The The New England Patriots were listed among the 10 most valuable franchises in sports this week. Boston.com's Steve Silva highlighted the three Boston sports teams that made this list this year which including the Patriots (No. 8 overall), the Red Sox (No. 11 overall), and the Celtics (No. 45 overall). The Patriots projected value is $1.8 billion, which makes them the second most valuable franchise in the NFL behind the Dallas Cowboys.
Last night on Comcast SportsNet's 'SportsNet Centeral,' Andy Gresh and Mike Giardi discussed what players to keep an eye on once training camp begins. Logan Ryan, Dont'a Hightower, James White, Duron Harmon, Josh Boyce, and Jimmy Garoppolo were the six players that made Gresh and Giardi's list. Specifically with Garoppolo, Giardi is excited to see how he performs once the competition level heightens.
"We're going to get to see him in full pads," said Giardi on SportsNet Centeral. "We're going to see him in competition against first string defensive backs, we're going to see him play preseason football. We're going to find out, just a little bit, what this kid is about."
Depending on how well he plays during training camp and pre-season, Garoppolo could find himself one slot behind Tom Brady on the depth chart. Michael Hurley of CBS Boston took a look at the Patriots quarterback depth chart and he believes the "backup battle" between Mallett and Garoppolo should be fascinating.
"If Mallett shines in any of the preseason games, aka the part of the year when he sees his most playing time, expect the market to acquire his services to grow — especially if a team suffers an injury at QB this summer," writes Hurley.
As for the rest of the roster, Mark Farinella of the Sun Chronicle wrote an article that previews every position on the team. In the article Farinella predicts who will start, who make the team as back-ups, and lists lists which players he thinks are on the bubble.
While the players are getting ready for the start of the NFL season, the fans are getting ready for the start of the fantasy football season! Sports Illustrated's David Gonos previews the Patriots roster from a fantasy football perspective and he thinks that Tom Brady is being highly undervalued.
"The passing game should see great strides compared to last year, with or without Gronk," writes Gonos. "Getting Brady in Round 7, where he's currently being drafted in 12-team leagues, is highway robbery. Getting him in Round 6 is pickpocketing, but still pretty great."
Cryus Geller is composing an AFC East All-Division team for SI's Fansided and so far the Patriots have 6 players on the team. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Nate Solder, Logan Mankins, Jerod Mayo, and Dont'a Hightower are the six players to make the team thus far -- the site has yet to announce the AFC East All-Division team's secondary.
