July 28th, 2007
Practice notes
Posted by
Albert Breer at 7:39 pm
The Patriots held practice outside country-music-crazy Gillette this afternoon, and made their way through drills in shorts and shoulder pads. The majority of the work was done in 7-on-7s, and in the kicking game.
Away we go:
–
Brandon Meriweather, donning No. 31 for the first time (the cut of
Antwain Spann opened it up,) looked ready to go. He worked at slot corner almost exclusively, and appeared ready for the part. If you watch Meriweather and the way he can drop his hips, change direction and explode out of his back-pedal, you see the skills that corners normally possess and safeties sometimes lack. It’d be hard to say he starts on Day 1. But the smart money says he’ll be a big contributor come September.
– S
James Sanders, again, looked good. As most who watch closely know, he’s a pure strong safety, cut from the
Lawyer Milloy mold. And he’s got the versatility to play the run in the box, cover tight ends underneath, and perform athletically in the deep half. He’s not All-Pro. But he’s gonna be someone who’ll be tough to keep off the field. When you add that to his special-teams ability — he’s been a monster on kickoffs — you can bet there’s a roster spot waiting for him.
–
Chad Scott was not out there. So the onus is being put on
Randall Gay to replace him. If he fails,
Eugene Wilson and Meriweather should get looks at the outside corner spots. Gay looks comfortable on the left side, where he played as a rookie. But remember — he struggled to cover
Terrell Owens and
Hines Ward there that year, and he’d be faced with similarly-elite receivers if he remains there. Scott was one of five non-PUP players missing, which also included
Kareem Brown,
Rashad Baker,
Garrett Mills and, you got it,
Asante Samuel.
– If you want to friendly camp rivalry, look to
Wes Welker and
Rodney Harrison. These two constantly seem to mix it up when Welker treads into the secondary, and Welker appears to seek out Harrison when blocking downfield in the running game. There’s always pushing and shoving after the whistle, and smiles on both faces with some choice words mixed in. Welker, clearly, is the most far along of the new receivers. And it’s also clear that he’s worked his way right into the team’s framework.
– One last thing — and this coming from a big-time college football guy who gets excited about silly things like this — Oklahoma coach
Bob Stoops was in attendance at today’s workout. The Sooners open fall camp in about a week, and this is generally the time the players have just finished up summer conditioning programs, so the timing makes sense. It’s worth noting, too, that Stoops grew up in the same area that
Bill Belichick’s late father,
Steve Belichick, did, right around Youngstown, Ohio.
