham and the other QBs.
https://nesn.com/2020/08/patriots-practice-notes-multiple-rookies-stand-out-during-first-day-in-pads/
 

OurF'ingCity

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Apr 22, 2016
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It's obviously early, but I do wonder how Cam would take it if the Pats decided that Stidham was the better QB for this year and made Cam the backup, given that Cam is obviously hoping he can use this year as a launch point for a longer-term deal with someone.

Of course that assumes that there is one clear "starter" for the Pats at all - it would be unconventional and I'm not entirely sure it would be advisable in terms of getting the WRs and TEs into a rhythm, but it wouldn't be totally surprising if the Pats mixed and matched QBs all year long depending on matchups.
 

Soxy

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Dec 1, 2008
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As someone who watched Cam every Sunday for years, it cannot be overstated just how enormous he is for a quarterback. Imagine if Gronk played QB and you wouldn't be that far off. He's a monster.
 

Soxy

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Dec 1, 2008
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Also, from that article linked above, I thought this was very encouraging to read:
The star of practice was fullback Jakob Johnson. Johnson made several big blocks as the lead blocker for all three running backs, landing a huge block on rookie linebacker Cassh Maluia. Later in practice, he also made a nice adjustment to snag a back-shoulder seam ball with Josh Uche in coverage. Johnson looks like he’s in great shape and was noticeably impacting the running game with his blocking.
You obviously don't want to overreact to one practice, but Johnson needs to keep that up throughout if he wants to adequately replace Devlin, who had slipped some but was a reliable cog for years, at a position that Belichick clearly values more than some other coaches do. Losing both fullbacks early last season could not have helped the anemic running game. With Dan Vitale opting out, there's not a lot of depth there either.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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A Scud Away from Hell
Among the newcomers, reporters have been raving about Asiasi, Dugger ("all over the field"), and the especially Devin Ross. Ross has been flying and his speed could give him an edge over someone like Gunner. Adrian Phillips also said to be fitting right in already.

For 2nd year players, the buzz has been with Jakob Johnson ("knocking people down") and Damien Harris. The best news about Harris is that he's been catching really well out of the backfield, exactly what Michel could not do the last couple of years. Bailey is also reportedly be dropping sky-high punts inside the 10-yard line.

It took a while but I'm getting hyped as the training camp gets rolling!
 

RedOctober3829

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Jul 19, 2005
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deep inside Guido territory
Among the newcomers, reporters have been raving about Asiasi, Dugger ("all over the field"), and the especially Devin Ross. Ross has been flying and his speed could give him an edge over someone like Gunner. Adrian Phillips also said to be fitting right in already.

For 2nd year players, the buzz has been with Jakob Johnson ("knocking people down") and Damien Harris. The best news about Harris is that he's been catching really well out of the backfield, exactly what Michel could not do the last couple of years. Bailey is also reportedly be dropping sky-high punts inside the 10-yard line.

It took a while but I'm getting hyped as the training camp gets rolling!
A concern to me is Harry. Bedard and Giardi, 2 people whose football opinions I trust a lot, say that he has not stood out and have not seen the fruits of the work he put in with the footwork coach he spent the summer with. Now he is absent from practice today.
 

BigSoxFan

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A concern to me is Harry. Bedard and Giardi, 2 people whose football opinions I trust a lot, say that he has not stood out and have not seen the fruits of the work he put in with the footwork coach he spent the summer with. Now he is absent from practice today.
Not writing off Harry but my expectations for the remainder of his Patriots career have been discounted. I just don’t think he’s that good and certainly not worth the acquisition cost. If he can settle into Sanu-in-Atlanta type production, I’d probably take it.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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A concern to me is Harry. Bedard and Giardi, 2 people whose football opinions I trust a lot, say that he has not stood out and have not seen the fruits of the work he put in with the footwork coach he spent the summer with. Now he is absent from practice today.

Lazar with a bit more optimistic take, while acknowledging he hasn't "popped" yet. Seems that he sees the foundation, but it's not showing yet:

We are still waiting to see N’Keal Harry pop on the practice field. He looks leaner, and his feet are moving quicker. Plus, he’s much more violent in his releases at the line and fought through contact on a deep curl nicely to make a catch on JC Jackson. However, the explosive plays through the air aren’t there yet. He’s still struggling to run away from the Pats starting secondary and hasn’t gotten the chance to make contested grabs down the field. Part of it might be a lack of targets in practice, but you’d like to see more from Harry. He’s in great shape, but now he needs to make plays.
 

Mooch

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Jul 15, 2005
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Among the newcomers, reporters have been raving about Asiasi, Dugger ("all over the field"), and the especially Devin Ross. Ross has been flying and his speed could give him an edge over someone like Gunner. Adrian Phillips also said to be fitting right in already.

For 2nd year players, the buzz has been with Jakob Johnson ("knocking people down") and Damien Harris. The best news about Harris is that he's been catching really well out of the backfield, exactly what Michel could not do the last couple of years. Bailey is also reportedly be dropping sky-high punts inside the 10-yard line.

It took a while but I'm getting hyped as the training camp gets rolling!
The Dugger reports have me excited. Apparently, he just picked off Cam this morning too. This could be the best secondary in the league by a pretty wide margin.
 

OurF'ingCity

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Apr 22, 2016
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Defense apparently showing out today:
The glass half empty view of that is that our QBs suck. [insert Debbie Downer noise here]

More seriously, I tend to not put much stock in reporters' takes on who has been the "stars" of training camp or whatever. Just too hard to know how much of that is situational and to what extent the skills will translate to in-game action. Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the sense that reporters tend to focus on impressive-looking plays like great catches or interceptions or big tackles, whereas I'd think the coaches are more focused on things like whether the receiver crisply ran the correct route or whether a DB's positioning on a given play was correct even if the ball wasn't thrown his way - things much harder for an outside observer to determine.
 

BaseballJones

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Oct 1, 2015
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Re: Dugger.... It's early. The reports are very encouraging. But right now it's mainly about athleticism and instincts, and the guy seems to have both of those in spades. We will see when things get more complex, whether he can pick up on that. But for now, these are good signs.
 

Over Guapo Grande

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Nov 29, 2005
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The glass half empty view of that is that our QBs suck. [insert Debbie Downer noise here]

More seriously, I tend to not put much stock in reporters' takes on who has been the "stars" of training camp or whatever. Just too hard to know how much of that is situational and to what extent the skills will translate to in-game action. Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the sense that reporters tend to focus on impressive-looking plays like great catches or interceptions or big tackles, whereas I'd think the coaches are more focused on things like whether the receiver crisply ran the correct route or whether a DB's positioning on a given play was correct even if the ball wasn't thrown his way - things much harder for an outside observer to determine.
I forget which writeup I saw... but it pointed out that Cam was taking extra time to make sure he went through his progressions, which could be seen by some as "He's holding onto it too long!" rather than "He's trying to get the offense"
 

BaseballJones

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