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danny etling

Patriots Set Initial Practice Squad

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It’s important to remember that everything is fluid at this time of year, and really for most of the season. The Patriots never stop churning at the bottom of their roster, bringing guys in, sending guys out, recycling those same guys a week or two later. Roster building is never done, but they have to start somewhere so here’s the initial 2018 practice squad and some notes on each player.

Danny Etling — As expected the Patriots hung on to the rookie quarterback who will now be best known for his long preseason touchdown scamper against the Giants. I’ll say this all year: the Patriots should bring in any quarterback that they can. Finding Tom Brady’s eventual successor doesn’t have to be neatly tied up in a high-round-pick bow. It could come from anywhere so it’s important to not only keep Etling, but to stay vigilant for any quarterback who might blossom with the team.

Vincent Valentine — My favorite keep of the practice squad, Valentine was coming on as a rookie before losing his sophomore season to injury. He couldn’t quite crack the 53 with Shelton, Brown and Guy the top interior space eaters in front of him, but he could be needed in a pinch and will be a good player to continue to develop with some uncertainty next year (Brown and Shelton will be free agents).

Ralph Webb — The undrafted rookie running back had a sparkling debut the first week of the preseason and then wasn’t heard from much again. The Pats must’ve seen enough to want to continue working with Webb and with a running back corps that has struggled to stay healthy it’s not crazy to imagine Webb joining the team in a Jonas Grey-type capacity for a few games.

Riley McCarron — I have to be honest on McCarron, I have yet to see him really impress me and every opportunity was there this preseason. If he can’t make the roster this year, when the Pats kept just three receivers initially, and instead they chose to find two castoffs from other teams to fill those spots, I’m not sure if he has any kind of long-term potential. It’s good to have a young receiver in the wings but I’m not holding my breath for McCarron to break through in real football games this season, or ever.

Jomal Wiltz — Wiltz is a cornerback that didn’t quite get the love of Crossen or Jackson, but was very much on the coaches’ radar from what I saw at camp. Depth at corner on the roster is outstanding so it would have to be a long climb for Wiltz but you never know where injuries will strike.

Cole Croston — Croston made the roster last year but just missed the cut this year. This was probably due in large part to the holes that had to be filled at wide receiver. But he’s a versatile offensive linemen who could very well be needed to play a role this season. The coaches clearly like him and he could fill in at a number of spots. With just seven OL on the active roster, Croston is a lot closer to playing than just about anyone else on the practice squad.

James Ferentz — Like Croston, Ferentz isn’t all that far from getting called up to game action. He can play center or guard, and behind Ted Karras would be the top option if one of the interior starters gets hurt.

Trent Harris — Harris might’ve made the team if this was 2017, but the remade edge pieces ran six deep this season. Harris was one of the standout scrubs and had a handful of moments in training camp. As we learned last year you can never have too many edge players. Harris can develop behind the scenes and is excellent insurance at a vital position.

Patriots Cap Preseason with a Whatever Against the Giants

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There’s always a huge sigh of relief when the preseason is over. Injuries are the most impactful and most unknown factors of a football season, and to lose someone in August, before the games even matter, is always a downer.

Seeing Julian Edelman go down so soon after being a Super Bowl hero instantly put the team behind the eightball. But this year the 2018 Patriots were fortunate. There were certainly disappointments — Isaiah Wynn (who still isn’t on IR), Jordan Matthews and Kenny Britt being the prominent ones.

Otherwise, the Patriots will start the season with the team they wanted almost entirely intact. We can poke holes in where there could be depth problems, but every team has those. The fact once again remains, if the most key players of this Patriots team remain upright the entire season their chances at going to a toss-up Super Bowl are nearly assured.

There will be bumps in the road regardless of injuries. Remember, September football is very much an extension of the preseason. The team is still figuring out who they are exactly and what will make them unique amongst the last 18 seasons. They might look like total dogshit one week and lose a game to a team who might win four games all year.

But as the coaching kicks in, the players come together and begin playing to their strengths watch out. Those are the games where we’re reminded the New England Patriots Football Machine is still very much alive and well.

So, did we learn much of anything in the final preseason scrubfest? Were any roster spots won? Let’s take a quick look back before we totally turn the page to the roster craziness of the weekend and then the Texans.

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Patriots Clear Off PUP, Tuesday Tweets of Note

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The Patriots welcomed back the remaining members of the PUP squad meaning that they’ll open the season with no one getting a free pass behind the scenes until Week 6. Cyrus Jones, Jonathan Jones and Nate Ebner all returned to practice, donning full pads meaning their time being physically unable to perform were coming to an end.

For the Joneses, it’s a good sign that they’re back before the first preseason game. Jonathan could insert himself into the slot conversation over rookie Duke Dawson, while Cyrus faces a make or break year where the Pats could really use his punt return ability. He’s a bit of a wild card as a cornerback, especially with a loaded depth chart but maybe just maybe he could be a factor.

As for Ebner, he’s just about a roster lock for his special team prowess and is a good presence to have back on the field for Bill Belichick’s favorite phase of the game.

More on the brewing battles and what went down at Tuesday’s practice in the Tweets of Note.

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Patriots Rookie Power Rankings

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The Patriots have a day off today so it’s a moment to catch our breath. As you probably heard by now Isaiah Wynn caught a second punt attempt and won the team a day off. It won’t do them much good in NFL Power Rankings, but it was a welcomed break after five-straight days of work.

Belichick pulls this all the time in camp — Matt Light, Vince Wilfork caught punts, Stephen Gostkowski kicked a night off-winning field goal. But every time I can remember, all did it on the first try. I’m pretty sure Wynn was the first to drop one, but that doesn’t hurt his spot on my rookie power rankings after five training camp practices because he looks like a beast.

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Ranking Potential Patriots Rookie Impacts

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Took a nice little vacation up to Maine this week, it was a good chance to unplug during a time where there’s just not much Patriots news to discuss. Most of my blogging comrades are firing out the usual suspects of articles, you know, previews of every random joe on the roster, way-too-early 53-man roster projections and the like. As John Wooden said, don’t mistake activity for achievement, so I’ve taken a less is more approach the last couple weeks.

Now that it’s July (almost) it’s time to start ramping things up, including in-depth looks at the training camp positional battles and a number of under-the-radar players that always seem to make an impact despite the Pats being atop the NFL year in and year out.

Today I’m kicking things off with the new guys, the rookies who can come in and start to reshape the team as they close in on the end of the Tom Brady era. These new rookies, coupled with a number of second-year players who had their rookie seasons cut short, should give the Pats the kind of youthful kick in the pants they really need.

Here’s my top 5 rookies to watch.

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Help. Who’s Who at Patriots Rookie MiniCamp?

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One of my favorite annual articles to write is the Patriots Rookie Eyeball Test, where I take an in-depth look (literally) at the newest players to join the team and break down their numbers, facemasks and general aura in a hard-hitting article. However this year things were made nearly impossible after the photos were released from rookie mini-camp.

First, no one is actually labeled on the Patriots.com pics and randomly, all of the players seem to have been given nonsense numbers. This is a new development, as Belchick used to have the team often without numbers at all to improve communication. The NFL put the kibosh on that a couple seasons ago. For what it’s worth, the official team roster still has all the rookie numbers as “N/A”.

Let’s take a quick dive into the minicamp photos and do the best I can to identify who is who, while I’m forced to wait for actual numbers for each player.

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Patriots 2018 Draft Recap

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After months of buildup, the 2018 NFL draft is now in the rearview mirror and Patriots fans can begin to focus on mini-camps, the June-July void and finally, training camp. The major pieces that will comprise the 2018 Patriots are in place, and while the draft was a trade-down-fest with plenty of fodder for sports talk shows, the team once again got a bunch of really good football players who will improve a team that came within one stop of their third Super Bowl title in four years for the second time.

When you think back to a decade ago, things were very different. The Patriots veteran defense was hanging on by a string in 2008, and when Tom Brady went down in the opening quarter of the season, the rebuild was jumpstarted. They missed the playoffs that season on a tie-break and would be upset at home in their first playoff games in both 2009 and 2010, before scrapping their way back into a Super Bowl in 2011. They haven’t missed a conference championship game since.

But now the Patriots have seen little-to-no dropoff on the offensive side of the ball. Brady has maintained his level of excellence even though the pieces around him continue to shift. Last year’s MVP performance was a crowning achievement even in the final game’s defeat. Yes, Brady has lost three Super Bowls, but 52 was just an epic performance by him.

The Patriots’ window is still very much open with Brady, but time is running out. How will these draft picks assimilate and help? Let’s take a big picture view.

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