Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Monday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
Good morning! No camp Monday for the Patriots, but there's still plenty to talk about. Let's get into a few notes before we hit the links.
--They have the day off on Monday. Their next practice is set for Tuesday morning, when practice kicks off at 8:50 a.m. and is set to wrap-up around 10:50 a.m. We're expecting a relatively low-intensity workout on Wednesday, the day before the preseason opener. (Probably something along the lines of a walkthrough, but we shall see.) As always, if there’s a question about practice and weather, you can verify practice times by calling 508-549-0001 or by visiting www.patriots.com/trainingcamp.
--According to our buddy Football Zebras, Brad Allen is going to serve as the referee for Thursday's preseason opener against the Redskins. Allen has worked a handful of New England games over the years -- his last Patriots' contest was New England-New York on New Year's Eve last season. Like everyone else, I'm going to be fascinated to see how the new helmet law will be enforced.
--Going to have a Monday afternoon Q&A that should kick off around 3 or so. Get your questions in now.
Now, on with the links...
1. My weekend notebook leads with Randy Moss -- with the receiver being inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend, we recall some of our favorite memories of Moss in a New England uniform. We also look at Eric Decker being on the verge of joining a very exclusive club, who has the best shot at being named captain this year in Foxborough, as well as why this spring was so special for Patriots offensive lineman Teddy Karras and his family ... and more.
2. Greg has some thoughts on the one-on-one totals to this point in the summer on the defensive side of the ball, where Danny Shelton has been a big surprise, while Derek Rivers and Malcom Brown are early concerns.
3. Greg flips that to offense, where Trent Brown has dominated in the early going, while Shaq Mason has struggled.
4. Could Sony Miichel's knee issues be a recurrence of the problems he had in college that precipitated something of a draft weekend fall? Our own Doc Flynn takes a hard look at the situation.
5. Here's the practice reports from Friday and Saturday sessions in Foxborough.
6. Here's the Live Coverage page from both practice sessions -- Friday and Saturday.
7. I break down who is in front when it comes to the positional battles over the first week-plus of training camp. The thumbnail version? Brown and Eric Rowe have the early leads, but there's still some positions that are up in the air.
8. Greg had an epic Q&A on Sunday that went for a couple of hours.
9. Moss gave a shout-out to Belichick during his Hall of Fame speech Saturday night.
10. The Camera Guys catch up with James Develin and LaAdrian Waddle.
Extra Point(s): Maybe stick to the visors...
Bill Belichick...not a great baseball hat wearer pic.twitter.com/pOvwJOcgzp
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) August 6, 2018
In honor of Randy Moss getting inducted into the HOF, I’m reposting this because this is the real reason he should be indicted.
Randy Moss once convinced Bill Belichick to attend a team Halloween party at a roller rink
pic.twitter.com/bte0BzHhrP
— JT Clifton (@JT_SAR_Fball) August 4, 2018