I had a great day on Friday July 31, 2015 at Training Camp amidst a very large number of attendees - more than I recall at any time last year. A few observations and thoughts:
1) Bradley Fletcher was on the field for almost all the 11-11 reps at the end of practice and looked good against the #1s on offense. He locked onto Dobson on one play and made a nice play on well-thrown ball from Brady. Daxton Swanson looked fluid and agile in limited coverage against the #1s.
2) Amendola looked great. He was moving well, made a couple of tough catches, especially one in the back of the end zone when he was blanketed by a CB that brought applause from the fans. If all is well physically, I think he'll start fast and pick up right where he left off in the 2014-15 playoffs.
3) Tyms is big but dropped a few balls and ran big long slow routes. He needs to turn up the intensity or he's outta here. Edelman is just amazing, by comparison, always in the right place and incredibly sure-handed. He looked like Welker in 2007 to me; just a cut above everybody else in the receivers group.
4) Garoppolo looks okay except in 7-7 and 11-11 drills where he held onto the ball, sometimes well past when he would normally get sacked. He didn't seem to have the instinctive recognition of where to throw the ball that he needs. It's so difficult to compare him to the greatest QB of all time, who is just so precise and unhesitating in firing the ball to the right place.
5) Biggest applause of the day came when a tiny cloud covered the sun for 90 seconds to give the fans some fleeting relief from the relentless sun. Nice moment.
6) Biggest booing of the day came when the ball guys tracked down a 10 or 11-year-old kid who made off with a Gostkowski field goal ball on the embankment. Cheap bastards. Guy next me to said, "That million dollar fine really hit 'em where it hurts."
7) Scott Chandler has great hands and will be a favorite target for Brady-oppolo. He ran slow but precise routes and caught everything within his radius. I love that the Pats have a pass catching threat to spell Gronk to keep him healthy. The Pats can run a three TE set with Hooman (who looked great on Friday) in the Red Zone or short yardage that will be tough to stop.
8) I was looking forward to seeing something that would provide a clue about the offensive line, but in shells with no hitting, it was mostly a lot of pushing and shoving. I'm looking forward to going to a full pads practice to watch those guys get it on.
9) It was great seeing Gronk's speed and enthusiasm in camp. I don't remember going to camp when he wasn't injured or coming off of some surgery that kept him out of practice. If Gronk can start out fast with Edelman and Amendola, the Pats can come out of the gate ready to kick some ass unlike 2014.
10) Also great to see Mayo on the field moving freely and clearly in command when the defense was lining up against the #1s on offense. Tough to tell how he's doing in shells, but it was hugely reassuring to see the defensive QB back on the job.
