New England Patriots links 8/11/21 – Pats prep for preseason opener with light in-stadium practice

Daily news and links for Wednesday

TEAM TALK

• Game Preview: Washington Football Team at New England Patriots. /Yay!
• Patriots sign DB Malik Gant; Release RB Tyler Gaffney.
• Mike Dussault’s Camp Notebook: Entering his third year, Jakobi Meyers still sees room to grow; DL Davon Godchaux and LB Matthew Judon represent newly added toughness; More.
• Paul Perillo’s Day 12 blogservations: Tempo slows as attention turns to Washington; Jake Bailey worked on his directional punting, drilling several well-placed kicks near the sidelines. Gunner Olszewski, J.J. Taylor, Marvin Hall and Jakobi Meyers handled the kicks; The Patriots will hold a walkthrough on Wednesday that is closed to both the media and the public; More.
• Mike Dussault tackles this week’s Patriots Unfiltered Q&A: Camp competition escalates as preseason approaches.
• Photos: Patriots host in-stadium practice for fans at Gillette Stadium.
• Press Conferences: Bill Belichick – Davon Godchaux – Trent Brown – Jakobi Meyers – Jalen Mills – Matt Judon.
• From the NFL: NFL rule changes and points of emphasis for 2021. (5 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Zack Cox’ training camp notes: Pats held a light, non-competitive in-stadium practice; New safety Malik Gant debuts; Another strong day for Quinn Nordin; Nelson Agholor was present in uniform at the start of practice but left the field before team drills began. Agholor also was limited Monday after sitting out Sunday. This has been an underwhelming camp for the highly paid wide receiver; More.
• Andrew Callahan’s training camp observations Day 14: Cam Newton, Mac Jones run final walkthrough before Thursday’s preseason opener; Players wore shoulder pads and shorts, breezing through 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills during their initial team periods; The Pats devoted one period to kickoffs and two to punting; More.
• Mike D’Abate (PatriotMaven) Training camp observations from inside Gillette Stadium on Day 12: QBs prep for preseason game one, specialists get some ‘leg work’ in, and more.
• Andy Hart’s training camp observations, Day 12: Light pregame work inside Gillette Stadium.
• Karen Guregian maps out a game plan for the Patriots QBs against Washington, to predict how the game reps will go for Newton and Jones.
• Michael Hurley is looking forward to some (preseason) Fitzmagic coming to Foxboro this week.
• Michael Hurley tells us what Pats rookie QBs did in their first NFL action, all the way back to Tom Brady.
• Mike D’Abate (PatriotMaven) Breaking down the Patriots’ first unofficial depth chart of 2021.
• Zack Cox identifies eight Patriots players with the most to prove in the preseason.
• Andy Hart thumbnails the 10 most interesting Pats players to watch in the preseason opener on Thursday night.
• Ryan Hannable points out how injuries are exposing the Patriots’ lack of depth at certain positions.
• Clare Cooper & Sara Marshall (FullPressCoverage) Two sides of the Patriots quarterback coin.
• Bill Burt writes about the curious case of N’Keal Harry.
• Ryan Hannable takes a deeper look into N’Keal Harry’s summer. So, while Harry has certainly been impressive, he’s far from being considered a top receiver as he hasn’t been able to show it in team work, which is the closest thing to game action during training camp.
• Tom E. Curran hears from Jakobi Meyers, explaining what Tom Brady’s tough love meant to his success. Meyers has developed into an important receiver for the Patriots since going undrafted in 2019.
• Adam London highlights Bill Belichick explaining why he loves his exchanges with James White.
• Zack Cox talks with Trent Brown who sees “special” potential in rookie QB Mac Jones, who is competing for the starting job. ‘I think he makes some throws that not a lot of young guys can make.’
• Zack Cox describes what a minute-by-minute typical practice is like for Mac Jones.
• Sean T. McGuire hears from OLB Matthew Judon how Patriots-Washington is not simply a preseason opener.
• Jenna Ciccotelli reports David Andrews and his wife Mackenzie celebrate the birth of their first child, son James Ford Andrews. /Congrats!
• Mike Reiss reports Dylan Cozens, an MLB second-round pick in 2012, now 27, is switching sports and talked about how it felt when he was offered a workout from New England.
• Micheal Hurley highlights Bill Belichick explaining Tedy Bruschi’s presence at Patriots training camp.
• Ian Logue (PatsFans) Patriots news and NFL notes: 5 Things to know. N’Keal Harry had been coming on strong in recent days, having strung together some solid practices and putting himself in the mix for a roster spot.
• One Patriots Place podcast: This week Murph, Steve and Clare are joined by Mark Schofield in their dive into the deep end of Pats camp. (52 min.)
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike D’Abate and David Harrison (Locked On Washington Football Team) preview this week’s preseason showdown between the New England Patriots and the WFT. (33 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• NFL Nation (ESPN) Position battles to watch for all 32 teams. Patriots: Quarterback. ‘Bill Belichick has said Cam Newton is the starting quarterback, but he has also made it clear that it’s a clean slate for everyone and that every player still has to solidify their place on the depth chart. So nothing is a given.’
• Staff (ESPN) Best of Tuesday training camps: Indy QB intrigue, Aaron Rodgers to sit, Sam Darnold struggles.
• Mark Maske (Washington Post) These Patriots look very little like their predecessors, but they promise to be interesting.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Ex-MLB player Dylan Cozens hopes tryout with Patriots was first step toward an NFL career
• Scott Pioli (NFL.com) NFL preseason: An executive’s guide to constructing the 53-man roster.
• Joe Thomas (NFL.com) Top 10 offensive tackles entering 2021 NFL season. No Pats.
• Andrew Brandt (SI) Business of Football: Josh Allen’s contract strong for the player but also team-friendly; Plus, a look at the contract situations for Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson—and why waiting might benefit both sides.
• Russell S. Baxter (FullPressCoverage) NFL 2021: Key comings and goings (as of August 10).
• Around the NFL (NFL.com) NFL officials to strictly enforce taunting violations in 2021.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) NFL makes initiating contact with the helmet a point of emphasis for officials.
• Jordan Cohn (AudacySports) Best value contracts in the NFL at each position.
• Kevin Clark (The Ringer) The offseason education of Patrick Mahomes: Kansas City is getting better this offseason—and has a plan to reclaim the NFL’s throne.