Finally, the New England Patriots are back on the field at Gillette Stadium.
The new-look Pats had their first practice of 2020 on Wednesday, meaning positional matches for training camps are official. The obvious positional battle in camp will be at the quarterback position between Cam Newton and Jarrett Stidham, but there are far more intriguing battles to keep an eye on.
In a brand new Patriots Talk Podcast, Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry share the positions where these field battles will take place.
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Perry named the Patriots’ three most striking position shots, starting with the QB position. Although it is technically a battle between Newton and Stidham, some are of the opinion that it is a preliminary conclusion that Newton will be the Starter of Week 1.
“You have the quarterback spot with Cam vs. Stidham. Let’s pass, we’ve talked about it enough. We both think Cam will win the job. Not a real battle, per se,” Perry said.
“Let’s go back to the outside linebackers. This is a four-legged match between Chase Winovich, Anfernee Jennings, Shilique Calhoun and Brandon Copeland. My husband will be Anfernee Jennings, but I think that’s a battle. is John Simon edge spot is called, someone needs to fill it out.
“Number three, let’s talk to special teams … who’s your returner? Is it Kyle Dugger, your first draft pick in this year’s draft? Is it JJ Taylor? Nice as hell to see, would be fun as hell to see in the kicking game.Or is it last year’s boy, Gunner [Olszewski]? They do not want to give it to Julian Edelman, we know that, so one of those three guys I think will win it. “
For Curran, it is a newly added security that will have his attention in camp.
“I’ll leave it to the secondary for the position fight I’m interested in seeing,” Curran said. “I have a good sense of who’s going to shine there and it’s my defensive dark horse for this camp and this season – it’s going to be Adrian Phillips at the safety spot a young Kyle Dugger is holding.
“I think Adrian Phillips will be an absolute eye opener at the safety position … Adrian Phillips is a talented player; he is closer [Patrick] Chung then he is Devin McCourty. He will be a really good player for the Patriots this year. But I’ll really be interested to see how Dugger competes … he’s an athletic unicorn. “
Curran and Perry also discuss the burning questions surrounding the Patriots, why the Pats should investigate using the triple option, bold predictions for the 2020 season, and much more.
Watch the latest episode of the Patriots chat podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network as on YouTube.
