Daily Recap: New England Patriots News and Notes 8/26

Derek Havens

Aug 26, 2011 at 5:30pm ET

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My colleague Ian Logue helps start you off each day with his daily links entry, so in an effort to help fellow Patriots fans get caught up at the end of each day on what’s gone on with this football team, I’ll be offering a daily entry at the end of each day to help keep up with any news you may have missed. You can also follow me on Twitter to learn when it’s available.

The Patriots wrapped-up another chaotic week in the NFL, as the continue to prepare for the Detroit Lions. Here are some notes on the team and around the league on Friday:

• On Friday morning I posted a highlight video of Patriots tight-end Rob Gronkowski. The video clip was mixed together by Jesse Dampolo. If you have a couple of minutes, be sure to check it out!

• Patriots rookie running back, Shane Vereen, returned to practice after he took a few weeks off to nurse a hamstring injury. The Cal tailback should offer a change-of-pace to the Patriots backfield and also adds a home run threat when he has the football.

• As Saturday's third pre-season game against the Detriot Lions approaches, I compiled a list of a few players I would not expect to see on the field. The players that are on this list, are pure speculation based of practice notes and weekly repetitions. I would not expect to see CB Leigh Bodden, OL Marcus Cannon (non-football injury list), DE/OLB Jermaine Cunningham, RB Kevin Faulk (PUP), LB Dane Fletcher, RB Stevan Ridley, LB Brandon Spikes, or DL Mike Wright.

• Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald caught up with Patriots defensive lineman Shaun Ellis, who may see his first game action this Saturday out in Detroit against the Lions.  Ellis, who is recovering from a hip injury, said that it’s more about the mental aspect of the game where he’s putting his focus. “For me, it’s the meeting room,” Ellis said. “I’ve played a lot of games. So, (it’s about) just getting my mental reps and things in practice. When I start going fully, it’ll come back to me.”

• My Patriots Roster Prediction 2.0 was posted yesterday. I made a few changes from my first edition, but the evaluation process is still on going. Never the less, I feel like I have narrowed down the tough decision areas for the coaching staff. Check out the post and share your thoughts.

• Patriots quarterback Tom Brady spoke with John Dennis and Gerry Callahan on his weekly radio appearance for WEEI. Brady said he loved to see the defense attacking opposing QBs. “I love to see that. From another quarterback’s perspective, to stand there on the sidelines and watch them attack the quarterback — force them into quick decisions, force them into throws that you don’t want to make but have to make because you don’t have time to see the coverages — that’s good for any defensive football team.”

• Jerod Mayo spoke in the locker room with reporters on Tuesday and touched on the new defensive style the team seems to be implementing. "We're a very multiple defense... One week we may come out with pressure and the next week we may come back with sitting back in coverage. So you never know, and I think that's a good quality of this defense... It changes every week and I'm very excited how it started off. You never know what Coach Belichick is coming up with in his office."

• The Pats re-signed rookie free agent offensive lineman, Mike Berry, on Wednesday morning. Berry, a 6-foot-3, 316-pound guard out of Auburn, initially signed with the club on July 27 and was released on Aug. 3. The signing brings their roster back to the 90-man maximum as they add more depth to the offensive line.

• The Tim Tebow situation in Denver has gone from laughable to absurd, quickly. Reportedly, Tebow was out at a rowdy bar until 2 am on Tuesday night and has slid to the bottom of the depth chart. For what it's worth, I like Tim Tebow. Now I don't believe he can be a start quarterback in this league but I feel he is getting treated unfairly. Ironically, the same things he was praised for in college is now what he is getting chastised for in the NFL.

• The first league-wide roster cuts will be taking place in four days on Aug. 30th. This is when the rosters will go to 80 players, decreasing from 90. Initially, Aug 30th was suppose to mark the day when teams reduce the rosters to a maximum of 75 players, but the league office made that change earlier this week. Sep. 3rd marks the day where final cuts are made.