Maybe it’s just my lockout depression but I’m having a hard time really caring about the Pats all working out together. I think the Patriots are arguably the best prepared team to deal with a prolonged lockout especially if games are missed.
There aren’t major free agency questions, they have a coaching staff and systems that have long been in place, and they really shouldn’t have to be overly reliant on rookies.
So they’re working out together. Great. A good bunch of them have been working out together all off-season. Brady’s there now, that’s good for the young guys, but most of the team are self-starters anyways so I’m sure one way or another everyone has been working out, staying in shape, and doing their best to stay football sharp.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to know they’re all together and building some team camaraderie. But I’m not one of those people clamoring for them to make a media spectacle of it, or have t-shirts made or any of that stuff like a certain other team.
The best news to come out of today is:
There are between 40-60 players in attendance, including several rookies (Nate Solder, Ras-I Dowling, Shane Vereen and Ryan Mallett).
It appears just about every starter is in attendance, including Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Jerod Mayo, Devin McCourty, Rob Gronkowski, Patrick Chung, BenJarvus Green-Ellis.
Also of note: Ty Warren, Mike Wright and Aaron Hernandez are working out. Warren and Wright ended the season on the disabled list, and Hernandez had post-season hip surgery. This is the first group football activity for them in some time.
Having those injured guys back out there is really good to hear, especially in Wright’s case since most people fail to acknowledge him at all when they get into the “Patriots pass rush sucks” observations. Would be nice to know if Myron Pryor was back yet for the same reasons.
I’m sure this will be the talk of all things Patriots on the internet for the next couple days. Hopefully we hear more about the formerly-injured and rookies that were in attendance. Otherwise, it’s like mini-camp without pictures which is hard for me to get too pumped up about, because who knows when football will even start for real.