New England Patriots links 6/01/18 - When the working day is done, oh, Pats just wanna have fun...

TEAM TALK

• Andy Hart’s Blogservations: Young corners getting an OTA look.
• Paul Perillo notes Dont’a Hightower adds that “in the locker room, it’s not Bill’s job to make this fun and this atmosphere fun; it’s the guys around it.”
• Press Conference Transcripts: Bill Belichick and Dont’a Hightower.
• Media Availability: Devin and Jason McCourty, Sony Michel and more. (1 min. video)
• Highlights: Key takeaways from Thursday’s OTA. (2.48 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Giardi reports Tom Brady has been working out with Julian Edelman in the practice bubble at Gillette Stadium.
• Phil Perry’s OTA observations: Hollister, Dawson stand out in fifth practice.
• Ryan Hannable’s Thursday OTA observations: Quarterbacks bounce back with solid day.
• Karen Guregian takes attendance and offers her OTA Practice Report: Julian Edelman was once again a limited participant, but was with the group the entire practice. He participated in all but 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills. He was in on the hurry-up offense at the end, but it wasn’t done at full speed.
• Doug Kyed’s OTAs observations: Danny Etling gets rare attention fro Ernie Adams.
• Zack Cox tells us which three draft picks were limited in practice yesterday.
• Stephen Hewitt looks at Sony Michel’s performance at practice, and how a highlight-reel catch was turned into a teaching moment from the coaching staff: Details matter.
• Ian Glendon (FullPressCoverage) What could be in store for Sony Michel?
• Mike Reiss observes that Dont’a Hightower’s presence is hard to miss — as a leader and in drills, even if he isn’t full-go.
• Rich Thompson notes DE Deatrich Wise was the last person to leave the practice field yesterday, “focusing on my technique and making sure of my details.”
• Doug Kyed notes Harvey Langi is ‘super grateful’ to be back on the field after his scary accident.
• Karen Guregian Patriots Notebook: Dont’a Hightower feeling ‘good’ as he participates in OTAs after missing end of last season.
• Doug Kyed addresses his Patriots Mailbag: Which surprise player could crack the 53-man roster?
• Zack Cox Patriots Notes: How do captains feel about Brady and Gronk skipping OTAs?
• CBS Boston reports (surprise, surprise) Bill Belichick doesn’t care what people on the outside think of his organization.
• Ryan Hannable points out that players who haven’t had long tenures with the Patriots shouldn’t comment on whether or not they have fun.
• Mike Reiss reports the Patriots responded to Cassius Marsh (and the chirpy Eagles) who say the team is no fun by saying that losing is no fun.
• Karen Guregian hears from the players that for the Patriots, fun comes in the winning.
• Jerry Thornton is loving the latest Eagle, Brandon Brooks, chiming in on how miserable Patriots players are, and calls it “a cure for what’s been an almost daily grind of dreary, enervating, soul-crushing negativity this offseason.”
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Tedy Bruschi subtweets Cassius Marsh over criticism of Bill Belichick.
• Ryan Hannable notes Devin McCourty responds to the Marsh comments, “He had a frustrating time here, so I don’t expect him to leave and say he had a great time.”
• Alex Reimer knows what’s up with Bill Belichick’s whiny critics, taking the chance to kick him while he’s down and get their digs in. “It’s only a matter of time before they start looking foolish again.”
• Michael Hurley highlights the absurdity of how Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson ripping the Patriots garners headlines and dominates the news cycle for days -- no matter that they never played in New England and don’t know Bill Belichick.
• Kevin Duffy notes Devin McCourty thinks the new anthem rule is dumb, and proposes an alternate solution.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Belichick: What’s important to us is to win.
• Charean Williams (ProFootballTalk) Devin McCourty: Fun comes in winning, and Patriots do that a lot.
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Dont’a Hightower: We have fun, but it’s not for everyone.
• Alex Kamel (NosebleedSports) Major questions each AFC East team is asking going into this season. Patriots: How will the defense perform with Matt Patricia out the door?
• Jacob Feldman (SI) The Morning Huddle: Even in June, the NFL storylines don’t slow down.
• Don Banks (Patriots.com) The Pressure Rankings: The 15 quarterbacks who face the most pressure to produce in 2018.
• Danny Kelly (The Ringer) The five NFL players who really need a bounce-back year.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Kaepernick’s lawyer hints someone is ready to “dime out the NFL”.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Yes, Mark Geragos’ claim of a “dramatic turn” in the Kaepernick case is significant.