{"id":23680,"date":"2019-06-09T05:00:35","date_gmt":"2019-06-09T09:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=23680"},"modified":"2019-06-08T11:23:15","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T15:23:15","slug":"new-england-patriots-news-6-09-afc-east-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2019\/06\/09\/new-england-patriots-news-6-09-afc-east-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Patriots News 6-09, AFC East Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Football is a great deal like life in that it teaches that work, sacrifice, perseverance, competitive drive, selflessness and respect for authority is the price that each and every one of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.
Vince Lombardi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good morning, here is your Sunday Patriots news 06-09 and AFC East notes<\/strong> this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Patriots mandatory three-day minicamp is in the books and there was plenty of interesting things to see and take note of during the practices. Bill Belichick commented on how he believed that they accomplished a lot during the three days. With the teaching camp in the books, the evaluation will commence once training camp begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong>Quick Hitters:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The 2018 Patriots – <\/strong>got together for the final time at Robert Kraft\u2019s house, and in a celebration with pomp and ceremony, the team received their Super Bowl rings. The sheer size of them now lends itself to question the term \u201cring\u201d and despite the over-the-top gaudiness of them, there are 31 other teams that wished that was them on Thursday night. Very impressive pieces of jewelry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Patriots put up a big photo gallery <\/a>of the night here: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Cardona – <\/strong>the Patriots long-snapper was promoted inside Gillette Stadium on Thursday morning to Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve prior to the minicamp practice. Tom Brady spoke about how Cardona epitomizes \u201ccommitment to our team and to our country\u201d later in the day. And it happened on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. A very cool moment<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Brady – <\/strong>Looked in mid-season form for the three days of minicamp. His mechanics are always flawless. Every year I take pics of him throwing and compare them to the years before and you could lay them on top of one another and couldn\u2019t tell the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Brady \u201cdeuxi\u00e8me partie\u201d – <\/strong>Brady and Josh McDaniels conducted a side session with rookies Jakobi Meyers and N\u2019Keal Harry on Thursday. They were trying to get their timing and chemistry down, in terms of how they want routes run, where the breaks should happen, the angle of the cuts and ball placement. Fascinating stuff to watch. The work they do in June and July pays dividends in January and February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ivan Fears<\/strong> – The Patriots running back coach is beginning his 21st consecutive year with the Patriots, he also had an earlier stint with the team. Fears is one of our favorite guys to watch and listen to during the practices. We got a chance to chat with him before practice briefly on Thursday. After mentioning that the running backs looked good so far but that we\u2019re sure he\u2019d find areas to critique them, Fears got a big grin and said, \u201cOh I\u2019ll always find ways to critique them.\u201d Asked about Brandon Bolden\u2019s return, he said how Bolden brings energy to the field and his teammates every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy Brown\/Deion Branch<\/strong> – Excellent seeing the two of them work so closely with Joe Judge the Patriots STs Coordinator\/WRs Coach and the players this week. Both of them know what it takes to be successful in the Patriots passing game and the two former players lending themselves to teaching the young players was intriguing to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mini-camp Wrap, Final Thoughts:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In their quest for \u201cKnockin on Seven\u2019s Door\u201d that begins in September, the Patriots started the process with OTAs and their mandatory minicamp. Watching it all for three days, albeit without pads or contact was interesting as the coaches try to mold the 2019 version of the team. Here are some of the things that were intriguing to watch and will bear further consideration moving forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Left Tackle Status –<\/strong> Without Isaiah Wynn and Yodny Cajuste taking part in team drills this week, the Patriots moved left guard Joe Thuney into the left tackle position. He was getting nearly all of the first personnel grouping\u2019s reps. And he was practicing with the tackles as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news, however, is that Wynn was on the field and taking part in individual drills and exhibits no sign of being limited at all after his Achilles surgery. Which lends itself to believe that he should be ready to go by training camp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tight End Production –<\/strong> With the release of Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Ben Watson suspended for the first four games of the season, it puts the ball squarely in the corner of Matt Lacosse. Lacosse looked good in the workouts this week, moving well and displaying nice hands, catching everything thrown his way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were on hand when Lacosse spoke to the media after Wednesday\u2019s practice session. Which can be seen here:
<\/p>\n\n\n