Tuesday Patriots Linkage

The Pats are continuing to add rookie free agents to round out the roster as this weeks rook mini-camp approaches. As Belichick says this is a learning camp and there won't be much to take away from it other than how the beat reporters think the rookies look. This of course includes morons like Michael Felger of the Boston Herald who jump to all sorts of conclusions based on watching a non-contact practice, like in 2006 when he proclaimed Laurence Maroney would be the "starter" over Corey Dillon and ignited Dillon's ire for the rest of season. Call me a geek but I also look forward to seeing which numbers the rookies choose. I bet Mayo wears #57. Anyway, on to today's linkage...

Heir Reiss has a plethora of good stuff today - he checks in the Pats owner Robert Kraft who's excited about this years draft as I would hope he would be since he's got to write out millions of dollars worth of checks to these guys. He also has a great piece on Terrence Wheatley who I think will step in and contribute this year. One of the most interesting parts of the article was Scott Pioli touching on why the Pats prefer smaller corners:

Yet vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli pointed out yesterday that size isn't everything at the position, as shorter corners often have the skill set the team is seeking.

"Part of it is that the bigger a player gets - the taller or longer sometimes a player is - the less fluid they are in changing direction," Pioli said in an interview on Comcast's "Patriots Draft Report '08" show.

"When you're looking for a corner, they have to be reactive athletes - to see changes, know what's going on, plant their foot, and drive toward the football. The longer, taller bodies have more difficulty being reactive type athletes."

Finally Reiss mentions another Rookie Free Agent Linebacker that the Pats signed named Gary Guyton from Georgia Tech. There are more young linebackers in camp than in recent memory. It looks like Belichick is clearly trying to find the next generation of Pats linebackers as he should be. The future of the franchise depends on it.

PFW has Jerod Mayo getting a vote as a potential Rookie of the Year. Clearly a player like Mayo is just what the Pats needed and if he can stay healthy it's quite possible Mayo could light it up this year. Patrick Willis did in San Francisco's 3-4 last year playing a similar role with a less talented supporting cast. Mayo should excel with the Patriots talented defensive line in front of him. Of course that all depends on how quickly he can pick things up. As Belichick did last year with Adalius Thomas it seems that ILB is a place where new players who are unfamiliar with the system can start. Now it looks as though Thomas will be outside this year. Mayo has the size and smarts to contribute and Shalise Manza Young tells us he also has the character. I'm getting more and more excited about his selection with each passing day.

Finally we leave you with a commercial you haven't seen yet of Peyton Manning's...