Reiss and Casale Afternoon Practice Notes - Groh and Meyer present

[pats1]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

June 14, 2006
Practice notes

FOXBOROUGH -- Quick hits from Wednesday afternoon's practice at the Patriots' mandatory offseason minicamp:

* Skies were threatening, but the rain held off for the workout on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium. Players wore shorts, jerseys and helmets (no pads), and there was no contact.

* The workout ended on a high note with University of Virginia coach Al Groh addressing the team with a motivational speech. Groh received a round of applause from the team when he finished.

* University of Florida coach Urban Meyer was also in attendance and was seen jotting down notes throughout the workout. He walked off the field with quarterback Tom Brady, and appeared to be asking Brady questions.

* Tight end Benjamin Watson caught three straight passes in red-zone work against the defense. On a fourth straight attempt, defensive back Chad Scott made a nice pass breakup. Watson's intensity was seen when he dove for the pylon on one play.

* The team worked on punt returns and gunner drills at one point. The returners were rookies Willie Andrews, Vernell Brown and Chad Jackson; Bam Childress; Troy Brown; Kevin Faulk; and Reche Caldwell. Andrews caught three punts and appeared most comfortable with the skill.

* Owner Robert Kraft arrived for the last portion of practice and watched in the area between the two practice fields. Several of the team's scouts were also present, as was vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli.

* Receiver Reche Caldwell was on the receiving end of a long touchdown toss (Ellis Hobbs in coverage) on one play in 7-on-7 drills.

* Wide receiver Troy Brown made the catch of the day, a one-hander in red zone drills, to cap off the practice.

* Tight end David Thomas and running back Kevin Faulk were other players who stood out with nice hands in the passing game.

* Safety James Sanders also seems to be picking up his game, as he stayed stride for stride with tight end Benjamin Watson on one play and broke up a pass.

* Offensive linemen Billy Yates and Dan Stevenson stayed after practice to work on long snapping, while rookie free agent Brian Barthelmes stayed late to work on snaps from center with coach Dante Scarnecchia.

* NFL Europe receiver Rich Musinski returned to the practice field after not being present for the first three practices of the minicamp. He was the lone player to return from those who missed practice earlier in the day.

* Both kickers continued to work on field goals. First impressions: Steve Gostkowski has a strong leg, while Martin Gramatica appears smooth in addressing the ball. It's too early to tell if one is distinguishing himself over the other.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Patriots' next practice is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. We'll plan on posting our next update after that workout.

Posted By: mreiss | Time: 05:49:27 PM

http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=latestnewsdetail&pid=19537&pcid=41

Tom Casale, Patriots Football Weekly

...

Out of that group of young receivers, Childress and Stone have been the most impressive at mini-camp up to this point. They have caught the ball well and both players have been back returning kickoffs, adding to their value and increasing their chances of making the team.

Not to be outdone by his younger counterparts, Brown closed the afternoon practice by making the play of the day - an acrobatic one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. While some things in New England are changing, some things still remain the same.

More notes from Wednesday’s afternoon practice:

· The rookies continue to impress. Granted they’re just in shorts and none of the players have actually participated in an NFL game yet, but Laurence Maroney, Chad Jackson and Dave Thomas all look like the real deal. Jackson and Thomas catch virtually every ball thrown their way. Thomas sucks the ball in like a vacuum and Jackson hauls in any pass he gets his big mitts on. Maroney is very explosive after he catches the ball out of the backfield and while returning kicks. As far as football speed goes, he looks to be one of the fastest players on the field. It’s still way too early to speculate but the Patriots top three picks are off to an impressive start and this looks like it could be another strong draft class for the Patriots under Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli.

· Receiver Rich Musinski made his debut at mini-camp, wearing the No. 5.

· Jakari Wallace looked really good in passing drills, catching the ball well and getting out of his breaks quickly.

· Eric Alexander has been getting a lot of reps at linebacker and looks fluid and athletic on the field.

· Tom Brady threw a perfect touchdown strike to Ben Watson in the corner of the end zone, just over the reach of safety James Sanders. Despite giving up the touchdown, Sanders has played very well over the last two days.

· Willie Andrews, Chad Jackson, Bam Childress, Vernell Brown, Reche Caldwell, Troy Brown and Kevin Faulk took turns returning punts. Jackson appeared to be the least comfortable fielding punts out of the group.

· Patriots owner Robert Kraft stopped by and watched practice for about an hour.

· Brady hit Caldwell for a long touchdown on a beautifully thrown ball. Caldwell beat corner Ellis Hobbs on a post route.

· Virginia head coach Al Groh addressed the team once practice was over.
· For the second day in a row, Dan Stevenson and Billy Yates stayed a little longer after practice to work on their long snapping.

 

[BelichickFan]

Good to hear Sanders flashing a bit along with the top three rookies. I like Al Groh, I have to admit when the jesters hired him and got our #1 for Belichick I wondered if we should have just hired Groh.

 

[Flying Fungi]

tasty stuff

kind of like training camp for a fan--gotta start getting into football shape with the influx of camp reports, imagery and press conferences

I'd better get a bunch of beers and start getting into shape for the meat sweats soon

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

Good to hear Sanders flashing a bit along with the top three rookies. I like Al Groh, I have to admit when the jesters hired him and got our #1 for Belichick I wondered if we should have just hired Groh.

I miss that red snowsuit. (and the shovel, of course)

 

[Richter]

Confirming a lot of my suspicions about the upcoming season thus far. Jackson and Thomas are both going to be outstanding, Sanders and Watson are going to have breakout seasons, and Caldwell is going to make a place for himself. I hope it continues through training camp and bears out during the season.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

I wonder if the name Ahmad Brooks escaped the mouth of either BB or AG in passing today?

 

[BelichickFan]

I wonder if the name Ahmad Brooks escaped the mouth of either BB or AG in passing today?

I think we all know it did - the only question is whether it was positive or negative . . . regardless, we know that Belichick has the exact inside scoop on the guy.

 

[patriotsrule]

This is the kind of stuff I enjoy reading, not Felger calling someone fat. I don't mind if a reporter thinks a player is overweight but to tear down someone the way he did was uncalled for in my eyes. I'm usually pretty liberal on this subject too. I understand a "columnist" is different from a "reporter" and they get paid to give fans their opinion but an unprovoked attack on a person who just got here is going a bit too far. Kudos to Reiss and Casale for giving fans what they actually want: true accounts of what is happening at mini-camp. What a novel idea. Perhaps more people should try it in the future instead of stealing tired old lines from David Letterman.

 

[fgssand]

This is the kind of stuff I enjoy reading, not Felger calling someone fat. I don't mind if a reporter thinks a player is overweight but to tear down someone the way he did was uncalled for in my eyes. I'm usually pretty liberal on this subject too. I understand a "columnist" is different from a "reporter" and they get paid to give fans their opinion but an unprovoked attack on a person who just got here is going a bit too far. Kudos to Reiss and Casale for giving fans what they actually want: true accounts of what is happening at mini-camp. What a novel idea. Perhaps more people should try it in the future instead of stealing tired old lines from David Letterman.

Exactly - the columnists in this town are way to wrapped up in themselves and ratings. Pretty boys alll.....prety revolting if you ask me.

 

[RayClay]

This is the kind of stuff I enjoy reading, not Felger calling someone fat. I don't mind if a reporter thinks a player is overweight but to tear down someone the way he did was uncalled for in my eyes. I'm usually pretty liberal on this subject too. I understand a "columnist" is different from a "reporter" and they get paid to give fans their opinion but an unprovoked attack on a person who just got here is going a bit too far. Kudos to Reiss and Casale for giving fans what they actually want: true accounts of what is happening at mini-camp. What a novel idea. Perhaps more people should try it in the future instead of stealing tired old lines from David Letterman.

Here Here, (Hear Hear?):rocker:

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

PATRIOTSRULE:

What Curran claims in his blog is that he called out Felger on that issue and Felger admitted privately that it was based on the width of Sullivan's face. Kinda like Keith Traylor, Ted Washington, oh... Vince Wilfork?

Shoddy, unprofessional journalism at its worst!