PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Patriots Training Camp Day One Report

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Just got back from Gillette where the first day of Patriots training camp was PACKED. Yes, we all know how popular the Pats are and that they’re just coming off a Super Bowl win, but it’s still shocking to see just how many people pack the practice fields to catch a glimpse of the team as they open training camp.

At one point they opened up the ramps that run up the side of the stadium to give the excess number of fans another way to get a view of the field.

Today I was there with my two kiddos, their first experience getting to see the Patriots firsthand. So while I was able to watch some good chunks of practice, there was plenty of time spent away from the fields, doing all the great activities that the team has set up for families visiting — jumpers, football throws and kick stations, plenty of food and all kinds of great Patriots stuff on display. Stay tuned for a video coming later documenting it all.

In the meantime here are my limited observations from day one of camp.

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5 Most Intriguing Patriots of Training Camp

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-JomKcygQ0&t=91s

I drove by Gillette this morning and the excitement in the car was palpable. Inside the stadium, I imagined the Patriots’ rookies getting thrown into the deep end of the NFL training camp pool, preparing for their conditioning tests and the month-long grind upon which they’re about to embark.

The Patriots entered this offseason with a huge amount of cap space, so we knew there were going to be significant additions and extension and the team did not disappoint. For a team that just won the Super Bowl, their offseason looked far more like one of the offseasons where they had fallen just short of the ultimate prize.

So it’s difficult to pin down which players I’m most excited to see. I mean, if I don’t write Tom Brady here is it sacrilegious? Because of course I’m excited to see him, as well as Gronk back out there with a “healthy” back and all the rest of the players who we’ve grown to love in recent years.

This list of most intriguing

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State of the Blog

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With the opening of training camp just a couple days away I wanted to take a brief moment to update you all on what to expect this coming season here at PatsPropaganda because, well, things are about to get real.

It’s been an insane 2017 for me. My family and I moved back to Massachusetts from California and now as I type this I’m sitting in our new place, a stone’s throw from Gillette Stadium. Going to Patriots games was always my annual pilgrimage home and Gillette was such a magical place to me.

Now I’m there multiple times a week, doing grocery shopping, going to movies and grabbing food. That has been surreal. But obviously it’s been so cool to be back amongst my peeps, especially when I’m randomly running into people wearing my 28-3 tee (which was largely responsible for making the move happen).

The move itself is quite the story, the lowlight of which was tearing my MCL which I’ve been dealing with the last month. After years of writing about knee injuries it’s not fun to see what they really feel like. And let’s just saying assembling new furniture and lifting moving boxes isn’t easy when your knee can give out at any moment. Luckily it’s healing and I should be off the PUP list shortly.

I drove cross country with my Dad, which included stops at Notre Dame to see Football Jesus and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Canton was pretty cool, but the best part was the Super Bowl 51 movie they were showing which was so well done. Of all the summers we picked to stop at the Hall of Fame this was the best one. The movie was intense, with a huge screen and glaring sound. I’ve never experienced a football game like that, and there isn’t another game in the history of football I would’ve picked. Chills. SO. MANY. CHILLS.

But the most exciting part is that the site is about to take some major steps forward. This starts with the Patriots graciously credentialing me for some training camp practices this summer, starting this Sunday. But regardless of the credential, I’m going to be at a shit ton of camp practices, which means the access here is about to take a big leap forward.

Not being able to see training camp was one of the biggest disadvantages for the blog. I prefer to see things with my own eyes and do my own analysis, but by not being at camp I had to rely on the consensus of the camp reports. No more. Now I’ll be there and posting all my own analysis from camp almost every day. And on the days I’m credentialed I’ll get an even closer look and get to actually talk to some of the coaches and players that I’m writing about. It will be such a new experience for me and one that I’m so excited to tackle.

The second new twist for the blog will be more video. Yes, I know a lot of sites are going in this direction but with my background in television (what paid the bills for the last decade while I developed my Patriots blogging) the time has come to merge the two. I will never stop writing and that will still be the driving force behind the blog, but now I’ll be able to supplement it with video. Look for the first one this week from Day One of camp.

There’s even more in the works as far as video goes, something pretty huge, but I’ll save that announcement for the next couple weeks.

That’s it for now. It’s hard to express how exciting it is to be back home, and to be able to focus on the site like this, especially with the Patriots primed for another kickass season. Stay tuned, it’s all happening.

Patriots Pre-Camp 53-Man Roster Projection

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Just three more days until the opening of the 2017 Patriots training camp, but it’s hard not to think about how things will look a little over a month from now during final cuts.

Last year the Pats had really good injury luck. Of course we can say that now because they won the Super Bowl without Sebastian Vollmer and Rob Gronkowski. But it isn’t hard to imagine a world where those could’ve easily been blamed as reasons the Pats fell short of the title. Luckily that’s not the world we live in, aka the one where they can’t win a championship without the best tight end in NFL history.

I’m trying not to let myself think too much about how stacked this roster is and just how hard the cutdown decisions are going to be. There’s already been plenty of 19-0 rumblings, but that’s the last thing on my mind. Let’s just open camp up, get through the first handful of practices without anyone breaking a bone or ligament and we’ll go from there.

Just don’t allow yourself to start comparing this team to 2007’s because, well, this one might be even more talented. It’s certainly deeper. But again, on paper, with perfect health. It’s a slippery slope and before you know it, you’re wondering “maybe they can go 19-0.” Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Assuming the perfect health remains, and it probably won’t, here’s my first projection at a 53-man roster.

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What Pats Are Getting PUP’d?

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Excitement is in the air this Sunday morning as Patriots training camp opens this week! But before we get to see some football there’s the inevitable gut punch that always accompanies the start of training camp — the announcement of the PUP list.

The PUP list can include anyone still getting over an injury or anyone who has failed the vaunted conditioning test. Any player on the PUP list can come off at any time, but if a player remains on the list for the duration of training camp he’s eligible for the regular season PUP list, which means they’re sitting out the first six weeks of the season at least.

This can be a useful way to store a player and save a roster spot, especially if you see value in having them return when the football matters most.

There always seems to be a couple surprises as to who isn’t quite ready to go. Based on what we saw more than a month ago at OTAs, let’s take a look at who might start the summer on the sidelines.

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Pats Camp Position Battles to Watch

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Originally I was going to take all the position battles and do a post on each, but upon further review that would be an exercise in tedium. How many of you would get excited about a full post about the thrilling battle for who the backup guard is going to be? Nobody? I thought so.

So instead of dragging this out I’m just going to lay them all out here in one handy dandy Friday post. This is peak #PatsFanProblems because there really isn’t a whole heck of a lot of uncertainty heading into training camp as to who will be on the field the most.

For the most part, then offense and defenses return intact, with a few notable exceptions. Offensively, Martellus Bennett and LeGarrette Blount departed and their roles were not insignificant, but the Patriots targeted their replacements with Dwayne Allen and Mike Gillislee (and maybe Rex Burkhead, BATTLE TIME!).

Defensively, Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard‘s departures left some uncertainty as far as the pass rushers go, and we know how everyone loves to talk pass rushers, while Logan Ryan‘s move to the Titans opened up a starting corner spot. But again, they brought in Kony Ealy, while drafting two other defensive ends, and gave cornerback Stephon Gilmore a mega deal to take Ryan’s spot.

So yes, all the turnover was pretty neatly handled, leaving the biggest questions at the bottom of the roster. But if you’re an obsessive Patriots fan (and if you’re reading this blog post there’s a pretty good chance you are) you care even about the minutiae like who the backup swing tackle will be.

Let’s breakdown the camp position battles!

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20 Questions about the 2017 Pats

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Patriots training camp opens one week from today! Finally we can put the superficial rankings and arguments about superficial rankings behind us and focus on real football.

There’s no secret that the 2017 Pats look stacked and could be an efficiency nightmare for their opposition, but there are still plenty of questions that I have about the team. Luckily we’re not the Jets so the questions are not — will we win five games? No, our questions are much more specific and often focus on back up jobs and role players, but they’re interesting questions to us nonetheless.

Let’s list them off, quick hit style.

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