Danny Baugher has won the punting competition as the Pats released his lone competition, Tom Malone.†It will be interesting to see how he responds in Carolina this week with no one pushing him for the starting job anymore. You can bet if Baugher starts to falter, Belichick won’t hesitate to call in another punter. I don’t think this will be the case. I’m sure Baugher himself knows that his replacement is only a phone call away. The Patriots now have two young kickers in Baugher and second year man Stephen Gostkowski. They should be solid at the kicking positions now for many years to come.
A few other quick notes:
- The Pats also released veteran defensive lineman Kenny Smith. This may be due to the emergence of second year man LeKevin Smith.
- The recently re-signed Ty Warren returned to practice Wednesday.
- For those of you planning on attending Patriots games this year, be it preseason or the regular season, there are some shake-ups in the parking arrangements at the stadium. You can read about the new routes and recommendations here.