Patriots Training Camp Day 3 (Easley and Blount active)

ChrisR2223 said:

Sounds like Ray Rice and Brandon Spikes are joining us soon just kidding about Rice.
But would like to see Spikes and Pats work something out.
Possibly Dennard or Freeney coming in?

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Why would you want Dennard back after we cut him, he got signed, and then cut by the team that signed him before TC even got started? That ship has sailed. And sunk.

Ross12 said:

Sounds like Revis had a substantial impact on Butler. I love it

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I was thinking the same thing, with Browner also having an impact...

What do we do with all our safeties if Richards does truly emerge? Do we look to trade Chung and go with wilson & Harmon as our backups, I would assume there might be a small trade market for him. Or do we cut Wilson and have a solid backup in chung?

eom said:

because all of us love the dude, but let's not put him in hof yet cuz of one play.
I'll be happy if the dude can just be a consistent starting corner.

fyi, me and my buddy were raving about the guy last year in preseason --- I thought he could actually start if push came to shove + there were some injuries, but his limited sample during the year wasn't the greatest ---- except for the final game, of course...........

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Can we put him in the hall for two plays? He made a great coverage play to break up the pass to Kearse two plays before the interception, only to make an even better play by knocking him out of bounds after that miraculous catch on the ground. Butler's the real deal and did it on the biggest stage there is.

I haven't seen the DBs in pads yet, but my take is that there is talent in that group that could prove to be solid. I'm not saying there's a combo of Revis and Browner on this team, but certainly better than the 2011-2013 groupings.

I've said this before, but secondaries play as units. The Patriots have excellent safeties with a nice mix of experience, smarts, speed and hitting ability. The corners will develop as the season progresses with good support and communication from the safeties. It would be great if a vet like McClain or Fletcher takes command of one CB position to go with Ryan and Butler who are capable corners.

The front seven looks awesome to me. A pass rush makes the corners' jobs easier, and in addition to Collins, there are good cover linebackers now to go with Mayo and Hightower. I hope Matt Patricia and Belichick amp up the looks and aggressiveness that this group can provide. The AFC East is loaded with great defenses.

goheels22002 said:

Can we put him in the hall for two plays? .

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no

Gratifying to hear Richards getting noticed early. Let's hope it continues.

HawaiianPatsfan said:

What do we do with all our safeties if Richards does truly emerge? Do we look to trade Chung and go with wilson & Harmon as our backups, I would assume there might be a small trade market for him. Or do we cut Wilson and have a solid backup in chung?

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It's what you'd call a "good problem" to have

McCourty
Chung
Harmon
Richards
Wilson/Ebner, mainly for ST purposes

Or--they could keep only 4, but I think Chung is definitely safe. If Richards shines so brightly that we only keep 4, one can assume that guys such as Ebner, Wilson, and maybe even Harmon would be the ones closer to the bubble.

eom said:

no

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Um, if the hall is worth a thing, he's already in there. that could be the greatest play in super bowl history.

supafly said:

It's what you'd call a "good problem" to have

McCourty
Chung
Harmon
Richards
Wilson/Ebner, mainly for ST purposes

Or--they could keep only 4, but I think Chung is definitely safe. If Richards shines so brightly that we only keep 4, one can assume that guys such as Ebner, Wilson, and maybe even Harmon would be the ones closer to the bubble.

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I think it would be a shame to cut Wilson. He's obviously a big part of special teams and I bet if given a role, or a need, he could help on the regular defense now too, he's been making decent plays here and there.

Learning, consistency and improvement count in BB land.

RayClay said:

Um, if the hall is worth a thing, he's already in there. that could be the greatest play in super bowl history.

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I consider it the greatest play in NFL history.

supafly said:

It's what you'd call a "good problem" to have

McCourty
Chung
Harmon
Richards
Wilson/Ebner, mainly for ST purposes

Or--they could keep only 4, but I think Chung is definitely safe. If Richards shines so brightly that we only keep 4, one can assume that guys such as Ebner, Wilson, and maybe even Harmon would be the ones closer to the bubble.

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I can't even imagine Harmon being on the bubble. Even if Richards is awesome, no other safety is a viable McCourty backup, so you'd think he'd be a lock just from that. Then add in that, barring a complete collapse, he appears assured of a top 4 spot, which would further solidify his roster spot.

Not that he's in Gronk/Edelman territory, but I'd be shocked if Duron isn't on the team.

RayClay said:

Um, if the hall is worth a thing, he's already in there. that could be the greatest play in super bowl history.

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well, I won't disagree on that point, but still tapping

Oswlek said:

I consider it the greatest play in NFL history.

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Well with how the nfl has pushed it the greatest play ever was Beckham's catch or at least that's what they want you to think.

Oswlek said:

I can't even imagine Harmon being on the bubble. Even if Richards is awesome, no other safety is a viable McCourty backup, so you'd think he'd be a lock just from that. Then add in that, barring a complete collapse, he appears assured of a top 4 spot, which would further solidify his roster spot.

Not that he's in Gronk/Edelman territory, but I'd be shocked if Duron isn't on the team.

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I would be a little surprised if bb leaned so heavily on a rookie safety as to cut a reliable vet

eom said:

I would be a little surprised if bb leaned so heavily on a rookie safety as to cut a reliable vet

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Chung just signed an extension, so he's going nowhere, and I've already outlined how I feel about Harmon. I guess I agree with you, assuming that you aren't stretching "reliable" to include Tavon Wilson.

PatsGuy said:

Though, wasn't' there a question of Dobson being stripped n the entire offence needing to run a lap?

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BelichickFan said:

Seriously ? You can't bury a guy for one play, it's the entire day/week/camp as a whole that matter. Not perfect does not equal not very good.

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The ball got batted out of Dobson's hands but the whistle never blew, indicating ball was still live (fumble). The D picked it up and took off while most of the offense just stood by and watched.

That was the part BB was just a little bit unhappy about. Got them together for some NSF and sent them on that lap.

Oswlek said:

Chung just signed an extension, so he's going nowhere, and I've already outlined how I feel about Harmon. I guess I agree with you, assuming that you aren't stretching "reliable" to include Tavon Wilson.

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I was mostly talking about harmon, but I think tavon has a heavy special teams presence, although I suppose that could be filled by richards.
how many of these guys did we carry last year - 4?

All this football talk has me reacting in a similar fashion to this:

Oswlek said:

I can't even imagine Harmon being on the bubble. Even if Richards is awesome, no other safety is a viable McCourty backup, so you'd think he'd be a lock just from that. Then add in that, barring a complete collapse, he appears assured of a top 4 spot, which would further solidify his roster spot.

Not that he's in Gronk/Edelman territory, but I'd be shocked if Duron isn't on the team.

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I'd be shocked as well, but when compared to losing Chung as the poster did...

I just think that Chung is safe, and that he found a role here, that's all. If you consider the fact that McCourty, Chung, and Richards are all safe (as I do), the only logical conclusion is to place Harmon as the fourth "safest" player at the position.

That's just my opinion, and others may see it differently.

eom said:

I would be a little surprised if bb leaned so heavily on a rookie safety as to cut a reliable vet

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Yes, that was my point. I think both Chung and Harmon are safe, but the poster to whom I responded proposed a hypothetical to picking one over the other.

Thanks for clarifying.