Easley signed

All the draft picks under contract now.

Linkage?

Sicilian said:

Linkage?

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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/23/patriots-sign-first-rounder-dominique-easley/

Hallelujah.

This is still the time when everyone's optimistic, but it's hard not to be excited at the moment:

1. Vince Wilfork has participated in OTAs/minicamp, looked good, and believes he will be fully ready to go for training camp.
2. Will Smith (who I thought at one point might start the season on PUP) has participated in minicamp and shown decent movement given his injury.
3. Dominique Easley participated in the last day of minicamp and looked good in drills, suggesting that he will likely be ready to go day 1 of training camp, and is now under contract.
4. Reports are that the Pats and Rob Gronkowski are targeting being ready for training camp, with the possibility that he may be ready to go day 1.

All very, very encouraging signs. It would be nice to have a better read on Aaron Dobson and Armond Armstead, but still, all in all, very encouraging.

Very nice. Now I'm just hoping we get to see that explosive first step of his in action from Week 1 until the final whistle of a Super Bowl win this season.

Rapoport says 80% guaranteed.

mayoclinic said:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/23/patriots-sign-first-rounder-dominique-easley/

Hallelujah.

This is still the time when everyone's optimistic, but it's hard not to be excited at the moment:

1. Vince Wilfork has participated in OTAs/minicamp, looked good, and believes he will be fully ready to go for minicamp.
2. Will Smith (who I thought at one point might start the season on PUP) has participated in minicamp and shown decent movement given his injury.
3. Dominique Easley participated in the last day of minicamp and looked good in drills, suggesting that he will likely be ready to go day 1 of training camp, and is now under contract.
4. Reports are that the Pats and Rob Gronkowski are targeting being ready for training camp, with the possibility that he may be ready to go day 1.

All very, very encouraging signs. It would be nice to have a better read on Aaron Dobson and Armond Armstead, but still, all in all, very encouraging.

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I am getting very excited for a Defense of:

DE- Chandler Jones (who should have a monster year with a tremendously better secondary) and Ninkovich, with veteran former probowler Will Smith and up and Buchanan as part of the rotation.
DT- Healthy Wilfork and healthy Easley with Kelly, Jones, Siliga maybe Armstead for depth.

LB- Mayo, Collins Hightower at 100% with a strong #4 in Anderson

CB Revis and Browner with Dennard, Ryan and Arrington behind them

S McCourty and Harmon/Ryan, and maybe we can add a veteran for depth.

No matter how you slice it, this is the most talented D we have had in a long time.

Compared to the hobbled squad that finished last year,it is a 180 degree difference.

Oh no, that's terrible news, Borg will be crushed when he finds this out.

Who started the doom and gloom thread when it was reported that there was a snag in negotiations a few weeks ago?

I said i'd get back to them when Easley signed his deal well before training camp.

Ivan said:

Oh no, that's terrible news, Borg will be crushed when he finds this out.

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Was that who it was?

JMC00 said:

Who started the doom and gloom thread when it was reported that there was a snag in negotiations a few weeks ago?

I said i'd get back to them when Easley signed his deal well before training camp.

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Narrowly escaped another debacle by the cheap @ss Kraft.

Best part about the new CBA is the speed that the rookies sign.

mayoclinic said:

All very, very encouraging signs. It would be nice to have a better read on Aaron Dobson and Armond Armstead, but still, all in all, very encouraging.

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The Herald last week said that Dobson missing last week was expected by the Patriots at the time he had the surgery. They held him out last week because they weren't sure his foot has regained all of its strength yet and they didn't want to risk injury rushing him back too quickly. The Herald said that the Pats expect Dobson to be ready for training camp.

Rob0729 said:

The Herald last week said that Dobson missing last week was expected by the Patriots at the time he had the surgery. They held him out last week because they weren't sure his foot has regained all of its strength yet and they didn't want to risk injury rushing him back too quickly. The Herald said that the Pats expect Dobson to be ready for training camp.

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TC is really all anybody needed to worry about. I would have loved to see him in MC just to have him continue to improve his rapport with Brady, but him being present in TC and in the preseason is a much bigger deal.

I loved this pick. It really is exactly what we need. It's hard not to get excited over this defense. As usual, when talking about our Pats, It's all about the health. If things go our way it will be scary.

The vesatility he brings is just stupid. He moves like a cat for a guy weighing in at 290lbs. Again health permitting, you could see him line up everywhere from the 3 tech, 7 tech, 5 tech etc. 43/34 it doesn't matter. His explosion and quickness make him a rare breed of athlete. Again this defense and team for that matter
are as talented as there is in the league.

SmellsLikeGrundle said:

I loved this pick. It really is exactly what we need. It's hard not to get excited over this defense. As usual, when talking about our Pats, It's all about the health. If things go our way it will be scary.

The vesatility he brings is just stupid. He moves like a cat for a guy weighing in at 290lbs. Again health permitting, you could see him line up everywhere from the 3 tech, 7 tech, 5 tech etc. 43/34 it doesn't matter. His explosion and quickness make him a rare breed of athlete. Again this defense and team for that matter
are as talented as there is in the league.

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I expect him to be inside on a G exclusively. That is where his best stength is best utilized.
I'd expect to see him next to Chandler Jones often. If we keep the scheme of CJ moving inside on obvious passing downs that has the potential to be the most disruptive interior pass rush in memory, especially adding Mayo or Collins as a blitzer situationally.

AndyJohnson said:

I expect him to be inside on a G exclusively. That is where his best stength is best utilized.
I'd expect to see him next to Chandler Jones often. If we keep the scheme of CJ moving inside on obvious passing downs that has the potential to be the most disruptive interior pass rush in memory, especially adding Mayo or Collins as a blitzer situationally.

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I'm just glad we are slowly converting over to a move aggressive shoot the gaps type defense. I think if Easley can do some of the things he did at Florida that will help our ends make more plays.

KY Pats Fan said:

All the draft picks under contract now.

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Essentially all the picks in the entire league, not just the Patriots.
He was one of the final five or six picks to sign.
The new CBA makes signing rookies pretty formulaic. Not much drama.

As discussed, reports of him moving around well at training camp are more exciting than confirming the signature on a template contract.
Having three number-one picks on the DL has the potential to remind us of the Warren-Wilfork-Seymour days, or at least we can hope.

He is now watching practices from the sideline instead of the bench.