Patriots 3 & Out: Which player was most impressive at minicamp?

Between OTA's, minicamps, free agent signings, and potential contract extensions, there's no offseason for Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry. So every Friday, they're going to tackle three Patriots-related questions. It could be issues facing the 2019 team, it could be league-wide debates, or it could be something a little more off-the-wall. Here's this week's 3 & Out...

Tom Brady’s explanation of the “Tom Terrific” trademark kerfuffle makes perfect sense to me. Case closed. 

Curran:

Now that he’s explained he caught wind someone was looking to use it and he was “trying to keep people from using it” and that “it wasn’t anything I was trying to do out of any disrespect or ill-manner or anything like that,” show’s over, as far as I’m concerned.

I understand fans of Tom Seaver taking offense but anything more than an eyeroll at the whole thing seemed an exercise in performative outrage.

But there’s a lot of that going around these days so I shouldn’t have been surprised that it grew legs, wings, a tail and flapped around like one of Dany’s dragons for most of the week.

• Belichick, Gronk laugh about dented trophy

Perry:

I'm not an attorney -- I'm sure Sports Illustrated's legal analyst Michael McCann will be all over this soon -- but from what I understand, this isn't how trademarking works. To get a trademark approved and registered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, you have to provide evidence you've used whatever it is you're trademarking in commerce.

If Brady's circle was looking to trademark "Tom Terrific" just to squash it altogether, they can't show they've used it in commerce, and they won't get the trademark registered. If the intent all along was to bury the nickname, this probably wasn't the best way to go about it.

All it's resulted in is a headache for Brady and some pissed-off Mets fans.

In light of Zdeno Chara playing in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final with a messed-up face, what’s the most memorable tale of pain tolerance you can recall from the Patriots?

Curran: I got Logan Mankins playing the 2011 season on a torn ACL. 

Not just some games. Seventeen of them. Through Super Bowl 46. He missed just one game all season. He had surgery in February 2012.

Also, anybody playing with cracked or broken ribs at any time? Hat’s off to that guy.

• Curran: Pats prepare for future by turning to past

Perry:

Let's not forget he was a Pro Bowler and a Second-Team All-Pro in 2011. Ridiculous.

First thing that came to my mind? Drew Bledsoe. Back in 1998 he played with a broken finger on his throwing hand, won three games, then had a pin inserted and kept going. And it wasn't just any finger. It was his right index finger.

Pretty important when it comes to throwing the football, from what I gather. A few years later, Bledsoe played a series with a sheared artery in his chest, you'll remember. No questioning that guy's toughness. 

You know who really impressed me in this minicamp?

Curran:

I watched Wynn closely on Thursday as the 2018 first-rounder went through a series of drills overseen by offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. Working against other offensive linemen who were just giving a “look” as defensive ends, Wynn was smooth popping from his stance, delivering a punch to the blocking bag being held and shuffling into position to pass protect.

You couldn’t tell he was coming back from injury. And that’s big because, with Trent Brown gone and Jared Veldheer saying, “On second thought…” Wynn is very much needed at left tackle.

• Perry's observations from Minicamp Day 3

Perry:

Well, this week proved to me that he's more than just a high-effort guy. There's still a long way to go, but Harris looked smooth in running his routes and he appeared to have a good idea of where he was expected to be on a snap-to-snap basis. That's no small feat for a new guy.

He high-pointed the football on a couple of occasions, and we saw him play both outside and in the slot. I saw him run with Brady's group -- along with Julian Edelman and Phillip Dorsett -- when Josh McDaniels called for 11-personnel late in the week, and he didn't look out of place.

He'll be on my radar for training camp as one of the top choices to end up on the Week 1 receiver depth chart along with Edelman, N'Keal Harry and Dorsett.

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