PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

jacob hollister

Patriots Start Preseason with a Comeback Win

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The Patriots and Redskins played a preseason game Thursday night but the result doesn’t matter, even if it was a slightly fun comeback win for the Pats. What really matters is that football is back and the 2018 Pats have taken another major step as they progress toward the regular season.

Yes, they came back from 17-0 down in typical Patriots fashion. You know, it’s infuriating watching teams walk down the field on them and the offense sputter. Then all of a sudden the ‘Bill Belichick is unhappy’ switch kicks in and they start playing well. The running game keyed things in this one, which shouldn’t be that surprising since no one had really tackled this summer until now and the backs were running hard.

Here are the Ups and Down and notes on the game.

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Patriots Training Camp Report: Friday (TFB-Day)

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Got back from another muggy Patriots practice, that featured alternating rain and glaring sun. I was on my game though, setting up right against one of the few trees on the hill that overlooks the stadium. The advantages up there: shade, slight wind, watching the practice from the end zone which makes it a lot easier to scout the players.

A lot of the important guys had their snaps limited, starting with Tom Brady, but also including Dont’a Hightower, Devin McCourty, Rob Gronkowski and Stephon Gilmore. That gave some of the younger players a chance at more reps with starting-caliber players.

Here are some of those who are getting some more chances:

— Christian Sam saw time playing with Hightower as the top nickel linebacker duo and seemed comfortable within the defense. He’s making strides.

— Riley McCarron got plenty of chances but he showed inconsistency. Not sure him or Berrios can stake a claim on a roster spot right now. Did think it was Berrios’ best practice that I’ve seen, gaining separation on Jomal Wiltz on one snap for whatever that’s worth.

— Wiltz and Ryan Lewis saw plenty of time at cornerback today. Neither stood out like JC Jackson has to me. Jackson is getting time as a gunner too, so he’s really looking like he could have an inside spot on a job at this point.

— Eddie Pleasant and Nicholas Grigsby look mostly like roster locks right now, playing multiple special teams units and getting valuable reps on defense as well.

— The whole offense took a lap after a sloppy exchange. They had already fumbled one. Funny to see Brady, who wasn’t really practicing at this point, take a lap with them. It drew happy birthday cheers from the audience, even though it was a penalty lap.

— Mike Gillislee was back in pads and looks explosive on a couple carries to me. Jeremy Hill has a spot on the kickoff return team right now so it’d look like he’s adding more value than Gillislee so he’s got his work cut out for him.

— I am so curious to see how Jacob Hollister looks in the preseason. He’s been great at camp, catching everything thrown his direction, consistently getting open. When we talk about filling in for Edelman weeks one through four, Hollister could be a significant part of the equation. Between him and Decker, the Pats will have some inside size this year that they’ve never really had.

— If you missed my 53-man projection from yesterday I can say that I feel even better about my defensive picks after today’s practice.

Two Biggest Surprise Players from Patriots Minicamp

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With names like Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman getting most of the attention at Patriots minicamp, there are a few surprising players that took advantage of their opportunity during this teaching phase, but might’ve flown under the national drama spotlight.

The one thing about the Patriots, it really is a level playing field after the players arrive. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done or where you were drafted. That’s why every year an undrafted free agent or two, or some castoff from another team, makes the roster of the winningest team in the league.

Who are the surprising new faces who are standing out already in 2018? Here are two candidates who have opened eyes.

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Tweets of Note from Patriots Minicamp Practice #2

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC1clbWAF88

Another day of actual football to talk about! There will only be one more before we start the long void until training camp, which means it’s time to way overanalyze everything that has been going on at Patriots minicamp.

Here are some tweets that stood out to me with commentary.

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Do or Die Patriots vs. Giants

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyg3JotQsfY

We’re in for a bit of a weird one Thursday night. With NFL rosters still at 90 players for week four (instead of 75 in previous years), teams have even more flexibility to play their scrubs who will be on the street within 48 hours of leaving the Gillette Stadium field turf.

Still, the Patriots’ depth players looked pretty atrocious against the Lions, leaving the door open for some roster battles that will likely play out against the Giants. On my recent 53-man roster I saw only 48 spots that looked like locks to me. That leaves five roster spots to be won, or to be filled with other team’s castoffs or trades over the long weekend.

Yes, things are still as fluid as they get in terms of NFL roster management.

Let’s take a closer look at where some of the final roster battles will be playing out, and five specific areas where roster spots could be won or lost.

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5 Do or Die Patriots in Detroit

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We’re just two weeks away from the kickoff of the 2017 regular season, but those two weeks are going to be jam packed with two more preseason games and plenty of roster moves, at least a couple of which should make our collective heads spin.

The immediate focus though is on week three of the preseason, the most hyped game of the summer where we can expect to see the starters play into the second half. Disclaimer — don’t get carried away with the results. The Patriots have had good week threes and bad week threes and neither result ever really told us anything about how the team would be in the regular season.

However, for individual players, there’s a lot on the line in Detroit.

Let’s take a look at five Patriots who are very much on the bubble and could solidify their position on the roster (or depth chart) based on their showing in this game.

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6 Sunday Pats Posits

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Sorry for the slow couple of days here on the blog, especially after a preseason game. In case you missed it, I was helping launch our latest venture, Patshow. If you haven’t had a chance to check out episode 101 you can get it here in all its glory.

Follow @Patshow6 on Twitter for all kinds of show updates and giveaways. Things will keep ramping up over the next couple weeks.

With over 10K views in the first 24 hours, we’re thrilled with the response and can’t wait for episode 102, coming Monday 8/21. This was supposed to just be a soft launch to work out the kinks, but other than a couple audio glitches on Facebook’s end, things went about as smoothly as could be expected.

Thank you Nick Stevens and Ian and Erin at Mediaboss for their awesome work bringing Patshow to life. We’re all excited to share everything that we have planned, which will include two shows per week once the regular season starts.

Okay, enough about Patshow, let’s talk some actual Pats and get caught up on the fallout from the first preseason.

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