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Day 11, lone Patriots practice
Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff
August 9, 2009 07:15 PM
FOXBOROUGH – Ten quick-hit observations from an entertaining full-pads afternoon practice (3:45-5:15), which was highlighted by the return of several injured players:
1) Eyes on Derrick Burgess. I spent considerable time watching Derrick Burgess, who was thrown right into the mix in 11 on 11 drills by rushing off the defensive left side out of a three-point stance. On one play, he rushed against Nick Kaczur, creating some pressure as he was in quarterback Kevin O’Connell’s field of vision. On the play, Darius Butler broke on the ball and deflected it away from Julian Edelman. When the Patriots were broken down by position group, Burgess was with the outside linebackers. In a one-on-one blocking drill, I watched him race around Wesley Britt with a quick first step. On the flip side, Burgess jumped offside during 1-on-1 work and had to take a penalty lap.
2) Ron Brace is in the mix. The second-round draft choice (40th overall) is right in the middle of the action, getting a lot of quality practice time with some of the team’s most experienced defensive linemen. The potential for a pairing with Vince Wilfork could make the Patriots extremely tough to run on up the middle.
3) Matthew Slater’s lapse in concentration. In kickoff return/coverage work, second-year player Matthew Slater dropped a return in the end zone, spiking the ball in frustration afterwards. For a player whose primary contributions come on special teams, such errors become even more magnified.
After having Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning off, the Patriots got back to business, practicing in full pads in front of a capacity crowd of fans in the bleachers late Sunday afternoon.
All eyes, of course, were on number 49, OLB/DE Derrick Burgess, newly acquired from the Oakland Raiders. Presumably, Burgess will wear that number only until a more suitable one for his position becomes available.
The team got some good news before practice even started Sunday, as several players who’d been injured for several days or hadn’t practiced at all this summer were on the field Sunday. Ryan O’Callaghan, Myron Pryor, Richard Seymour, and Tully Banta-Cain returned after several missing sessions, while Ty Warren and Shawn Crable, coming off the PUP list, made their first appearances of training camp.
A number of other players, however, were absent from Sunday’s practice, the 18th of this camp: Shawn Springs, Tedy Bruschi, George Bussey, Benjamin Watson, Le Kevin Smith, and Mike Wright. The remaining players on NFI /PUP remained on those lists – Brandon Tate (NFI), Rich Ohrnberger, and Mark LeVoir.
Amazing the difference a couple of days make -- on Thursday night, the last time the Patriots had a non-walkthrough practice, there were numerous players, primarily on defense, who missed the session due to various maladies.
But this afternoon, 70 of New England's 80 roster players were in pads and on the field, a high for this year's camp. Included in that number -- the return of DE Ty Warren and LB Shawn Crable, both of whom were activated off the active/PUP list, DE Richard Seymour, who had was on the field for the first practice of camp but not since, LB Tully Banta-Cain, T Ryan O'Callaghan and rookie DL Myron Pryor.
So, the Patriots are back at it, slotting in one practice today after their first off day on Saturday… And there were a whole lot of new faces.
Let’s see what’s going on:
– New defensive end Derrick Burgess was in the house, sporting No. 49 and looking pretty fast. He’s definitely playing the part of a third-down specialist, a guy who’ll be used situationally. – As you read, injured defensive potential starters Ty Warren and Shawn Crable (right, at Michigan) were both off the PUP list. Both fit right back into the lineup, practicing at full capacity. Just in time, considering Burgess’ arrival. – Those weren’t the only guys back… Richard Seymour, Tully Banta-Cain, Myron Pryor, and Ryan O’Callaghan returned after sitting out. Seymour was battling a hamstring injury. It was Pryor’s first practice of camp.
8/9/09 Training Camp, Day 10: Sunday P.M. Notebook
By Erik Scalavino
The premiere of DE/OLB Derrick Burgess in a Pats uniform was the story of the day at Gillette Stadium.
...
Who's Hot: Jonathan Wilhite
Not only is he back on the practice field, he’s already establishing himself as a solid contender for a starting job at corner. Sunday, Wilhite made several nice defensive stops, and even a few plays on offense, as you’ll see.
Who's Not: Benjamin Watson
On a day when several previously injured players returned to the field, Watson was again among the absentees. It’s not been a good start to 2009 for the veteran tight end.
Play of the Day: Wilhite TD pass to Butler
To end practice, Belichick made things interesting. He had the offense and defense switch roles for a few plays on the goal line. A lap around both practice fields was on the line for the losing side. On one play, Wilhite was under center and was blitzed at the snap. He hurriedly tossed a prayer of a pass toward the right corner of the end zone, where rookie corner Darius Butler made a circus catch for the score. It appeared from a distance (and with a slightly obstructed view) that Randy Moss was in coverage against Butler. Wilhite later scored on a botched play when he ran in a fumbled backwards pass from about 15 yards out.
...
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As time goes on Wilhite seems to be playing consistently solid throughout TC. If he keeps getting better and keeps playing strong I wouldnt be surprised to see him starting opposite of Bodden week1. Although Springs might have an edge since hes so familiar with B.O.
I was there today and yes Ron Brace was part of the consistent 4-man DLine featuring the stoutest 4-some this league can put together with (Warren, Big Vince, Brace and Big Sey), a huge group that would be brutal to run against. I think this may end up being our base 1st down package. BB ran it alot in the 11/11. The LB's in this 4-3 were AD/Mayo/Guyton.
Butler/Wilhite/Bodden look to have the top-3 spots locked down and BB is sticking with Sanders as a 1 right now with Meriweather, but Mr. Chung looked real quick, aggresive and fast in run support and the screens that I saw, it is just a matter of time before he takes over that starter's role next to Brandon. I am loving this defense !
Wilhite is really taking the leading role to play with Bodden and Butler looks real good (quick and smooth), oddly enough, the 1st team nickel had Butler on the outside and Wilhite in on the slot, that really speaks volumes of how the coaching staff feels about Wilhite's reads and quicks.
Last edited by The_Riddler; 08-09-2009 at 10:10 PM..
I was there today and yes Ron Brace was part of the consistent 4-man DLine featuring the stoutest 4-some this league can put together with (Warren, Big Vince, Brace and Big Sey), a huge group that would be brutal to run against. I think this may end up being our base 1st down package. BB ran it alot in the 11/11. The LB's in this 4-3 were AD/Mayo/Guyton.
Butler/Wilhite/Bodden look to have the top-3 spots locked down and BB is sticking with Sanders as a 1 right now with Meriweather, but Mr. Chung looked real quick, aggresive and fast in run support and the screens that I saw, it is just a matter of time before he takes over that starter's role next to Brandon. I am loving this defense !
Wilhite is really taking the leading role to play with Bodden and Butler looks real good (quick and smooth), oddly enough, the 1st team nickel had Butler on the outside and Wilhite in on the slot, that really speaks volumes of how the coaching staff feels about Wilhite's reads and quicks.
I am so happy that Wilhite is developing nicely. He stood out to me during the 4th game of preseason last year. I liked his tackling skills and his ability to cover.
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every time his name pops up it seems he gave up a brady-to-moss TD....
is that combo that deadly that none of our cb's can cover it or are our cb's that bad? ill go with the former...hopefully theyll be beating other team's cb's like theyre beating our own
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Last time I lived in New England the Pats became a Dynasty
I hardly ever hear Wheatley's name in any of the reports. Are Butler and Wilhite dramatically outplaying him?
Wilhite was ahead of him before he jolted his shoulder, that gave Wheatley a chance to make up some ground. Butler is getting a lot of work, especially with Springs missing more time - the thing to read into the reports on Butler is best expressed by Ken - 'Butler hasn't met a fake he won't bite on.' I think Butler is getting a lot of work against Moss, Welker, & Co. because with Springs as fragile as he is, Butler is looking at being the #4 CB and will need to develop in readiness for a mid-season start if he's needed (following in the footsteps of Gay, Hobbs, and Wheatley as rookies). With the physical Bodden anchoring the right side, and Wilhite showing he could play a decently physical game too, they look like the primary starters. Wheatley has been getting better reports after the first couple days of camp, the extra reps he has been getting in Wilhite's absence has him knocking the rust off in big chunks. I expect Wheatley to be about where he was for the Indy game last season when Buffalo rolls into town.
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Wilhite is my feel good story on this team...I really like his progress and feel he definitely deserves to start at this point...I think Butler has played decent for a rookie, but Wheatley has been a bit of a disappointment...he hasn't done much so far this TC and after a injury shortened rookie season I really hope he can stay healthy and show the promise he displayed in Indy...Bodden is pretty much a lock at starting and Springs could be in the nickel/safety rotation, but he could also be a surprise cut this year...
Last edited by Bartmac36; 08-10-2009 at 02:18 AM..
Wilhite is my feel good story on this team...I really like his progress and feel he definitely deserves to start at this point...I think Butler has played decent for a rookie, but Wheatley has been a bit of a disappointment...he hasn't done much so far this TC and after a injury shortened rookie season I really hope he can stay healthy and show the promise he displayed in Indy...Bodden is pretty much a lock at starting and Springs could be in the nickel/safety rotation, but he could also be a surprise cut this year...
I don't see Springs as a cut, he's a Free Agent version of Bruschi, someone who brings a boat load of experience to the table in a really young secondary. Like Bru his reps will come in limited situations, but for things like the red zone and third downs he provides enormous insurance as someone who has seen just about everything the NFL can throw at a defense.
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8/9 PM notes: Reiss, Scalavino x2, SMY, Rapoport
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