Were you there? Training camps

[p8ryts]

Just interested how many people on here have been to training camp at Philips Andover Academy and at UMASS. I assume many of you have been to Bryant. Time for memories with camp kickoff three weeks away. For some reason I remember John Outlaw at Philips. Family excursions to Amherst and Bryant were always fun, not crowded, able to get up close and personal. Have Willie McGinest autograph on a hat although its not legible. I remember Curtis Martin looked special right away. Year 2000, Brady a rookie, we went to the Hall of Fame game against the 49ers. According to game reports, Brady played. Couldn't prove by me, don't remember him at all. Even though there were some bad teams, there were good times. The old 1776 club had some good events. I wasn't really a Pats fan until 1963 when I moved to DC, I guess it was a reminder of home. Went to a preseason game in Virginia when Joe Namath and John Huard were both on the Jets. Fun Times!

 

[Jackson 2]

July, 1971. Pats trained at UMass/Amherst. One of my best friends from college was in graduate school there and one of his best friends (they were high school friends in Attleboro) was a Pats rookie TE from the University of Kentucky. A bunch of us had been drinking all day and we were sitting around the pool late at night and Jim Nance and a bunch of veterans showed up and they were well-lubed also. Nance stripped down to his scivvies and decided to do an Olympic style dive off of the pool diving board. He skipped to the end of the board, hopped up and landed right on the end of it and SNAP - broke the board in two and went tumbling into the water. Hilarious.

 

[Joker]

I had a press pass for a number of years when they practiced at Bryant...

 

[Jackson 2]

I had a press pass for a number of years when they practiced at Bryant...

I loved when they trained at Bryant. Really close for me. After practice a lot of the players would go to Parente's right near the entrance road and, of course, that was the first stop after watching practice for us. Players were really accessible in those days.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Hit Bryant a few times. Hit Gillette once a year.

...and I was at the 2000 TC in Bryant and don't remember Tom at all.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Just interested how many people on here have been to training camp at Philips Andover Academy and at UMASS. I assume many of you have been to Bryant. Time for memories with camp kickoff three weeks away. For some reason I remember John Outlaw at Philips. Family excursions to Amherst and Bryant were always fun, not crowded, able to get up close and personal. Have Willie McGinest autograph on a hat although its not legible. I remember Curtis Martin looked special right away. Year 2000, Brady a rookie, we went to the Hall of Fame game against the 49ers. According to game reports, Brady played. Couldn't prove by me, don't remember him at all. Even though there were some bad teams, there were good times. The old 1776 club had some good events. I wasn't really a Pats fan until 1963 when I moved to DC, I guess it was a reminder of home. Went to a preseason game in Virginia when Joe Namath and John Huard were both on the Jets. Fun Times!

Bill Belichick reflects on 2000 Hall of Fame Game and Tom Brady's beginnings



Watch New England Patriots vs. San Francisco 49ers [07/30/2000] including a live Drive Chart and real-time highlights | NFL.com

PRO FOOTBALL; Patriots Excel For Belichick; 49ers Fizzle

Brady doesn’t even get mentioned but then , he went 3 for 4 for 28 yds with 2 kneel downs at the end….

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Phillips Andover Academy remember Jim Nance running around in the heat in a full rubber suit.

 

[jmt57]

I can remember a friend telling me in 2001 that Brady was impressive in training camp, and far out-performed Bledsoe. At the time I shook my head and laughed him off.

Anybody here with similar recollections?

 

[Patjew]

I loved when they trained at Bryant. Really close for me. After practice a lot of the players would go to Parente's right near the entrance road and, of course, that was the first stop after watching practice for us. Players were really accessible in those days.

I used to hit Parente’s after classes with classmates when going for my MBA. I told my wife these were study sessions

 

[Jackson 2]

I used to hit Parente’s after classes with classmates when going for my MBA. I told my wife these were study sessions

Technically, they were...

 

[Jackson 2]

I can remember a friend telling me in 2001 that Brady was impressive in training camp, and far out-performed Bledsoe. At the time I shook my head and laughed him off.

Anybody here with similar recollections?

Yes. I remember hearing a couple of people who had been a few times raving about TB. I had been a few times myself and I'd love to say I noticed him, but I didn't. I just chalked it up to guys just wanting appear as if they had big news.

 

[Koma]

I started going to training camp in the mid-90s when it was still being held at Bryant College (now Bryant University.) In those days, you could attend a session and pretty much pick where you wanted to stand to watch practice. You'd also run into big crowds, but at least there was a chance you might go on a quiet day. I'm sure the team's current 2 decade run of success has a lot to do with it, but I don't think that's possible now.

Three stories from that era:

The very first time I went, I saw when camp opened in the newspaper or a magazine and decided to go for the first day. On the way there, my girlfriend suggested that I should drive faster so we get there on time. Shortly after that, I get pulled over by a Rhode Island trooper. I told him we were going to Patriots training camp and I ended up getting away with just a warning. We get to Bryant and there's no one there. No players, no fans, no other cars. It turns out that I read the date the players were supposed to report. The actual practices started the next day. That mistake was easier to accept since I didn't have to pay a speeding ticket on top of it.

I remember being right at the fence by the exit from the field when Terry Glenn walked by. He was injured at the time, so he was in a t-shirt and shorts. It struck me unimposing he looked. If you didn't know he was football player and saw him in street clothes, you'd be able to tell he was in great shape, but I don't think you would guess he was in the NFL.

There was a pathway set up between the players housing and the practice fields with fencing on each side. At the end of one practice, then-rookie Kevin Faulk was walking back to the dorms and he dropped his jersey. At that moment, there was no one else around. No players or coaches were following Faulk and there were no other fans, except me. There was maybe a 5 second window where I could have hopped the fence, grabbed the jersey, hopped back over and got away with some memorabilia. While I was trying to decide if I should do that or call out to Faulk, Faulk noticed he had dropped something and picked up his jersey. There's no chance anything like that could happen today.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I can remember a friend telling me in 2001 that Brady was impressive in training camp, and far out-performed Bledsoe. At the time I shook my head and laughed him off.

Anybody here with similar recollections?

Posted here numerous times in other threads that unlike 2000 when I was oblivious to Tom, in 2001 I clearly saw him outperform Bledsoe at Smithfield. The players on offense clearly responded to his presence. BB had the same observations. My wife had soured on Bledsoe a couple years before. I hung tough, but 2000 season was the final straw for me with 5-11. Despite the size, talent and arm, the guy was not the elite athlete who could carry a team. Drew could not complete a screen pass reliably. Had a penchant for forcing the ball into coverage. Soul crushing, drive ending picks.
And even in the 2001 season playoff game vs the Squealers, he did the typical Drew things like tossing the ball backwards over his head. Incomplete and thankfully not intercepted. Later he bounced a pass off the chest of a wide open alone Pitt LB with no Pats nearby. Incomplete and thankfully not intercepted.

 

[Joker]

Drew could not complete a screen pass reliably. Had a penchant for forcing the ball into coverage. Soul crushing, drive ending picks.

Yup...100% absolutely correct. I'll bet we ran across each and shot the shyt watching practices because I remember talking with guys who were watching this exact thing...frozen ropes 20, 30, 40 yards downfield...and then a play call for a simple dumpoff and...barf. THAT was the first thing Brady showed he had under control in camp...and the staff just built upon performance day after day