New England Patriots training camp: why we love it

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Training camp is underway for the New England Patriots, and that’s great news. For the first time since the confetti fell in the desert air this winter, real Patriots football will be played.

Sure, there will be plenty of extraneous, inflated items floating around Foxboro during training camp. But the fact of the matter is Brady’s suspension is merely a challenge that these championship-defenders will have to overcome. And that starts now.

We love training camp because it is the actual game, a reminder that crisp New England football Sundays are around the corner. We are fans of the game itself, are we not? Beating the dead horses regarding the Deflategate chaos pales in comparison to the excitement of watching the 2015 Patriots assemble in front of us.

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During training camp, we see proud veterans sweat against upstart undrafted rookies, and we see practice squad veterans from around the NFL try to keep their careers alive against big-name offseason acquisitions.

If nothing else, training camp is a godsend because it gives us the first clues to the grocery list of questions we have debated about during the long offseason. Who will start at cornerback? Could it be Bradley Fletcher? Is Jimmy Garoppolo up to the job?

This marks the beginning of a journey, one that should cement the Patriots as the unquestioned head-honchos of the NFL.

Since the Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX, we’ve had plenty to talk about that doesn’t involve a football being snapped in a truly competitive setting; Deflategate, free agency, the draft, offseason practices, and so on.

Finally, we can speculate about the roster by referencing concrete pieces of news; Daxton Swanson picked off another pass, James White caught a toe-tapper on the sideline. You get the idea

At long last, Patriots training camp is upon us. This marks the beginning of a journey, one that should cement the Patriots as the unquestioned head-honchos of the NFL. The quest for the fifth ring starts now.

Next: Predicting 53-man depth chart