***THE OFFICIAL 2014 New England Patriots training camp thread***

@LRiddickESPN: '14 UDFA Malcolm Butler:'13 2nd rd Logan Ryan. If u watch fundamentals of each, u would think their draft status was opposite. #PatriotsDBs

Interested in seeing what Jemea Thomas can do out there.
Logan Ryan needs to fix whatever struggles he is having on technique.
Where in the world is Daxton Swanson?

patsinthesnow said:

@LRiddickESPN: '14 UDFA Malcolm Butler:'13 2nd rd Logan Ryan. If u watch fundamentals of each, u would think their draft status was opposite. #PatriotsDBs

Click to expand...

No question, Ryan was a head-scratcher in that game while Butler was terrific. (But to nitpick: 3rd round pick, not 2nd.)

patchick said:

No question, Ryan was a head-scratcher in that game while Butler was terrific. (But to nitpick: 3rd round pick, not 2nd.)

Click to expand...

Agreed. I just posted it because he's an ex-player/scout/director of personnel and isn't a local guy.

I don't get what people see in Ryan as a CB. He's not a natural in man coverage. He's like McCourty, much better facing the offense and using his instincts to drive on the ball.

Marqui said:

I don't get what people see in Ryan as a CB. He's not a natural in man coverage. He's like McCourty, much better facing the offense and using his instincts to drive on the ball.

Click to expand...

People here fell in love with the interceptions. It's Arrington, part 2.

Marqui said:

I don't get what people see in Ryan as a CB. He's not a natural in man coverage. He's like McCourty, much better facing the offense and using his instincts to drive on the ball.

Click to expand...

People see the stats. Just like with Arrington a few years ago there was several picks where someone else made the play but the ball got tipped right into Ryans hands. I think there was one play where Hightower made a really good play at the ball and tipped it and Ryan got it. When you watch the game you can see that Hightower made a really good play. But on the stat sheet after the game you see how awesome Ryan was with his pick, but you don't really see that it was the linebacker that actually made the play.

Not saying that Ryan is bad. Just that stats can be very missleading. Especially Sacks and interceptions. But unfortunatly people tend to put way to much value in stats.

patsinthesnow said:

New England Patriots training camp observations: Ryan Mallett, James Anderson not spotted, Jemea Thomas returns | masslive.com

The 1-on-1 battles gave way to 7-on-7s, in which Brady went 4-of-7 passing and had two of his throws dropped by targets Brandon LaFell and Maneri. Second-round quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo seemed to pick up were his debut left off as well, going 4-of-5 passing in 7-on-7s, including a crisp end-zone fade to special-teamer Matthew Slater versus corner Justin Green. A drop by second-year receiver Kenbrell Thompkins was Garoppolo's one misconnection, while a touchdown throw to receiver Brian Tyms was preceded by a long wait in the pocket.

The team transitioned to 11-on-11 drills shortly thereafter. And without a third quarterback taking snaps, Brady and Garoppolo shared time under center for the rest of the practice.

In 11-on-11s, Brady finished 13-of-18 passing with one drop by LaFell and one coverage sack. He found Thompkins on a diving catch down the sideline and once more over two defenders. Garoppolo, on the other hand, finished 10-of-19 passing with drops by Tyms and fellow wideout Josh Boyce. The 22-year-old quarterback looked strong through the first few series, but he tapered off as one batted pass got intercepted by defensive tackle L.T. Tulipulotu. Another one of Garoppolo's passes was picked off by safety Devin McCourty.​

Jimmy G went 14/24 vs. the 1st team with a few drops. Looks like he had his first good practice since the opening one July 24th. Great to hear following the preseason game.

Click to expand...

Interesting to read that Slater is getting time at WR on Fade routes.. And that he's actually CATCHING the ball.

PatriotsInGA said:

Can someone give me the rundown on Easley for this season? Are we expecting him to play at all this year or is the ACL still recovering? I haven't been following his situation too closely this offseason.

Click to expand...

Easley should be able to play this season. He tore his ACL in late September 2013. Had surgery in October 2013, I believe. So he's at 10 months post-op. Wouldn't be surprised to see him start practicing next week, honestly, though the Pats are probably going to bring him along slowly.

DaBruinz said:

Interesting to read that Slater is getting time at WR on Fade routes.. And that he's actually CATCHING the ball.

Click to expand...

Imagine is Slater somehow developed good hands and a the ability to go up and fight for the ball? With his speed, he'd become a real weapon.

Galeb said:

Imagine is Slater somehow developed good hands and a the ability to go up and fight for the ball? With his speed, he'd become a real weapon.

Click to expand...

Troy Brown 2.0?

KDPPatsfan85 said:

Troy Brown 2.0?

Click to expand...

No. Slater has elite top-end speed. I know his 40 doesn't look that fast, but Slater runs really fast in pads. I remember years ago in an interview, Tom was asked if Randy Moss was the fastest on the team. Tom said that Slater was the fastest.

patsinthesnow said:

@LRiddickESPN: '14 UDFA Malcolm Butler:'13 2nd rd Logan Ryan. If u watch fundamentals of each, u would think their draft status was opposite. #PatriotsDBs

Click to expand...

Dunno why it's so hard for all of these ESPN professionals to fact check themselves. Ryan was a third round pick.

patsinthesnow said:

@Ian_M_Steele: 2nd team O vs. 1st team D. Garappolo threw a pick deep over the middle to McCourty. Ball was hanging up there.

Testing Jimmy G

Click to expand...

He doesn't have to worry, though, because INTs by McCourty don't count unless they singlehandedly win a playoff game.

Does anyone think Butler could challenge Dennard. for the 2nd outside CB spot the first four weeks?

CB1: Revis
CB2:
Nickle: Ryan/Arrington
Dime: Ryan/Arrington

patsinthesnow said:

Does anyone think Butler could challenge Dennard. for the 2nd outside CB spot the first four weeks?

CB1: Revis
CB2:
Nickle: Ryan/Arrington
Dime: Ryan/Arrington

Click to expand...

Of course it's possible. Dennard hasn't even been participating in team drills yet.

patsinthesnow said:

Does anyone think Butler could challenge Dennard. for the 2nd outside CB spot the first four weeks?

CB1: Revis
CB2:
Nickle: Ryan/Arrington
Dime: Ryan/Arrington

Click to expand...

It certainly could happen, and the odds probably increase with each day that Dennard misses. I still think that Dennard has a significant edge if healthy--he's proven that he can do it against NFL starters, and his measurables are better--but given his injury concerns I'd be very happy with capable depth behind him. If that's Butler's ceiling for this year, then that's still an awfully encouraging development that will likely be put to use at some point this year.

I dunno why, but I thought Butler was tiny until I saw him play. Once he made a few plays I looked him up, and at 5'11, 190 he's pretty close to Dennard in size. I could see him either being 46th-53rd gameday inactive or a practice squadder who makes the team next year if Kyle Arrington is cut.

Galeb said:

Imagine is Slater somehow developed good hands and a the ability to go up and fight for the ball? With his speed, he'd become a real weapon.

Click to expand...

Nope no way to carve those mitts or bricks into soft hands.

PatsFan2 said:

Nope no way to carve those mitts or bricks into soft hands.

Click to expand...

You're probably right, but it is interesting that he is actually catching balls in practice.

Brady6 said:

It is a positive. It shows that despite the foot injury he is working hard where he can. We have not had a 6'3" 220-225lb WR in a long time.

Click to expand...

I thought we had him last year