Patriots Huddle: Monday's News, Notes and Links

Julian Edelman was part of a NASCAR event on Sunday. (USA TODAY Images)

Another quiet Monday, but here are a couple of quick notes and some links:

EDELMAN MAKES NASCAR DEBUT:

While he wasn't driving one of the race cars on Sunday, Patriots wide receiver got a feel for what it was like to be out on the track and part of the NASCAR's Camping World RV Sales 301 Sprint Cup race in Loudon New Hampshire.

Edelman drove the pace car for the event, and he said after that after seeing the crowd and the energy he may become more than just a casual fan.

"After coming here today and seeing this and the excitement and energy of the crowd and the people, it's pretty insane," Edelman told the Boston Globe. "It was a fun experience, but I'll definitely be watching a lot more now, because I'm vested."

Edelman was reportedly told three rules, which was to stay at 47 miles per hour, stay away from the walls and to remain in the middle of the track. Edelman admitted that he was allowed to "open it up" and drove 90-100 miles per hour at one point. To the veteran receiver that seemed fast enough, and the thought of each of these drivers going twice as fast for three hours gave him a new appreciation for what they do and felt they deserved to be called athletes.

"They're, for sure, athletes," said Edelman, who was introduced at the drivers' meeting along with Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. "It's an endurance thing and they're sitting in the car for three hours, going 200 miles per hour, you've got to be focused."

FORMER PATRIOTS HOYER NOT FOCUSED ON MANZIEL'S ANTICS:

Lost in the Manziel Mania going on out in Cleveland is former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer, who is going to be facing a lot of critics who will likely be looking for any reason for Johnny Manziel to see game action at some point this season.

Hoyer, for now, is considered the starter for the Browns heading into 2014, but he's still keeping the same mindset that he's always had and a Tweet over the weekend was one that caught the attention of many after it was retweeted over 4,000 times.

After reading the article published about LeBron James in Sports Illustrated, Hoyer appreciated the fact that James noted that "in Northeast Ohio, nothing is given, everything is earned."

That will likely remain the case as he tries to keep Manziel behind him on the depth chart, and having spent time in New England he's handling the questions about his teammate quite well. When asked recently about if he's been paying attention to the news surrounding Manziel that keeps appearing, Hoyer said he's only focused on getting ready for training camp.

"Not really," Hoyer said. "I'm not really focused on my teammates, what they do in their off life so that's none of my business. They can make those decisions on their own. All that matters is that we come back ready to go for the season."

Hoyer said when asked if he should pull Manziel aside, he said he feels the best way for him to be a leader is to do it by example.

" Like I've always said, the best way for me to be a mentor and a leader is to go about my business and lead by example," said Hoyer. "We'll go from there and it's going to be a fun time and it's going to be fun so [fans] come out to training camp because it's going to be a fun time."

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Nick Underhill of MASSLIVE.com finishes up his "Ranking the Patriots" series, with Tom Brady topping the list. READ MORE

Oliver Thomas of NEPatriotsDraft.com has a good article as he revisits Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins' rookie seasons. READ MORE

Christopher Price has his "countdown to camp" series, and looks at the reciever position in today's edition. - READ MORE

James Christensen has a good read on five players he believes will surprise people during training camp - READ MORE

Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston goes through some of the developments that happened while he was away on vacation, including some news around the division. - READ MORE

Erik Frenz of Boston.com continues going through the positional groupings and takes a closer look at the offensive line in today's entry. - READ MORE

Frenz also has a good read on how the addition of Will Smith adds a missing veteran presence to the team heading into training camp. - READ MORE