Letters from Patriots Camp, Vol 1: The Mike Vrabel Era Begins

Patriots training camp is here once again. And while on a day of Tourism Bureau weather in mid-July, I could've simply stayed at my humble beachside mansion on the South Shore and enjoyed my day, instead I chose self-sacrifice. I drove to Foxboro, grabbed my renewed media pass, and came to be your eyes and ears on the ground. Because with great power comes, something. I forget how that sentence ends, and it's not important. Just know that I do, and do, and do for you kids. And ask nothing in return. 

--First, a little something for the Dog Parents out there. The Patriots decided to take this opportunity of full crowds (on a Wednesday no less, so don't start with me about how the Pats have lost their relevance after three wins over the last two seasons, one of which nobody wanted) to simultaneous promote pet adoption and make every woman in New England bite her lower lip and go "Awwww...." And succeeded on both counts:

Hard-hitting, no nonsense, pull-no-punches Journo that I am, I took the last question and got Mr. Kraft to confirm that yes, he did in fact tell Heismann that he is a good boy. So don't say you don't get any exclusives from your Patriots reporter. 

--While Mike Vrabel might be a squish while holding adorable puppies in his arms, he's already established that he's not here to dick around. First, by using his pre-camp presser to engage in the time-honored tradition of Insult Comic-ing reporters that was started by Bill Parcells in 1993:

And while he's no Jeff Ross, he's working into midseason form. 

--The other immediate difference between his camp and 2024's is the efficiency of it, which jumps right out at you. Everyone hustles from one drill to the next. Then no time is wasted getting back to the huddle on 11-on-11s. There's no meandering, sauntering or sashaying like was all too common on Jerod Mayo's watch. We've got a limited sample size so far, which makes it hard to know if that urgency translates into cleaner reps. But I'll be stunned if we see the mental errors and sloppiness that were present right from the beginning of last year's camp and lasted all season long. Guys not lining up in the right spot. False starts all over the place. Receivers running sloppy routes. Worst of all, gaining no separation as Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye had to settle for checkdowns, chuck to the turf, or just hold it way longer than they'd ever get to in a live-fire exercise. This is all about efficiency. And on that front, Vrabel runs Day 1 of camp like Mussolini ran the trains, just without the messy fascism. 

--Before we move away from the dogs, one of them brought news that was most welcome:

Stephon Diggs is not only absent from all the PUP and NFI lists, he looks in peak form. His get-off, his burst, his acceleration, his cuts, all give lie to the notion he had ACL surgery about nine months ago. If anything, his recovery is a comp to Wes Welker, who tore his in Week 17 of 2009 and missed no time in 2010. Some guys are just built different. They ran a drill where a medicine ball was rolled out, receivers had to get off the line, sprint to the ball, plant their foot and cut past it. There were less than zero issues with Diggs on that. 

--Another free agent who is suddenly healthy and showing no ill effects is Carlton Davis III. On the same drill with the ball I mentioned he was getting in and out of breaks with the best of them. If I had to guess right now, after just one day - and I guess I do since I painted myself into this rhetorical corner - the strongest unit on this team is going to be the secondary, and the corners in particular. He and Christian Gonzalez are going to be in the conversation for the best duo in the league. It's been a long time since we could say that around here. 

--Yet another  who wasted no time making a good first impression was Robert Spillane. While the No..14 on a LB is going to be a hard concept to grasp for a Boomer with a framed, autographed Steve Grogan jersey on the wall of his den, I stand by my prediction this guy is going to lead the Christmas season in jersey sales. One of the first guys to hit the practice field, he raced in the direction of the stands giving a war cry and getting the crowd into it. He'll get his 100 tackles this year and achieve folk hero status. Mark my words. 

--In the part of practice everyone takes a personal day to come see, the 8-on-8s and full squad drills, looked for all the world like Drake Maye is developing the sort of chemistry that would make Walter White proud. The highlight being a bombte on a sideline Go route to rookie Kyle Williams, beating Gonzalez of all people. That was one of two he caught. Diggs caught two of his own. And on the day, Maye was 8-for-8, with one "sack" by Keion White.

Yes, it's practice. Yes, it's early. But no logical statements of fact like that are going to convince me not to think this is night-and-day, 180-degree different than it was last year. I'll do longer write ups probably, as practices transition into less stretching and condition, and more plays and simulated football. 

But for now? The Summer of Hope continues.