DropKickFlutie
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Yes it's extremely early in training camp, but here is what I saw...
Special Teams:
-Zoltan may develop into a weapon as a punter. Even if our offense sputters at our own 25 yard line, he can repeatedly bomb it from there deep in the other end, and with accuracy and height. He is still inconsistent and occassionally shanks, but these will decrease with game experience.
-Price and Edelman were taking turns fielding kickoffs and punts. Edelman had a nice punt return shifting through blocks toward a big hole.
Receivers:
-Welker took part in practice, and got applause every time he caught a ball. He was able to make some really strong, athletic cuts all afternoon. Welker looked like mini-me next to Gronkowski.
-Brady and Moss are already on the same page. They constantly talk to each other during practice and in between drills. I have a feeling they are going to have a big year together.
-Holt had a ball stripped and some drops, and generally looked slow (maybe playing through a leg injury?). I also tried looking for his freakish finger, but you can't really see it from the seats.
-Edelman had a nice endzone catch over Meriweather in the corner of the endzone.
-Price and Tate both looked very solid. Their hands, awareness, and route running looked so much better than Aiken's in the same passing drills. The dramatic difference of Price/Tate with Aiken really shows how bad the #3 receiver situation was last year.
Tight ends: Today I took a really close look at the tight ends throughout practice.
-Gronkowski is massive and athletic. He made some nice catches but also dropped a few gimmies. Brady didn't really look for him in drills.
-Alge Crumpler is even bigger, with a wide frame, he reminds me a gigantic bowling ball, a massive version of Maurice Jones Drew. Crumpler surprisingly has great hands. Crumpler made a few very, very good catches and tough adjustments in the red zone. I'm very curious how they use Crumpler in the regular season in the red zone.
-Hernandez is going to be a stud. Brady clearly looks for him every time he's on the field. Hernandez has hands of glue, even grabbing poorly thrown balls. He is quick and runs good routes. Of all the WR's and TE's, Hernandez was the one diving/hustling all over the field today. He positions himself well, always putting himself between the ball and defender, like a power forward skillfully boxing out a defender for passes.
QB's:
-Brady looked sharp and fluid. With how the TE's and WR's are looking, he's going to have a big year, even if it means throwing mostly passes that don't travel more than 7 yards.
-Zac Robinson is terrible - bad reads and bad accuracy. Hoyer is accurate but takes too long to make reads and thus tries to scramble too much, reminds me a lot of 2007 Cassel (not 2008 Cassel).
DEFENSE:
-Gerard Warren looked solid in the middle. He played next to Vince almost all practice and showed some good burst in defense vs offense plays.
-Cunningham had lots of reps at outside linebacker but didn't really do anything.
-Butler looks very very good. He breaks quickly on balls and gives little separation. I thought the same of McCourty in one on one drills.
-Was watching closely during LB vs RB passing drills. #44 McKenzie really stood out as a pass defender, even against Kevin Faulk.
-The dime package secondary consisted of Bodden, Butler, McCourty, then Meriweather, Sanders, and McGowan.
-The nickel package had Mayo and Spikes as the linebackers.
Didn't See
Looked for Slater, Warren, Brace, Chung, Vollmer, Guyton, I don't think they suited up, didn't see their numbers on the field in the afternoon.
Interesting General Notes:
-In the afternoon there was significant time spent on full scrimmage special teams practice. There were also group drills, individual one on ones, and a few periods of red zone practice, 2-minute drill, and full offense vs. defense. There was contact but no tackling all afternoon.
-Practice is meticulously organized, down to the minute. Belichick kind of roams wherever he wants and gives occasional advice, while his coaches run a crisp drill very military-like.
-I love that Belichick has his players simulate an opposing team in practices by wearing orange beanies over their helmets (resembling the Cleveland Browns?). Love that he even possibly still hates Mangini that much.
-It was Brady's 33rd birthday today, there were bday wishes yelled out occasionally throughout practice.
DropKickFlutie.
.
Special Teams:
-Zoltan may develop into a weapon as a punter. Even if our offense sputters at our own 25 yard line, he can repeatedly bomb it from there deep in the other end, and with accuracy and height. He is still inconsistent and occassionally shanks, but these will decrease with game experience.
-Price and Edelman were taking turns fielding kickoffs and punts. Edelman had a nice punt return shifting through blocks toward a big hole.
Receivers:
-Welker took part in practice, and got applause every time he caught a ball. He was able to make some really strong, athletic cuts all afternoon. Welker looked like mini-me next to Gronkowski.
-Brady and Moss are already on the same page. They constantly talk to each other during practice and in between drills. I have a feeling they are going to have a big year together.
-Holt had a ball stripped and some drops, and generally looked slow (maybe playing through a leg injury?). I also tried looking for his freakish finger, but you can't really see it from the seats.
-Edelman had a nice endzone catch over Meriweather in the corner of the endzone.
-Price and Tate both looked very solid. Their hands, awareness, and route running looked so much better than Aiken's in the same passing drills. The dramatic difference of Price/Tate with Aiken really shows how bad the #3 receiver situation was last year.
Tight ends: Today I took a really close look at the tight ends throughout practice.
-Gronkowski is massive and athletic. He made some nice catches but also dropped a few gimmies. Brady didn't really look for him in drills.
-Alge Crumpler is even bigger, with a wide frame, he reminds me a gigantic bowling ball, a massive version of Maurice Jones Drew. Crumpler surprisingly has great hands. Crumpler made a few very, very good catches and tough adjustments in the red zone. I'm very curious how they use Crumpler in the regular season in the red zone.
-Hernandez is going to be a stud. Brady clearly looks for him every time he's on the field. Hernandez has hands of glue, even grabbing poorly thrown balls. He is quick and runs good routes. Of all the WR's and TE's, Hernandez was the one diving/hustling all over the field today. He positions himself well, always putting himself between the ball and defender, like a power forward skillfully boxing out a defender for passes.
QB's:
-Brady looked sharp and fluid. With how the TE's and WR's are looking, he's going to have a big year, even if it means throwing mostly passes that don't travel more than 7 yards.
-Zac Robinson is terrible - bad reads and bad accuracy. Hoyer is accurate but takes too long to make reads and thus tries to scramble too much, reminds me a lot of 2007 Cassel (not 2008 Cassel).
DEFENSE:
-Gerard Warren looked solid in the middle. He played next to Vince almost all practice and showed some good burst in defense vs offense plays.
-Cunningham had lots of reps at outside linebacker but didn't really do anything.
-Butler looks very very good. He breaks quickly on balls and gives little separation. I thought the same of McCourty in one on one drills.
-Was watching closely during LB vs RB passing drills. #44 McKenzie really stood out as a pass defender, even against Kevin Faulk.
-The dime package secondary consisted of Bodden, Butler, McCourty, then Meriweather, Sanders, and McGowan.
-The nickel package had Mayo and Spikes as the linebackers.
Didn't See
Looked for Slater, Warren, Brace, Chung, Vollmer, Guyton, I don't think they suited up, didn't see their numbers on the field in the afternoon.
Interesting General Notes:
-In the afternoon there was significant time spent on full scrimmage special teams practice. There were also group drills, individual one on ones, and a few periods of red zone practice, 2-minute drill, and full offense vs. defense. There was contact but no tackling all afternoon.
-Practice is meticulously organized, down to the minute. Belichick kind of roams wherever he wants and gives occasional advice, while his coaches run a crisp drill very military-like.
-I love that Belichick has his players simulate an opposing team in practices by wearing orange beanies over their helmets (resembling the Cleveland Browns?). Love that he even possibly still hates Mangini that much.
-It was Brady's 33rd birthday today, there were bday wishes yelled out occasionally throughout practice.
DropKickFlutie.
.
Last edited:
Thanks.
