On August 19th, I had the privilege to go to a NFL training camp again for a consecutive year. The New Orleans Saints have been spending camp at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV. Last year the Saints hosted a joint practice with Philadelphia Eagles. I was not able to attend that particular practice, but I did go early in camp. Fast forward to the upcoming NFL season and the Saints are back in town yet again prepping for the 2015 NFL season. The Saints hosted the reigning Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots for a couple of days before heading back to New Orleans to play each other in the Preseason week 2.
I wanted to touch on a couple things with the Patriots because living in West Virginia it is very seldom (if ever) you get to see a Superbowl team that is stacked with legends such as Brady, Belichick, etc. My prediction for the Patriots this year is 10-6. This does include the possibility of Tom Brady sitting for four games due to the “Deflategate” garbage! Gronk looked like Gronk; high energy, efficient, great hands as usual. Tom Brady was accurate, and this does not come as a shock. Now, the future in New England is the Patriots 2nd round (30th pick) out of Eastern Illinois Jimmy Garoppolo (6’2 225 lbs). From what I gathered at training camp Jimmy G is in fact the future of this franchise. He’s very, very accurate, does not stare down primary receivers, sees the field really well. The only gripe I have with him is that It seemed like he held on to the ball for way too long. Eight to nine seconds would pass while he was in the pocket. Garoppolo will not have this kind of time in a game, and will need to throw the ball away. Edelman and Dobson did not practice. Josh Boyce had a great diving catch for a TD and will be a good option for Brady. Danny Amedola is a speedy slot receiver that can spread the field for Brady as well. The Patriots will have a plethora of RB’s. If Leggarrette Blount can stay out of the news he has the size to be a workhorse back. Also, the Patriots have up and coming RB Jonas Gray who has had a great preseason so far.
The Patriots Defense will be a force to be reckon with this year as well. I have them as a top 5 defense with the likes of McCourty, Butler, Jones, Ninkovich on that side of the ball. They’re a little undersized, but a scrappy group. The Saints will be back next year at the Greenbrier, and I highly recommend making it to a practice or two. Later next month the New Orleans Pelicans will grace the Greenbrier with their big men for It’s first ever NBA training camp. For pictures that I took at camp please refer to the photos sections of the site! Thanks for reading!
Written By: Joshua Petry
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