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Patriots to sign free agent RB Lamar Miller

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The news keeps coming! Just reported, The Patriots have reached a 1-year deal with RB Lamar Miller, pending a physical.

After being drafted by the Dolphins in the fourth round of the 2012 draft, Miller has had a productive career across two organizations. After playing out his rookie contract in Miami, Miller was signed by Houston in 2015 to a four-year, $26 million contract.

As he entered his final year coming off a Pro Bowl selection in 2018, Miller tore his ACL and spent the entirety of last season on IR.

With Sony Michel still on PUP, this is an exciting addition to the backfield group for camp, Miller should be itching to prove that his productive years are not yet behind him. Previously in my pre-camp 53-man roster projection, I expected the RB position to be without much change, this will be one to watch over the next month.

Current RB’s – James White, Rex Burkhead, Damien Harris, J.J. Taylor, Lamar Miller

PUP- Sony Michel

Opt-Out- Brandon Bolden

Some stats fans might recall Miller being rather productive on previous encounters with the Patriots, check out his career numbers below.

 
  Games Rushing Receiving Total Yds      
Year Age Tm Pos No. G GS Rush Yds TD 1D Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Tgt Rec Yds Y/R TD 1D Lng R/G Y/G Ctch% Y/Tgt Touch Y/Tch YScm RRTD Fmb AV
2012 21 MIA   26 13 1 51 250 1 12 28 4.9 19.2 3.9 8 6 45 7.5 0 3 12 0.5 3.5 75.0% 5.6 57 5.2 295 1 0 2
2013 22 MIA RB 26 16 15 177 709 2 27 49 4.0 44.3 11.1 35 26 170 6.5 0 6 22 1.6 10.6 74.3% 4.9 203 4.3 879 2 1 5
2014 23 MIA RB 26 16 16 216 1099 8 57 97 5.1 68.7 13.5 52 38 275 7.2 1 10 20 2.4 17.2 73.1% 5.3 254 5.4 1374 9 3 11
2015 24 MIA RB 26 16 16 194 872 8 41 85 4.5 54.5 12.1 57 47 397 8.4 2 15 54 2.9 24.8 82.5% 7.0 241 5.3 1269 10 1 7
2016 25 HOU RB 26 14 14 268 1073 5 55 45 4.0 76.6 19.1 39 31 188 6.1 1 9 16 2.2 13.4 79.5% 4.8 299 4.2 1261 6 2 7
2017 26 HOU RB 26 16 13 238 888 3 45 21 3.7 55.5 14.9 45 36 327 9.1 3 18 32 2.3 20.4 80.0% 7.3 274 4.4 1215 6 1 7
2018* 27 HOU RB 26 14 14 210 973 5 38 97 4.6 69.5 15.0 35 25 163 6.5 1 10 16 1.8 11.6 71.4% 4.7 235 4.8 1136 6 1 8
Career       105 89 1354 5864 32 275 97 4.3 55.8 12.9 271 209 1565 7.5 8 71 54 2.0 14.9 77.1%   1563 4.8 7429 40 9 47

Patriots to sign free agents TE Jordan Leggett and DT Darius Kilgo

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The Patriots are finalizing a move to bring in TE Jordan Leggett and DT Darius Kiljoy to their active roster. Mike Reiss reported that they’d both been in for a visit last Friday, and now, pending successful testing and physicals, they look set to join the team.

This move adds depth for two positions of need as they head into competitive practice next week.

So who are the Patriots signing?

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Patriots acquire CB Michael Jackson from trade with Lions

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First announced by the Lions themselves, the Patriots have traded an undisclosed 2022 draft pick in exchange for CB Michael Jackson.

Initially picked by Dallas 158th overall in the 2019 draft, Jackson was signed from the Cowboys practice squad by the Lions last October. During his time in Detroit, he only suited up for one game and didn’t record a defensive snap.

Per the Lions website this morning, Jackson was part of a number of cuts from their roster, but clearly, Bill Belichick didn’t want to risk losing him on waivers, so for the cost of what I would assume to be a late-round 2022 pick, Jackson is a Patriot.

The current depth at the CB position:

Stephon Gilmore
Jason McCourty
Jonathan Jones
J.C. Jackson
Joejuan Williams
D’Angelo Ross
Myles Bryant
Michael Jackson

It’s far to early to tell what this new addition will bring, Jackson was considered a good prospect coming out of college but seems to have struggled to click at the pro level.

Should the Patriots sign Joe Thuney long-term?

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We were able to hear from LG Joe Thuney yesterday for the first time since the end of last season, when, in the immediate aftermath, I wasn’t so sure we’d see him in a Patriots uniform again.

Thuney finished the final year of his rookie contract playing in a stricken offensive line unit whilst still managing to start every game. In fact, since winning the starting job prior to his rookie season in 2016, he’s started in every regular season(64) and playoff game(10) for the Pats.

Joe Thuney during his conference call (08/05)
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Bill Belichick’s connection in college football will help the Patriots in 2020

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Bill Belichick still leans on Nick Saban, Chip Kelly as scouting ...
Image: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Bill Belichick’s preparation and his ability to adapt in every situation is what separates him as a coach. Now, more then ever, Belichick will need to adapt on the fly, and work with these unprecedented circumstances. Covid-19 and the pandemic in general has made things difficult in everyday life. Now with constant testing, and new restrictions, how will Bill Belichick look to build this Patriots team in the post-Brady era?

You could argue that this season will be one of the biggest challenges of Bill Belichick’s. Losing Tom Brady, Dont’a Hightower, Pat Chung, Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, and Duron Harmon all in one offseason are a challenge in itself. In a typical season, Belichick would use training camp and the preseason as a competition for positional battles. But, with the preseason being completely eliminated, things just got difficult for the Patriots and the rest of the NFL. The Patriots have question marks at right tackle, tight end, defensive end, linebacker, safety, and even at quarterback.

A traditional NFL season includes four preseason games. These games may do more harm then good when it comes to injuries. But, it allows for coaches to truly evaluate the talent on the back-end of the roster. Finding those hidden gems is something that Bill Belichick has truly mastered, and the preseason is a major reason why. I mean it’s almost every year that Patriots fans get excited about a guy fighting to make the team. Whether that’s Tim Tebow, Austin Carr, or Jakobi Meyers to name a couple.

So, without a preseason how will Belichick evaluate his roster in 2020? How will he replenish the system? Well, he did not seem too concerned about it when he was asked about it last week on his zoom call with the media:

“It will be a little different set up, but that’s what college teams do every year. I think ever since the beginning of college football back in – well, I don’t know about all the way back when Rutgers started in the 1870’s – but that’s the way it’s been. You go to camp for three weeks, then you start the season. There are no preseason games, and you evaluate your team and you get ready to play. I mean, that’s what all college football teams do. So, I don’t think it’s anything that’s revolutionary here. This is just we haven’t done it that way in the National Football League for a while, and I certainly haven’t done it that way. I mean, I haven’t coached in college, but as a college player and growing up around college programs, I can remember those periods of time leading up to the start of the season. Teams had their scrimmages or whatever you want to call them and ways to prepare their team and at the same time evaluate the players. It’s a process that certainly goes into the early part of the season. This is just football, that’s all. I don’t really see it any differently.”

Bill Belichick seems relatively comfortable about playing 2020 without a preseason, and he referenced college football as being one of the main reasons why.

It’s well-documented that Bill Belichick has great relationships with some of college football’s greatest minds. Former head coach of Florida and Ohio State Urban Meyer, Greg Schiano of Rutgers, UCLA’s Chip Kelly, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, and of course Alabama’s Nick Saban all have had a connection to Bill Belichick at some point.

In particular, everyone saw first-hand in HBO’s, Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching, how close Belichick and Saban are. Belichick’s respect and admiration for Nick Saban extends more than anyone else in football.

“There’s nobody I respect more in football than Nick Saban. I’ve learned an awful lot from him. We’ve had a lot of great conversations throughout the years.“

It’s time for Bill Belichick to take a page out of Nick Saban’s book. Whether the key to success is more team scrimmages, or more practice reps for bubble guys, Belichick will need to figure out a solution.

I believe that Belichick will come into training camp this summer with a college football mindset. Belichick has never coached college football, but between Saban and others, he should have a pretty good understanding how they evaluate talent.

While the rest of the coaches in the NFL scramble around trying to makeshift their way through this unique training camp, Bill Belichick always seems like he’s ahead of everyone, and this situation feels no different.

For example, you have coaches like Bill O’Brien publicly giving up on his young players due to the lack of a preseason and unorthodox training camp:

“It’s going to be difficult for younger players.”

As always Bill Belichick is ready to adapt and ready to get ahead of the rest of the league.

The key to success might be an old friend…

Patriots pre-camp roster projection

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As we enter Training Camp 2020, many questions remain regarding many different positions. So, for a bit of fun, I’ve decided to try and predict the Patriots 53-man roster.

I totally expect to get a bunch of these wrong, but here goes… At the time of writing, I’m up to date with all opt-outs and PUP listings that were released today. I’ll be doing a final roster projection just prior to cut day at the end of camp, so we can see how accurate I was!

Quarterbacks (3)

Cam Newton, Jarett Stidham, Brian Hoyer

Cut (1)- Brian Lewerke

BB told us on Friday that everyone will have a chance to compete, including those at the QB position. Cam will be the obvious favorite to top the depth chart, but the only competition he’ll face is from Stidham, I see Hoyer playing the 3rd string mentor role, similar to Cody Kessler last season. 

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Belichick Conference Call – We’re on to Training Camp

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Fresh from his yearly postseason break in Nantucket, Bill Belichick graced fans and reporters with his presence during a conference call this afternoon. It’s been the first time we’ve been able to hear from the HC since the Draft in April. Let’s recall what’s happened since we last heard from Bill.

Firstly, James Develin’s decision to retire in late April, the shock Cam Newton signing, and more recently, the six players who decided to opt-out of the upcoming season.

Players weren’t the only changes, this past week the team announced it’s coaching staff adjustments for the new campaign, one of which included Bill’s son Brian, who has been promoted from assistant coach, to take over the safeties position.

I can’t wait for the envy in teams to grow, it’s hard enough planning to get the upper hand on one Belichick, let alone three.

So what were the conference call talking points?

Bill Belichick during his conference call 07/31
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