I was there tonight- the 2nd practice I attended. I got there late and missed the scrum between Solder and Spikes. There is no denying the fire that Spikes brings- he crashed the POA to kill a run in a goal line scenario, and you could see that infectious energy carry over the rest of the D.
I came in just as they were running red zone smash stuff and it was good to see smooth routes being run. They ran Gaffney off the stack with Welker underneath and the cross was timed perfectly, so it's gratifying to see Gaffney hasn't lost his knack for the type of offense Brady runs.
Looking at reps in general, the issues with Vareen and/or/vs. Ridley are overblown. Both are getting roughly an equal amount of reps. I did see some issues with pass protection that may prelude either from being a 3 or 4 down back.
I did get a good glimpse at Tavon Wilson- and he put in a solid showing, deflecting two passes, and looks like he has ability to get on top of the route, but is somewhat stiff out of his breaks, doesn't show fluid hips or a real twitch type of speed to keep up with a change of direction receiver, but does play physical and has a nose for the pile. I think he would be excellent in run support and would probably place him 4th on the safety depth chart.
For all the chitchat on this forum putting Slater or Edleman on the bubble, neither are anywhere near being cut. They haven't shown any reason why they should be reconsidered, at least not to my eye.
Dowling is the starting RCB, assuming he stays healthy.
