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Archives for July 2018

Patriots Training Camp Battle Preview: Defensive End

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The Patriots’ defensive end group suffered heavy departures and attrition in 2017. Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard, key passing-down contibutors for the Super Bowl 52 squad, left via free agency. When Rob Ninkovich retired just a week into training camp it was the biggest blow of all.

Outside his four-game suspension to start 2016 and Ninkovich started every game since mid-way through the 2010 season. You don’t simply replace that kind of reliability, not to mention clutch plays that the “Jet Killer” Ninkovich made on a regular basis.

Third-round pick Derek Rivers tore his ACL in training camp, another critical blow at a ravaged position. Cassius Marsh played 267 defensive snaps, then asked out. It was just too much.

The Patriots were then forced to lean completely on Trey Flowers, while using rookies Dietrich Wise and Adam Butler, Bills practice squadder Eric Lee, and later James Harrison, the strongest edge-setter of them all, as replacements.

2017’s defensive ends were a shell of what they had been since the early 2010’s, before Ninkovich and Chandler Jones started a run of having two strong starters at the top and an array of pass rushers behind them. Though in 2013 and 2014 it was pretty much just Ninkovich and Jones who miraculously played almost every snap and never got hurt.

Will things be better this year? It sure looks like it.

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Patriots Training Camp Battle Preview: Wide Receiver

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After left tackle, there’s no more interesting position on the Patriots roster than wide receiver. After a major turnover in 2013, the Pats are once again looking at another evolution in 2018. Tom Brady hasn’t ever blinked before, managing to win even when those catching his throws had unimpressive names like Reche Caldwell, Kenbrell Thompkins and Brandon Lloyd.

Now, at 40, Brady will once again have to find a new set of go-to targets after the departures of Danny Amendola and Brandin Cooks, the pending suspension of 32-year-old Julian Edelman and the recurring absences of promising 2016 rookie Malcolm Mitchell. The Patriots have done well to prepare for this transition, going back into last season, but who clicks with Brady and can stay healthy is a near-impossible thing to predict.

Here’s a rundown of the wide receiver camp battle and who the favorites are to become the next clutch receivers.

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Patriots Training Camp Battle Preview: Left Tackle

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xttDAxpJNY

Remember when Nate Solder signed with the Giants this offseason? It was probably the most significant (and depressing) football move of the offseason as far as the Patriots were concerned, yet by now it’s faded to a distant memory behind all the superficial bullshit that was talked about in the months since.

But the impact of having not set succession plan at the important left tackle spot is the first and easiest place to start as I dive into breaking down the Pats’ training camp battles. Tom Brady‘s only had two starters protecting his blind side — Matt Light, then Solder, and that transition was about as seamless as they come. Solder was drafted in the first round of 2011, got plenty of experience as a backup and spot starter at right tackle as a rookie, then Light retired and Solder stepped in the next season.

There will be no such easy transition this time and the Patriots have taken a throw it all against the wall approach that featured a lot of rotation in OTAs. Dante Scarnecchia is one of the best offensive line coaches in the history of football and with plenty of bodies to work with he should be able to craft a new-look offensive line at 70 years old.

Let’s break down the contenders and how things might look when the 2018 Patriots take the field opening weekend against the Texans.

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