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Got there early and the practice started about 45 minutes late. During the week I guess you can afford to get in about 9:30 as still get my back row seat in the bleachers. The day was glorious, the practice crisp, and the results were devoid of any apparent injuries. Here a few interesting things I saw.
1. Logan Ryan got his shot at playing the "other safety" with the first group this morning in a number of drills. Harmon and Wilson also got reps but not as many
2. The Tyms kid looked like he belongs at an NFL camp. He had a few nice catches and seemed to run disciplined routes.
3. lI tried my best to ignore the 7 on 7's and try and examine the one on one DL/OL contests. Sorry, but I only had mixed success.
In the several reps I saw here are my observations
a. Chandler Jones really IS going to have a monster year. His technique is really spectacular, especially against the run. His knee bend and hand position is so good he could be playing against a midget OL and still stay under his pads. That's impressive for a guy who's almost 6'6
If I had one complaint I would want him to get off the ball quicker and attack the OT faster. He still seems to favor that hesitation move we saw so often
b. Buchannon also has great technique for a guy his size, though not as consistently as Jones. Its good to see them hanging together all through practice. In the warm ups Jones got right to Vince, while Buchannon is next to Chandler. Buchannon has a great first step and a decent speed rush, but I haven't seen the power move that comes off it.
c. I almost hesitate to say it, but Jake Bequetter probably earned himself some reps the few rushes I saw today. He didn't dominate, but he was very competitive. Right now he gets his reps with the 3rd group of DE's. I'll be interested to see if he doesn't move up over the next few days.
d. I haven't seen Will Smith do anything that gets me excited about him being on the team. Nothing horrible, but also nothing that will get you excited about seeing him on the field. I doubt that it means anything, but today he was working mostly with the 3rd group today.
e. Zach Moore confirmed to me that he's a nice prospect, but someone who isn't going to make an impact this year even if he makes the team. Right now I'd prefer him on the PS
4. Hooman was a casualty of Sunday, so DJ Williams and Justin Jones got a lot of reps today. Both looked like they belonged
5. When they went to team run offense/defense, they played 3-4 most of the time with Mayo and Collins the 2 ILB's, Hightower over the TE playing the Sam and the weak side DE playing Will
6. Vince played a lot at the nose and was strong anchoring the middle. On the down side, when he rushed the passer, he didn't seem to do much in pushing the pocket.
7. The secondary contests EVERYTHING. Even the completions are rarely to completely open men.
8. Kelly went live in some group work today even though he still had a red jersey on. I can't imagine him not making this team. If I were his coach I would have complained about his pad level in a couple of reps I saw, but he still has a great first step quickness. Still very early for him. Before he was hurt last season I thought he was the Pats best DLman.
9. When the Pats first defensive unit cam on the field to work against the Passing offense, I had to do a double take. Starting with the LB's was #44 Darius Flemming. I had to look him up. It was the first time I had heard of the kid. Evidently he'd been doing something this camp to earn time with the first nickel D
10. The best part of practice was the half line run drills between 2 DLmen and 2 LB's against 3 OLmen, QB and RB. Hightower had couple of audible hits and looked like a strong presence.
11. RIdly and Vareen, I think are prepped to both have strong seasons. White looks like he IS going to contribute right out of the box in some manner.
12. If you had been at this practice you would have clearly seen how talking about a SS on the Pats is ludicrous. When the Pats were in a 7 on 7 with Ryan and McCourty as the S's right in front of us. You could clearly see that McCourty and Ryan never flopped to formation. When the strong side went to McCourty's side he was the one who inverted (rotated) up close to the LOS, while Ryan covered the deep middle.
In one such rep, and Ryan covering deep, he did a great job of getting to the sideline to break up a deep pass to Lafell or Boyce who. ad beaten Browner. This is the 3rd time this camp I've seen a S get to the deep sideline in time to affect the play, You could have watched the entire 2012 season including the playoffs and not have seen that happen once. We've come a LONNNNNG way in our S play, even with all our complaints
13. If you chose 91 as your team number, here's another reason to be proud. In one drill Collin was in coverage with Roy FInch (talk about your miss match) who was in motion. Finch ran a difficult in out move and Collins stayed right on his hip. A crisp route and perfect pass made the play a completion, but Collins was right on his hip all the way. It was impressive coverage on a player you wouldn't think a 255lb 6'3 LB could accomplish.
OK, probably too long already, I'll add more as the conversation progresses. I think we've pretty well covered diet and exercise in my last post. What this time, barbeque techniques or interior design?
1. Logan Ryan got his shot at playing the "other safety" with the first group this morning in a number of drills. Harmon and Wilson also got reps but not as many
2. The Tyms kid looked like he belongs at an NFL camp. He had a few nice catches and seemed to run disciplined routes.
3. lI tried my best to ignore the 7 on 7's and try and examine the one on one DL/OL contests. Sorry, but I only had mixed success.
In the several reps I saw here are my observationsa. Chandler Jones really IS going to have a monster year. His technique is really spectacular, especially against the run. His knee bend and hand position is so good he could be playing against a midget OL and still stay under his pads. That's impressive for a guy who's almost 6'6
If I had one complaint I would want him to get off the ball quicker and attack the OT faster. He still seems to favor that hesitation move we saw so often
b. Buchannon also has great technique for a guy his size, though not as consistently as Jones. Its good to see them hanging together all through practice. In the warm ups Jones got right to Vince, while Buchannon is next to Chandler. Buchannon has a great first step and a decent speed rush, but I haven't seen the power move that comes off it.
c. I almost hesitate to say it, but Jake Bequetter probably earned himself some reps the few rushes I saw today. He didn't dominate, but he was very competitive. Right now he gets his reps with the 3rd group of DE's. I'll be interested to see if he doesn't move up over the next few days.
d. I haven't seen Will Smith do anything that gets me excited about him being on the team. Nothing horrible, but also nothing that will get you excited about seeing him on the field. I doubt that it means anything, but today he was working mostly with the 3rd group today.
e. Zach Moore confirmed to me that he's a nice prospect, but someone who isn't going to make an impact this year even if he makes the team. Right now I'd prefer him on the PS
4. Hooman was a casualty of Sunday, so DJ Williams and Justin Jones got a lot of reps today. Both looked like they belonged
5. When they went to team run offense/defense, they played 3-4 most of the time with Mayo and Collins the 2 ILB's, Hightower over the TE playing the Sam and the weak side DE playing Will
6. Vince played a lot at the nose and was strong anchoring the middle. On the down side, when he rushed the passer, he didn't seem to do much in pushing the pocket.
7. The secondary contests EVERYTHING. Even the completions are rarely to completely open men.
8. Kelly went live in some group work today even though he still had a red jersey on. I can't imagine him not making this team. If I were his coach I would have complained about his pad level in a couple of reps I saw, but he still has a great first step quickness. Still very early for him. Before he was hurt last season I thought he was the Pats best DLman.
9. When the Pats first defensive unit cam on the field to work against the Passing offense, I had to do a double take. Starting with the LB's was #44 Darius Flemming. I had to look him up. It was the first time I had heard of the kid. Evidently he'd been doing something this camp to earn time with the first nickel D
10. The best part of practice was the half line run drills between 2 DLmen and 2 LB's against 3 OLmen, QB and RB. Hightower had couple of audible hits and looked like a strong presence.
11. RIdly and Vareen, I think are prepped to both have strong seasons. White looks like he IS going to contribute right out of the box in some manner.
12. If you had been at this practice you would have clearly seen how talking about a SS on the Pats is ludicrous. When the Pats were in a 7 on 7 with Ryan and McCourty as the S's right in front of us. You could clearly see that McCourty and Ryan never flopped to formation. When the strong side went to McCourty's side he was the one who inverted (rotated) up close to the LOS, while Ryan covered the deep middle.
In one such rep, and Ryan covering deep, he did a great job of getting to the sideline to break up a deep pass to Lafell or Boyce who. ad beaten Browner. This is the 3rd time this camp I've seen a S get to the deep sideline in time to affect the play, You could have watched the entire 2012 season including the playoffs and not have seen that happen once. We've come a LONNNNNG way in our S play, even with all our complaints
13. If you chose 91 as your team number, here's another reason to be proud. In one drill Collin was in coverage with Roy FInch (talk about your miss match) who was in motion. Finch ran a difficult in out move and Collins stayed right on his hip. A crisp route and perfect pass made the play a completion, but Collins was right on his hip all the way. It was impressive coverage on a player you wouldn't think a 255lb 6'3 LB could accomplish.
OK, probably too long already, I'll add more as the conversation progresses. I think we've pretty well covered diet and exercise in my last post. What this time, barbeque techniques or interior design?
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