2021 NE Patriots Training Camp Notes

[BigKen]

Need a place to talk about what's going on in the Pats camp, so here goes.

1. Patriots have quite a bit of excess talent and it was mentioned yesterday that Bill is not going to cut players that he thinks could play a serious role in the future. Don't be surprised if a few players tell a trainer that he's a bit sore and ends up in the 8 week IR. Other will be injured and placed on IR as a redshirt.

2. We all know that the Patriots have a starting QB competition. We all know that the team has 5 QBs with Stidham about to go on IR and possibly have surgery on his right shoulder. Yesterday, Tom Curran and Phil Perry noted that there ws a fifth QB making 40-45 yard throws in the far end of the field working with Josh McDamiels. He then came up and about fifteen minutes was spent with him throwing passes to Cam Newton and Mac Jones. Yep, Jacoby Meyers is getting reps already because he threw two TDs in 2020 and has a perfect QB rating. He was a HS and college QB before converting to WR. Trick plays are main focus in Day two of camp. Perry was in hysterics because Meyers was more accuarate than either Mac or Cam and was throwing the ball deeper than either of them has been allowed.

3. N'Keal Harry's agent asked for a trade, Harry did not. He's being moved inside the numbers and has been specifically working on shorter routes across the middle. Sounds like N'Keal Harry will be a crossbreed WR/TE because of his size and inability to get separation.

4. TE Johnnu Smith has been moved outside the numbers. His size and speed and athleticism has convinced Bill and Josh to majke him a Hybrid TE/WR because of his ability to shake off the first hit and get yards after the catch.

5. Hunter Henry has been targeted more than thirty times in two day and has not dropped a ball. BB had him targeted seven times in a row and he pulled in every pass without a bobble or a hitch. He's not a unicorn like Gronk but he sure has some incredible hands.

6. Trent Brown, as we all know is a giant among giants. At a listed 6'7" 375 lbs he is a mammoth among elephants. It was stated that his's still huge but appears to have broadened across the chest and lost a few inches of the blubbler around the middle. He was seem pushing the five man sled by himself yesterday.

7. Finally, Mac Jones had a bad day yesterday and BB got miffed and made him run a lap around the double practice fields. He took his helmet off and pouted after three incompletions. Cam tried to explain to him that you can't be giving away your frustration in the NFL or you just might get seriously injured. Might have been some very wise mentoring going on.

NO FULL PADS UNTIL TUESDAY. Per the NFL/NFLPA. Historically, BB has always been in full pads on Day 1 and Day 2 and has worked primarily on goal line offense and defense because that's the most brutal hitting and pushing. League rules forbid pads for one week. Look for some blood and guts next Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

[Southieinnc]

Rhamondre Stevenson practiced and is off the PUP

 

[sharkymcwrath]

Thanks for posting, Ken. I am so fucking ready for some football.

 

[YankeeRebel]

Yeah I read Cam had a great day yesterday

 

[nefansince75]

Need a place to talk about what's going on in the Pats camp, so here goes.

1. Patriots have quite a bit of excess talent and it was mentioned yesterday that Bill is not going to cut players that he thinks could play a serious role in the future. Don't be surprised if a few players tell a trainer that he's a bit sore and ends up in the 8 week IR. Other will be injured and placed on IR as a redshirt.

2. We all know that the Patriots have a starting QB competition. We all know that the team has 5 QBs with Stidham about to go on IR and possibly have surgery on his right shoulder. Yesterday, Tom Curran and Phil Perry noted that there ws a fifth QB making 40-45 yard throws in the far end of the field working with Josh McDamiels. He then came up and about fifteen minutes was spent with him throwing passes to Cam Newton and Mac Jones. Yep, Jacoby Meyers is getting reps already because he threw two TDs in 2020 and has a perfect QB rating. He was a HS and college QB before converting to WR. Trick plays are main focus in Day two of camp. Perry was in hysterics because Meyers was more accuarate than either Mac or Cam and was throwing the ball deeper than either of them has been allowed.

3. N'Keal Harry's agent asked for a trade, Harry did not. He's being moved inside the numbers and has been specifically working on shorter routes across the middle. Sounds like N'Keal Harry will be a crossbreed WR/TE because of his size and inability to get separation.

4. TE Johnnu Smith has been moved outside the numbers. His size and speed and athleticism has convinced Bill and Josh to majke him a Hybrid TE/WR because of his ability to shake off the first hit and get yards after the catch.

5. Hunter Henry has been targeted more than thirty times in two day and has not dropped a ball. BB had him targeted seven times in a row and he pulled in every pass without a bobble or a hitch. He's not a unicorn like Gronk but he sure has some incredible hands.

6. Trent Brown, as we all know is a giant among giants. At a listed 6'7" 375 lbs he is a mammoth among elephants. It was stated that his's still huge but appears to have broadened across the chest and lost a few inches of the blubbler around the middle. He was seem pushing the five man sled by himself yesterday.

7. Finally, Mac Jones had a bad day yesterday and BB got miffed and made him run a lap around the double practice fields. He took his helmet off and pouted after three incompletions. Cam tried to explain to him that you can't be giving away your frustration in the NFL or you just might get seriously injured. Might have been some very wise mentoring going on.

NO FULL PADS UNTIL TUESDAY. Per the NFL/NFLPA. Historically, BB has always been in full pads on Day 1 and Day 2 and has worked primarily on goal line offense and defense because that's the most brutal hitting and pushing. League rules forbid pads for one week. Look for some blood and guts next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Good summary BK. Are these your words or pasted from somewhere else? If your words - you've upped your game. If not, as always, thanks for finding and sharing....

 

[BigKen]

Good summary BK. Are these your words or pasted from somewhere else? If your words - you've upped your game. If not, as always, thanks for finding and sharing....

My summary, nothing copied or pasted.

Thank you for the compliment.

 

[BigKen]

Mac apparently was not happy with himself today. Morning practice ended at 11:45 and at noon he was on the field throwing passes to Agholar, Meyers, Nixon and Bourne. Shortly after he started, Hoyer went and and must have been doing some coaching. Around 12:15 Cam showed up in shorts and a hoodie. Hoyer left and Cam went to the podium to take over for Trent Brown who was the designated player to address the press after practice.

Cam had nothing but good things to say about both Mac and Hoyer.

Practice details after I get to see the film.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

Mac apparently was not happy with himself today. Morning practice ended at 11:45 and at noon he was on the field throwing passes to Agholar, Meyers, Nixon and Bourne. Shortly after he started, Hoyer went and and must have been doing some coaching. Around 12:15 Cam showed up in shorts and a hoodie. Hoyer left and Cam went to the podium to take over for Trent Brown who was the designated player to address the press after practice.

Cam had nothing but good things to say about both Mac and Hoyer.

Practice details after I get to see the film.

In the line of true patriots, Hoyer ranks up there.

 

[nefansince75]

Mac apparently was not happy with himself today. Morning practice ended at 11:45 and at noon he was on the field throwing passes to Agholar, Meyers, Nixon and Bourne. Shortly after he started, Hoyer went and and must have been doing some coaching. Around 12:15 Cam showed up in shorts and a hoodie. Hoyer left and Cam went to the podium to take over for Trent Brown who was the designated player to address the press after practice.

Cam had nothing but good things to say about both Mac and Hoyer.

Practice details after I get to see the film.

In the line of true patriots, Hoyer ranks up there.

Cam has always played his "Patriot games" pretty well too. We can all be critical about his play during games, but beyond that he's a stellar Patriot.

 

[BigKen]

Not sure who's correct. Stidham underwent surgery today and will be out for at least 3 months. According to Bleacher Report, this is NOT a season ending injury. My guess is that he'll spend the 2021 on IR and be ready for back up duty in 2022.

By Nick O'Malley | [email protected]
New England Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham is expected to miss multiple months after reportedly undergoing shoulder surgery earlier this week.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the third-year quarterback underwent surgery for a back injury. Rapoport added that Stidham is expected to return in “roughly 12 weeks or so” and that it is not considered a season-ending injury.

 

[BigKen]

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have signed OL Jerald Hawkins. Terms of the contract were not announced.
Hawkins, 27, is a veteran of four NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2016-17, 20) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019). He also had a brief stint on the Houston Texans practice squad in 2020. The 6-foot-6, 305-pounder originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick (123rd overall) by Pittsburgh out of Louisiana State in the 2016 NFL Draft. He has played in 19 regular season games with one start and one postseason contest as a reserve during his NFL career. After spending his rookie season on injured reserve, he played in five games for the Steelers in 2017. Hawkins was traded by Pittsburgh to Tampa Bay on Aug. 31, 2019, and after a year in Tampa Bay, he was signed by Houston as an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 10, 2020. Hawkins was released by Houston at the end of training camp and began the year on the practice squad before being signed by Pittsburgh to the 53-man roster. Last season, he played in 13 regular season games and one postseason game as a reserve for the Steelers.

 

[BigKen]

Camp notes........07/30/2021

Very quiet day in camp. As bill Belichick has said for the past twenty years, you can't tell a thing until everyone has pads on.

1. Stretching exercise was the main starting point. Coaches were on everyones' ass for not putting in full effort and made everyone work. The big guys were all sweating when they got the water break.

2. Mac Jones has not been given much credit for his foot speed, but he did post 4.8 forties at the combine. He's at least three or four times quicker than Cam in the pocket. He's been able to avoid touches in the pocket because he has extremely quick foot movement and outstanding body control. He was touched sacked twice on Thursday because he hesitated on break by Meyers and route mix up by either him or Agholor.

3. Practice was moved back away from the end zone today. Passed were longer and Cam looked much quicker dropping back and releasing and finished 11/19 in 11 on 11. Mac was 8/16 but WR made two bad drops. Cam had a couple where he did hold on to the ball way too long. After practice he said, "As we get older, it takes the brain a bit more time to process what's happening."
Comment from BK: "Hey Cam. You're what 35 years old? Aaron Rogers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady would strongly disagree with you assessment of brain function as you age. So would I and I'm twice as old as you are."

4. Damien Harris looks great in shorts and shirts and is getting kudos and praise from Josh, Ivan and most important, BB.

5. The negatives. Brandon Bolden has done much of anything to prevent anyone at all from knocking him off ST. Cajuste looks slow and can't seem to move quick enough to take on a DL directly. According to some people who are studying every little thing on the practice field there are already some guys that better get their shit together extremely quick. Getting into pad will be brutal. There are already opinions of some guys that they collectively think are playing their way out of Foxboro:

Cajuste
Bolden
JJ Taylor
Terez Hall
Troy Fumigalli (TE)

Some guys that really opening eyes:
Isaiah Zuber
Tashawn Bolder
Jalen Mills

 

[nefansince75]

There are already opinions of some guys that they collectively think are playing their way out of Foxboro:

Cajuste
Bolden
JJ Taylor
Terez Hall
Troy Fumigalli (TE)

Some guys that really opening eyes:
Isaiah Zuber
Tashawn Bolder
Jalen Mills

What is Taylor doing wrong?

 

[BigKen]

What is Taylor doing wrong?

I'm not 100% sure he's doing anything wrong. I was just quoting Mike Reiss, Mike Giardi, and a couple of others who believe that unless a trade happens, there just won't be enough slots to keep him.

Harris, Michel, White, Stevenson, Johnson would be the keepers.

Trade or injury and the whole thing changes. If he wants to stay he's got to have a 'lights out' camp and preseason. Don't be surprised to see him get traded either. The Rams are seeking a RB because Akers tore his archilles and gone for the season already.

 

[BigKen]

As has been the case throughout this camp, the QBs are getting most of the attention.

Cam is still getting most of the reps with the #1s. He was 12 of 22 targets on Saturday and the opinion was that he would have been sacked at least six times in a game situation. Josh got on his ass about turning on his mental alarm clock and not hold the ball. Right now, Cam is taking about 6-8 seconds to read and release.

Mac Jones was 12 of 16 targets. His last four passes were against the full number one defensive secondary and he was 4 for 4. Mac's timing is between 4 and 5 seconds to read and release.

Assuming that both QBs will actually start reacting faster with actual defensive pressure, Cam will have to really crank it up to get down to 3 or 4 seconds before he releases the ball. Because Mac is already at the max., he could be in the 2-4 second range knowing where his WR will be and could be releasing faster than he did at Alabama.

 

[BigKen]

Thanks for posting, Ken. I am so fucking ready for some football.

I'm done with updates until Tuesday. With no pads, there is nothing to really report. I watched about ten hours of film this weekend and nine and half were the same shots from different angles of Cam and Mac. I had to take a stool softener to get some something moving, anything moving.

I don't want to see guys stretching or skipping or running over pillows. I want to hear the crack of pads and groans of pain.

 

[sharkymcwrath]

As has been the case throughout this camp, the QBs are getting most of the attention.

Cam is still getting most of the reps with the #1s. He was 12 of 22 targets on Saturday and the opinion was that he would have been sacked at least six times in a game situation. Josh got on his ass about turning on his mental alarm clock and not hold the ball. Right now, Cam is taking about 6-8 seconds to read and release.

Mac Jones was 12 of 16 targets. His last four passes were against the full number one defensive secondary and he was 4 for 4. Mac's timing is between 4 and 5 seconds to read and release.

Assuming that both QBs will actually start reacting faster with actual defensive pressure, Cam will have to really crank it up to get down to 3 or 4 seconds before he releases the ball. Because Mac is already at the max., he could be in the 2-4 second range knowing where his WR will be and could be releasing faster than he did at Alabama.

I believe a major part of Cam's issue last season was holding onto the ball for too long. Many of us attributed it to his complete lack of weapons which was a real thing. If those timing issues continue for him but not Mac Jones I don't see how BB doesn't give the nod to Jones even though he's a rookie who will likely make rookie mistakes.

 

[BigKen]

I believe a major part of Cam's issue last season was holding onto the ball for too long. Many of us attributed it to his complete lack of weapons which was a real thing. If those timing issues continue for him but not Mac Jones I don't see how BB doesn't give the nod to Jones even though he's a rookie who will likely make rookie mistakes.

I can much more easily live with "rookie" mistakes than I can stupid veteran mistakes or "I thought that" mistakes.

 

[nefansince75]

I believe a major part of Cam's issue last season was holding onto the ball for too long. Many of us attributed it to his complete lack of weapons which was a real thing. If those timing issues continue for him but not Mac Jones I don't see how BB doesn't give the nod to Jones even though he's a rookie who will likely make rookie mistakes.

A rookie does make rookie mistakes, but was Cam's mistakes "rookie level" since it was his first here? Assuming they are not, wouldn't it be better to get the rookie mistakes out of the way instead of living with the Cam mistakes longer?

 

[sharkymcwrath]

A rookie does make rookie mistakes, but was Cam's mistakes "rookie level" since it was his first here? Assuming they are not, wouldn't it be better to get the rookie mistakes out of the way instead of living with the Cam mistakes longer?

Yes. There's no doubt there's a certain value in having a rookie QB sit behind a veteran for a year(see Patrick Mahomes) but if Cam is simply going to suck and make ugly decisions like last season then I think it's probably better to throw the kid in.

Watching Cam hold onto the ball last season for way too long and then run it up the gut for half a yard was even more painful than watching Matt P's bend but don't break(but it actually broke most of the time) defensive strategy and that was pretty painful to say the least.