New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

eagle eye wrote: »

In a couple of years the way Bill is going I can see this.

TE

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TE-LT-LG-C-RG-RT-TE

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TE

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QB

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H-back

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

The Pats have also now placed Rookie TE Brad Herman on injured reserveQUOTE]


Was he waived, re-signed and placed on IR?

Q: Do you feel like you're picking up with some of these receivers-like Jabar Gaffney right where you left off?

TB: Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. Being back on the field and having a chance to work with a lot of the new guys; some of those guys we've worked with [before]. There's a lot of familiarity with Donte' [Stallworth] and Jabar, with the stuff they've already done on offense, so it's been good. We've had 12 practices, so we've got one more tomorrow and we've got to finish strong.

Q: Obviously you had a successful year last year, but how much further ahead and much more comfortable do you feel now having the OTAs and having mini-camp this year as opposed to last year?

TB: Yeah, it's been a different offseason than last year, but a lot of guys have adapted and we pretty much have everyone out there. You can really see what kind of team you're going to be, see the level of competition, the level of focus and the level of concentration, especially on wet, rainy days. We're moving from situation to situation - there's been a lot of red area work, right into third-down work, backed up [situations], plus-50 work - so we've really had to focus our minds and be ready to shift and adapt over the course of practice to try to simulate what we do in a game. It's been a lot.

Q: What kind of message do you try to deliver to these guys on Tuesday when you're starting out and then even more importantly Thursday when you're about to do all this work, amp it up and then shut it down?

TB: I think it just lets everybody know where they're at and what they need to do over the next five weeks. If you feel like you're not real comfortable with everything we're doing, then you know you've got to put a lot of time in your playbook. If you feel like you're conditioning needs to be better, that's what you need to do; your strength, that's what you need to do; your speed, that's what you need to do. You can feel pretty comfortable with where you're at based on how it looks out there, but no one is ready to play a game yet, I can assure you of that. We've got a lot of work left before we're ready for that.


Q: Were you excited to see Rob Gronkowski got an extension and know that he's probably going to be here as long as you're going to be here?

TB: Yeah, I mean it's always good to have good players on this team. Rob's worked really hard, so I think everyone's happy for him. He certainly deserves it and he's had two great seasons and hopefully has a great season this year.

Q: What are your thoughts on Chad Ochocinco's release and why things didn't work out?

TB: There's always a lot of player movement. I loved being with Chad, he's a good friend and a great competitor and I enjoyed my chance with him and my opportunity to play with him, but I don't make any personnel decisions and as a player you've just got to deal with what happens and try to be the best quarterback I can be.

Q: In terms of the receivers you're throwing to, some of these guys you've thrown to forever, like Deion Branch and Wes Welker. Brandon Lloyd a new one. Does he remind you of anyone and what are your first impressions?

TB: He's got a unique skill set so it's going to take some time to get used to things that he does really well. We haven't had anyone quite like him, so just to understand where he likes the ball placed and how he gets open. He's a very good player, so we've got a lot of work ahead in training camp and we're going to have to use every single practice and every rep really wisely, because he can be a big part of this offense if we can really get up to speed.

Q: What's the one thing he might bring that a lot of other guys haven't? It seems like he can make a lot of plays on the ball when it's in the air?

TB: Yeah he does, he's got great ball skills and great body control. If you get it near him, he's going to catch it. It's just a matter of sometimes it doesn't look like he's really open and then boom, he springs open on you. So sometimes you think, ‘Oh he's covered,' and then you get off him and then you watch the film and you're like, ‘How did he get open?' He knows what he's doing to set the guys up and he makes the move and you have to trust that he's going to beat the guy and he does. It's just really a matter of, don't really let your eyes take away from what he's doing in his route, because ultimately he's going to get open at some point.

Q: Is he a little bit like Randy Moss in that way, like when you said sometimes you think he's not open, but he gets open?

TB: [He's] a little different of a player. They're different players with different skill sets. They have some different skills

A Dolphins source told Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe that Ochocinco admitted as much when he met with the team.

“The guy did all but admit that it was a struggle for him mentally, the playbook, all that stuff,’’ the source told Bedard. “He didn’t deny that it was a problem for him, learning it up there.’’

Now, he’s joined a team that had already installed most of its offense by the time he showed up. What could possibly go wrong?

TAlderson wrote: »

I'm a born and raised New Englander heading to Cork (UCC) for a masters degree this fall. Any good places I can catch the Pats games on TV?

-Tyler

BigBadRob83 wrote: »

The Western Star pub (couple minutes walk from main campus) will occasionally show NFL games on a Sunday night, just ask the bar man if it's not already on.
Been away from Cork for a good few years so some other natives might have better recommendations

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

The Western Star has been gone a good few years at this stage