OTA - reports 06/07/2010

[pats_premi]

From the PFW guys:

Official Patriots Football Weekly Blog

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Nice tidbits, "During some down time when he wasn’t involved with a team drill on offense, Torry Holt could be seen showing off his headstand skills for fellow aged wide receiver David Patten. Holt seems to be a very demonstrative guy who likes to have fun engaging his teammates on the field. It may be rubbing off, as later in practice Julian Edelman was seen doing handstand pushups. Not sure this is exactly what we all had in mind when we talked about Holt serving as a mentor to the young receivers, but who knows"

Hilarious

Both punters inconsistent as hell. Agree that we'll probably be a 4 down offense in '10.

 

[Ian]

More from Chris Price of WEEI.com

It Is What It Is A few quick notes on Monday’s OTA

 

[Ian]

More from Mike Reiss of ESPN:

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

 

[Ian]

Boston Globe Reports:

Today's OTA observations - Extra Points - Boston.com

 

[Deus Irae]

The dwindling fan base of the "Crab" may have suffered yet another blow today...

* It cannot be a good early sign for Shawn Crable that he was with the scout-team defense when the first-team offense was going through run-game work -- especially since rookie Jermaine Cunningham was with the first- and second-string defensive players on the other field working with the scout offense.

Today's OTA observations - Extra Points - Boston.com

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

This "One aspect that stood out from this practice was how precise Tom Brady wants his receivers to run routes. He talks to them throughout the practice. It’s a practice like this that crystallizes why Brady likes having David Patten on the field, as “Chief” always seems to be in the right place. Meanwhile, it’s a work in progress with second-year receiver Brandon Tate, who lined up opposite Randy Moss and Julian Edelman and is getting coached up quite a bit by Brady".


At last year's training camp it was obvious that Edelperson was singled out as something special 2009 as Brady was doing the same thing with Edelman with Randy helping instruct. Contrast that with several years ago as Brady would have massive sh!t fits at Chad Jackson's unrepentant ineptitude.

 

[Brady2Welker]

I'm surprised at the number of people not in attendance.

 

[Kontradiction]

The dwindling fan base of the "Crab" may have suffered yet another blow today...



Today's OTA observations - Extra Points - Boston.com

Sounds like a trip to IR for all of 2010 for injured feelings.

 

[woolster22]

This "One aspect that stood out from this practice was how precise Tom Brady wants his receivers to run routes. He talks to them throughout the practice. It’s a practice like this that crystallizes why Brady likes having David Patten on the field, as “Chief” always seems to be in the right place. Meanwhile, it’s a work in progress with second-year receiver Brandon Tate, who lined up opposite Randy Moss and Julian Edelman and is getting coached up quite a bit by Brady".


At last year's training camp it was obvious that Edelperson was singled out as something special 2009 as Brady was doing the same thing with Edelman with Randy helping instruct. Contrast that with several years ago as Brady would have massive sh!t fits at Chad Jackson's unrepentant ineptitude.

Not sure why, but that made me crack up. Liking all the new weapons Brady is going to have to try to get on the same page with. I think it is safe to say the WR corps should be MUCH better than last year, ditto for the TE's. Can't wait to see what Hernandez can do split out, and it would be gravy if Crumpler shows any life in those legs and hands when going out on a route rather than staying in to help keep Brady upright. and then theres Gronk, hopefully he shows some of the fire on the field that we saw on the stage in NY. Pumped for this year to say the least. Season can't come fast enough.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

Don't get to worked about about Mesko being inconsistent right now. They're reworking his mechanics, trying to eliminate a step. The fact that his shanks are mixed with some nice bombs is encouraging. Let's see how he's doing in about a month.

 

[supafly]

The dwindling fan base of the "Crab" may have suffered yet another blow today...



Today's OTA observations - Extra Points - Boston.com

It also could have more to do with giving Cunningham some looks than it does Crable doing poorly. We'll have to wait and see what transpires during TC.

Obviously Belichick hand picked Cunningham in round #2 (taking an OLB or OLB conversion in round 2 or higher for the first time ever in the BB era) for a specific reason, so it's not entirely shocking that he's giving him an opportunity right off the bat.

Regardless, your point is still valid, it makes it that much harder for Crable to try and gain a roster spot, and it's certainly not good news for him one way or another.

 

[Deus Irae]

It also could have more to do with giving Cunningham some looks than it does Crable doing poorly. We'll have to wait and see what transpires during TC.

You're absolutely correct. I was passing on the tidbit and, basically, commenting along the lines of the author. It really was nothing more than that. It could certainly be true that this was just about Cunningham getting snaps. It is just OTAs, after all. On the other hand, while not being on either the first or second string defense might not have been a sign of trouble for Crable, it certainly wasn't a positive beyond him actually being healthy enough to be on the football field.

I've made no secret about my concerns about Crable, and that hasn't changed since they drafted him.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/88510-crable-pass-rush-specialist.html#post940986

However, given the current list of alternatives, I'm hoping the kid shows something, beyond special teams play, that makes it worth it to keep him on the team.

 

[supafly]

You're absolutely correct. I was passing on the tidbit and, basically, commenting along the lines of the author. It really was nothing more than that. It could certainly be true that this was just about Cunningham getting snaps. It is just OTAs, after all. On the other hand, while not being on either the first or second string defense might not have been a sign of trouble for Crable, it certainly wasn't a positive beyond him actually being healthy enough to be on the football field.

I've made no secret about my concerns about Crable, and that hasn't changed since they drafted him.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/88510-crable-pass-rush-specialist.html#post940986

However, given the current list of alternatives, I'm hoping the kid shows something, beyond special teams play, that makes it worth it to keep him on the team.

Believe me, Deus, it's certainly a rarity.

Hopefully, with the good yr that TBC had, the last 1/4 of the season for Burgess, the high pick of Cunningham, and the battle between Crable/Woods/Ninkovich, it will improve our competition and depth.

I'm optimistically thinking (albeit cautiously) that our OLB core should at least be improved from last year. The lackluster play and attitude from AD really hurt in that regard.

On a positive note, it's good to see Cunningham getting much needed reps right off the bat, considering the OLB/DE conversion etc. Besides the expected learning curve/growing pains, it'd be quite a relief to see that work out well.