It is finally here and we can say the season is getting under way. We are going to try and get out to camp this year. From what I understand 6000 people showed up today for the first day. Yes - 6000 people to watch practice. The Pats have all sorts of other stuff going on there too, it is a regular EVENT.

I remember when I first started following the Pats, I was just a kid and I made my mom take me to Bryant College to see the Pats at training camp. They had just come off a rough season and there was not much hope of getting better. There may have been 500 people there at the absolute maximum. And the team was a bunch of no names and has beens. I think Marc Wilson was the QB that year. Now 6000 people show up to watch Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Adalius Thomas, and a star studded lineup. Times have changed…

From what I have read Randy Moss looks pretty good and the crowd cheered every time a ball was thrown his way. Wes Welker and Jabar Gafney also had a good day. On defense, AD lined up inside, outside, and in coverage, showing his Swiss Army Knife-like utility. The only downer was Chad Scott had to be carted off the field during the afternoon session. He came down and landed on his leg badly. If this is a serious injury it could be a blow to a secondary already missing Asante.

But now is not the time to be pessimistic, training camp has begun, it is a new season and the Pats and the rest of the NFL start down that long road to Phoenix.

We have blog homework! Seriously, all the Sports Cartel NFL Blogs are answering the same questions this week. Amy’s answers are in italics; Chris’s are not.

What did the Patriots do this off-season to improve?

Randy Moss
Wes Welker
Adalius Thomas
Donté Stallworth

They upgraded the two areas that hurt them in the AFC Championship - WR and LB. They got Rodney Harrison healthy and had a draft that should build depth.

What key players did the Patriots lose that you wish they kept?

I understand the entire situation, and I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense to release Corey Dillon, but I like the guy’s attitude on the field. I’m going to miss having him and watching him. I know, I know, he was getting old, couldn’t run two plays in a row, I told you, I understand the reasoning and I don’t disagree. I just LIKE the guy.

Dillon – I love his hard nose style. I also will miss Dan Graham; he occasionally displayed hands of stone, but made some keys catches and always blocked like a truck.

Going in to the season, what do you see as the Patriots biggest weakness?

Um. Um?

They are a little short on experienced depth in some positions. They have drafted well and grown their players, but many of them just don’t have the experience to step in a big role if needed. In the past this has worked out for them and it may again. Despite what many say, I think the secondary will be fine even without Asante. The front seven could be dominant and that will always allow a secondary the cushion it may need.

Going in to the season, what do you see as the Patriots biggest strength?

This is a team that knows what needs to be done to get to the Super Bowl. The team mindset is so very focused, and when guys come here, they know the goal is to win it all, and I have to think guys don’t bother signing with New England unless that’s their goal, too. You still have a core of guys who have won three rings with this team, including the coach. This team’s biggest strength is having done it before.

Hunger. These guys don’t like to lose and they were thisclose to getting back to the Super Bowl last year. That can’t sit well with the veterans like Brady, Tedy, and Troy. And for new guys like Randy, it is an opportunity to finally win.

How do you see the Patriots at the end of the season? Contenders, Pretenders or Cellar Dwellers?

Um, Contenders. I don’t really think this is fan bias. I’m not alone in thinking this.

Covered in confetti in Phoenix, Arizona.

What game(s) are you looking forward to the most this season? Why?

The Super Bowl. Because I want another Lombardi Trophy.

After that, I’m most looking forward to November 4 in Indy, because I’m one of those Pats fans who really hates the Colts and I’d like to get our mojo back against them.

The first preseason game. Sweet lord a man can only watch so much baseball. I love the Sox and they are a fun team and all but oh what I wouldn’t give for the sound of Rodney Harrison removing some poor WR from his helmet.

The Patriots News Feed offers this look inside the numbers. My favorite category has to be the “Streaking” one. Here it is, quoted for your convenience:

STREAKING

4
The number of consecutive AFC East titles for the Patriots.

4
The number of consecutive seasons in which the Patriots have won a playoff game. No other team has had a victory in more than two consecutive seasons.

5
The number of consecutive Pro Bowl teams to which Richard Seymour has been voted.

6
The number of consecutive seasons in which the Patriots have recorded nine or more wins, the longest such streak in the NFL.

8
The number of consecutive Patriots’ overtime victories, the longest current streak in the NFL.

32
The number of consecutive seasons Bill Belichick has coached in the NFL, the longest coaching tenure in the league.

108
The number of consecutive games, including playoffs, that Tom Brady has started at quarterback.

I have to say, I’m amazed that no other team has won a playoff game in more than two consecutive seasons (damn, we’re good). Go check out the rest of the numbers. And here’s one more for you:

47
Days until the Pats’ first regular season game.

The Boston Globe had a piece about Vinny Testeverde returning to the Pats this year. Since Vinny was at all the minicamps without a contract and he is has been a Belchick guy since they were in Cleveland, this is not a total surprise.

I never used to be a fan of Vinny, I always thought he made too many mistakes and all his physical talents did not up to the the right sum. I always thought of him not unlike another big tall QB with a cannon for an arm we used to have around here. (Side note: Drew - Thanks for getting this franchise going in the right direction. Enjoy the gold watch.) But during his Jets years and last year on the Pats sideline, I’ve seen a different side of Vinny. The guy loves football. He can’t get it out of his system. He doesn’t just love playing, he seems to love working out with the guys, practicing, breaking down film, all of it. Not unlike the starting QB and the head coach. From what I understand he is a beast in the weight room too. A guy like that sets a tone for the rest of the team. He leads by example and the very fact that he has been around all those years commands respect.

The Pats have always like to have a veteran QB on their roster as a back up. I think it helps Brady stay the course. While Tom is one of the most motivated players I have ever seen, it can never hurt to have another guy there who has seen everything and thrown for a million yards. Since Dick Rehbein died in 2001 the Pats have never really had a solid QB coach. Belchick handled the duties himself that season, and did pretty well. Josh McDaniels did the job for a bit before being promoted to run the offense. So having a guy like Vinny is like a QB coach who still practices. When Vinny turns 425 years old in a couple years and finally does retire, I would not be surprised if he turns to coaching. For some guys, football is their life, and they never want to leave it behind.

As recently announced, Troy Brown is back. And New England collectively breathes a little easier. A friend of mine has been paranoid that if the Pats did not sign Troy soon, Whale Boy Mangini would have him wearing green and white in NY.

Personally I didn’t think he would leave NE. My subconscious would not allow it. I assumed we would see him on the sidelines wearing a helmet or holding a clipboard, or being the guy who grabbed the tee off the field after kickoffs. Troy is so ingrained in the Patriots and their culture I really can’t imagine this team without him in some capacity. And the team as a whole realizes what he is all about. Randy Moss has expressed his desire to play with him, Wes Welker can only benefit in learning the NE slot WR role from him, and the entire defensive backfield can use his signing as motivation to stay healthy and keep the old man from playing nickel corner. Although he has been know to make a play or two when he is back there.

When Troy finally decides to call it a career, the very next day Bob Kraft should announce that #80 will never be worn again and a statue will be placed outside of Foxboro for the man that embodied and in many ways even created the Patriot way.

Troy’s contributions to this team are too enormous to post in a single blog–let’s just leave it that Troy is back for another year and the Patriot heart beats a little stronger.

The long, sad drought of Actual Football is almost over–training camp starts in a couple of weeks. Here’s the relevant information; check out Training Camp Central over at Patriots.com for updates.

Schedule for the first four days:

Friday, July 27: 8:45am - 10:45am; 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Saturday, July 28: Closed to the public

Sunday, July 29: 8:45am - 10:45am. 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Monday, July 30 2:30pm - 4:30pm

Training Camp Hotline: 508-549-0001 — call first to check for schedule changes

Podcasts, blogs, and chats are planned to satisfy our insatiable thirst for as much Patriots information as possible, as soon as possible. (We need it–January was so long ago.) True to form for the team with the best owners, everything at Gillette is free–entrance, parking, the Patriots Experience (skills competitions, music, face painting, cheerleaders). You’ll have to pay for food, but there’ll be plenty available. Players will be available at each public practice session to sign autographs.

I haven’t been to training camp since it moved up to Gillette. The Bryant camp offered much of the same–the Patriots Experience, free parking, free entrance, and very limited concessions (I remember the Del’s truck, mostly). I’m psyched to go to Gillette this year. The kids are old enough to make the round trip without flipping out, and they’ve never been to a pro-level football stadium. 17 days and counting.

According to this story in USA Today, four out of five preseason magazines pick the Pats to win the Super Bowl: Athlon: Patriots over Cowboys. Lindy’s: Ravens over Saints. Pro Football Weekly: Patriots over Saints. Sporting News: Patriots over Cowboys. Street & Smith’s: Patriots over Saints. (I’d just like to point out that Michelle and I came up with the Pats-Saints matchup already.)

Honestly, I’m more comfortable being the underdog, but can you blame the mags? Plus, I was hoping to see Pats-Saints in last year’s Super Bowl; I was already mulling over what sort of friendly wager Michelle and I could place. Besides, a Pats-Cowboys matchup isn’t nearly as intriguing without Bill the Elder leading the ‘Boys. (And the Ravens? Well, the Pats are always my AFC Super Bowl pick, obviously, so I can’t even take that one seriously.)

Still, I hope if Bill and the team choose to notice this preseason hype at all, they’re focusing on Lindy’s prediction.