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

[Bobs My Uncle]

Plenty of early positive's coming out of camp with a bunch of interesting battles taking place. One of the more intriguing ones that I see involves the CB spot opposite Revis. I am looking forward to seeing how that #2 spot looks once camp breaks. I think it's quite possible that Ryan firmly entrenches himself in that spot come the start of the season. If so, it'll make for a very interesting situation once Browner returns off suspension.

 

[Mike the Brit]

BTW Soporfry...if you ever want to come up here to take in a practice or a preseason game, I'll buy your dinner and drinks wherever you wish at Patriots Place and throw in a Pats hat. 100% serious. You deserve the red carpet for all your cogent participation year in and year out.

*big thumbs up*

And I have a couple of tickets to the Panthers pre-season game that I'd be happy to contribute. (PM, if this is of interest).

 

[Brady6]

BTW Soporfry...if you ever want to come up here to take in a practice or a preseason game, I'll buy your dinner and drinks wherever you wish at Patriots Place and throw in a Pats hat. 100% serious. You deserve the red carpet for all your cogent participation year in and year out.

Sup is easily one of the best if not the best posters that comes on here. We could all learn something from his approach.

 

[Brady6]

If smith is healthy and the injury isn't lingering he is a lock. I know you like stats but you can't judge smith on a sack number. He has been a complete DE not just a guy who gets some sacks while ignoring run d to make his stats look good. He has played at a top 10 at his position level for years.

I will take your word for it; I would be lying if I said I saw a lot of Smith over the years. I hope that we can get an Andre Carter type resurrection out of him. I trust your judgment so if you say he can be an asset I will reconsider my view.

 

[Brady6]

Good information from the GLOBE Report..
http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...raining_camp_notes_tight_ends_having_a_h.html

Things that stand out for me:

• Bryan Stork was part of a fumbled snap exchange for the second day in a row; that hindered him in OTAs as well.
• Josh Kline continues to impress, he is 5-0 in 1on1 drills thus far in camp. Kudos to you DaBruinz as you picked Kline way back in Feb/Mar to be on the squad.
• Thompkins had a drop again today, that makes 3 in the last 2 days, he needs to clean that up.
• Chandler Jones is undefeated in 1on1 drills, I get the impression he is a different type of special this season. His first offseason he focused on his upper body and this past offseason he focused on his lower body, combine the 2 and we are likely talking about a 280lb beast coming of the line with explosion, power, and MMA level handwork. It is hard not to be fired up about him.
• Stephen Houston for all his physical talent has done nothing so far to impress.
• I like what DJ Williams has done so far in camp, he has not been spectacular, but he has shown well, I think he makes the squad.

 

[AzPatsFan]

The only reason we haven't seen Rbs get a second contract in a while is because our RB talent since 2006 has sucked.

MAroney was a bust. BGJE, while a solid runner, was easily replaced. Woody was replaced with Vereen.

Ridley gave us 1200yds in 2012 and had 700 last year in a down season. If he bounces back for another 1,000 yard year I think he'll be back. He has great talent if he isn't fumbling.
Vereen is the same thing. He can be productive when healthy. If he stays healthy he will be back IMO.

We actually have talent at RB now, so lets see how BB gauges that talent in March.

I'm anxious to see if the altered ball carrying techniques that Ridley was coached to adopt will continue to work. If you recall Faulk was also a fumbler earlier in his career, until some not so gentle coaching from BB and his staff altered his ball carrying techniques; and he then became a very reliable non fumbler.

At the end of the season, after Ridley's benching, he did adopt a much different "high and tight" technique, but there was not enough time or carries to see if he kept it up, and whether it harmed his ability to run with the football.

That is a change to see in this preseason.

 

[strngplyr]

I'm anxious to see if the altered ball carrying techniques that Ridley was coached to adopt will continue to work. If you recall Faulk was also a fumbler earlier in his career, until some not so gentle coaching from BB and his staff altered his ball carrying techniques; and he then became a very reliable non fumbler.

At the end of the season, after Ridley's benching, he did adopt a much different "high and tight" technique, but there was not enough time or carries to see if he kept it up, and whether it harmed his ability to run with the football.

That is a change to see in this preseason.

Ridley is one of the most well spoken and intelligent sounding players I've heard in the NFL in recent history.

He's the rare player that accepts full responsibility and understands why he's been in the position he's been in the parts of 2013 and 2011.

If there is any player that i'm confident can be coached up it is definitely this kid. It just takes time, if you've been doing something one way for 13-14 years and suddenly find out it's not quite the best way, it's hard to break the natural habit of doing it. Muscle memory is a very powerful thing.

I think that, barring the emergence of another back as a rusher, Ridley will top his 2012 season numbers.

 

[joepatsfan]

@strngplyr I totally agree. I've been saying it forever too, if Ridley holds onto the ball, he will put up some crazy numbers. He has great talent and is a very smart/consistent runner

 

[PATS68]

@strngplyr I totally agree. I've been saying it forever too, if Ridley holds onto the ball, he will put up some crazy numbers. He has great talent and is a very smart/consistent runner

The Pats vs Panthers game was on NFLN the other day and they had several coaches mic up. The theme from the Panthers D coaches on the sideline is keep hitting Ridley because the ball is coming out. Ridley had a key fumble in the game.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

The Pats vs Panthers game was on NFLN the other day and they had several coaches mic up. The theme from the Panthers D coaches on the sideline is keep hitting Ridley because the ball is coming out. Ridley had a key fumble in the game.

Hmmm that's very interesting.......

 

[supafly]

Sup is easily one of the best if not the best posters that comes on here. We could all learn something from his approach.

BTW Soporfry...if you ever want to come up here to take in a practice or a preseason game, I'll buy your dinner and drinks wherever you wish at Patriots Place and throw in a Pats hat. 100% serious. You deserve the red carpet for all your cogent participation year in and year out.

*big thumbs up*

And I have a couple of tickets to the Panthers pre-season game that I'd be happy to contribute. (PM, if this is of interest).

I'd be more than honored to throw down an alcoholic beverage and shout obscenities at the other team with you, Mr. Kerr. I appreciate the offer, and will definitely let you know when I'm making it up your way. I am looking forward to the graduation ceremony at BU in the springtime, as I've yet to see the wonderful city in person.

As for the comments made by Mike and B6---your kind words are much appreciated, and I am very glad to have the opportunity to learn from your knowledge and share our love for the team. Thanks again--You guys keep me off the terrorist and porno websites, and my wife appreciates that fact

 

[Brady6]

Ridley is one of the most well spoken and intelligent sounding players I've heard in the NFL in recent history.

He's the rare player that accepts full responsibility and understands why he's been in the position he's been in the parts of 2013 and 2011.

If there is any player that i'm confident can be coached up it is definitely this kid. It just takes time, if you've been doing something one way for 13-14 years and suddenly find out it's not quite the best way, it's hard to break the natural habit of doing it. Muscle memory is a very powerful thing.

I think that, barring the emergence of another back as a rusher, Ridley will top his 2012 season numbers.

The good sign is that last season Ridley had difficulties with fumbles from the first day of camp on, this camp I have not heard that he fumbled anything. If you look at the tandem of Ridley and Vereen that is a 1, 2 punch that very few teams in the NFL have, if you add James White into that mix you are looking at a significantly better running team. That puts Ridley in the role of Blount last season, White in the role of Ridley last season and Vereen in his same role, James White could be a very good all-purpose back, what is impressive about him is his burst, White ran a 20-yard split faster than Peterson and McCoy at the combine. His top end speed is not great, but in car terms, his 0-60 is as good as or better than any RB in the NFL.

 

[supafly]

The good sign is that last season Ridley had difficulties with fumbles from the first day of camp on, this camp I have not heard that he fumbled anything. If you look at the tandem of Ridley and Vereen that is a 1, 2 punch that very few teams in the NFL have, if you add James White into that mix you are looking at a significantly better running team. That puts Ridley in the role of Blount last season, White in the role of Ridley last season and Vereen in his same role, James White could be a very good all-purpose back, what is impressive about him is his burst, White ran a 20-yard split faster than Peterson and McCoy at the combine. His top end speed is not great, but in car terms, his 0-60 is as good as or better than any RB in the NFL.

I'm with you in thinking that Ridley has a nice bounce back season in 2014. I still think that he'll end up with a couple of fumbles throughout the year, but as long as they aren't coming in stretches and circumstances are taken into account, he'll be fine.

 

[Brady6]

I'm with you in thinking that Ridley has a nice bounce back season in 2014. I still think that he'll end up with a couple of fumbles throughout the year, but as long as they aren't coming in stretches and circumstances are taken into account, he'll be fine.

On the topic of RBs I am thinking they only keep – Ridley, Vereen, White, and Develin on the 53-man roster, and they will sign either Gray or Houston along with Finch to the practice squad.

 

[supafly]

On the topic of RBs I am thinking they only keep – Ridley, Vereen, White, and Develin on the 53-man roster, and they will sign either Gray or Houston along with Finch to the practice squad.

I'm still a bit undecided as to what position may see some shaving of fat, but yes--RB is an excellent one to assume at this point in time. We have to see it somewhere and with the possibility of keeping more at both QB and WR, keeping only 4 at RB could end up being probable.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

I'm with you in thinking that Ridley has a nice bounce back season in 2014. I still think that he'll end up with a couple of fumbles throughout the year, but as long as they aren't coming in stretches and circumstances are taken into account, he'll be fine.

Wait until his first fumble. People will be calling for his head here

 

[Brady6]

Wait until his first fumble. People will be calling for his head here

In his career Ridley fumbles less often than Blount. RBs fumble the football, QBs throw interceptions, it's part of the game.

 

[supafly]

Wait until his first fumble. People will be calling for his head here

While I tend to agree with you that many will be calling for his head here, let's hope that Bill Belichick shows a little more patience depending on the specifics of the situation(s).

I think one thing that we need to remember about Ridley's fumbles from last season are the fact that he fumbled early on in the year, and he did it within a small window as well. IIRC, two of his early fumbles took away from our RZ opportunities and dramatically changed the perspective of the game by allowing the defense to score on the possessions.

I think the context is what's going to be the most important factor. I expect Ridley to have a couple/few fumbles, but if they are sporadic in nature and the proper context is taken into account, he can still have a 1,000 yard season. It's the turnovers that are repeated, the situations that they occur in, and the results and lack of progress that likely placed him in the doghouse rather early on.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

I hope he is more patient as well but if he fumbles early on again...I think it will be a very short leash. But he is by far out best RB

 

[BelichickFan]

Ridley is not getting patience. This has been going on since his rookie year when he was inactive for the Super Bowl. He's entering a last chance (with this team) season. Not a forgive and forget season.