8/4 PM notes: Reiss, Scalavino, Price, Rapoport, Perillo

[pats1]

Day 6, second Patriots practice - Reiss' Pieces - Boston.com

Day 6, second Patriots practice
Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff
August 4, 2009 05:35 PM

FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots held their afternoon practice in full pads (3:45-5:30), and once again, Mike Shanahan was present as a guest of Bill Belichick.

Here are a few observations from the practice:

1) Bill Belichick drives a hard bargain. If Bill Belichick was a jockey in a horse race, he would have been striking his whip repeatedly. He was hard on his team in this practice, sending an entire punt team, and later the entire offense, on a “punishment” lap. It appeared that Belichick, who called for a heavy emphasis on situational football in the session, was not happy with the concentration level and execution. Belichick wrapped up practice with a first-and-goal on the 6, with the losers running a lap. Tom Brady to Wes Welker in the end zone for the touchdown sent the defense on the lap. Brady, ever the competitor, pumped his fist in celebration.

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Official Patriots Football Weekly Blog Blog Archive Quick Kicks: Day 6 PM notebook

Quick Kicks: Day 6 PM notebook
Written by Erik Scalavino on August 4, 2009 – 6:18 pm

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* PFW’s favorite drill returned to camp for the first time this summer - the always entertaining RBs vs. LBs pass rush/protection drill. Jerod Mayo was the star. After throwing Sammy Morris to the ground rather violentlhy, he bulldozed BenJarvus Green-Ellis on his next attempt, drawing a loud “Oooooh” from the full-house crowd in the bleachers. From the ground, Green-Ellis made a vain attempt to reach out and impede Mayo’s progress with one arm, but Mayo easily reached the QB for a would-be sack.

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It Is What It Is Notes from Tuesday PM practice

Notes from Tuesday PM practice
08.04.09 at 5:49 pm ET
By Christopher Price

FOXBOROUGH — Here are a few quick notes about the Tuesday afternoon practice, held outside in full pads:

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•Running backs worked on blitz pickup for part of the session — Fred Taylor got a nice hit in on linebacker Jerod Mayo, but Mayo bounced back with a vengeance, flattening Sammy Morris and then BenJarvus Green-Ellis on back-to-back attempts.

•Taylor looked really sharp, catching some sweet passes out of the backfield in another drill and eluding linebacker Vinny Ciurciu on another play in the same drill.

•Wide receiver Terrence Nunn made a nice connection with Tom Brady, hauling in a sweet grab along the sideline. Nunn continues to impress — he has done nothing to draw negative attention to himself throughout the early stages of camp.

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BostonHerald.com - Blogs: Rap Sheet Blog Archive Offense gets the last word during afternoon practice on Day 6… and a Kevin Carter update.

August 4th, 2009
Offense gets the last word during afternoon practice on Day 6… and a Kevin Carter update
Posted by Ian Rapoport at 6:05 pm

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– Quarterback Tom Brady and the offense did a lot of work on situational stuff, including goal-line, red-zone, two-minute and other areas. Coach Bill Belichick would call out a scenario –Second-and-10 from the 45 with 15 seconds left — and the team would play it out. That meant plenty of action for receivers Randy Moss, Joey Galloway, and Wes Welker. Brady connected on a lot of deep balls.

–Receiver Terrence Nunn, an undrafted dude from Nebraska can seriously catch. He could go from off the radar to on, especially if he keeps doing what he was doing today, like reeling in a bomb from Brady over Leigh Bodden.

– One of the more intense drills was a passing exercise pitting LBs vs. RBs. Gary Guyton excelled at swatting balls, though Laurence Maroney beat him for the final touchdown reception.

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O'Brien checks in; Tuesday afternoon notes

8/4/09
O'Brien checks in; Tuesday afternoon notes
By Paul Perillo, Patriots Football Weekly

Special teams coach Scott O'Brien checked in on Tuesday to discuss his role with the team and the new real regarding the wedge on kickoff returns.

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Who’s hot: Tank Williams – The linebackers took on the running backs and tight ends in pass coverage drills, and Williams showed why he’s a safety by trade.

He cut under Alex Smith and was in perfect position for the pick before settling for a pass defensed, and then similarly blanketed David Thomas later in the drill.

Who’s not: The punt team – When O’Brien called for the unit for some punting out of the end zone, the group was slow to present itself. Bill Belichick sent the entire unit for a lap, and when they returned Chris Hanson proceeded to shank one out of bounds to the right sideline.

Play of the day: When Galloway took off down the left sideline against Bodden, it appeared that Brady might be able to make a big play. The veteran had a step on the corner, and the pass was on a target, but Bodden showed excellent closing speed and timed his jump perfectly as he knocked the pass away.

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