Day One news wrap

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_jdcol28_07-28-07_OL6HM72.3149d5e.html

Most veterans hate training camp. But not Harrison. Not this year, at least.

“When you’re young,” he said, “you don’t appreciate training camp. When you’re older, especially when your time is dwindling, you appreciate the sweat, and the soreness, and the camaraderie with your teammates.

“I love the blood, the sweat, the hard work. I love coach Belichick [swearing at] us. Sure, you get tired and sore. You fall asleep in team meetings, and coach catches you, and you try to pretend you were paying attention. But because I’ve been injured, and am in my last years in the league, I really appreciate all this. I know time is running out on me.”

He also knows that many people are picking the Patriots...

“It’s good to look at the roster,” he said, “and say: ‘OK, we’ve got Randy Moss. We’ve got Adalius Thomas. We’ve got Wes Welker.

“But the Tedy Bruschis, the Mike Vrabels, the Tom Bradys don’t give a darn about where people think we should be. We know we have a competitive team. Whether that results in 10 wins, or 12, or 14 — who knows?”

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_patsjo28_07-28-07_K56HQ8R.3148e18.html

Nice job

Jabar Gaffney, in a battle to keep his job with the team with the roster now fat with receivers, made the catch of the day, a bomb at the goal line from Matt Cassel. Cassel put the ball over Gaffney’s right (inside) shoulder, and Gaffney got both feet inbounds for the catch.

Free-agent signee Tory James had a heads-up pick in the evening session. Cassel’s pass for tight end Kyle Brady went off Brady’s hands as he turned his hips upfield, and James plucked the ball out of the air.

Boston College product Larry Anam picked off fellow rookie Matt Gutierrez in another drill.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/columnists/x2108757066

If Randy Moss goes down, there's Donte' Stallworth, Wes Welker, Troy Brown and on and on. If Adalius Thomas goes down, there's five linebackers with experience as high-level starters in the league.

Which is why it's understandable that Laurence Maroney is being treated with kid gloves at this point.

Yesterday, during the first day of training camp, the Patriots hung a red, non-contact jersey on their second-year tailback. He took no hits. He felt no pain.

And we say, good for the Patriots.
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And to be ready for a 16-game slate, plus playoffs to follow, he needs to be healthy. So holding him back isn't a bad idea.

When he's ready, he'll be in there. What you'll see, too, is a lot different than what you were used to in Corey Dillon's three years as the lead back.
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His game is a slashing, cutting style that fits perfect with the zone-blocking looks the Patriots installed last year, and took some lumps with.

Now, they have to hope the whole package comes together.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/sports/13772462/detail.html

Randy Moss waved to the cheering crowd as he went out to the Patriots practice. When it was over, he signed autographs for fans pushed up against the restraining rope.

Then he jogged over to a flock of reporters and chatted pleasantly for 6½ minutes before heading away from the sunny practice field where temperatures soared well into the 80s on Friday.

All in all, a positive first impression.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/don_banks/07/27/pats.postcard/

It was a match made in football heaven: the game's most versatile player, Pro Bowl outside linebacker Adalius Thomas, signing with the team known for placing a premium on versatility, the Patriots. The mind reels at the possibilities in regards to how New England might use Thomas, who played at least a few snaps at every defensive position on the field with Baltimore in 2005. (Honest).

On Friday morning, one of the first plays I noticed was Thomas dropping back maybe 10 to 12 yards into pass coverage and deflecting a Matt Cassel pass that was intended for third-year reserve tight end Matt Kranchick. It was vintage Thomas, a big, deceptively fast talent who finds ways to show up making plays all over the field. I wouldn't be shocked if Thomas winds up being the Troy Brown of the Patriots defense, meaning he might even tempt the coaches into playing him on the other side of the ball (No. 96 lined up at tight end?).
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I'm expecting Brady and Moss to quickly develop a nice on-field rapport, and that could result in plenty of red-zone catches for Moss, who can still go up and get the ball with the best of them. But I still anticipate that the busiest man in the Patriots offense will wind up being mighty mite receiver Wes Welker, who will line up in the slot the majority of the time. The 5-9, 185-pound Welker used to bedevil the Patriots when they tried to cover him as a Dolphin, and New England is going to invent ways to get him the ball with some open field in front of him.

I saw him take a hand-off on an end-around Friday, and he made major contributions to the Dolphins on both punt and kickoff returns. True, Welker has only one career receiving touchdown, and another one on a kickoff return. But he's going to jack up those numbers considerably this season in New England, and his potential as a weapon for the Patriots is worth taking a mid-round flyer on.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://patriots.scout.com/2/662383.html

When the Patriots take the field during the regular season, it will probably resemble a little of what transpired this morning; Tom Brady and Randy Moss walking out of the tunnel together. John Ingoldsby recounts his first impression of Moss at camp this morning, and what it portends for the duo.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2007/07/27/news/sports/sports04.txt

The hope is that after tailing off from back-to-back seasons of 100-plus receptions with the Vikings in 2002 and 2003 to a total of 151 catches over the past three years, Moss' relocation will provide a kick-start to his career.

Now 30 years old, Moss hasn't been selected to the Pro Bowl since 2003 when he registered career highs in receptions and receiving yardage with 111 for 1,632 yards and tied the career high in touchdown catches he totaled as a rookie with 17.

For his part, Moss sounds rejuvenated, but his critics will be quick to say they've heard this contented talk before his time turned sour in Oakland, too.

 

[zippo59]

Fun stuff.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://www.masslive.com/sports/republican/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/118558051447220.xml&coll=1

New England coach Bill Belichick apparently barely noticed Moss on the field.

"We had about 70 players out there practicing today," Belichick said. "I couldn't give you a rundown on each guy."

Tom Brady, who is expected to speak the media for the first time in training camp on Sunday, probably could give a rundown on Moss' work. Brady and Moss could form a devastating combination, but the quarterback has long had a reputation for spreading the ball to different receivers.

Moss, of course, could open up room for others - something he say's he's always done. He even added he did not mind playing the role of a decoy, but, of course, he would like that role to be a limited one.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_pats28_07-28-07_126HM7T.3425917.html

New England’s coaching staff ran the players through various conditioning drills to make sure they reported to camp in shape.

“It was tough,” New England wide receiver Wes Welker said of the conditioning drills. “They make sure that you’re in shape and are ready to come out here and compete. If you can’t pass that test then you aren’t going to survive out here in this heat running around all day. I did OK. I passed it, so I’m all good.”
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New England’s rookies are not allowed to talk to the media, but defensive back Ellis Hobbs, in his third season with the Patriots, said training camp gets better with experience. His message to rookies is to hang in there.

“It’s not necessarily easier, but now you know what’s coming,” Hobbs said about his third training camp.

“That in itself makes it that much easier because you know how to prepare your body and you know how to take care of your body and you are not coming out of these All-Star games, the [NFL] combine, and things like that. A lot of that is a lot of mental wear and tear on your mind as well as your body. It feels good to get back out here and knock some of the rust off and keep it moving.”
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Welker, entering his fourth NFL season, said he is adjusting well to his new team.

“I think it was strange at first but the more that I’ve gotten to know the guys, they’ve taken me in and made me feel real comfortable here,” he said.
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“I’m excited,” Hobbs said about all of the new talent that New England signed in the off-season. “We got great players here. They’ve done a great job as far as not trying to be the ‘me guy’, or feel like they are above everyone else. They just kind of jumped in line with the rest of us. We have captains and everything on this team but really we just follow each other. We all try to go in the same direction and that’s to win.”

 

[Phoenix111]

Great job of getting all of the wrap-ups together Box. Good work:rocker: .

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Great job of getting all of the wrap-ups together Box. Good work:rocker: .

Someone else will need to pick up the slack in the a.m., I have a Church Picnic to attend.

 

[Phoenix111]

Someone else will need to pick up the slack in the a.m., I have a Church Picnic to attend.

There is only an afternoon practice tomorrow though I believe. Unless you're speaking of other sites still commenting on today's action.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

There is only an afternoon practice tomorrow though I believe. Unless you're speaking of other sites still commenting on today's action.

It's 1 a.m. now, there will be papers posting stories to their web pages into mid-morning even though their papers may be on the street at dawn. The upside to that is the majority will only be writing about Randy so it will be old news for sure.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Tomase's Moss story
http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1013831

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1013834

“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make any difference. It really doesn’t make any difference,” Belichick said of the expectations surrounding his football team.

“Anybody can go out there and say whatever they want. They can say we’re the best team in the league, they can say we’re the worst team in the league. It doesn’t really matter. What will matter is what we do on Sundays, and that’s what we have to focus on. So what everybody thinks and says, the predictions and all that, if you look at ’em every year . . . there are just too many variables in the NFL.”

Translation: This might be the most talented team I’ve had since I’ve been here, so I’m not about to let pinheads like you set us up to fail. We still have to play the games. You clowns all talk about this stuff like it’s a computer program, and it’s not. The last thing I need is for our players to start believing all that crap.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1013840

Ellis Hobbs has insisted since the AFC title game loss to the Colts that he was improperly flagged for pass interference in the end zone.

The league not only agrees with him, it let him know it.

Hobbs received a letter during the offseason apologizing for the blown call, which led to the touchdown that tied the game at 21 in the third quarter.

“It’s a little late for that now,” Hobbs said with a sigh.
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Killer run

Opinion was universal on Thursday’s conditioning run, which was conducted in stifling heat and humidity.

“Ooh, it was tough,” said running back Laurence Maroney [stats]. “I almost passed out. It was a rough one.”

Wide receiver Randy Moss labeled it more comprehensive than he was used to at other stops.
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Wide receiver Jabar Gaffney had a strong day of practice.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Massarotti's Rodney piece
http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1013835

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1013837

Watching Maroney look more like a running back - as opposed to the helmet-toting observer he was in minicamp - was the most important piece of news on Day 1.

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1013838

“Trust me. I’m not saying this just for publicity, or just to downplay it . . . but the train continues to move on,” Hobbs said when asked about the two defensive backs who weren’t present yesterday because of unresolved contract issues, although Meriweather did reach an accord with the team later in the day. “It’s a business. Whatever they’re doing in their business situation, trying to get more money or whatever, we have to deal with the players who are here. The ones who are here, that’s who we’re going to deal with, that’s who we’re going to get better with.”

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070728/SPORTS/707280313/-1/NEWS

"We don't really pay any attention to what's said outside of here," said nose tackle Vince Wilfork. "We'll focus on what we've got here. Right now, we're not capable of doing anything. It's early and we just got started."

Any carryover from last year's stunning loss to the Colts in the AFC Championship Game? "That's the past. We don't live in the past and we don't live in the future around here. We live for today." Those words came from someone who looked like Wilfork, but sounded distressingly Belichickian.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2007/07/28/news/news1.txt

A giant inflatable helmet marked the gateway to New England Patriots training camp, and more than 6,000 fans crossed the threshold on the first day of the Patriots' return to action.

With music blasting from inside Gillette Stadium on Friday evening, the practice field stands were full of fans wearing Patriots jerseys and hats and consulting their rosters, youngsters playing on the grassy hill, and even creative salesmanship for cold drinks as the area sweltered through the third day of a heat wave. "Ice-cold lemonade," one vendor said, "It's worth the cost; it'll have you ballin' like Randy Moss."

Pats1's buddy was there after all.

Farinella's Moss take
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2007/07/28/sports/sports2.txt

 

[Phoenix111]

What's really encouraging so far is the growing number of players that are acknowledging and practicing the Patriot way. Whether it be Wilfork with the "we live for today" statement, Moss who seemed to say all of the right things today, Hobbs and the others including the core guys. It's positive news that they all seem to get the message from Belichick and know what the proper mindset is.