By Mason Sousa, NEFJ Contributor There’s a brand new offense being implemented over at 1 Patriot Place. The offense that has been around the majority of the 21st century has taken its talents to Tampa where the 45 year old Tom Brady continues to do his thing and also to the desert in Vegas where Josh McDaniels takes another crack as a NFL Head Coach. It publicly seems to the…
For the first time in 2022, the Patriots played some football inside Gillette Stadium on Friday night. The annual season ticket holder and Foxborough resident practice drew a good crowd that almost filled the lower bowl. A rainbow came out after vicious thunderstorms just before the Patriots took the field, but it wasn’t a good omen as there’s still a lot to figure out about this team with inconsistency rearing…
It’s a strange new world for the Patriots’ first round draft pick. Sorry, that was so lame, but I had to do it. Cole Strange spoke to the media following practice on Thursday afternoon and sounded like you’d expect a wet-behind-the-ears rookie to sound like. Luckily for him and other rookies in his position, football is a game after all and while most days in the Bill Belichick era have…
Second year defensive tackle Christian Barmore has been a force thus far in training camp. He has been virtually unblockable at times. Veterans and rookies alike are struggling to block him one on one and on double teams. Barmore has come into camp in good shape, something that was a point of emphasis for him. He dedicated himself this off-season and the work is paying off thus far. He is…
Jumping right into it today… -Eight practices, eight straight days being the first one out for Terrance Mitchell. Today may have been the longest period of time in-between Mitchell’s arrival and the next guy out, which was Jalen Mills followed by Malcolm Butler. -Practice got going a bit late today, but for a good reason. It was rookie “slip & slide day” with Matthew Slater manning the hose. A staff…
Since being drafted in 2020, it’s clear that the guy Bill Belichick drafted from little-known Lenoir-Rhyne has become one of his best picks during a shaky few years of drafting. Kyle Dugger is entering his third season and with guys like Devin McCourty and Adrian Phillips on the back nine of their careers, Dugger is slowly moving into that “next guy” role in the back of the secondary. There are…
We’re officially a week into the 2022 season and few questions have been answered. Wednesday’s practice was probably the lightest one so far, with any drills or team periods being ran anywhere between 50-75% speed. Still, a few things stood out as we head towards the first preseason game a week from Thursday… -Seven for seven. Terrance Mitchell kept the clean sheet going for arrivals as he was the first…
Jabrill Peppers is itching to get back on the field. The veteran safety who signed with the Patriots this off-season was in pads for the first time this pre-season yesterday but is still not cleared to participate. Instead, Peppers played the role of player, coach. He had a walkie talkie and he was listening to the defensive calls as they came in. Peppers admitted that he is still learning the…
When the Patriots signed defensive end Henry Anderson to a two year deal last off-season, the move was universally applauded because of Anderson’s versatility and the possible fit. After getting off to a slow start last season, Anderson missed the majority of the 2021 season with a torn pec. Anderson suffered the injury in Week 4 and was placed on injured reserve on October 6, 2021. Anderson is now back,…
Day two of padded practices was another good one for the defense, a struggle for the running game and while there were some more flashy catches from a few receivers, an inconsistent day for the offense yet again. -Terrance Mitchell made it six-for-six as the first guy out for practice. -Lonnie Paxton was on hand in the family/VIP area. He might be the only field goal/long snapper in NFL history…