- Thread starter
- #21
BigKen
Day to Day
Here's the rest of Andy hart's observations.
--With the wet conditions, Brady wore a glove on his left hand but had a bare throwing hand. Both Garoppolo and Brissett went without gloves altogether.
--The defensive linemen worked on scooping up fumbles near the sideline and returning them under the watchful eye of defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
--The wide receivers and running backs caught passes and then turned up field through a gauntlet of pads in a drill. The ball carriers were then poked with the joust sticks as they exited the gauntlet.
--Cyrus Jones, Justin Coleman, Jonathan Jones, Dwayne Thomas and Eric Rowe took some reps as vice guys on the punt return team in a special teams drill.
--Brandon Bolden, Dion Lewis, James White and James Develin worked with Brady on some short throws in group work. Interesting that the fullback was included with the passing backs. Lewis made a nice, one-handed grab on an out in the drill.
--Later the running backs caught passes in the back of the end zone. The coaches reminded the backs to focus on keeping their feet in bounds, something that Rex Burkhead failed to do on his first chance in the back left corner.
--During some group work between the pass catchers and the defensive backs, the defenders did pushups after allowing completions in the end zone. All the players and the coaches did the pushups as a group.
--The first offensive line to take reps in most drills was, from left to right, Nate Solder, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Marcus Cannon. The group got some work in the running game working against scout defenders holding bags.
--Devin McCourty stood out on the field as the only player wearing bright red shorts.
--During the middle of practice the entire team lined up on the sideline. Three different coaches then rolled a ball out on the field and one player would run after and dive on each ball for a fumble recovery. Brady was initially standing to the side watching before he strapped his helmet on and took a turn. Gronkowski actually failed to recover the ball on his rep and had to take a second turn to complete the work to the satisfaction of his coaches. Can’t be said that the Patriots star players don’t do all the drills and dirty work of their other teammates.
--Danny Amendola, Cyrus Jones, David Jones, Cooks and Edelman took reps returning punts at various points throughout practice. It was admittedly a tough day for the work and all had issues at one point or another. Amendola had a drop. Cooks had a drop. Edelman had a rare bobble. But Cyrus Jones struggled the most, allowing a number of balls to hit the ground. After one muff he kicked the ball, seemingly in frustration.
--David Jones is an interesting guy to see back deep, given a 6-3, 210-pound build as a defensive back that’s not exactly traditional of a punt returner. Jones did have a few kick and punt returns in his career at Richmond.
--Ryan Allen was booming the ball throughout the workout. He was driving the punt returners back on most attempts, though he did seem to have a wind at his back. Still, he was hitting the ball very well.
--The receivers/cornerbacks and tight ends/linebackers took turns working on catching passes over their shoulders during one drill. The action took place under the watchful eye of Belichick, who emphasized specific fundamentals with each rep for each pair of players.
--There was a minor scare at one point in team action in the red zone. Chris Hogan ran to the back right corner, was bobbling the ball as he continue to run out of bounds and ran into a golf cart that was parked at the edge of the field. He sat in the back of the cart for a second before bouncing up and jogging back to finish practice showing no signs of injury.
--Newly signed wide receiver Andrew Hawkins took jersey No. 16 for his first practice in New England with DeAndrew White switching to No. 17.
--During team action in the red zone late in practice the intensity of the rain picked up a bit. So, too, did the number of deflected passes and balls hitting the turf. Some passes seemingly zipped right through the wet hands of otherwise open receivers.
--Brady had one play where he tried to pull the ball down but lost control, with McCourty scooping it up for a would-be return.
--Throughout the workout it seemed that Butler took his normal spot as the left cornerback with big-money newcomer Gilmore manning the right side. Second-year man Jonathan Jones got reps in the slot working with the two Pro Bowl veterans.
--Things got a bit competitive between the offense and defense late in practice. Amendola beat Cyrus Jones for a touchdown pass and threw the ball in the air in celebration.
--Brady also got into it with the defensive sideline as a whole. He seemed to talk a little trash to the group after throwing a touchdown to Gronkowksi in the back right corner of the end zone. Shortly thereafter, though, the sideline got payback on an incompletion thrown behind the big tight end. The sideline made kicking gestures to signal that the offense would have to settle for the field goal after the incomplete third-down throw into the end zone.
--Cooks made a gesture like he was reaching for his arrow from his quiver after catching a touchdown at one point in practice. In the past the receiver has used a mock bow-and-arrow celebration on touchdowns. Despite the loosening of the celebration rules by the NFL this season, Cooks said after practice he would not be bringing back the celebration and risking a potential penalty.
--Burkhead, who had a very good practice overall, made a nice touchdown reception to beat Jordan Richards in the back left corner of the end zone.
--D.J. Foster also had a solid day, highlighted by a strong hands catch on a slant from Brissett for a touchdown very late in practice.
--At the conclusion of practice the entire team did some conditioning work on the hill on the far side of the field.
--With the wet conditions, Brady wore a glove on his left hand but had a bare throwing hand. Both Garoppolo and Brissett went without gloves altogether.
--The defensive linemen worked on scooping up fumbles near the sideline and returning them under the watchful eye of defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
--The wide receivers and running backs caught passes and then turned up field through a gauntlet of pads in a drill. The ball carriers were then poked with the joust sticks as they exited the gauntlet.
--Cyrus Jones, Justin Coleman, Jonathan Jones, Dwayne Thomas and Eric Rowe took some reps as vice guys on the punt return team in a special teams drill.
--Brandon Bolden, Dion Lewis, James White and James Develin worked with Brady on some short throws in group work. Interesting that the fullback was included with the passing backs. Lewis made a nice, one-handed grab on an out in the drill.
--Later the running backs caught passes in the back of the end zone. The coaches reminded the backs to focus on keeping their feet in bounds, something that Rex Burkhead failed to do on his first chance in the back left corner.
--During some group work between the pass catchers and the defensive backs, the defenders did pushups after allowing completions in the end zone. All the players and the coaches did the pushups as a group.
--The first offensive line to take reps in most drills was, from left to right, Nate Solder, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Marcus Cannon. The group got some work in the running game working against scout defenders holding bags.
--Devin McCourty stood out on the field as the only player wearing bright red shorts.
--During the middle of practice the entire team lined up on the sideline. Three different coaches then rolled a ball out on the field and one player would run after and dive on each ball for a fumble recovery. Brady was initially standing to the side watching before he strapped his helmet on and took a turn. Gronkowski actually failed to recover the ball on his rep and had to take a second turn to complete the work to the satisfaction of his coaches. Can’t be said that the Patriots star players don’t do all the drills and dirty work of their other teammates.
--Danny Amendola, Cyrus Jones, David Jones, Cooks and Edelman took reps returning punts at various points throughout practice. It was admittedly a tough day for the work and all had issues at one point or another. Amendola had a drop. Cooks had a drop. Edelman had a rare bobble. But Cyrus Jones struggled the most, allowing a number of balls to hit the ground. After one muff he kicked the ball, seemingly in frustration.
--David Jones is an interesting guy to see back deep, given a 6-3, 210-pound build as a defensive back that’s not exactly traditional of a punt returner. Jones did have a few kick and punt returns in his career at Richmond.
--Ryan Allen was booming the ball throughout the workout. He was driving the punt returners back on most attempts, though he did seem to have a wind at his back. Still, he was hitting the ball very well.
--The receivers/cornerbacks and tight ends/linebackers took turns working on catching passes over their shoulders during one drill. The action took place under the watchful eye of Belichick, who emphasized specific fundamentals with each rep for each pair of players.
--There was a minor scare at one point in team action in the red zone. Chris Hogan ran to the back right corner, was bobbling the ball as he continue to run out of bounds and ran into a golf cart that was parked at the edge of the field. He sat in the back of the cart for a second before bouncing up and jogging back to finish practice showing no signs of injury.
--Newly signed wide receiver Andrew Hawkins took jersey No. 16 for his first practice in New England with DeAndrew White switching to No. 17.
--During team action in the red zone late in practice the intensity of the rain picked up a bit. So, too, did the number of deflected passes and balls hitting the turf. Some passes seemingly zipped right through the wet hands of otherwise open receivers.
--Brady had one play where he tried to pull the ball down but lost control, with McCourty scooping it up for a would-be return.
--Throughout the workout it seemed that Butler took his normal spot as the left cornerback with big-money newcomer Gilmore manning the right side. Second-year man Jonathan Jones got reps in the slot working with the two Pro Bowl veterans.
--Things got a bit competitive between the offense and defense late in practice. Amendola beat Cyrus Jones for a touchdown pass and threw the ball in the air in celebration.
--Brady also got into it with the defensive sideline as a whole. He seemed to talk a little trash to the group after throwing a touchdown to Gronkowksi in the back right corner of the end zone. Shortly thereafter, though, the sideline got payback on an incompletion thrown behind the big tight end. The sideline made kicking gestures to signal that the offense would have to settle for the field goal after the incomplete third-down throw into the end zone.
--Cooks made a gesture like he was reaching for his arrow from his quiver after catching a touchdown at one point in practice. In the past the receiver has used a mock bow-and-arrow celebration on touchdowns. Despite the loosening of the celebration rules by the NFL this season, Cooks said after practice he would not be bringing back the celebration and risking a potential penalty.
--Burkhead, who had a very good practice overall, made a nice touchdown reception to beat Jordan Richards in the back left corner of the end zone.
--D.J. Foster also had a solid day, highlighted by a strong hands catch on a slant from Brissett for a touchdown very late in practice.
--At the conclusion of practice the entire team did some conditioning work on the hill on the far side of the field.