PatsPropaganda

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dj foster

Patriots Set Practice Squad

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It was a far quieter day than I expected on the Patriots roster front and good thing too, as the internet in the Ministry of PatsPropaganda was out for most of the day. The Patriots did end up setting their nine-man practice squad and surprisingly it features all players who were in training camp with the team.

Usually there’s at least a couple players who were elsewhere this summer but were cut and signed to New England. But that was not the case this year and, at least initially, that’s a good sign of how much the team liked their own players.

Let’s take a look at the initial nine guys signed to the practice squad.

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A First Look at DJ Foster

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLnJvy7EjVQ

Going into this season, my biggest positional concern for the Patriots that went entirely unaddressed in any major way was running back. Some people had concerns about depth at tackle, some had concerns about depth at linebacker.

We all know that Dante Scarnecchia is back to coach the offensive line, and part of the tackle depth problem last year was that the actual depth also kept getting hurt. At linebacker, there’s some less-proven talent added, but two former first round picks, in Shea McClellin and Barkevious Mingo, plus a sixth round pick in this year’s draft with Kamu Grugier-Hill.

Running back, however, was not addressed in any major way or on any nationally televised stage.

The moves: Donald Brown (already cut), and undrafted free agent DJ Foster. I’ve been pretty high on Foster’s potential since various camp footage had surfaced, along with seeing him in person at the practice inside Gillette Stadium. Foster hadn’t played in any preseason games this season before week 3, when he finally got on the field in the third quarter.

Did he set the world on fire? No. Did he show some promise? Yes. Let’s take a look.

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Tuesday Patriots Catch-Up

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It’s that time again for a random bunch of Pats notes that I’ve been kicking around or getting into arguments about. With so much in motion at this point in the preseason, it’s impossible to cover everything in every article we put up, so here’s some catch up thoughts as we are just 19 days away from the opener.

— Few people pointed out that I was crazy for leaving Vincent Valentine off my 53-man roster so let’s talk about that a bit. First, I have to disclose that I didn’t get the pick then and I don’t get it now. Not that I don’t understand picking a guy because of the Planet Theory, but when you have two pretty well-paid veterans that are roughly the same amount of huge, not to mention a first-round pick from last season who will rarely leave the field and Valentine was already looking uphill at any kind of significant role this season. Then add in that my untrained scouting eye just wasn’t all that impressed with him from the crappy YouTube highlights, nor has he done much of anything to stand out in two preseason games, nor can I recall a single mention from any training camp practices. So yeah, I see a big body that’s hard to find but that’s about all I’ve seen so far. No, he probably won’t get cut, but does anyone want to bet he gets an “injury” sometime in the next two weeks. A red shirt year this season, then see what happens with Branch/Knighton next year and then the time might be right for Valentine.

— DJ Foster and Keshawn Martin were back in full pads on Monday and they’re two guys we should keep a close eye on over the next two weeks. I have Martin as pretty much a roster lock (Yes, I caught some flack for this too on my 53-man). Why? Because he’s a serviceable backup to Edelman and Amendola, can return kicks/punts, and did show some progress in his first year in New England. Martin’s just a classic BB player — no one’s that impressed with him but he sticks around because he can do a lot of things pretty good. The Pats also gave him a two-year, $3 million contract last year. They wouldn’t throw that money around to a JAG.

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