PATRIOTS NEWS Patriots Rookie Minicamp Thread

[40yrpatsfan]

I think people on this board are overestimating him. The same thing went down with Cunningham. Long before him, it was Michael Bishop (if you're old enough to remember him). And that's the most likely outcome here, but who knows, maybe we'll hit the lottery. Perhaps this is what it comes down to: I never play the lottery, because I know if I keep playing, the house will get all my money. But in the 6th round, maybe he was worth it. I would have rather had them draft a much younger developmental prospect at another position, or a kicker (Ryland sucks).

Cunningham & Bishop were each barely 6'1. Cunningham has a weak arm, Bishop could throw deep. Neither is a decent comp to Milton who's 6'5 235 with a cannon arm and runs very well. I think it's a better bet than the lottery. There's plenty of tape showing his upside, making NFL plays with his arm and legs.

 

[Real fan 02]

Zappe can make throws Milton can't: anything less than 20 yards. But, we're getting way ahead of ourselves. It might even not be Zappe. What if it's Joe Flacco or some other vet? At this point I'm ready to withdraw from this discussion because there are just too many unknowns. There are two absolute, 100% "knowns" at QB: Brissette and Maye. Both make the team without question, barring a major injury that puts someone on IR for the year. Everything else depends on a lot of unknown factors. The Pats picked Milton, I want him to succeed, but it's not a given that he makes the team.

People have said Mac was overdrafted. Zappe a 4th rounder? Realistic he should have been undrafted. He's a guy that can play if emergency situations came to be. Nothing more than that. There is nothing about his game that wows anyone. He's a JAG back up. Talent alone will keep Milton in the league as he develops. He just needs to put in the work. It's all on him.

 

[DaBruinz]

I figured they'd get rid of the hill. BB had it graded that way.

Not me.

LaDanian Tomlinson had one at his house that was part grass and part sand. He said he used to run it to help with his leg muscles.
I'm surprised more teams don't have one.

 

[Zuma]

Not me.

LaDanian Tomlinson had one at his house that was part grass and part sand. He said he used to run it to help with his leg muscles.
I'm surprised more teams don't have one.

I believe Curtis Martin had a hill at his home as well.

 

[signbabybrady]

I'm not making any conclusions on Zappe or Milton right now. Both have reasons to think they could be decent still in this league. Just because he's never played I'd say Milton still has that unknown factor which I guess gives him a higher ceiling (not to mention that arm).

But there are a lot of things to consider with this decision and until we actually see something from Milton I'm not that worried about it.

When camp ends we will have to make a decision and if we have to we can carry 4, or if we have to we can cut Zappe and sign a different Vet to the PS. Not really something I'm worried about now.

 

[signbabybrady]

Not me.

LaDanian Tomlinson had one at his house that was part grass and part sand. He said he used to run it to help with his leg muscles.
I'm surprised more teams don't have one.

It was a bad joke.

If I remember correctly from when it was installed there's something about running an incline that is better for soft tissue injuries.

 

[DaBruinz]

I'd say Andrews, ownenu and strange- if he's healthy are the starters.. RG & LT are the spots up for grabs in camp. I like the competition idea. Let the best players play as it's only going to make the entire team better. Health has been the issue with the line..

I wouldn't be surprised to see Sow push Strange onto the bench. Sow was a LG in College and he played extremely well at RG..

 

[Steve102]

When you're in love, you tend to overlook faults, even critical ones. You are bedazzled by her beauty, smile and sense of humor, but don't see her toxic narcissism and selfishness.

I think I know that woman.

 

[rochrist]

Okay. This whole discussion seems to come down to two things: how much risk they are willing to take with their rookie QBs and how many QBs they'll carry. If it's little risk, they need Zappe or some other vet backing up Brissette. If they are willing to admit some risk by throwing Maye out there either before he's ready or before the OL proves itself, then they don't need another QB not named Maye or Milton, at least on the 53 man roster. There's a lot of information hidden from me: how much risk they are willing to take, their evaluation of the state of the OL, their evaluations of Maye, Milton, and Zappe, how much they value a roster spot to carry an extra QB, etc. We'll just have to see.

Zappe isn't a 'vet', and they don't need him backing up the stadium janitor. Seriously, if Zappe is playing the season is toast anyway. Play either of the kids.

 

[DaBruinz]

You answered your own question: the Pats are rolling with a RT taken at 68 who didn’t play LT in college, and LT is by far the most important position on the OL. He might work out in the end, but saying we’ll be fine is painfully optimistic. A project player will be trying to stop the best edge rushers in the game. Sure, there are mitigations, but those condense the playbook quite a bit. If the LT can’t do his job, others have to help him (RB trying to slow down the rush), the ball needs to come out quickly (shuts down much of the passing game), the running game better be good, etc.

I can’t say I mind much because we’re rebuilding, but I just don’t want to see Drake become part of this experiment until it is a proven success. I’m confident the Pats will be selecting a LT with their first pick next year.

As pointed out, Wallace didn't play LT because there was a better LT there. But even his position coach from College said that Wallace practiced there regularly and Wallace was a LT coming out of HS who they moved to RT because of Fashanu.

The Pats have Anderson, who had several starts at LT for Denver and played excellently and Okorafor who has handful of snaps at LT. So Wallace shouldn't be FORCED to play if he's not ready. As someone who was also skeptical of this change, I became LESS skeptical when I learned more about the time that Wallace has spent practicing and playing.

Is it unlikely that Wallace will be the starting LT of the Future?? I don't know.

 

[DaBruinz]

Wirfs was also stupid athletic, Wallace not so much.

 

[Real fan 02]

I'm not making any conclusions on Zappe or Milton right now. Both have reasons to think they could be decent still in this league. Just because he's never played I'd say Milton still has that unknown factor which I guess gives him a higher ceiling (not to mention that arm).

But there are a lot of things to consider with this decision and until we actually see something from Milton I'm not that worried about it.

When camp ends we will have to make a decision and if we have to we can carry 4, or if we have to we can cut Zappe and sign a different Vet to the PS. Not really something I'm worried about now.

Agreed. The league is about talent. Offensively we have sorely lacked it for a while now. As a fan I'm excited to see players on offense with actual talent. It's all about development and acclimation to the pros from here on out. My hope is that Milton earns a roster spot. Another thing of note all the QBs will have to go up against the defense.. they will not be going easy on them.

 

[Real fan 02]

Zappe isn't a 'vet', and they don't need him backing up the stadium janitor. Seriously, if Zappe is playing the season is toast anyway. Play either of the kids.

Drake is our all around most talented QB. Everyone is starting around ground 0. Brissett being a vet and having played for AVP has the advantage. However Drake needs to show in camp pr by camps end that he's ready and shown growth. I believe he will. Zapp is what he is.. a below average QB who in his mind thinks he's better than everyone. To your point let the young guys play..

 

[DaBruinz]

It was an imperfect draft for us, but still a good draft:
- we stuck at 3 and got our QB, despite pressure to trade down
- we tried to move up from 34 for Legette or Coleman, but landed on our feet by trading down from 34 to 37 and getting 2 promising WR's in Polk & Baker. Maye-Polk-Baker alone make this draft an apparent success.
- taking Wallace at 68 and Robinson at 103 is controversial cause they weren't on anyone's radar and they're apparently going to both play new positions. If they become starters then great, but people are understandably nervous about those picks.
- Dial in the 6th is probably a special teams pick. Not sure what scout was tracking Georgia Military, but the guy is 6' 190 4.46 so we'll see.
- Milton at pick 193 looks like a very good gamble. He's a little older at 24 but if he were 23 nobody would even mention his age. All I see in his clips is a talented thrower and runner, I think he's gonna be good. Biggest concern is how is he going to get experience?
- Bell at TE makes plays, seems like a Jonnu Smith type.

- They stayed at 3 and got a guy who they hope can over-come his severe accuracy issues caused by his poor footwork.
- By not trading down, they had to try and trade back up in an attempt to get Coleman or Leggette. Had they traded down with the Vikings, they'd have had 11 and 23 and their own at 34. This would have allowed them their CHOICE of WR/OT/QB. They could have take OT, WR, QB in that order and have a better line, improved offense, and a developmental QB even if it wasn't Maye.
- Taking Wallace and Robinson at 68 and 103 is controversial because Wallace wasn't the BPA by all accounts and the Pats already have three 2nd year players at OG in Sow, Mafi, and Jake Andrews.
- Dial has a chance to be in the mix as a reserve guy on the outside, but yes, he's an excellent ST player as well.
- didn't understand the Milton pick and still don't. Especially if "Maye is the guy". This isn't a situation where you'll trade the one for a 2nd round pick after he puts up an 11 win season for you.
- Bell seems to be a Dwayne Allen Type player. If he can give the Pats the same production as Dwayne Allen did for the Colts in Allen's former years, that would be great.

 

[Real fan 02]

- They stayed at 3 and got a guy who they hope can over-come his severe accuracy issues caused by his poor footwork.
- By not trading down, they had to try and trade back up in an attempt to get Coleman or Leggette. Had they traded down with the Vikings, they'd have had 11 and 23 and their own at 34. This would have allowed them their CHOICE of WR/OT/QB. They could have take OT, WR, QB in that order and have a better line, improved offense, and a developmental QB even if it wasn't Maye.
- Taking Wallace and Robinson at 68 and 103 is controversial because Wallace wasn't the BPA by all accounts and the Pats already have three 2nd year players at OG in Sow, Mafi, and Jake Andrews.
- Dial has a chance to be in the mix as a reserve guy on the outside, but yes, he's an excellent ST player as well.
- didn't understand the Milton pick and still don't. Especially if "Maye is the guy". This isn't a situation where you'll trade the one for a 2nd round pick after he puts up an 11 win season for you.
- Bell seems to be a Dwayne Allen Type player. If he can give the Pats the same production as Dwayne Allen did for the Colts in Allen's former years, that would be great.

As Wolfe said on Milton " was just to must talent to pass up"

Agreed! Drake even.. will things he needs to work on is still worthy of the investment. None of the QBs are finished products.. we'll see how Williams does as he has everything set up around him offensely..

I have no problem with our draft.. we identified talent.. Hopefully it permeates to success.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

Zappe isn't a 'vet', and they don't need him backing up the stadium janitor. Seriously, if Zappe is playing the season is toast anyway. Play either of the kids.

I've said multiple times on this thread that it can be Zappe (this will be his 3rd year) or any other QB who is not one of our rookies, especially Maye. I'm fine with playing Maye if and only if the OL shows it isn't the clusterfark that it was last year. I don't care one bit about Zappe -- they could release him today -- but I do care about Drake Maye. I just don't see any reason to rush him into action before he or the OL is ready. He's 21, there's plenty of time. If the OL is solid through 4-6 games and the coaches think Drake is ready to go, then fine, put him out there.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

As pointed out, Wallace didn't play LT because there was a better LT there. But even his position coach from College said that Wallace practiced there regularly and Wallace was a LT coming out of HS who they moved to RT because of Fashanu.

The Pats have Anderson, who had several starts at LT for Denver and played excellently and Okorafor who has handful of snaps at LT. So Wallace shouldn't be FORCED to play if he's not ready. As someone who was also skeptical of this change, I became LESS skeptical when I learned more about the time that Wallace has spent practicing and playing.

Is it unlikely that Wallace will be the starting LT of the Future?? I don't know.

I'm glad to hear we're in good shape regarding the OL, even with new personnel, new coaches, new schemes and so on. They really have nothing to prove before we put the franchise QB out there...

Nope, I'm not riding that train. They need to prove they've got their act together before we put the rookie franchise QB behind them.

 

[signbabybrady]

Drake is our all around most talented QB. Everyone is starting around ground 0. Brissett being a vet and having played for AVP has the advantage. However Drake needs to show in camp pr by camps end that he's ready and shown growth. I believe he will. Zapp is what he is.. a below average QB who in his mind thinks he's better than everyone. To your point let the young guys play..

You're being a little harsh on Zappe kids still only going into his 3rd year.

He's 4-4 as a starter and not really been put in a good situation for a young Q.

I think there is still opportunity for growth.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

You're being a little harsh on Zappe kids still only going into his 3rd year.

He's 4-4 as a starter and not really been put in a good situation for a young Q.

I think there is still opportunity for growth.

Especially in light of how dysfunctional things were last year. He could have a long career as a solid NFL backup.

 

[Real fan 02]

You're being a little harsh on Zappe kids still only going into his 3rd year.

He's 4-4 as a starter and not really been put in a good situation for a young Q.

I think there is still opportunity for growth.

Possibly. Your right he's 500 as a starter. But when you tell people you're better, and you will become the starter, no one makes a claim when you're put on waivers more telling of what you really are as a player than anything.

Zapp has had ample opportunity to separate himself. He showed flashes, but then with extended opportunity what he really is shows.

Point is we just we're not talented at the position.. this team needs a talent like Drake if Mac or Zapp were as talented Mac would still be here, and Zapp the back up. I'm not trying to demean the guy but his celiing is the Browns game in 2022 or the Steelers first half last season. His lows are why we have Drake. Just my opinions..