6/7/12 Final OTA before mini camp reports

[MoLewisrocks]

Sounds like the offense had a rough day with penalty laps and both Brady and Belichick hollering. New TE Scaife not in shape. Hernendez not on the field. Also no Ochocinco. No explanations so far.

No Ocho, Hernandez at final OTA - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

 

[Marqui]

Bedard says Mankins looks great working out. Might not need PUP after all.

 

[Deus Irae]

So, will the offense get cut? After all, 2 penalty laps.....

 

[MoLewisrocks]

More practice nuggets and details from the Herald.

BostonHerald.com - Blogs: The Blitz» Blog Archive » Aaron Hernandez, Chad Ochocinco absent from practice, Sebastian Vollmer might be progressing

 

[Jimke]

More practice nuggets and details from the Herald.

BostonHerald.com - Blogs: The Blitz» Blog Archive » Aaron Hernandez, Chad Ochocinco absent from practice, Sebastian Vollmer might be progressing

The Herald says that there is one more OTA tomorrow with no press coverage.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

PFW crew speculating about Ocho. His twitter account no longer lists him as a WR for the NEP, apparently it had until today. Shalize also confirmed that while he was at Gillette earlier this AM he left. Could be illness, could be something else. Shalise also tweeted:

@shalisemyoung: was told recently that physically Ocho still has it - but still struggling to grasp Pats playbook

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Field Yates notes more about what they worked on...nothing on indivudual or group performances.

Rundown from Thursday OTA - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Practice observations from Field Yates.

Observations from Thursday practice - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

 

[Rob0729]

PFW crew speculating about Ocho. His twitter account no longer lists him as a WR for the NEP, apparently it had until today. Shalize also confirmed that while he was at Gillette earlier this AM he left. Could be illness, could be something else. Shalise also tweeted:

@shalisemyoung: was told recently that physically Ocho still has it - but still struggling to grasp Pats playbook

Still think Ocho will be given until the first cutdown period to prove he can learn the playbook. Odds aren't good at this point to make the roster (unless reports of Branch hitting the age wall really hard are true), but it really doesn't make sense to cut him at this point unless Belichick wants to give him a shot to hook up with another team before whatever cap money left is too tight.

 

[Rob0729]

BTW, OTA reports are useless. Who cares what players look like in June in shorts? The only thing that has come out of these reports that are actually useful is that Mankins is already on the practice field and moving well. Otherwise, the rest is just an interesting read in the dead period of the NFL.

 

[doesntmatter1]

About branch hitting the age wall is probably overblown. I rewatched many games and he may seem extremely slow for a wideout but he is extremely crafty. Press coverage doesn't really slow him down and when plays break down he consistently gets open. Look at his play in the postseason. Fourth qt in superbowl, he didn't make all of the catches but he was open and even in the playoff loss to the jets in the fourth quarter. He's just sneaky. He should definitely not be a starter, but he has value. Also Branch looked washed up with his zero catch preseason last year but went on to have a productive season.

 

[Marqui]

Practice observations from Field Yates.

Observations from Thursday practice - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

I know its only OTA but its still nice to hear Dennard and Moore are looking good. A top 4 corner group of Dowling, McCourty, Dennard, and Moore could be pretty good.

 

[shmessy]

I know its only OTA but its still nice to hear Dennard and Moore are looking good. A top 4 corner group of Dowling, McCourty, Dennard, and Moore could be pretty good.

I'd put Arrington ahead of Moore at CB.

Everyone loves Moore and he got great praise for the swipe at the end of the AFCCG. No one mentions the pathetic TD he gave up in the 3rd quarter:

NFL Videos: GameDay: Ravens vs. Patriots highlights

(play at 6:08).

I'd keep Moore as a hybrid CB/Safety.

 

[Marqui]

I'd put Arrington ahead of Moore at CB.

Everyone loves Moore and he got great praise for the swipe at the end of the AFCCG. No one mentions the pathetic TD he gave up in the 3rd quarter:

NFL Videos: GameDay: Ravens vs. Patriots highlights

(play at 6:08).

I'd keep Moore as a hybrid CB/Safety.

Arrington was ahead of Moore last year but I'm hoping Moore improves a lot from his rookie season and passes Arrington this year. Arrington is NOT a pure cover corner. Everyone looks at his 7 interceptions but ignores that fact that he gets burnt routinely every game. As long as Arrington is one of the Pats top 3 corners then they'll continue to have one of the worst pass defenses in the league.

BTW I like Arrington, he's a good athlete and should definitely make the team. But their pass D will be in big trouble once again if he's one of their main CBs.

 

[jah]

Arrington was ahead of Moore last year but I'm hoping Moore improves a lot from his rookie season and passes Arrington this year. Arrington is NOT a pure cover corner. Everyone looks at his 7 interceptions but ignores that fact that he gets burnt routinely every game. As long as Arrington is one of the Pats top 3 corners then they'll continue to have one of the worst pass defenses in the league.

BTW I like Arrington, he's a good athlete and should definitely make the team. But their pass D will be in big trouble once again if he's one of their main CBs.

Don't people here like to talk about how good Arrington looked in the slot? If Dowling pans out, a CB depth chart of McCourty-Dowling-Arrington-Moore-Dennard might actually be...dare I say...good.

 

[Marqui]

Don't people here like to talk about how good Arrington looked in the slot? If Dowling pans out, a CB depth chart of McCourty-Dowling-Arrington-Moore-Dennard might actually be...dare I say...good.

People are probably confusing "good" with not quite as bad as when he's playing outside.

 

[Simple Jack's Brother]

Bedard says he's really liking the secondary as a whole....wow, if all of those moving parts could it put it together i think the defense as a whole is going to surprise a lot of people.

 

[captain stone]

I'd put Arrington ahead of Moore at CB.

Everyone loves Moore and he got great praise for the swipe at the end of the AFCCG. No one mentions the pathetic TD he gave up in the 3rd quarter:

NFL Videos: GameDay: Ravens vs. Patriots highlights

(play at 6:08).

I'd keep Moore as a hybrid CB/Safety.

I don't mean to hijack, but that should never, evah have been ruled a TD.
The hilariously obvious FaceMask penalty that Torrey Smith gave to McCourty - while the incompetant zebra was staring right at them - should've brought the ball to the 20-yd line.
That non-call really pissed me off.

 

[mayoclinic]

Miscellaneous interesting observations from yesterday's OTA:

Offense:

Robert Gallery continued to get in a lot of work at left guard with what was a reasonable facsimile of New England’s starting offensive line. It will be interesting to see what happens to him when Mankins is back at full strength.

It Is What It Is » Notes from Patriots’ Thursday OTA session

Earlier in practice the Patriots offensive line featured a unique look with a makeshift unbalanced set. Dan Koppen was the center with Robert Gallery to his left next to converted tight end Silvestro and Nate Solder at the end. Not sure if this was simply an extra tight end look necessitated by the injuries at the position or if using Solder in such a role in various formations is a possibility.

One interesting sign during the two-minute work was the presence of second-year running back Shane Vereen. He opened the drill as the lone setback and caught passes from Brady on each of the first two plays. He occupied the role normally filled by Danny Woodhead throughout the drill and did not look out of place.

Official Patriots Football Weekly Blog | From the Hart: OTA observations

Defense:

The secondary was able to disrupt the timing on multiple occasions, particularly during some situational work that featured the two-minute drill and red area offense. ... Devin McCourty, Ras-I Dowling, Kyle Arrington, Patrick Chung and Steve Gregory comprised the secondary during much of this time. This group was able to get their hands on a lot of passes and consistently forced incompletions.

Official Patriots Football Weekly Blog | From the Hart: OTA observations

Offseason pickup Bobby Carpenter continues to see reps with the first team defense, with Rob Ninkovich continuing to practice with the defensive linemen.

Not to make too much out a single practice and small sample size of plays, but rookie cornerback Alfonzo Dennard had an active day, breaking up multiple passes and showing solid instincts and ball skills.

Sterling Moore came out of nowhere to play a pivotal role for the Patriots during the 2011 postseason. He remains an under-the-radar player now, and I continue to be impressed with technique and ability to leverage opponents. He plays with good bend and flexibility, and seems to have solid fundamentals to his game.

Observations from Thursday practice - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

First-round pick Dont’a Hightower saw his role expand a little bit more in this practice. He had been solely at middle linebacker in previous practice but ventured out to other LB positions during practice. Hightower also appeared to be much more comfortable with what he was doing, so he played a little bit faster. Seems to be rounding into shape.

Two rookies, Tavon Wilson and Alfonzo Dennard, stood out in the secondary with a few pass breakups each. Seems that the rookies are starting to catch on.

Will Allen continued to get some reps at safety. Steve Gregory looks like we figured when the Patriots signed him: a jack of all trades in the secondary. He can do a little bit of everything. Like what I’m seeing out of the secondary as a whole. Marquice Cole is quite an athlete. Sterling Moore continues to develop with more reps. Kyle Arrington is still playing well. Things look to be coming together back there.

DE Trevor Scott continues to be impressive. Rob Ninkovich isn’t doing much standing up, but that’s usually a game plan thing during the regular season.

Final OTA observations - Page 2 - Boston.com

Some interesting stuff going into next week's mini-camp.

 

[BradyManny]

Bedard says he's really liking the secondary as a whole....wow, if all of those moving parts could it put it together i think the defense as a whole is going to surprise a lot of people.

The pieces are truly in place for this defense.

It made strides last season. And it was close. It couldn't get off the field at all in the SB - but we've addressed that aggressively in the offseason, specifically the draft.

If that issue is tightened up, watch out. If this defense can get off the field and give THIS offense more possessions...I don't even want to let myself think about how dominant this team could be for fear of jinxing the health of their best players or some other jinxy fate.