New England Patriots links 8/18/21 – QBs have better day at the office with Red Zone work

Daily news and links for Wednesday

TEAM TALK

• Patriots release TE Troy Fumagalli.
• Paul Perillo’s Day 15 blogservations: Lots of red zone work in Philly.
• Erik Scalavino examines the Patriots wide receivers: Overall, the receiver position has generated mixed results thus far in training camp and the preseason.
• Mike Dussault’s Camp Notebook: Asiasi’s confidence rising in Year Two; More.
• Press Conferences: Bill Belichick – Devin Asiasi – Sony Michel – Adrian Phillips – Jakobi Meyers – Rhamondre Stevenson – Christian Barmore.
• Debrief: Day 2 of Patriots-Eagles joint practices. (1.48 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered 8/17: Day 2 of Patriots-Eagles joint practices. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Luke Ervin (PatsBuzz) Five things to watch for in Patriots’ second preseason game. 1. Will N’Keal Harry make an impact?
• Evan Lazar’s Notebook: Cam sharp in red zone, Mac bounces back from early interception; Skill players around Newton and Jones during the 7-on-7 periods rotated throughout practice, so each QB got to work with New England’s top healthy pass-catchers; More.
• Andrew Callahan recaps Pats-Eagles joint practices Day 2: Cam Newton almost perfect, Mac Jones rebounds from early INT.
• Zack Cox’s joint practice observations: Cam Newton and Mac Jones had just three incompletions between them; Red zone was the primary focus of Tuesday’s practice. All reps in 1-on-1, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills took place inside the 20-yard line.
• Tom E. Curran gives us his takeaways from the final Pats-Eagles joint practice: The meat of the quarterback action came about 45 minutes into practice during competitive 7-on-7s. Completion rates for both quarterbacks were high during that session but so were the checkdown decisions.
• 98.5 Sports Hub’s joint practice recap, Day 2: This was Cam Newton’s best practice in about a week. Quick reads, accurate throws against some tight coverages and a lot of good work in the red zone. He also broke a stretch of three consecutive practices (excluding walkthroughs) with an interception.
• Phil Perry’s QB Report: Newton gets hot, Jones finds goal-line success.
• Andrew Callahan writes three weeks ago, the Patriots opened training camp with the best TE duo in the NFL and now they can’t get two tight ends on the field. Devin Asiasi is expected to be only tight end available for second preseason game.
• Kevin Tame writes second-year safety Kyle Dugger had a solid rookie season but should make Belichick’s infamous year two jump this season.
• Zack Cox notes Jakobi Meyers is glad he hasn’t heard from Julian Edelman. ‘When he’s talking to you, you might have messed up’.
• Mike D’Abate (PatriotMaven) N’Keal Appeal: Has Harry done enough to earn a Patriots roster spot?
• Zack Cox notes how Rhamondre Stevenson is building confidence in the backfield.
• Ryan Hannable wonders if RB Rhamondre Stevenson will have a big role with the offense.
• Andy Hart thinks Cam Newton must play more in the Patriots second preseason game.
• Ricky Doyle explains why Eagles safety K’Von Wallace heckled Cam Newton during joint practice yesterday.
• Alex Barth reports the Patriots waived tight end Troy Fumagalli to reach the 85-man roster limit.
• Alex Barth updates his 53-man roster projection with a shift towards skill positions.
• Mike D’Abate highlights Bill Belichick talking joint practices with Eagles, wasting time with worrying about first team/second team, preparing for ‘game changing’ moments and the return of edge rusher Chase Winovich.
• Ryan Hannable mentions how the internet had fun with the Bill Belichick squat photo.
• Ricky Doyle notes Tom Brady tries to recruit ex-Patriots teammates In ‘Madden 22’ promo but didn’t have much luck.
• One Patriots Place podcast: Steve, Murph, and Clare are joined by Mark Daniels (Providence Journal) to talk Patriots preseason performance, training camp injuries, and more. (47 min.)
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike and Murph discuss the injuries affecting the tight ends, additional takeaways from Thursday’s win over Washington and a quick look ahead to Philly this Thursday. (44 min.)
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike and Steve discuss the homecomings of former Eagles Nelson Agholor and Jalen Mills and what to expect when the Pats take the field on Thursday. (34 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Staff (ESPN) Best of Tuesday at NFL training camps: All smiles at Patriots-Eagles practice, Packers and Giants swap corners, and an injury scare for the Ravens.
• Corey Seeley (The Draft Scout) Mac Jones has a higher ceiling than we thought.
• Tyler Sullivan (CBS Sports) Bill Belichick says players worrying about first-team, second-team reps is a ‘total waste of time and energy’
• Myles Simmons (ProFootballTalk) Belichick: O-linemen shouldn’t worry about who’s playing with them at QB.
• Tim McManus (ESPN) Jalen Hurts outshines ‘legendary’ Cam Newton in Patriots-Eagles practices.
• Adam Schein (NFL.com) NFL’s top nine defenses in 2021: Rams and Bucs reign supreme, but Broncos have immense upside. Patriots 7th.
• Ali Bhanpuri and Tom Blair (NFL.com) NFL’s 30 best players over 30 entering 2021 season. Gilmore included.
• Bryan DeArdo (CBS Sports) List of notable all-time NFL roster cuts.
• Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) When the NFL stepped up taunting penalties, it had Tyreek Hill in mind.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) John Mara: Taunting is a point of emphasis because we’re “sick and tired of the taunting.” /Puh-leeze.
• Conor Orr (SI) An early look at the 2022 NFL quarterback carousel.
• Conor Orr (SI) Tim Tebow finds closure as NFL pipe dream comes to an end.
• Chris Cwik (Yahoo! Sports) Deshaun Watson ‘fine’ despite not practicing, says Texans coach David Culley
• Cody Benjamin (CBS Sports) Where are they now? Updating the status of NFL’s biggest 2020 COVID opt-outs entering 2021 season