New England Patriots links 8/26/20 - Brooks running away with strong safety spot

TEAM TALK

• Mike Dussault’s Unfiltered Notebook 8/25: Damien Harris bringing his best; Isaiah Wynn on Cam Newton’s huddle handshakes: “He just has his own unique handshake with everybody who’s in the huddle. He comes in and energizes everybody.” More.
• Paul Perillo’s Training camp blogservations 8/25: Tempers and temperatures heating up; The defense has generally controlled the action thus far this summer, and on Tuesday they weren’t shy about letting everyone know about it; Belichick likely enjoyed seeing the emotion coming from both sides; Offensive and defensive linemen went at it for an extended period, and the one-on-ones between receivers and defensive backs featured a lot of clutching and grabbing as well; More.
• Erik Scalavino goes in-depth on the secondary: You could mount a solid case for New England’s defensive backfield being the strength of the entire Patriots roster.
• Mike Dussault tackles this week’s Patriots Unfiltered Q&A: Training camp standouts and concerns.
• Camp Cast 8/25: Day 12 Recap, competition at all positions ramps up. (6.45 min.)
• Training Camp Today: Megan O’Brien reports as the team ramps up the intensity for a competitive padded practice. (4.36 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered 8/25: Observations from training camp, Concerns about the receivers. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• CBS Boston reports Sony Michel debuts at training camp today, making the running back situation all the more interesting.
• Tom E. Curran tells us what stood out from Tuesday’s camp: N’Keal Harry continues to make progress; Jarrett Stidham looked healthy in drills; ‘Gilmore is, along with inside linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, the straw that will stir the drink for the Patriots defense’; More.
• Evan Lazar’s Camp Notebook: Cam’s improvements, JC the best DB in camp, Rookie standouts; Full pads for the second consecutive day in a two-hour session; More.
• Ryan Hannable’s Tuesday camp observations: N’Keal Harry building momentum; During 11-on-11 work, noise was pumped in - not the typical loud music that gets played during training camp, but noise that resembled being near an airport; The entire defensive line had to run a lap following one player going offsides in 1-on-1 work; More.
• Zack Cox Tuesday Training Camp Notes: N’Keal Harry stands out again; Dugger’s and Phillips’ injuries have taxed the Patriots’ safety depth; only veteran Terrence Brooks has been able to stay on the field consistently in camp; More.
• Chris Mason shares 10 camp observations: N’Keal Harry shows some nastiness, J.J. Taylor delivers play of the day.
• Doug Kyed talks about how Terrence Brooks is pulling away from the competition for starting strong safety.
• CBS Boston sees Gunner Olszewski standing out on the practice field, likely securing a real role in Year Two.
• Mike Reiss talks about the developing connection between Julian Edelman and Cam Newton, and the Superman-Batman image Edeman tweeted out.
• Chris Mason focuses on Damien Harris eyeing a breakout in his second season with the Patriots, says rookie year is ‘is something that I don’t even think about’
• Ryan Hannable hears from Chase Winovich on why he’s tweeting so much about milk lately.
• Ryan Hannable notes Bill Belichick says the Patriots have been talking to Nick Folk for months, and that he will compete with Justin Rohrwasser.
• Nicole Yang relays Bill Belichick on the kicking competition: ‘That will be up to them to decide’ /Bill true to form.
• Jesse Pantuosco highlights Bill Belichick weighing in on the ‘running laps as punishment’ debate. /That’s a debate?
• Robert Alvarez (PatsFans) Patriots pump in artificial crowd noise on Gillette Stadium practice fields as team prepares for no fans.
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike D’Abate and Steve Balestrieri discuss defensive standouts, the progress being made on the interior of the defensive line, the linebackers and the secondary. (46 min.)
• Patriots Talk podcast: Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry discuss where the QB competition stands right now and how Newton is faring. (55 min.)
• Patriots Fourth and Two podcast: Russ Goldman, Steve Balestrieri and Derek Havens discuss Cam Newton taking over, camp standouts, and more. (1 hour)

NATIONAL NEWS

• MMQB Staff (SI) Team-by-team 2020 NFL season previews: Offense, defense, predicted records and depth charts.
• Staff (ESPN) Best of Tuesday at training camps: Flying helmets, kicking contests, injury scare for Derrick Henry.
• Adam Schein (NFL.com) Nine moves NFL teams should make right now. 2. Patriots should name Cam Newton the Week 1 starter. /[Insert eye-roll emoji here]
• Riley McAtee (The Ringer) The five types of NFL title windows.
• Eric Edholm (Yahoo! Sports) The top 10 offensive rookies for the 2020 NFL season. No Pats.
• Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports) Ranking the top 10 young offensive cores in the NFL. No Pats.
• Tadd Haislop (Sporting News) Complete Week 1 schedule, matchups; Plus team-by-team attendance & ticket policies during COVID-19.
• Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News) NFL predictions 2020: Final standings, playoff projections, Super Bowl 55 pick
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) League is considering fake crowd noise in range of 70-85 decibels. “the sound level likely would be constant throughout the game, regardless of whether the home team or the visiting team has the ball.” /Sayonara home field advantage.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) As more teams announce they’ll have no fans, the competitive imbalance grows.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) For many teams, having a partial home crowd isn’t worth it.
• Conor Orr (SI) False positive COVID tests may be frustrating, but let’s all keep a broader perspective.

EXTRACURRICULAR

• Kaelen Jones (The Ringer) ‘Hard Knocks’ Episode 3: Keenan Allen and Chris Harris go toe-to-toe.
• Shalise Manza Young (Yahoo! Sports) Jerry Jones’ anthem protest compromise would be no compromise at all.