New England Patriots links 8/04/22 - Cornerback competition heats up, Mitchell quietly ascending

TEAM TALK

• Patriots announce additional Training Camp dates and times.
• Transaction: Patriots sign rookie LB Nate Wieland.
• Mike Dussault calls attention to 5 under-the-radar Patriots making an early roster push.
• Paul Perillo’s Day 7 blogservations: Tempo slows as offense continues to work. The Patriots were back in shorts and shells on Thursday as Bill Belichick works to get some things cleaned up.
• Evan Lazar says Christian Barmore is making strides towards a big second season for the Patriots.
• Tamara Brown writes about Jakobi Meyers growing as a leader, from undrafted free agent to rising receiver.
• Alexandra Francisco plays 20 Questions with Nelson Agholor: The second-year Patriot is a huge foodie, from traditional Nigerian dishes he grew up with to the wide variety of eats he can walk to from the Boston Seaport.
• Press Conferences: Jakobi Meyers - Kyle Dugger - Anfernee Jennings - Christian Barmore - Terrence Mitchell - Kevin Harris.
• Patriots Unfiltered: Takeaways from recent practices, NFL decision on Dolphins violations. (2 hours)
• Training camp-cast: Day 7 recap, a deep look at the offensive line. (8.16 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Andrew Callahan recaps training camp Day 7: Mac Jones rebounds over slow practice; Player of the day: Hybrid RB/WR Ty Montgomery; Play of the day: Kristian Wilkerson’s grab over Shaun Wade; QB report; Studs, duds; More.
• John Zannis shares his observations after a “cleanup aisle” Day 7 at camp: The Pats were in shorts and shells, dialing it back a bit after two days in pads; The team practiced at a medium pace, barely above a walk through; It’s very apparent Ty Montgomery will not only make the team but be used in a variety of ways; More.
• Alex Barth’s training camp notebook: ‘Cleaning things up’ on Day 7. Areas of focus: The running game on offense, communication on defense. More.
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Instant takeaways from Day 7 of Patriots training camp. Top takeaway: Slow down, fix mistakes.
• Karen Guregian finds watching the Patriots run their new offense “painful”. Mac Jones says whenever the offense loses the day, which has happened quite a bit lately, it’s like ‘a shot to the heart.’
• Tom E. Curran wants to know why the heck did Patriots have to change the offense anyway?
• Lou Scataglia (MusketFire) What have we learned from Patriots training camp so far?
• Matt Dolloff’s Mac Watch, Day 7: Jones, Patriots offense sputters again in red zone work.
• Lou Scataglia (MusketFire) One massive question for Mac Jones heading into year 2: Does he have that “it” factor. Can he be that dude? Can he simply will his team to victory when it’s needed most.
• Greg Nutter mentions how the Pats coaches have been all ears for Mac Jones’ feedback this preseason.
• Dakota Randall relays Jeff Howe on offensive play calling this season: “As Matt Patricia has called the vast majority of Patriots offensive plays in training camp — with Joe Judge and Bill Belichick occasionally working in — the continued expectation is for Patricia to be the play caller/de facto OC once the season starts, according to a source,”
• Trevor Hass sees the wide receiver position group as having a chance to be a strength this year. Belichick calls it ‘a very competitive position.’
• Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Patriots’ carousel at cornerback is in full force in training camp.
• Marsha Green points to Cole Strange as a top rookie to watch.
• Sara Marshall (MusketFire) Christian Barmore continues to impress at Patriots training camp.
• Mike Kadlick looks at if Christian Barmore could win Defensive Player of the Year.
• Keagan Stiefel notes Mack Wilson ’admits it’s been a challenge’ adjusting to Patriots culture, but it’s one that he welcomes. Wilson is trending toward becoming on of New England’s top linebackers.
• Zack Cox hears CB Terrence Mitchell on why he has been first on the field every day at camp.
• Dakota Randall offers a James White injury update and potential return.
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike D’Abate and Clare Cooper discuss TE Devin Asiasi, the impressive play of WRs Tyquan Thornton and Nelson Agholor and the dominance of DL Christian Barmore. (32 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Staff (ESPN) NFL training camp updates: Celebrating birthdays of GOATS and kids and watching them grow up.
• Eric Edholm (NFL.com) 2022 NFL training camps: First-stringers who could lose starting jobs. Damien Harris, Malcolm Butler included.
• Nick Shook (NFL.com) 2022 Hall of Fame Game preview: What to watch for in Jaguars-Raiders.
• Adam Schein (NFL.com) Active NFL players who are Hall of Fame LOCKS: Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Donald top the list.
• John Breech (CBS Sports) Tom Brady turns 45: Here are two crazy facts about the QB that everyone should know on his birthday.

EXTRACURRICULAR

• Rodger Sherman (The Ringer) Stephen Ross is very bad at tampering and trying to tank. The NFL says Stephen Ross tampered and encouraged Brian Flores to lose games. Now it’s time for the league to take the rest of Flores’s complaints about racism in the NFL seriously as well.
• Conor Orr (SI) Dolphins scandal: Examining the fallout of the NFL’s investigation.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Tom Brady’s four-year run of being tampered with is a bad look for the GOAT.
• Joel Corry (CBS Sports) Agent’s Take: Dissecting and trying to make sense of the Deshaun Watson discipline case.
• Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) NFL was warned about Deshaun Watson’s suspension length in June, giving league month to consider taking control of outcome.
• Amy Dash (LeagueOfJustice) The biggest clue the NFLPA is likely not suing NFL, if it lengthens Watson suspension.
• Charean Williams (ProFootballTalk) Reports: NFL seeking indefinite suspension of at least one year for Deshaun Watson.