New England Patriots links 8/30/18 - Preseason Week 4:

Patriots at Giants TEAM TALKAndy Hart gives us six things to watch at Giants: 2. Battle for the final one or two backup offensive line roster spots.Angelique Fiske reports the Patriots Premiere is the biggest fundraiser for the Patriots Foundation Youth Danny Shelton Jersey , and every year, the guys put their sense of style on display.Press Pass: State of the defense. Brian Flores, Josh Boyer and Brendan Daly talk about the progression of the defense during the preseason. (1.55 min. video)Highlights: Make-A-Wish kids from across the country meet Tom Brady. (1.43 min. video)LOCAL LINKSKevin Duffy suggests five things he’ll be watching for tonight. 1. Who’s playing and who’s sitting out.Oliver Thomas (Forbes) Five Patriots to watch in final preseason audition. 1. QB Danny Etling.Andrew Callahan picks 5 players to watch, 3 questions to answer and expected player absences.Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Patriots-Giants preseason finale, 5 things to watch: Who’s starting offense, defense.Zack Cox gives us eight players to watch vs. Giants tonight.Ryan Hannable notes Bill Belichick seemed to indicate that for some players a strong showing tonight could go a long way.Mark Daniels will be expecting the unexpected when the Patriots finalize their roster.Matt Dolloff wonders about the Patriots adding a potential impact receiver before finalizing their 53-man roster.Matt Dolloff talks about the battle at punt returner, a tough decision that could come down to the candidates’ ability to do things other than return punts.Rich Garven profiles second-year DE Eric Lee and his efforts to earn a spot on the roster.Jim Hackett points to the Patriots acumen in finding great value in others’ trash, for clues on how they will approach finding the QB of the future.Michael Hurley says the Patriots’ uncertainty in 2018 is somewhat of a welcome throwback to the 2008 season.Mark Daniels writes Patriots receivers coach Chad O’Shea loves a challenge, and he’ll have a big one when the regular season starts.Ryan Hannable looks at some recent Twitter comments from Dez Bryant that show he won’t be coming to New England (or any city) any time soon. “I just have to take care of me first.” “I will play ball this year just might be a lil bit later in the year.”Mike Reiss tells the story of how Jacob Hollister turned an ex-Giant into a Patriots fan.Alex Reimer is worried because even the Jets have a long-term plan at QB but the Patriots do not.Steve Buckley tells everyone not to get so hung up on ‘old-man Tom Brady being a little cranky’.Kevin Duffy Patriots Notebook: Rookie RB Sony Michel returns to practice field in limited fashion.Doug Kyed Patriots Mailbag: Would acquired wide receiver actually make sizable impact?NATIONAL NEWSAustin Knoblauch (NFL.com) What to watch for in Week 4 of NFL preseason. Patriots: Jason McCourty’s uneven play, Mike Gillislee odd man out, Brandon Bolden on the bubble 4Stephon Gilmore Jersey , Nicholas Grigsby could cost Marquis Flowers his job, Cyrus Jones trying to earn his spot.Kevin Patra (NFL.com) Trent Brown’s ‘dynamic skills’ secured starting LT job.Charles R. McDonald (SB Nation) There’s a secret sauce to creating big plays: Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, and more of the biggest playmakers tell how they get all that yardage.Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) NFL roster bubble watch: Potential cut candidates, trade targets. Mike Gillislee and Malcom Brown mentioned.Mark Inabinett (AL.com) Cyrus Jones aims ‘to make the most of’ Patriots’ preseason finale.Albert Breer (SI) The Bridgewater trade showed that the Jets’ QB strategy worked; MMQB Mailbag.Adam Wells (Bleacher Report) Jalen Ramsey criticizes Rob Gronkowski, More, Praises Tom Brady, Antonio Brown.Analysts (NFL.com) 2018 NFL season award predictions. MVP: Brady gets 2 out of 22 votes. Coach of the Year: Belichick tied for first with Pat Shurmur with 3 votes.NFL Media experts (NFL.com) Record projections for all 32 NFL teams in 2018. (17 min. video) 3 pick 12-4, 2 pick 11-5.Jonathan Jones (SI) The Morning Huddle: Examining Jerry Jones’s argument to adjust the length of the NFL preseason and regular season.Adam Stites (SB Nation) How the NFL can help save itself from itself.Jonathan Jones (SI) Packers make Aaron Rodgers the NFL’s highest-paid player.Michael McCann (SI) Explaining the insider trading case against Mychal Kendricks.How the Patriots can incorporate Josh Gordon into their offense The Patriots made headlines when they traded for troubled Browns receiver Josh Gordon. Gordon broke out with 87 catches for 1646 yards and 9 TD on 159 targets for Cleveland in 2013. That performance included a 10/151/2 day against Aqib Talib and the Patriots, in which NE barely escaped with a 26-21 victory. Since that year, Gordon has only seen 93 targets and 43 catches due to his own battles with addiction to recreational drugs and alcohol. With the Patriots receiving corps from Super Bowl LI and LII decimated by free agent departures Deatrich Wise Jr Jersey , suspensions, and injuries, the team took a flyer on Gordon to try to recapture that old magic. The Patriots invested a 5th round pick in Gordon, which barring any more legal troubles or a relapse in his addiction issues means he’s on the roster for the rest of the season. He brings a matchup element the Patriots’ other receivers don’t have, size and speed. The Patriots currently have Chris Hogan and Phillip Dorsett as their primary receivers, but neither guy is going to get open against #1 corners, especially against teams like Jacksonville that have two players of that caliber. Julian Edelman is back in Week 5, but coming off an ACL injury and 32 years old, it’s not a safe bet to assume he’ll be as productive as he’s been the last 5 seasons. I expect the Patriots to employ Gordon in a very simplified role, slowly easing him into the offensive game plan. I would not be surprised if he is inactive for Week 3, as the Patriots will be playing a Lions team that’s due for a culture shock. Gordon won’t be asked to understand the entire playbook Authentic Rob Gronkowski Jersey , but rather the cliff notes version and what game plan they have for him against a given opponent. Here are some ways they can transition him into the offense in total:Go Routes:Gordon’s biggest attribute as a receiver is the ability to separate vertically. His 6’3” height is also an advantage on those type of routes down the field due to his ability to high-point the football and keep it away from defenders. Just ask the SteelersThat’s Gordon’s only catch of the season to date, but it highlights the skill he has for vertical routes. The threat of the deep ball outside the numbers will allow the Patriots to attack the middle of the field in both the run and pass game. Rob Gronkowski is the Patriots’ only consistent threat to beat teams deep, which is why the safety is sitting towards the middle of the field or shaded to Gronk’s side if he is lined up in the slot or on the boundary. I don’t expect Gordon to consistently burn teams deep, but one or two deep completions to him will force teams to have to adjust their game plan. On these type routes, I expect him to be late in the progression unless matched up against smaller corners on an island. Slants and In-Breaking Routes:Gordon’s deep speed is something teams will have to respect, which means they will be playing a lot of off-man or zone to combat that. Obviously teams aren’t going to play zone because it turns into pitch and catch for Tom Brady and his RBs or Gronk. If teams are playing way off, I think hitting a couple slant or quick-in routes for free yards to keep drives can add an element of frustration for opposing defenders. One way to scheme this route open is to line up Gordon next to a slot receiver who is running a deeper route towards the boundary to set a natural pick on Gordon’s defender. The Patriots did that with Michael Floyd back in 2016 when Floyd took a quick-in route and bulldozed the Miami defense to the end zone. In total, I don’t expect big contributions from Gordon as a whole to the offense. However, teams are also very well aware what he’s capable of from that breakout year with Cleveland five seasons ago. Whether that matchup has a domino effect that improves the Patriots’ chances of putting together a strong offense that can win the postseason is yet to be seen.