WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019 The Boston Globe Sports C3
play in the slot.
Braxton Berrios has been
getting reps with the starting
offense as well, and I could see
the Patriots keeping him in the
Danny Amendola role.
At tight end, newcomer
Matt LaCosse has had a strong
start to camp. He had a tremen-
dous touchdown catch Friday,
going up over two defenders
and holding on tightly despite
Elandon Roberts trying to
punch the ball out. LaCosse al-
so is getting one-on-one point-
ers from Tom Brady, which is
always a good sign.
Ben Watson will be back af-
ter he serves his four-game sus-
pension, and my early favorite
for the third tight end is Ryan
Izzo. But this could be one of
those years when all of the tight
ends other than Watson and
LaCosse don’t make the team.
At left tackle, the name to
watch is Dan Skipper, a prac-
tice squad journeyman with the
Cowboys, Lions, and Broncos
who has gotten first-team reps
this camp. While left guard Joe
Thuney got a lot of action at left
tackle in the spring and the first
few training camp practices,
Skipper and his 6-9 frame
might be a better option at left
tackle if Isaiah Wynn isn’t ready
for Week 1.
Wynn hasn’t participated in
team drills yet, but it’s still ear-
ly. The joint practices against
the Lions and Titans will be
more telling.
uONFOOTBALL
Continued from Page C1
RAs for Harry, the Patriots’
first-round pick, one thing you
notice when watching him is
that the Patriots aren’t doing
too much with him. They gen-
erally line him up only on the
outside (usually on the right),
and aren’t putting him in the
slot or using him in presnap
motion. The Patriots need Har-
ry to contribute right away, and
they aren’t putting too much on
his plate.
RThe Patriots have a lot of
new and young faces on the
coaching staff, and Belichick is
giving them plenty of help. Je-
rod Mayo and DeMarcus Cov-
ington, the brand-new line-
backers coaches, are getting
help in drills from 56-year-old
Bob Fraser, a longtime assistant
under Greg Schiano who came
to the Patriots this spring and
stayed on even after Schiano
surprisingly left in March.
Bret Bielema, in his first
year as defensive line coach, is
getting help from Joe Kim, the
martial arts/pass rushing spe-
cialist. Joe Judge, in his first
season coaching wide receivers
in addition to being the special
teams coordinator, is getting
help with the receivers from
Troy Brown. And Belichick, of
course, said he will be more
hands-on with the defense,
though he declined to go into
detail.
RSpeaking of Mayo, he has
been wearing a headset during
practice, and he’s relaying the
plays into the huddle. But
Belichick shot down a report-er’s question about how Mayo
is handling play-calling duties.
“We’re not calling plays in
camp yet,” Belichick said. “The
plays are all scripted.”
RMayo, 33, could have con-
tinued a less stressful life in me-
dia and business, but it’s easy to
see why he got back into foot-
ball. The way the NFL is trend-
ing toward young coaches to-
day, Mayo could easily be fast-
tracked for a defensive
coordinator or head coaching
position.
Of the eight head coaches
hired this offseason, four are
under 40. Former Patriot Mike
Vrabel spent three years with
the Texans before getting a co-
ordinator’s job in 2017 and a
head coaching job in 2018.
RContinuity has been one
of the hallmarks of the Patriots’
dynasty, but that has been test-
ed the last two years, with a sig-
nificant turnover among coach-
es and scouts. The Patriots
would be well-served to restock
the organization with ex-play-
ers to help Belichick lead his
program into the next era.
Bringing back Mayo, and
having Brown help coach re-
ceivers, is a good start. Deion
Branch and Kevin Faulk also
were around this spring to help
coach. And seeing Scott Pioli at
Rodney Harrison’s Patriots Hall
of Fame ceremony Monday
night got me thinking that Pioli
would be a good choice to come
back and serve as Belichick’s
top personnel executive if Nick
Caserio ends up leaving forHouston next spring. Pioli is
currently a free agent after
stepping down from the Fal-
cons in May.
RSpeaking of Caserio, he
mentioned Belichick three
times in his 11-minute news
conference Saturday. One name
he never mentioned? Robert
Kraft.
RThe Patriots have kept an
undrafted rookie on the initial
53-man roster for 15 straight
years. Most of the attention in
this camp has been on the guys
catching the ball: receivers Ja-
kobi Meyers, Ryan Davis, and
Gunner Olszewski, and tight
end Andrew Beck.
But don’t overlook two guys
at positions of need: left tackle
Tyree St. Louis, and linebacker
Terez Hall, who is competing
with Roberts for a backup line-
backer spot.
RThe story I’m quietly root-
ing for: the Patriots keeping all
three kickers/punters. Stephen
Gostkowski is now 35, an age
when most kickers give up kick-
off duties. And rookie Jake Bai-
ley, who does punts and kick-
offs, has a big leg, but we don’t
know about his accuracy and
placement.
Let Gostkowski kick field
goals, Bailey can do kickoffs
and deep punts, and Ryan Al-
len can do the precision punt-
ing.
RWillie McGinest asked
Belichick in his interview Sat-
urday if he wants Brady around
“for another two to three years.”
“I definitely hope that’s thecase,” Belichick said on NFL
Network. “Right now, all of us
are just focused on this year.
We want to have a good season.
I know Tom’s worked hard in
the offseason; we all have.
We’re out here in training camp
trying to get things going.”
Two things to unpack:
First, the fact that Belichick
confirmed that he hopes Brady
will play another “two to three
years” counts as news, though I
wouldn’t expect him to say,
“Nah, we’re good if he retires af-
ter this year.”
More interestingly is the sec-
ond part of the quote: “Right
now, all of us are just focused
on this year.”
Is Belichick telling us that
Brady is going to be playing out
his contract?
That quote came around the
same time Harrison told us, “I
do believe that Tom is kind of
year-to-year and I think that’s
probably one of the reasons
why he’s not pressing on a new
contract.”
It would be unprecedented
for Brady to not sign an exten-
sion this August, but perhaps
both sides are OK with letting
things play out. Brady would
want to see how he feels after
the season before committing
to next year. And the Patriots
might want to see how Brady
plays at 42 before committing
to him at 43.Ben Volin can be reached at
[email protected]. Follow
him on Twitter @BenVolinEarly impressions forming at Patriots camp
Stidham
armed for
challenge
A nice, diplomatic answer,
that.
Brian Hoyer has been in
Stidham’s shoes and was more
straightforward.
“It’s a hard system, OK?”
Hoyer said.
Overall, there has been a lot
to like from Stidham. He got in
the most work on Friday, when
Tom Brady had the day off, and
wound up having a pretty good
practice.
Stidham did throw three in-
terceptions, but finished 5 for 5
with three touchdowns in an
11-on-11 red zone drill. The
three scores were to undrafted
rookie receiver Jakobi Meyers,
Phillip Dorsett, and James
White, and Stidham fit all three
into tight windows. He hit Mey-
ers in the back corner of the end
zone while rolling right, and
threw the prettiest ball of the
day off his back foot to White
on a wheel route.
“He’s impressive,” Dorsett
said. “This is a complex offense,
this offense is hard to learn. But
he’s up for the challenge and he
has a really live arm.”
Stidham hasn’t gotten very
many reps since the pads came
on Saturday, mostly because
Brady has been back and the
first padded sessions have been
focused on the run game, but
he did have two more tight-win-
dow completions Saturday, one
to Maurice Harris and the other
to James Develin.
His ability to throw accu-
rately on the move stands out
clearly.
What he’ll work on now is
the processing speed. He can do
it right — on the touchdown to
White Friday, Stidham felt pres-
sure coming from a blitzing
Ja’Whaun Bentley and made a
good, quick decision — he just
doesn’t do it every time. This is
normal for a rookie quarter-
back, especially a Patriots rook-
ie quarterback, as Hoyer re-
minded.
“I’ve played in a lot of offens-
es,” Hoyer said. “Some offenses,
a rookie quarterback can go in
and it’s very simple for them.
They don’t have to worry about
a lot, it’s just pick a guy out and
throw it.”
Not so in New England.
Even Bill Belichick acknowl-
edged as much in a Sirius XM
radio interview Monday.
“It’s a big jump from where
he’s been and the style that he’s
played in,” Belichick said. “We’ll
see how that all comes along,
but he can certainly handle the
position from a mental stand-
point.”
With Brady, followed by
Hoyer, getting the most QB reps
in a normal practice, Stidham
has been having lots of side ses-
sions with assistant quarter-
backs coach Mick Lombardi.
Much of their individual work
together, Stidham said, is spent
talking through progressions. It
sounded like they’re trying, in a
sense, to bring the whiteboard
work that happens in meeting
rooms out onto the practice
field.
These are crucial weeks for a
rookie quarterback. Barring di-
saster, he’ll play a negligible
amount of competitive football
this year. He’ll still learn plenty
from September through Feb-
ruary, but once the games be-
gin, individual development be-
comes secondary to team goals.
For a backup quarterback,
that means scout team reps
spent mimicking opposing
players rather than working on
your own skills. Some individu-
al wants are shelved to priori-
tize winning that week’s game.
These few weeks in July and
August are Stidham’s time to fo-
cus on himself. And while it
might not look great every
time, taking his lumps from a
professional defense is a neces-
sary part of the process.
“Everybody out here is really
talented, but that’s really good,”
he said.
We’ve seen enough from
Stidham through five days to
know that he fits that descrip-
tion, too. The rest is a matter of
decision-making.
...
The Patriots on Tuesday an-
nounced they have signed rook-
ie free agent offensive lineman
Martez Ivey and released veter-
an offensive lineman Cole Cros-
ton.uPATRIOTS
Continued from Page C1Mining nuggets from undrafted rookies
By Nick Kelly
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
FOXBOROUGH — Line-
backer Terez Hall never had
much of a chance to watch
Mike Tyson box in his prime.
But he always did like his style.
Hall, a 22-year-old undraft-
ed rookie who is trying to earn a
job with the Patriots, loved Ty-
son’s tenacity in the ring and
how he treated sparring ses-
sions like actual matches.
Then there was Tyson’s dis-
tinctive haircut early in his ca-
reer that featured a curved line
buzzed on the top left side of his
head. Hall often mimicked that
look during his career at the
University of Missouri.
“When you have somebody
growing up and you like their
style, you try to pick up on little
stuff they do differently,” Hall
said. “So I decided [to go] with
the haircut.”
Whether Hall goes with that
look for the Patriots this fall re-
mains to be seen. He is compet-
ing with 10 other undrafted
players for roster spots as un-
drafted rookies, which guaran-
tees little beyond a spot in train-
ing camp.
However,thereishope;at
least one undrafted player has
made the final Patriots roster
each of the last 15 years.
Hall and the others have the
rest of training camp and four
exhibition games to prove that
they belong. The Patriots will
cut their roster to 53 players on
Aug. 31.
Julian Edelman, Tom Brady,
and Dont’a Hightower will be
on that roster, but you probably
already know a few things
about them. Here are some
nuggets about the undrafted
rookies who are fighting for a
job in the NFL:
WRRyanDavis,Auburn—
Davis left Auburn with a
school-record 178 receptions, a
mark he attributes to offseason
work.
“Just putting time in with
Jarrett and having a feel for
each other,” Davis said.
Yes, he played with quarter-
back Jarrett Stidham, whom
the Patriots drafted in the
fourth round in April. Davis
said he didn’t decide to sign
with the Patriots because of
Stidham, but the connection
has been a bonus. Davis said
they talk every day and have
helped each other learn the of-
fense.
RBNickBrossette,LSU—
Brossette comes from a pro-gram that has been a running
back pipeline to the NFL. He
spent time in college in the
same running back group as
Jacksonville’s Leonard Four-
nette, Washington’s Derrius
Guice, and Kansas City’s Darrel
Williams. Once Brossette had
the backfield more to himself,
he rushed for 1,039 yards and
14 touchdowns in 2018.
TEAndrewBeck,Texas—
Beck might have the best
chance of earning a job with the
tight end-deficient Patriots, but
he may be best known for a vi-
ral video from December 2018.
During a hospital visit withLonghorns teammates in con-
junction with the Sugar Bowl,
Beck communicated through
sign language with a family that
is hearing-impaired.
DBMalikGant,Marshall—
Gant is no stranger to difficult
paths; the 6-foot-2-inch, 203-
pound defensive back was also
a walk-on in college.
OLTylerGauthier,Miami—
Gauthier is trying to lock down
a spot on the offensive line, but
he could have a future in come-
dy. While answering a question
about his mullet during his se-
nior season with the Hurri-
canes, Gauthier told reportersthat a bald eagle cut it with its
talons.
WR Jakobi Meyers, N.C.
State— Meyers and Edelman
could compare notes about
switching from quarterback to
wide receiver. Meyers played
quarterback in high school but
was moved to wide receiver a
week before the season opener
in2016.Hehad 92 catchesfor
1,047 yards last season with the
Wolfpack.
WRGunnerOlszewski,Bem-
idjiState— Olszewski was a de-
fensive back for the Division 2
Beavers who is is attempting to
switch to wide receiver in the
NFL.
DB D’Angelo Ross, New
Mexico— Ross played two
years of junior college football
before becoming a starter for
the Lobos. He led New Mexico
with 57 tackles in 2018.
OLTyreeSt.Louis,Miami—
St. Louis made 34 consecutive
starts during his career in Coral
Gables, the most of any Hurri-
canes offensive player.
FBJakobJohnson,Tennes-
see— Johnson is far from the
typical undrafted free agent.
The Patriots signed him
through the NFL’s Internation-
al Players Program, which al-
lows them to keep him on the
10-man practice squad as an ex-
tra player. He can’t play in the
NFL this season under this ex-
emption, however.Contact Nick Kelly at
[email protected]. Follow
him on Twitter @_NickKellyCHARLES KRUPA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Patriots rookie linebacker Terez Hall grew up a fan of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson’s style in and out of the ring.RYANDAVIS
AUBURNJAKOBIMEYERS
NORTH CAROLINA STATENICKBROSSETTE
LOUISIANA STATEGUNNEROLSZEWSKI
BEMIDJI STATEANDREWBECK
TEXASD’ANGELOROSS
NEW MEXICOMALIKGANT
MARSHALLTYREEST.LOUIS
MIAMITYLERGAUTHIER
MIAMIJAKOBJOHNSON
TENNESSEE