What do we know?

[Southieinnc]

Thanks Southie.

@$50,000 per day, Judon would have to cough up about $2.3M of his $6.%M contract for2024.

Now comes the big question. What if he holds out once the season starts? Does holding out the entire count as a year toward retirement or count against the contract? If the contract is still in force the following year, why hold out if the team wasn't willing to meet your demands.

As far as Judon is concerned, he's 32 and tore a pectoral last year. Not sure what he's asking, but Wolfe doesn't think it's reasonable consider the circumstances. Judon doesn't think the extension he was offered is even close to his perceived value.

Note that that is $50000 per day -not per game!

 

[BigKen]

Note that that is $50000 per day -not per game!

Yep.

Fines should be put into a fund to reduce Super Bowel ticket prices and stop giving away 15,000 prime seats.

 

[BigKen]

Tom Curran and Phil Perry did a very interesting "breakdown" of both the offense and defense of the 2024 Patriots.

Lot of unknown and unseen names. All things being equal, we shouldn't be surprised if a bunch of newbies get a ton of playing time. It still may have some remnants of the BB defense, but Covington is going to put his stamp on it immediately.

Offense....UNKNOWN

New Off. Coordinator and completely new staff. What is known is that The new OC has had success breaking in new or rookie QBs. More importantly, he was able to keep the Cleveland Browns OL working through seven major injuries.

The Patriots believe that Okafor or Wallace will be the LT to start 2024. That is, unless, an unknown suddenly breaks through the group and just takes over and shows that he can handle anything.

The WR group could have a bunch of surprises because there are four new faces and a bunch of veterans who didn't show up much in 2023.Curran hinted that Mayo implied to him that every WR position will be a free for all and the best during camp will get the start in the first preseason game.

QB is an unknown. Brissett has the inside track right now, but Maye started to catch up with him by the end of minicamp. According to Phil Perry, Maye has been at Gillette everyday. He's working out and has spent innumerable hours in the film room watching every team on the 2024 schedule. Perry says that he reminds him of the 2012 through 2019 Tom Brady as far as his preparation goes. Perry thinks that Maye is determined to be the starter when the real games start in September.

Curran says that it appears that there are only three RB spots. Right now Stevenson, Gibson and Harris have the nod. He says to keep an eye out for 6' 217# rookie tailback Terrell Jennings from Florida. Speed and tremendous power. Like Stevenson, he's a downhill runner and hits the line in a blink.

Defense. Top 10, Possible Top 5

CB. Considering that the team finished 8th best last year with Christian Gonzalez gone from Game 3 on and Johnathan Jones stepped up along with Alex Austin, Having Gonzalez, the Patriots look set for years to come.

Safety. The Patriots may have the best Safety duo in the NFL. Kyle Dugger and Jabril Peppers are brutal tacklers and have the speed to cover any WR that are handed off to them.

LB/Edge. Judon, Anferee Jennings, Josh Uche and Ximines OShane have the speed and power to cause havoc pass rushes
ILB. Tahvai Jalani, JaWhan Bentley and Raekwon MacMillan are solid veterans. Newcomers that will be competing for two, possibly three spots are, Steele Chambers (OH ST), Jontrey HUnter (GEO ST), and Veteran Joe Giles-Harris and Ellis Christian. One newbie might surprise everyone is William Bradley-King.

DL. The DL is stacked with Christian Barmore, Detrich Wise, Davon Godchaux, Keion White, Jerimiah Pharms and Sam Roberts. There are some newcomers who might send some veterans elsewhere. Keep a close eye on Daniel Ekuale and rookie Trystan Hill.

 

[BigKen]

2023 Patriots Third Down Receiving Leaders:
*Top 10 Players – FULL LIST (Click 3rd Down to Sort)

1. Demario Douglas: 13/22 (59%) 172yds 7 First Downs
2. Mike Gesicki: 11/19 (57.9%) 121 yds 6 First Downs, 1 TD
3. Hunter Henry: 10/16 (62.5%) 109yds 9 First Downs
4. Rhamondre Stevenson: 9/15 (60%) 47yds 2 First Downs
5. Ezekiel Elliott: 8/13 (61.5%) 62yds 3 First Downs
6. DeVante Parker 7/17 (41.2%) 106yds 6 First Downs
7. Kendrick Bourne 7/13 (53.8%) 92yds 4 First Downs, 1 TD
8. JuJu Smith-Schuster 7/14 (50%) 83yds 4 First Downs
9. Jalen Reagor: 3/8 (37.5%) 49yds 1 First Down
10. Tyquan Thornton: 3/8 (37.5%) 17yds

 

[BigKen]

According to NBC Sports Boston, the Patriots and Matthew Judon are quite far apart. Judon wants a long term contract. Something like 3 or 4 years. Patriots are saying absolutely not. He's 32 and wants what the top edgers are getting paid, which is around $18-$20M per year. The Patriots are willing to double his $6.5M and give him 2 years and $26M with an unknown guarantee. None of this has been confirmed anywhere but the length that Judon wants has been confirmed.

What to do? If he wants $20M a year for 3 years, it ain't gonna happen. I think that he might be able to get 2 years and $30M with $20M guaranteed. Judon is the Patriots top edge rusher, but Keion White is bigger and faster and much younger. He's so fast that he's been the outside rusher on special teams.

We're six days from veterans reporting. Judon says he will not play for $6.5M. He sure didn't complain about Getting $7.95M moved from 2024 to 2023 and getting a $1M per game played bonus while not playing 13 games. He'll report, not participate in all portions of camp and avoid the $50,000 a day fine. This is going to be very interesting.

Judon's people say that he will test free agency in 2025 and expects to be among the highest paid edge rushers in the NFL.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

Judon's people say that he will test free agency in 2025 and expects to be among the highest paid edge rushers in the NFL.

I hope he has a great year and stays healthy.

 

[BigKen]

I hope he has a great year and stays healthy.

That is, if he plays. He X'd that he will not play football for only $6.5M.

If he doesn't play, does the year count against the contract? I know it does not count toward his retirement. If he doesn't play, is he a free agent or not?

 

[Yankee Traveler]

That is, if he plays. He X'd that he will not play football for only $6.5M.

If he doesn't play, does the year count against the contract? I know it does not count toward his retirement. If he doesn't play, is he a free agent or not?

No. If he sits out Kraft owns him next year.

 

[BigKen]

Did you know that RB Antonio Gibson had 48 receptions with the Commanders last year????

 

[BigKen]

I guess I'll throw the first pitch.

Patriots have had four days of practice without pads and meaningful contact.

If you read the Sunday practice note I posted the media is pretty much in agreement that the offense has been very dull with an occasionalbright light.

As of today, Williams, Okafor, Andrews, Sow and Owenu are the staring OL.
They appear to be the best of the guys in camp since they were the #1s two days in a row.

QBs are not setting the world ablaze. Maye is having some great moments and some not so good ones. From what I've been able to see, he's just not in a comfort zone and the only thing that will help is repetition. He has to find a groove that he can get into and slow the game down. Working against this defense should speed up that process. Brissett can only offer support and let him know that everything will slow to a crawl once he finds his own zone. Zappe looks like QB#3 and Milton is headed for the PS unless someone comes after him. Most likely he'll get a two way contract and vultures will be turned away.

Right now, this offense needs to practice in pads and start hitting. The skill players need to start finding ways to separate and help the QBs by allowing them to get rid of the ball under three seconds. The preseason games will help the offense find itself and hopefully find a way to bring themselves together as a working unit. If this OL shits the bed, they'll be in exactly the same place they are next year at this time. Only all of the faces and names will be different.

 

[BigKen]

What do we know???

QB - We know that Brisset is a quasi-starter and solid back up. Zappe is not a starter, at least not full time. He's not a reliable backup. Derek Maye is the typical rookie. Blazing hot one day and ice cold the next. Time is the element and there just is never enough. Milton is either a dah and flash or the next coming of Lamar Jackson. Again, the thing that there just isn't enough of, time. As of this morning? Brissett is number one and Maye is number two. Below is a look of who is on the camp roster of 90 and where each of them play. Hope you all can watch the first game tonight on NFLN and start to make your own decisions about the talent on this team. #32 vs #31 According to all of the "Experts".

RB - Stevenson, Gibson and Harris seem to be the three. Not much information on anyone what's been happening among them. Preseason will tell us if there's someone lurking in the shadows.

WR- The group that will be most watched. Bourne, Douglas, Thorton, Reagor, Boutte and Smith-Shuster are all familiar. Polk, Baker, Osborn, Q. Baker, Wallis and Jackson are unknowns. Talk about sifting flour........Thorton and Reagor have tickets they hope will get punched. Polk and Baker have reserved seats. How many will Mayo keep? 7? 8?

TE - Henry, Hooper and then Bell? Petiway? Warren? Wilcox?

LT - Okafor, Anderson, Lowe, Diesch or will Wallace be moved over?
LG - Strange (IR), Robinson, Fornadel Looks like Robinson and Fornadel are in.
C - D. Andrews, Leverett, Turner. Turner could be a surprise but most like will be a PS member if he doesn't get stolen.
RG - Sow, Mafi, Jordan Sow and Mafi appear to be the two, but Jordan has had an outstanding camp. Mafi might be on a bubble.
RT - Onwenu, Wallace, Henry Wallace is a wild card. If Onwenu gets moved over to LT than Wallace will be the RT. Thing is, Wallace has played best at LT.

DE - K. White, Wise, Bradley-King, Morgan, Russell. White and Wise are locked in.
NT - Godchaux, Ekuale, Purcell, Hill. It'll be a dog fight to stay between Ekuale, Purcell and Trysten Hill
DT - Barmore (IR) , Watts, Pharms, Roberts and Bronson. The door is open. Who'll knock it off the hionges??
ED - Judon, Uche, Jennings, Ximines. Sign Judon keep the talent.
MLB - Bentley, Takitaki, Giles-Harris Again, ton of talent behind Bentley
OLB - Tavai, McMillan, Ellis Chambers. This could be a bloodbath for two spots.

LCB - J Jones, M. Jones, A Austin, Wilson, Victor J Jones, M Jones and Austin appear in
RCB - Gonzalez, Bolden, Wade, Dial Jr., Hearn Gonzalez and Bolden are solid, Wade was a BB favorite and might not make it.

SS - Dugger, Mapu, Schooler, Thomas. Dugger, Mapu and Schooler(ST) are all in
FS - Peppers, Hawkins, Bledsoe, Pettus. Peppers is in. His backup is the question.

P - Baringer. No question here

PK - Ryland, Slye. Neither has kissed ass of the other. Let's see who can kick the best and longest under pressure.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

Derek...




Drake...

 

[BigKen]

Stoned??

About to be???????????????????????????????????????????????

 

[Southieinnc]

3 problems Patriots are already dealing with in training camp

Since the start of training camp last month, the Patriots have run into a few issues that will need to be dealt with before the 2024 season begins.

musketfire.com

 

[BigKen]

Did you know that Matthew Judon will not get an extension from the Falcons?

According to Yardbarker, he will play for the $6.5M he's due and the Falcons have promised to negotiate an extension at the end of the season. There has to be a lot more to this tidbit. Why would he agree to play for the Falcons and not the Patriots for his contract? Or did the offer that the Patriots made pretty much tell him that he wasn't ever going to get paid big money in NE? What happens if he gets hurt again???

In all honesty, I'm thrilled that the Patriots got the 3rd round pick.

 

[BigKen]

I watched all or part of six games this past weekend. Have re3corded a couple more that I'll look at some time today.

I noticed that some guys are so intent on getting noticed that they will do just about anything, including putting themselves at risk. The third and fourth quarters of the games are suicidal. These guys know that they are camp fodder will make any attempted play, legal or not to have any coach on their team or any other team notice them.

My brother is a Packers fan and we watched them play the Broncos for a half last night.e was stopped four times for injuries on the field. It came to me that the reason that starters don't play is because no one wants to expose a $275M QB to a cheap shot from a wannabe.

Worse, the officials are not calling some obvious stuff. WR trying to make a catch downfield and the defender is pulling him to the ground by his "front" collar. No flag. Three defenders are celebrating and the one who did it is dancing with both arms in the air literally screaming, "Not me, Not Me." Asshole was advertising that he committed the foul.

More I watch, more I'm thinking that these games should be cancelled.

 

[nefansince75]

I noticed that some guys are so intent on getting noticed that they will do just about anything, including putting themselves at risk.

I may be naïve, but they should be trying to impress the coaches and not the fans. The coaches see way more football during practices than during games. That's when players should be showing their best. Showing a cheap shot that results with a meaningless win is a cheap shot that produces nothing, and the coaches will see it for what it is when reviewing game footage.

Desperate acts that win meaningful games may be seen as valiant, but desperate acts to win meaningless games are just desperate.

 

[BigKen]

I may be naïve, but they should be trying to impress the coaches and not the fans. The coaches see way more football during practices than during games. That's when players should be showing their best. Showing a cheap shot that results with a meaningless win is a cheap shot that produces nothing, and the coaches will see it for what it when reviewing game footage.

None of us has to deal with it or make decisions based on it. As I've said before, I coached youth sports for over forty years and I saw kids do some seriously nasty shit to other kids, just to impress their loudmouthed parents. That same attitude is carried forward to a much more dangerous degree by guys who "just want to make the team". Most of them don't give a shit if someone else gets hurt because of their action. Just my opinion, but seeing someone get carted off the field because of head to head shot, knowing that it's illegal and doing it anyway, is beyond my experience.

 

[Southieinnc]

None of us has to deal with it or make decisions based on it. As I've said before, I coached youth sports for over forty years and I saw kids do some seriously nasty shit to other kids, just to impress their loudmouthed parents. That same attitude is carried forward to a much more dangerous degree by guys who "just want to make the team". Most of them don't give a shit if someone else gets hurt because of their action. Just my opinion, but seeing someone get carted off the field because of head to head shot, knowing that it's illegal and doing it anyway, is beyond my experience.

Pro motocross can be like that. Everybody that does not have a manufacturers sponsership wants to be noticed.
Getting noticed is easy. Getting a contract is much harder.
I raced against National Champion Marty Smith. I never beat him - not once. If I could have beat him just once, I probably would have been signed.
I remember a pre-race practice at Salt Lake City. There was a nasty ditch crossing and all the teams were hanging around to see if anybody was going to try to jump it. Factories were watching when I gave it a try. I failed spectacularly!
I was not injured except for my pride when I saw everybody laughing at my attempt......I did get noticed.......

 

[Yankee Traveler]

None of us has to deal with it or make decisions based on it. As I've said before, I coached youth sports for over forty years and I saw kids do some seriously nasty shit to other kids, just to impress their loudmouthed parents. That same attitude is carried forward to a much more dangerous degree by guys who "just want to make the team". Most of them don't give a shit if someone else gets hurt because of their action. Just my opinion, but seeing someone get carted off the field because of head to head shot, knowing that it's illegal and doing it anyway, is beyond my experience.

After ...18 years... on the sideline and announcers booth I'm still amazed at the obviously flagrant fouls that don't get called.
Kids coming in fists to the kidneys or elbows to the head MMA style.
This in a "Non Violent Sport" that relies on skill and athleticism.