An Independent Patriots Blog
As Brady appeal nears, Roger Goodell is stuck in a corner of his own creation
Don’t we all feel bad for Rog? Of course not. I think the general consensus is Goodell reduces the suspension to two games, Brady takes the fight to court and they vacate Brady’s entire suspension.
I know, he came up a lot in the twitter discussion afterwards. Nothing against Big Sey, but I was trying to pick guys who were picked out of nowhere and blossomed. Of course there are plenty of good first rounders that lived up to their hype, and really Wilfork should be in there. But yeah, just a “best players drafted” list would have to be Brady/Seymour/Wilfork/Gronk then a debate between Mankins/McCourty/Hightower/Chandler for that final spot.
Seventh-rounder Darryl Roberts got some work with the starters today and broke up a potential touchdown pass for Tyms in 11-on-11s. Roberts keeps making a play a day and is a dark horse to steal a cornerback job.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/seventh-rounder-darryl-roberts-got-some-work-with/
Brady wants the entire suspension removed and he wants to be exonerated,” Paolantonio said on video. “He feels that he has done nothing wrong.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/brady-wants-the-entire-suspension-removed-and-he/
First, running back James White made a very nice catch on a wheel route for about a 20-yard touchdown from Brady in 11-on-11 work. Second, Amendola was catching everything thrown in his direction, as he and Brady seem to be operating at a higher level and building off their solid 2014 postseason together. Third, seventh-round draft choice Darryl Roberts, a cornerback out of Marshall working mostly on the left side, had a quality pass breakup against Garoppolo (believe it was against veteran receiver Brandon Gibson) over the middle. On one of the next plays, Roberts – who was schooled by coaches on playing with the proper leverage – was also in coverage on an incomplete pass along the left sideline but probably would have likely drawn a penalty for pass interference.
New England Patriots OTAs: QB position looks to be in good hands – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN
Three nice nuggets of note from Mike Reiss. Sounds like James White is getting some quality reps and Amendola was universally praised by observers as having a great practice. Still only June, but these are things we can consider at this point.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/first-running-back-james-white-made-a-very-nice/
In no particular order I’d have:
Gronk – injury risk at the time, but probably the best overall homegrown Patriot aside from Brady.
Wilfork – they got lucky he fell to them, but he was the defensive centerpiece for a decade.
McCourty – most labelled him a special teamer only when they took him in the first round, but he’s one of the most versatile defensive backs in the game.
Slater – didn’t have a position in college yet the Pats drafted him and turned him into one of the best special teamers in the NFL. Also a superlative leader.
Edelman – same thing as Slater, was a QB in college but slowly grew into the receiver role and is now almost indispensable.
Some of Belichick’s best work has come with guys who were not drafted or cast offs from other teams too. Stephen Neal never played football before, Ninkovich was a long snapper, and there are plenty of other guys who weren’t all stars but gave the Pats solid seasons after coming out of nowhere, like Randall Gay, Dane Fletcher, Gary Guyton, Chris Jones, Ryan Wendell, etc.
Those guys are more a testament to the quality of the coaching in New England.
Minicamp observations: Tom Brady cruises, Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola lead the way
Enjoy these last days of minicamp news, the football void is coming.
Patriots’ draft picks might be relied on for significant roles Good catchup on all the rookies. Looks like the Pats continued their recent run of success in the draft.