2017 Training Camp - Day 1 (7/27/17)

[AtomicDawg]

On the "choke" sign, does anyone in NE really have any animosity towards Atlanta?

I don't think so. Not as a region or a sports area. NE is just better. Although the week of the SB ATL kind of did play into the "cheaters/Boston is racist" memes.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Why should we not have a James White love affair though? Didn't he earn that? He was solid all of last year and beastly in the super bowl. He is the first 3rd down back they've signed long term in a while re-upping him and rightly so. Dion Lewis was a beast in 2015 no doubt. But give me White cause I know he will be out there. Also improved as a runner just to not forget that.

I have no problem with James White love. However I think because he is the shiny new star of the day, people have unjustly diminished Lewis's ability and capability to produce at a high level here.

Now, as I said earlier you could argue that because of the emergence of White and the additions of Gillislee, Burkhead and depending on how well Foster does in TC and preseason, DLew- while still valuable to the team, could be expendable and moved via trade.

For multiple reasons, I think that would be a big mistake.

 

[patsfan13]

Thanks for the thread guys especially all the first hand reports

 

[PatsBoy12]

Oh I am not saying he is trashing White. I am just saying we need to not get overly excited about Lewis. Lewis might be very good. In fact I think he will be. However he is a niche player who will see a few snaps here or there on this team as of now for a number of reasons. A big one being he will get injured if used too much. So while I am happy he is back and looking good I am not expecting him to do anything too much to help the team at least in the regular season.

My hope is he will be used rarely and then featured more in the playoffs if he can stay healthy till then. Even if used rarely that might not be the case and he will get hurt no matter how carefully they use him. I just want realistic expectations is all.

Gotcha. I do hope we see a lot of the two-back shotgun set with Lewis and White on the field at the same time. We saw a lot of that down the stretch last season, though I don't recall seeing a lot of it in the playoffs.

 

[AtomicDawg]

He's the best.

 

[Clonamery]

He's the best.

Juiced? Oh no!

 

[AtomicDawg]

Juiced? Oh no!

Rival fan/Goodell: "I knew those cheating bastards were doing something!"

 

[borisman]

Adam Kurkjian

?@AdamKurkjian
Justin Coleman ripped away an interception from Malcolm Mitchell on a pass from Garoppolo on one drill. Pumped up the DB unit.

NO. MORE. PUSH UPS.

 

[borisman]

As long as McCourty is patrolling the defensive backfield, I think the corners can be interchangeable. Of course I'd always rather have Butler and Gilmore back there, but McCourty's range covers up a lot of would-be errors.

He better have range, lining up as deep as he does. Not knocking him. He is very good at what he is asked to do. I trust him so I agree with your post.

 

[Ring 6]

Every snap he takes is one snap closer to GOATdom.

Why does Brady keep walking closer to him?

 

[farn]

DA is not losing his spot. Cause push comes to shove is there a doubt in your mind he won't catch that last second TD in a do or die situation.

Sadly there is just no room for Carr unless an injury happens. Can he make the PS though?

I'm not going to get too excited about July no-pad-time. But I am not convinced "there is no room for Carr".

 

[scott99]

The biggest thing I came away with from the first TC practice is that I am officially worried about Kony Ealy. He walked off the OTAs and has been MIA ever since. Hope he didn't injure himself. He is a roster bubble candidate as it stands so any additional lost day makes it just more unlikely that he will get through cuts.

Apart from that, nice to see the team working again. Can't wait to see where we are after a full week.

Disagree with this 100%. BB didn't throw away a 3rd round pick on a guy he's gonna cut. They are probably just being careful with him if he is nicked up.

 

[FCB02062]

Went to the tent sale today....some decent deals but nothing great... Got a dri fit Nike light zip up jacket for $40 (reg $75 I think) and a pair of sweats....

I'm normally a 2x at 6'2' 270 and a marginal beer gut, but that dri fit stuff runs small... Had to get a 3x !

 

[luuked]

Disagree with this 100%. BB didn't throw away a 3rd round pick on a guy he's gonna cut. They are probably just being careful with him if he is nicked up.

I have no clue what you are talking about.

We didn't spend any pick on Ealy. We dropped from the end of the second to the start of the third round to acquire him (8 spots). He was essentially free in terms of draft resources. Which is why in reality he is right now on the wrong side of the roster bubble.

 

[Clonamery]

I have no clue what you are talking about.

We didn't spend any pick on Ealy. We dropped from the end of the second to the start of the third round to acquire him (8 spots). He was essentially free in terms of draft resources. Which is why in reality he is right now on the wrong side of the roster bubble.

That's a leap of imagination.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I mean no disrespect to Tom, but "Veteran player who will be 34 in February...."?? That means he's 33 the entire season and only 34 for the Super Bowl. No need to exaggerate like that to make your point....

"Tom Brady, who'll be 50 come August 2027, was slow to get up after a play."
"Pats are trusting the safety position with an inexperienced coach in Steve Belichick who only graduated from college within the last 5 years."

No need to lead the witness with exaggerations....

 

[PatsBoy12]

I mean no disrespect to Tom, but "Veteran player who will be 34 in February...."?? That means he's 33 the entire season and only 34 for the Super Bowl. No need to exaggerate like that to make your point....

"Tom Brady, who'll be 50 come August 2027, was slow to get up after a play."
"Pats are trusting the safety position with an inexperienced coach in Steve Belichick who only graduated from college within the last 5 years."

No need to lead the witness with exaggerations....

Sustained.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

That's a leap of imagination.

Wrong side of the roster bubble is a leap of imagination, I agree, but I also agree with his general point. Dropping 8 picks is only the equivalent value of a 5th rounder. Pats have cut 5th rounders they've acquired in the offseason before -- TE Alex Smith prior to 2009 was acquired for a 5th rounder, never made the team. We'll see, hope they're just nursing him slowly back to health.

 

[maineman209]

I think its a combination of things that are clouding people's judgement.

Injury history
Not as explosive as 2015
Gillislee here
Burkhead here
James White love affair
DJ Foster binky-itis

As a player overall, a healthy, 2015 Dion Lewis has shown more than James White. Period. Case closed.

When healthy, Lewis has been a productive player for the Pats and very exciting to watch.

However, he's merely another player on a short term contract with a small dead-money cap hit. He's just another potential piece in the 53-man roster puzzle for 2017. Whether or not he's on the active 53 at the start of the regular season is up to the coaches.

Since I can't possibly know what they see or think of Lewis, or how their perceptions of him vis-a-vis his roster competition may change during the course of Camp and pre-season games, or how the coaches intend to configure the 2017 offense, or how they may foresee it changing over the course of the season from game-to-game, I'm not going to assume that Lewis is a "lock."

WRT Lewis having "shown more" than James White since the start of the 2015 season, the fact that White now has a longer term contract with a significant dead-money cap hit and Lewis doesn't might be considered evidence to the contrary.

If you think that's "cloudy judgement", so be it.

 

[PatsBoy12]

After posting a million things so far . . . I just took the time to realize that I'm posing about real football in a TC thread! Wow, I'm so f-ing stoked!