2017 Patriots Preseason:

With some serious injuries to Derek Rivers and Julian Edelman, that will open up two spots that we had as locks. Ditto for the release of Kony Ealy.

But Edelman is Brady’s go-to guy on third down and you just don’t replace 90 or so catches and a 1000 yards at the drop of a hat

Brady was 10-11 for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter. The only incompletion was a drop by Cooks on a deep stick route.

There are still decisions that have to be made by the Patriots coaching staff, the roster will have to go from 90 to 53 and many of those will be tough

He’s been effective blitzing up the A-gaps but with David Harris in the fold in 2017, this will allow Hightower to play more on the edge.

Super Bowl LI celebration confetti discovered in Patriots sideline phone bank nearly 200 days after game.

The two teams had a couple of spirited joint practices, a good competitive football game and they’ll meet again, for real in Week 3 of the NFL season.

“Romeo and I started together at the Giants… We worked at the Patriots together, then another team, and then back with the Patriots in 2001.”

After a couple of spirited and tough practices against the Texans this week in West Virginia, the teams meet in a preseason game before doing it for real in Week 3 in Foxboro. Here are some of the things we’ll be watching for.

With the retirement of Rob Ninkovich, the Patriots were in need of another player to step into that role heading into the future. For 2017, it sounds like rookie Derek Rivers might not be part of an immediate solution.