8/3 AM notes: Reiss, Rapoport, SMY, Scalavino, Hart

[pats1]

Day 5, first Patriots practice - Reiss' Pieces - Boston.com

Day 5, first Patriots practice
Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff
August 3, 2009 12:00 PM

FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots concluded their morning practice (9:30-11:15) in hot, muggy conditions.

Receiver Randy Moss is back to his routine of taking the morning practice off.
Here are some observations from the practice:

1) Run, run, run in the red zone. This was a practice with a heavy emphasis on the red zone, where the Patriots ranked 19th out of 32 teams in 2008 (65 possessions, 33 TDs). It was a chance for tight ends, running backs, and offensive linemen to assert themselves in the ground game. The backs have been running hard throughout camp, and Sammy Morris caught my eye today with his patience and then decisiveness when the hole opened. On the flip side, the Patriots’ linebacker crew is thin. On one play, inside linebacker Paris Lenon got sucked inside, opening a large hole for a surging Maroney to exploit for big yards in close. Maroney and Morris jumped in the air and touched bodies after the run. Right tackle Nick Kaczur had a couple of crunching blocks in the run game.

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BostonHerald.com - Blogs: Rap Sheet Blog Archive Patriots practice Day 5 is a hot one… what’s going on?

August 3rd, 2009
Patriots practice Day 5 is a hot one… what’s going on?
Posted by Ian Rapoport at 11:43 am

Not gonna lie… It’s hot. Not Alabama hot, but not like ice, either. Maybe that’s why Patriots veteran RB Kevin Faulk gathered the team for a pep talk before practice Day No. 5.

Let’s see what we’ve got:

– Apparently, when Tom Brady says Bill Belichick doesn’t play favorites, he wasn’t kidding. Brady and center Dan Koppen fumbled an exchange and both took a lap. Yup, even the Birthday Boy.

– The team spent a lot of time in red zone reps, with Greg Lewis reeling in one leaping grab. Julian Edelman had a nice catch, and Sammy Morris showed off sharp cut-ability. Brady can really make some reads.

– There was a lot of kickoff work, and Stephen Gostkowski has a serious leg. Impressive. Laurence Maroney, Terrence Nunn, Greg Lewis, and others took turns returning, but Maroney had a bad fumble.

– Randy Moss sat out the morning again, as did Tedy Bruschi, Shawn Springs, Stephen Neal, and Richard Seymour.

– Belichick’s son Brian spent post-practice throwing pass patterns to receivers. Not a bad arm… for a lax player

Camp session #9 observations - Projo Pats Blog

Camp session #9 observations
12:30 PM Mon, Aug 03, 2009
By Shalise Manza Young

Today is Tom Brady's 32nd birthday, or as one sign in the crowd announced "Aug. 3, 1977: the day greatness was born."

During position drills, Joey Galloway woke the crowd out of its humidity-induced slumber with a great catch in the deep right corner of the end zone from Brady.

There was quite a bit of 11-on-11 work, with a focus on red zone and goal-line work...

* With James Sanders and Leigh Bodden in tight coverage, Brady floated a pass to Greg Lewis in the back left corner of the end zone, where only Lewis could have gotten it -- and he did, stretching out and keeping his toes inbounds.

* Laurence Maroney had one run where he seemed a bit indecisive behind the line, but on one handoff from Matt Gutierrez, he had a good hard run to get over the goal line. It's worth noting that there seemed to be a good deal of contact going on in the trenches, which is likely unavoidable with so many bodies packed into such a small space (goal line area).

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Official Patriots Football Weekly Blog Blog Archive Quick Kicks: Day 5 morning notes

Quick Kicks: Day 5 morning notes
Written by Erik Scalavino on August 3, 2009 – 12:55 pm

Halfway through the Monday session, as Belichick’s press conference just wrapped up. It was HOT out there today. Blistering sun and no breeze whatsoever.

Attendance went as follows: Wilhite, Springs, McKenzie, Bruschi, Johnson, Neal, Bussey, O’Callaghan, Moss, Watson, Le Kevin Smith, Pryor, and Seymour were all out. All six list players were absent as well: Tate, Ohrnberger, LeVoir, Richard, Warren, and Crable.

On to the notables:

* Rookie WR Terrence Nunn is having himself a nice start to this camp. He continues to make very impressive catches both in drills and live action. Team PFW is keeping a sharp eye on this kid.

* Red Zone was an emphasis today. The play of the day was made by Greg Lewis. Brady targeted him in the left corner of the end zone, while Lewis was covered by James Sanders and Leigh Bodden. But Brady lofted the ball to the only place Lewis could get it — over both defenders’ heads in the direction of the back pylon. Lewis extended nicely to haul in the pass.

* On the next play, Brady tried to hit TE Chris Baker in the same spot, but 12 overthrew his wide open target.

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http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=generalnewsdetail&pid=38127

8/3/09
Morris fights back; Monday morning notes
By Andy Hart, Patriots Football Weekly

After taking his lumps from a couple different linebackers during the first few days of training camp, running back Sammy Morris made some nice plays of his own in the red area Monday morning in Foxborough.

For the first couple days of camp Sammy Morris stood out more for the hits he was taking from linebackers Adalius Thomas and Jerod Mayo than for the many positive things the otherwise productive veteran was getting done on the practice field.

But after getting knocked on his butt in consecutive days -- first in an interior running drill by Thomas and then in team work by Mayo -- Morris bounced back with a couple highlights of his own Monday morning on the warm, sunny practice fields behind Gillette Stadium

On a day Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick referred to as a “really big red area day” as the team continues to build its way through situational football, Morris took consecutive handoffs and proceeded to take it to New England’s blue-clad defenders.

On the first, Morris followed David Thomas’ pancake block of Pat Chung off right tackle for the nice gain. Then, he took the following handoff headed in the same direction only to make a nice cutback into and through the teeth of the defensive front.

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