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http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/
July 30, 2007
Day 4, 1st practice
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff
The Patriots completed their lone practice today, barely beating a brief, heavy rainstorm and lightning. The practice was the sixth of training camp.
Here are five of our observations from the workout:
1) Blitz pickup. Always a favorite drill at training camp, running backs and tight ends worked on blitz pickup against surging linebackers. Keeping an eye on linebacker Tedy Bruschi is a treat, as he spares no one. "You have to stay on your toes with Bruschi, because he's a slippery guy," said running back Kevin Faulk, who displayed his expertise in the area. Fellow running back Sammy Morris didn't fare as well.
2) Punting competition. It's not drawing as much attention as the placekicker battle from 2006 training camp, but youngsters Tom Malone and Danny Baugher are pushing veteran Josh Miller at punter. This was an area we locked in on today as some wind whipped through the practice fields, and all three struck the ball well. Don't overlook this competition, especially when the preseason games begin.
3) Play of the day. Kevin Faulk's skills in the passing game have been well documented, and when he lined up as an outside receiver, linebacker Tedy Bruschi followed him. Quarterback Tom Brady decided to go toward that matchup, lofting a beautiful pass to Faulk down the left sideline for a completion. Bruschi had over-the-top help on the play -- and it's possible it could have resulted in an incompletion in a game situation -- but Faulk was able to gather in the pass.
4) Miscommunication between Brady & Moss. Tom Brady often talks about getting on the same page as his receivers, and we saw an example of what happens when they aren't. In an 11-on-11 drill, Brady got under center, before pulling back and motioning a hand signal in the direction of Randy Moss. After dropping back, Brady threw a longer pass to the outer edges of the right side of the field, but Moss had broken his route inside, colliding with rookie safety Brandon Meriweather. Brady, by the way, was not happy with the intensity the offense showed in practice.
5) Good to be nosy. Backup nose tackle Le Kevin Smith, a 2006 sixth-round draft choice, got some nice push up the middle during 11-on-11 passing drills. On one play, he thrust his right hand up and blew past right guard Billy Yates, disrupting the timing of quarterback Matt Cassel. While the Patriots are set at nose tackle with Vince Wilfork, they'd like to see Smith (3 games in 2006) make a positive jump to know the backup spot is in good hands.
Posted By: mreiss | Time: 05:25:23 PM
