After three weeks of organized team activities and one raucous Super Bowl ring ceremony, the Patriots begin their three-day mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. Here are a few of the things we'll be looking for over the course of this week.

AN EYE ON QUARTERBACK PLAY

This is always a focus, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the position, but the three minicamp practices that will be open to reporters will provide a little extra intrigue than in years past because of the unusual nature of this year’s offseason. Tom Brady did not appear at all affected by his looming June 23 appeal during OTAs, and we’d expect that to continue to be the case this week. Both of Brady’s backups – second-year man Jimmy Garoppolo and newly-acquired Matt Flynn – will certainly draw their share of attention as well since there remains the likelihood that one or both could see time in the regular season if any portion of Brady’s suspension is upheld. For Flynn, it will be his first on-the-field opportunity to get a feel for the ins and outs of the Patriots playbook, and so the learning curve is expected to be pretty steep there. We'll also continue to monitor how the quarterback workload is divvied up, but because this part of the year is viewed as a learning period rather than a competition period, the snap-count breakdown won’t hold too much significance.

CORNER OUTLOOK

A year ago at this time, Patriots fans were licking their chops to see how Darrelle Revis would fit into Bill Belichick’s defense. Now the team’s cornerback picture is significantly hazier. Throughout OTAs, free-agent pickups Bradley Fletcher and Robert McClain saw plenty of quality reps, as did third-year player Logan Ryan. Malcolm Butler was held out of two weeks of sessions after arriving late to the first practice, but in the one workout that was open to the media last week, he was on the field, working alongside a variety of defensive backs including Ryan and safety Devin McCourty. Patriots cornerback coach Josh Boyer said last week that this time of year is focused on installation of the defense and building chemistry within the unit. In other words, they're not competing for spots in the starting lineup just yet. But for players that are new to the team (like Fletcher, McClain and rookie corner Darryl Roberts, among others) and players looking to earn new roles (like Butler and Ryan), it's still an important time. We'll keep an eye on how things go at that position starting Tuesday.

CHANDLER’S SECOND IMPRESSION

Though only so much can be gleaned from OTAs where players are dressed in shorts and t-shirts, one of the takeaways was that new Patriots tight end Scott Chandler – a player who regularly hurt the Patriots as a member of the Bills – was impressive. At 6-foot-7, he’s actually slightly taller than Rob Gronkowski, and Chandler made a few difficult catches in tight spaces during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods while working with Brady. Chandler also spent certain OTA practice periods alone with Brady, Gronkowski and tight ends coach Brian Daboll, as the group worked on red-zone and goal-line situations. We’d expect more of the same from Chandler during mandatory minicamp as he continues to develop on-the-field chemistry with the team’s two best offensive players.

INJURY CHECK

The Patriots were missing a handful of 2014 regulars during OTAs, and while those players may remain out of action during mandatory minicamp, it will be worth paying attention to whether or no the team’s attendance numbers have changed. Jerod Mayo, Dont’a Hightower, Chris Jones, Sealver Siliga, Alan Branch, Ryan Wendell and Sebastian Vollmer were all noticeably absent from the three OTA practices that were open to reporters. Receiver Brandon LaFell was also among the missing, and that will likely continue through minicamp as he doesn’t expect to be back on the field for another few weeks.

GETTING CREATIVE

During OTAs we saw the Patriots deploy a drone overhead, presumably to shoot video. They also welcomed a Navy SEAL to work with defensive players on hand-fighting techniques, and they brought back former Patriots running back Sammy Morris to keep an eye on the team’s running backs. We’ll watch for anything else out of the ordinary that pops up this week on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium and pass along whatever we can.