Cardona ‘snaps’ to it
Long snapper working with pair of punters
FOXBORO – At least for now, veteran Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona must juggle two punters.
If anything, these are interesting times for the fourth-year product out of Navy. Cardona has worked with punter Ryan Allen in each of his first three seasons in New England. Now, Allen has competition in the form of an undrafted rookie (Corey Bojorquez). That means double the work for Cardona, who also works to make sure kicker Stephen Gostkowski has enough time to operate.
“Having two guys presents its unique challenges but it’s also a good opportunity for me to get work in,” Cardona said prior to the Patriots kicking off the preseason against Washington at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night. “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter who’s back there. I have to continue to do my job.”
In the first half on Thursday night, the Cardona-to-Aly len connection was called upon five times. Allen’s first two punts traveled 57 and 55 yards, respectively, while the third went for 45 yards, dthough it succeeded at pinning the Redskins at their own 20-yard line. Allen’s fourth punt produced a 51-yard boot that resulted in a 14-yard return by Washington. His final punt of the opening half also covered 51 yards.
Cardona was also the snapper when Gostkowski boomed a 52-yard field goal
that got the Patriots on the scoreboard after the Redskins scored the contest’s first 17 points.
It was expected that Cardona would work with Bojorquez after halftime. As Borjorquez explained last week, the idea of kicking the ball in a certain direction based on variables such as wind and weather represents new ter-drain. Cardona says he’s done his best to make Bojorquez understand the importance of being aware of all pertinent factors prior to stepping on d the field.
“There are major differences that can come up based on particular situations,” Cardona said. “Preparing for those differences is an individual challenge for the unit itself. I’ve got to prepare to put each punter in the best situation they can be in.”
Understandably, the special teams unit gets short shrift when it comes to having a full practice field available at their disposal. When the opportunity has presented itself when the Patriots offense has gone against the defense during training camp, Cardona says it’s immediately go-time for himself, Allen, Gostkowski, and Bojorquez.
“It’s about being flexible and being willing to put in the work necessary when you’re presented with unique situations. We’re trying to get better as a team, not just as an individual unit,” Cardona said. “Sometimes we have to work together to accommodate each other.”
As expected, the Patriots kept quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski under wraps for the preseason opener. Both players did participate in warmups before heading to the New England sideline.
Brady made some news before the game as it was reported that he has about $5 million in incentives added to his base salary for the 2018 season. If all the incentives are reached, Brady could receive a payday close to $20 million.
It remains to be seen whether Gronkowski gets his deal re-worked in similar fashion to Brady. Gronkowski’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, spent time at Patriots training camp last week. Like Brady, Gronkowski had performance-incentive clauses put into his 2017 contract.
Just in time for the first preseason game, the Patriots rookies were given new jersey numbers. Instead of No. 58, which quarterback Danny Etling wore during OTAs, mini-camp, and the first two weeks of training camp, he now has No. 5.
Sony Michel, the first-year running back who at the moment is injured, was issued No. 29, while Bojorquez went from No. 71 to No. 7. On an 81-degree night at kickoff, the Patriots took the field minus the following notables: running back Rex Burkhead and defensive lineman Trey Flowers. Also of note, Julien Edelman didn’t register a catch in his first game action since tearing his ACL on August 25, 2017.