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Patriots AnalysisPatriots Player ProfilesPatriots Offseason CoverageNew England Patriots 2019 roster breakdown: #48 TE Eric SaubertNew Jonathan Jones Jerseys 2019 ,10commentsThe newest Patriot has to get up to speed quickly.EDTThe New England Patriots, who are currently in their middle of their 2019 preseason, have 90 players on their active roster at the moment. However, only 53 of them will be able to survive the cutdowns on August 31 and ultimately make the team. Over the course of the summer, we will take a look at the players fighting for those spots to find out who has the best chances of helping the Patriots defend their Super Bowl title.Today, the series continues with a the latest addition to New England’s roster.Name: Eric SaubertPosition: Tight endJersey number: 48Opening day age: 25Experience: 2Size: 6’5, 250 lbs.2018 review: Despite seeing only limited action during his rookie campaign, Eric Saubert entered the 2018 offseason competing for a top role in the Atlanta Falcons’ tight end rotation. And while he failed to stand out during preseason — he was solid as a blocker but caught just 4 passes for 83 yards during his three games — the former fifth-round draft pick was still able to survive cutdown day and carve out a role as a depth option.As such, Saubert appeared in all sixteen of the Falcons’ games in 2018 and actually showed some improvement when compared to his first year in the league: he saw increased playing time on both offense and special teams, and improved both as a blocker and as a receiver (albeit in comparatively limited action). All in all, the Drake product finished the season with 5 receptions on 9 passing targets for a combined 48 yards.Saubert’s role with the Falcons was not that of a receiving threat, however, but rather that of a blocker. According to Pro Football Focus, he served as a run blocker or pass protector on 107 of his 178 combined offensive snaps (of 1 White Ja’Whaun Bentley Jersey ,060; 16.8%) and was solid in both areas. Furthermore, Atlanta also employed him in the kicking game on a regular basis. In fact, only one other Falcon saw more special teams snaps in 2018 than Saubert.Playing on all four kick coverage units and at times also on the place kick protection team, he was on the field for 66.4% of the Falcons’ snaps in the kicking game (292 of 440). Saubert registered only three tackles, but he still proved himself a reliable and versatile option in the game’s third phase. Nevertheless, he headed towards the 2019 season with his future in Atlanta very much up in the air.2019 preview: Saubert appeared in both of the Falcons’ first two preseason games, and saw considerable playing time as the team’s top tight end in terms of snaps: he was used on 79 of a possible 164 offensive snaps (48.2%) and also played 14 more in the kicking game (of 58; 24.1%). His production, however, was again limited as he registered only a single 7-yard catch on 4 targets as well as one special teams takedown.It was therefore not all that surprising to see Atlanta move on from the third-year man on Monday: the team shipped Saubert to New England for a conditional seventh-round draft selection — a compensation that makes the neo-Patriot little more than a roster bubble player on his new team. Instead, the 25-year-old will need to earn a role on a tight end depth chart that underwent a major transformation this offseason.Gone are the days of Rob Gronkowski, which in turn creates plenty of opportunity for Saubert and the rest of New England’s tight ends — one of them will open the season suspended for four games (Benjamin Watson), with three others currently injured or rehabbing (Matt LaCosse, Lance Kendricks, Stephen Anderson). Despite the circumstances Ja’Whaun Bentley Jersey 2019 , however, Saubert still faces an uphill climb when it comes to making the team.After all, he needs to get up to speed quickly and prove his value as not just a blocker but a receiver as well. If he can do that, and also carves out a role on special teams, he will at least put himself in a solid position. If not, his tenure will likely come to a quick end — which might bring the seventh-round pick exchanged in the trade back to New England, depending on the conditions of the trade. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — His coach downplays it. Tom Brady does not.Brady knows the cold-weather New England Patriots should have an advantage when they host the warm-weather Los Angeles Chargers in Sunday’s AFC divisional-round game.Hours before, Bill Belichick said, “We’re playing the Chargers. We’re not playing the weather —whatever it is, it is. We’re going to be on the same field” when asked about having no advantage. His quarterback made it clear this team is quite comfortable in the expected chilly conditions.New England will apparently dodge the snowstorm that’s making its way to the East Coast, but it will be cold. It’s the kind of cold the Patriots, who are seeking their eighth straight trip to the AFC title game and a sixth Super Bowl title in the Brady era, know all too well.“I just think the ability to practice in it White Jason McCourty Jerseys ,” Brady told his regular Friday media session. “Like today, it’s very similar to what we’re going to get on Sunday, so just knowing how many layers you have to put on, and kind of how you’re going to feel when you have the nice, warm, heated benches out there like we will on Sunday.“It’s cold and that’s just this part of this time of year. But it’s good to be playing when it’s cold out, it’s good to be playing this time of year in Foxborough.”Thursday provided the home team with much of what this area has to offer in early January.“The weather changed a little bit yesterday,” Brady said. “It snowed at the start, then got sunny, then got cloudy, then got windy, then got sunny and it was just a bunch of different things. Just to practice in it, we’re prepared for it, and hopefully we can use some of the things that we’ve learned to our advantage.”Brady has reached the AFC title game 12 times in 16 seasons as a starter. He will play in his record 38th postseason game and comes in 27-10. He’s 41 years old and hasn’t had the greatest season of his stellar career Jason McCourty Jerseys 2019 , but still gets, well, chills about playing in the cold.“It’s a good time of year,” he said. “I think everyone’s excited to be out there. It’s just a great environment of football.”Brady and counterpart Philip Rivers (37) combine to be the oldest pair of quarterbacks to face each other in a postseason game, breaking the mark Brady had with Peyton Manning.“That’s pretty cool,” Brady said of the age record. “It’s just fun to be around; I’m out there today practicing and it’s whatever degrees out: 10 degrees, 15 degrees with the real feel. And I’m sitting here just playing with my friends, throwing the football around. So it’s just a great blessing to be able to do it, do it here for this team, which I have loved to do. Philip’s been on the same team – it means a lot.“We all work hard to get to this point. These things aren’t guaranteed, very tough to get to this point in the season. Every team four months ago thought they’d be playing in these games. The reality is that’s not the way the NFL is. We’re very fortunate and we have to go out and try and take advantage of it.”Brady is 7-0 head to head with Rivers. The only time Rivers has beaten New England was in 2008 when Brady was injured and Matt Cassel was at QB.But Rivers has had a terrific season, and the Chargers (13-4) won at Baltimore in the wild-card round. LA is 8-1 on the road, while New England is 8-0 at home this season.“He’s a great player,” Brady said. “They’ve had a lot of great teams in San Diego over the years White Adrian Clayborn Jerseys , led by him. He’s a great passer, tough, very accurate. He’s a great leader. So when I think of that team it’s just he’s an emotional leader and he always gets those guys going. They always have a good offense . it’s a good team, obviously they’re good in all three phases, they’ve won a lot of games this year, gone on the road a bunch, so they’re very mentally tough. It’s going to take our best to win.”Led by Rivers, Brady notes the Chargers’ ability to come back in games, something that has been a Brady trademark over the years.“They were down 14 to KC with four minutes left, down a bunch to the Steelers,” Brady said. “You just can’t count them out.”