FOXBORO -- While there’s always a bit of an edge at training camp -- the constant heat, humidity and crashing into the same guys over and over again would leave even the Dalai Lama short-tempered -- this summer, there’s been plenty of fight in these Patriots.

It all started on Aug. 1, when there were three dustups at an in-stadium practice, with the big scuffle coming when linebacker Brandon Spikes and left tackle Nate Solder mixed it up. It also included a sizable dustup that involved several other players.

The next day at practice, the Patriots had two more fights break out -- offensive lineman Ryan Wendell and linebacker Bobby Carpenter were in the first clash, and undrafted rookies Darrion Weems and Marcus Forston were in the second -- which led to three laps ordered by the coach, and a tongue-lashing from quarterback Tom Brady.

And on Thursday afternoon -- as temperatures reached into the 90s -- there was plenty of woofing on both sides of the ball. About 90 minutes into practice at the end of a special teams play between Julian Edelman and Niko Koutouvides, Edelman was fielding a punt and Koutouvides ran into him. The two started jawing at each other, followed by some pushing and shoving. At that point, Patriots coach Bill Belichick tossed them both from practice. Koutouvides would stick around briefly to try and plead his case, but to no avail.

While Belichick is no slouch when it comes to disciplining his players, it’s a rare sight to see him get so fed up that he banishes one (let alone two) to the locker room. But after practice, the players who stuck around shrugged it off.

“That’s Bill trying to make sure we’re all on the same page,” said linebacker Rob Ninkovich. “Those guys are fine. They’ll be back [Friday].”

Ninkovich was asked what sort of message Belichick was trying to send when he gave Edelman and Koutouvides the boot.

“Don’t fight,” Ninkovich replied with a smile.

“It’s just football. It’s just football,” said wide receiver Deion Branch. “Trust me -- we’ve got a lot of love for each other. We love competing and that’s what we’re doing. Guys are out here competing. We’re working hard, we’re tired. But most important, we’re still coming out here and getting the job done.

“We have to take care of each other, though. That's what's most important. Trust me: we have a lot of love for each other. Stuff happens. It's just football.”

It says here that these scraps do not necessarily represent a deeper problem within the team -- at the same time, the feistiness is worth noting for several reasons, not the least of which is that the Patriots have rarely had training camp fights since Belichick took over in 2000. But a combination of factors have led to an increased level of agitation over the last three weeks:

Frustration: For all the talk we’ve heard about New England’s world-class offense, the defense has pretty much run the show over the first three weeks. As anyone who has been at camp can tell you, there’s a healthy amount of trash talking that goes on between the offense and defense during the 11-on-11 drills at a training camp practice. And the defense loves getting better of a unit that is full of high profile individuals, and isn’t shy about letting the offense know when they’ve one-upped them. A little talking, there’s no problem. You get beaten a handful of times -- accompanied by more jawing -- then, the frustration levels are going to increase.

Positional battles: For a team coming off a Super Bowl appearance, the Patriots have had a lot of roster turnover, and as a result, there a lot of spots that are up for grabs. That includes running back, wide receiver, linebacker and offensive line. It’s not so much uncertainty, but a general feeling that many areas of the depth chart are still a bit of a gray area. With the regular season now less than a month away, the players know that and are doing whatever it takes to gain an edge.

Youth: More often than not, it’s young guys who are more inclined to throw down. And when you look across the board at the Patriots roster, it’s a relatively young group of players -- the average age of the guys who have been at the center of things is 25, with only two of them older than 26. As a group, it isn’t necessarily maturity issues that plague these players, but just a case of being young and probably a little reckless.

Heat: The heat has also played a major factor this summer -- the Patriots haven’t been indoors for a single practice, and the hotter than usual month has likely led to some short tempers.

Familiarity breeds contempt: With the exception of two days of practices with the Saints, the Patriots have knocked heads with the same guys for the better part of the last three weeks. You get tired of facing the same guys over and over again. And when you add in the fact that New England is in the midst of a brutal stretch -- Thursday marked the fourth straight day in pads, and the team has 11 days between their preseason opener and their next game against the Eagles on Monday -- it creates a situation where some guys are simply spoiling for a fight.

“All camps are different. This is a different year from last year, where we didn’t have any OTAs -- we had nothing last year,” Branch said. “This year, we’ve been around each other for so long that I think we’re just ready to start playing other guys.”