http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=...544&pcid=44
Play of the Day
RB Kevin Faulk's 25-yard catch in traffic
Faulk made a spectacular catch, with two defenders draped on him, as he raced down the left sideline, directly in front of the spectator stands. Tom Brady dropped the ball where only Faulk could catch it, and Faulk was leveled as soon as he touched the ball, but held on as he fell out of bounds. Fans roared in approval.
Who’s Hot
G Logan Mankins
He’s manhandling anyone who gets in his way.
Who’s Not
LB Tedy Bruschi
He got beat several times in one-on-one drills, and had a tough time during team scrimmaging.
Quote of the Day
"I'm glad I did it. It was great. Looking back, I wouldn't trade that for anything and I enjoyed it. I loved it."
~ Head coach Bill Belichick
(on being a special teams coach, a position he held in the 1970s and 80s with Detroit, Denver, and the New York Giants)
More Day 4 Notes
Only one practice on Monday, from 2:30 to 4:30, with overcast, but warm weather throughout the afternoon. As usual, a full house in the stands showed up to watch.
The Patriots are wearing circular stickers on the backs of their helmets with the number 91 on them, in honor of their teammate, the late Marquise Hill.
CB Asante Samuel’s holdout is in its fourth day.
Also absent from practice were TEs Kyle Brady and Garrett Mills, and DBs Chad Scott and Rashad Baker. All the players who started training camp on the PUP list are still there: DL Richard Seymour, WRs Troy Brown, Chad Jackson, and Donte Stallworth, DBs Mel Mitchell and Eddie Jackson, and TE David Thomas.
Players wearing red (no-contact) jerseys remained the same: RB Laurence Maroney, LBs Junior Seau and Eric Alexander, plus all three QBs (Tom Brady, Matt Cassel, and Matt Gutierrez).
Rookie DL Kareem Brown made his first appearance at training camp. Until today, he reportedly was serving a suspension for violating an unspecified team rule.
The pace of practice seems to have picked up considerably. The players’ intensity level kicked up a few notches today, with the hitting getting more aggressive and guys flying around with more of a spring in their steps.
Randy Edsall, head football coach at Uconn, and his staff were special guests of the Patriots. They watched Monday afternoon’s practice from the sidelines.
One of the more exciting workouts of camp thus far was the LB vs TE/RB pass rush drill. In a confined space, the linebacker matches up one-on-one with either a TE or RB and tries to get to the quarterback. During Monday’s afternoon session, FB Heath Evans dominated Bruschi on several plays. On two occasions, Bruschi attempted to make a flying leap over Evans, but got pancaked in the process. Conversely, LB Larry Izzo made a nice juke move on RB Sammy Morris, who dove for Izzo’s legs but completely missed.
Morris redeemed himself later in offense-vs-defense scrimmaging. He took a handoff and shot right through the middle of the line for what would have been at least a long gain, if not a touchdown.
Punt return team got some work in today. Faulk and WRs Wes Welker and Bam Childress took turns fielding the kicks.
The team also worked hard on third- and fourth-down situations inside the red zone, going up-field, complete with yard markers and chains. WR Randy Moss and Brady hooked up on a nice long pass play down the right sideline. But on the very next play, Moss and Brady got their signals mixed up. Brady threw to the outside, while Moss ran inside, colliding with rookie safety Brandon Meriweather. Needless to say, the pass fell incomplete. A few plays later, Morris took a handoff, ran into a sea of bodies, and his helmet popped off, flying straight up in the air. The play drew a few oohs and aahs from the crowd. Then Seau jumped offside and was forced to run a lap. He got some love from the fans, however, as he waved to them on his way by.
Moss made an amazing catch look easy. Brady launched a 40-yard bomb to Moss, who was sprinting downfield and being solo covered by DB Gemara Williams. The pass was a bit under-thrown, but Moss made a great adjustment, coming back behind Williams and snaring the ball out of the air.
K Stephen Gostkowski ended practice by making 6 of 8 field goal attempts from various distances and angles.
July 31. Morning workout
http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=...558&pcid=44
Laurence Maroney is really accelerating through the hole and is showing no signs from his offseason shoulder surgery
Play of the Day
RB Kevin Faulk's 25-yard catch in traffic
Faulk made a spectacular catch, with two defenders draped on him, as he raced down the left sideline, directly in front of the spectator stands. Tom Brady dropped the ball where only Faulk could catch it, and Faulk was leveled as soon as he touched the ball, but held on as he fell out of bounds. Fans roared in approval.
Who’s Hot
G Logan Mankins
He’s manhandling anyone who gets in his way.
Who’s Not
LB Tedy Bruschi
He got beat several times in one-on-one drills, and had a tough time during team scrimmaging.
Quote of the Day
"I'm glad I did it. It was great. Looking back, I wouldn't trade that for anything and I enjoyed it. I loved it."
~ Head coach Bill Belichick
(on being a special teams coach, a position he held in the 1970s and 80s with Detroit, Denver, and the New York Giants)
More Day 4 Notes
Only one practice on Monday, from 2:30 to 4:30, with overcast, but warm weather throughout the afternoon. As usual, a full house in the stands showed up to watch.
The Patriots are wearing circular stickers on the backs of their helmets with the number 91 on them, in honor of their teammate, the late Marquise Hill.
CB Asante Samuel’s holdout is in its fourth day.
Also absent from practice were TEs Kyle Brady and Garrett Mills, and DBs Chad Scott and Rashad Baker. All the players who started training camp on the PUP list are still there: DL Richard Seymour, WRs Troy Brown, Chad Jackson, and Donte Stallworth, DBs Mel Mitchell and Eddie Jackson, and TE David Thomas.
Players wearing red (no-contact) jerseys remained the same: RB Laurence Maroney, LBs Junior Seau and Eric Alexander, plus all three QBs (Tom Brady, Matt Cassel, and Matt Gutierrez).
Rookie DL Kareem Brown made his first appearance at training camp. Until today, he reportedly was serving a suspension for violating an unspecified team rule.
The pace of practice seems to have picked up considerably. The players’ intensity level kicked up a few notches today, with the hitting getting more aggressive and guys flying around with more of a spring in their steps.
Randy Edsall, head football coach at Uconn, and his staff were special guests of the Patriots. They watched Monday afternoon’s practice from the sidelines.
One of the more exciting workouts of camp thus far was the LB vs TE/RB pass rush drill. In a confined space, the linebacker matches up one-on-one with either a TE or RB and tries to get to the quarterback. During Monday’s afternoon session, FB Heath Evans dominated Bruschi on several plays. On two occasions, Bruschi attempted to make a flying leap over Evans, but got pancaked in the process. Conversely, LB Larry Izzo made a nice juke move on RB Sammy Morris, who dove for Izzo’s legs but completely missed.
Morris redeemed himself later in offense-vs-defense scrimmaging. He took a handoff and shot right through the middle of the line for what would have been at least a long gain, if not a touchdown.
Punt return team got some work in today. Faulk and WRs Wes Welker and Bam Childress took turns fielding the kicks.
The team also worked hard on third- and fourth-down situations inside the red zone, going up-field, complete with yard markers and chains. WR Randy Moss and Brady hooked up on a nice long pass play down the right sideline. But on the very next play, Moss and Brady got their signals mixed up. Brady threw to the outside, while Moss ran inside, colliding with rookie safety Brandon Meriweather. Needless to say, the pass fell incomplete. A few plays later, Morris took a handoff, ran into a sea of bodies, and his helmet popped off, flying straight up in the air. The play drew a few oohs and aahs from the crowd. Then Seau jumped offside and was forced to run a lap. He got some love from the fans, however, as he waved to them on his way by.
Moss made an amazing catch look easy. Brady launched a 40-yard bomb to Moss, who was sprinting downfield and being solo covered by DB Gemara Williams. The pass was a bit under-thrown, but Moss made a great adjustment, coming back behind Williams and snaring the ball out of the air.
K Stephen Gostkowski ended practice by making 6 of 8 field goal attempts from various distances and angles.
July 31. Morning workout
http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=...558&pcid=44
Laurence Maroney is really accelerating through the hole and is showing no signs from his offseason shoulder surgery
