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New England Patriots Mailbag: Covering every topic – ESPN Boston
Nice tidbit in here that Stork got some work at left guard as well as center. I know that he had quite a few penalty laps for bad snaps, but I’m excited to see how Stork develops this preseason. Between him and Easley, they are two draft picks who bring exactly what I think the Pats need. Just a question of how fast they can develop.
Nice read from Doug Kyed on the receivers battling for a starting spot. As I’ve written before, Dobson has some catching up to do, but as Kyed points out, he has the best size/speed combination on the roster and that has to count for something.
One other thing about Thompkins that I think is a good strength is his ability to beat press off the line. Most often that is something rookies struggle with, but Thompkins has some slipperiness to his game that should give him an edge.
For Develin, the key to the 2014 season with the Patriots just might depend on his hands. The fullback was seen working with the tight ends throughout organized team activities and minicamp.
The most telling part, however, came during the 11-on-11 drills, in which Develin’s ability to catch the ball was highlighted multiple times. And the passes being thrown to him weren’t during the second- or third-team drills, but when Tom Brady was on the field.
Good read as we enter the dead period and I’m left scrounging for Patriots stuff to link to and write about.
Logan Mankins, New England Patriots
https://www.patspropaganda.com/designingsport-logan-mankins-new-england/
Love the no-drama rookie contract situations now.
#Patriots 1st round DL Dominique Easley signed a 4-year, $7.3M contract with a $3.63M signing bonus, source said. 80% of it is guaranteed.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 23, 2014
It’s a really good question and one that I haven’t full grasped yet just because we haven’t seen these guys with pads on yet and it’s just about impossible to truly evaluate the running game on any level without real contact.
But you look at Shane Vereen, James White and Roy Finch and they’ve certainly gotten some attention in OTAs. I think the first thing that we look at is can Vereen stay healthy, because if he can’t it appears that White will be thrust into the fire right away.
Finch is small, so we really need to see if he has the toughness and elusiveness that Danny Woodhead had to avoid contact and make life difficult for would-be tacklers. If he can’t he likely won’t make the team.
But it’s clear on both sides of the ball that the passing game is what the main focus is now and the Pats certainly did not want to be hamstrung like they were when they lost Vereen last year and had no threat in the passing game. I think we all took Kevin Faulk for granted somewhat.
Good read from Oliver Thomas. James Anderson is certainly the kind of player the Pats could’ve used last year after Mayo went down. He should see plenty of action on passing downs, whether it’s spelling Mayo or being part of a pass coverage-heavy defensive package.