Morning Notebook - 7/31: Patriots Get Back to Work
The Patriots will be back at work this morning, with their second public practice scheduled for 9:15am at Gillette Stadium. They received quite the turnout on Thursday for their first public session, taking the field in front of a packed house on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium as they began preparations for the 2015 Regular Season.
As we get set for another busy day, here's a quick rundown with some notes from yesterday and some additional tidbits for this morning.
- So far after one day both quarterbacks were solid and Tom Brady was all business. He looked focused and sharp Thursday, which had him taking all the first team reps. According to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald, he was pinpoint accurate on the day, finishing 27-of-30, with two of those incompletions being drops by the receivers. Jimmy Garoppolo also had a decent outing but did get picked off by second-round pick Jordan Richards, although he had several good plays to wideout Brian Tyms.
- For those who were in attendance, it was tough for fans and media to follow the action as Bill Belichick had his players in numberless jerseys and helmets, making it tough to tell many of the players apart. Guys like Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, and Scott Chandler were easy to spot (and Chandler is massive), but it was a little tougher with some of the other players considering the distance from the sideline to where they were.
But one moment that was kind of fun was a red zone play that saw Tom Brady go out for a pass, with the veteran quarterback making a one-handed grab on a pass from Julian Edelman before taking off for the endzone, reaching over the pylon as he scored. Overall he had a good outing, with Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reporting Brady finished practice 17-of-20 in 11-on-11 drills, including a perfect 10-of-10 on 7-on-7s.
- With Brandon LaFell sidelined and on the physically unable to perform list, the 6'3" Aaron Dobson was noticeable and got a lot of work in, including hauling in a touchdown during practice. He remains one of the key players to watch in the weeks ahead, as he has the capability of adding quality depth to an already talented and deep group of receivers.
- According to the Herald, Chandler Jones, Dont'a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Sebastian Vollmer were limited, while Jerod Mayo and Sealver Siliga participated in full, with Mayo's return a pleasant surprise after being lost for the season in 2014.
Offensive lineman Ryan Wendell missed the session, which opened up some opportunities for Tre' Jackson and Shaq Mason.
Garoppolo Staying Grounded:
Jimmy Garoppolo wouldn't get into his potential role as a starter if Brady doesn't start the season, saying he's got a lot of work still ahead of him.
“There’s an endless amount of things that I have to work on," Garoppolo said via Patriots.com. "We’re all out here just trying to get better every day; take it one day at a time. There are little things every day that you focus on. You’ve just got to take it day by day, really.”
Hightower Upbeat:
After spending this offseason recovering from shoulder surgery, Dont'a Hightower sounded pretty upbeat and having avoided PUP, the veteran said everything looks good with his health so far.
“Not where I want to be,” Hightower told reporters Thursday, “but everything's going in the right direction. It's another good day in the books."
“I've had surgery before. That's just part of it. There's good days, there's bad days. There's days you do really well and days where you take a few steps back. It's just all about how you come back when challenged with adversity and just keep your head down and do it. Right now I feel good where I'm at. I'm making strides in the right direction. I'm out there with those guys, we're in the meeting rooms and stuff. It just feels good to get back to football, talk and communicate and stuff.”
OBSERVATION LINKS FROM DAY ONE:
- Patriots practice observations: Tom Brady comes out firing - Boston Herald
- Patriots Day 1 training camp blogservations - Patriots.com
- All eyes on Garoppolo; 7/30 camp notes - Patriots.com
- Patriots Training Camp Observations: Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo Shine - NESN
- Training camp observations: Fans show support as Tom Brady stands out - Providence Journal
- Tom Brady's one-handed catch highlights action at first day of Patriots camp - ESPN Boston
- Patriots Training Camp Report: Super Bowl Champs Open 2015 - PatsFans.com
- Thursday Patriots Training Camp Observations: 7/30/15 - PatsFans.com
