August 8th practice Tweets

[Patriot_in_NY]

We looked better in practice today?

Does that mean we don't have to cancel our season? Thank goodness, I was getting a little worried.

 

[Rob0729]

I have heard a bunch of people say this over the last day or two to try and explain the reports of the struggling O and I dont think the OL is to blame.

Simple fact is that in TC you dont hit the QB and a play does not stop simply because a DL should have had a sack so even if the OL is playing like crap Brady should still be able to make his throws. Of course a DL getting through might still have an effect but not like in a game and it really should have minimal effect and still allow the QB and WR to work on their timing still.

I don't know why the Pats have struggled, but I disagree with your assessment.

First, if the interior d-line is getting through the line, that takes away passing lanes and Brady has to adjust this throws which could send the pass off or poorly timed. Since right now two of the three starting interior o-linemen are out and the likely starter at the other position is playing out of position, this could be a significant problem over the last two days. An effective interior pass rush can wreck havoc on a QB even if rushers get nowhere near the QB.

Second, it is my understanding that if rusher gets to the QB (obviously not touching him) that the play is blown dead and automatically considered a sack. I haven't been to Patriots' camp in a few years. So Belichick might play through the sack, but it is pretty standard practice. Even so, if it is credited as a sack, the pass doesn't count.

 

[BradyManny]

I have heard a bunch of people say this over the last day or two to try and explain the reports of the struggling O and I dont think the OL is to blame.

Simple fact is that in TC you dont hit the QB and a play does not stop simply because a DL should have had a sack so even if the OL is playing like crap Brady should still be able to make his throws. Of course a DL getting through might still have an effect but not like in a game and it really should have minimal effect and still allow the QB and WR to work on their timing still.

Good point.

But I haven't been to one of these joint practices, nor have I been to a practice where a ref has been present. I don't know if things play out differently there then in the regular practices I've been to.

FWIW:

Tom Brady was much better, but to be fair, it was a different tempo without live contact. Brady was 9 of 9 with four touchdowns in 7-on-7s, and he was 10 of 12 with one touchdown in 11-on-11s.

BostonHerald.com - Blogs: The Blitz» Blog Archive » Patriots, Saints conclude joint practice at Gillette

Offense seemed to have a better day, albeit in a less spirited competition.

 

[signbabybrady]

I don't know why the Pats have struggled, but I disagree with your assessment.

First, if the interior d-line is getting through the line, that takes away passing lanes and Brady has to adjust this throws which could send the pass off or poorly timed. Since right now two of the three starting interior o-linemen are out and the likely starter at the other position is playing out of position, this could be a significant problem over the last two days. An effective interior pass rush can wreck havoc on a QB even if rushers get nowhere near the QB.

Second, it is my understanding that if rusher gets to the QB (obviously not touching him) that the play is blown dead and automatically considered a sack. I haven't been to Patriots' camp in a few years. So Belichick might play through the sack, but it is pretty standard practice. Even so, if it is credited as a sack, the pass doesn't count.

I go to camp all the time and I can tell you without a doubt they do not stop the play for sacks. And I am not sure what you mean by credited as anything reported as a sack or what not would be precieved by the descretion of the reporter I am sure the team credits players for the work done on the field but I am also sure that is not provided to us or the media.

You certainly make a good point about throwing lanes but I think other then that very little done by the DL in TC setting should throw off the QB and WR. The QB should just re-set and make a throw as if the pass rush had whiffed in a real game action. Brady has proven to be to good in live action at re-setting and keeping the play going so I do not except it as an excuse in practice. IMO if Brady and the WR are off as bad as was reported yesterday then they share in much more of the blame then the OL (obviously I dont think this way about live in game action).

Lastly Brady is more then capable of completing passes with DL at or around him and he needs to be able to keep rythym in these cases and again he is still to blame for his own struggles. In camp it is a very regular thing for a DL to make a good play a potential sack and for the offense to still complete a very nice play at least I know I notice things like that regularly.

 

[signbabybrady]

Good point.

But I haven't been to one of these joint practices, nor have I been to a practice where a ref has been present. I don't know if things play out differently there then in the regular practices I've been to.

FWIW:


BostonHerald.com - Blogs: The Blitz» Blog Archive » Patriots, Saints conclude joint practice at Gillette

Offense seemed to have a better day, albeit in a less spirited competition.

I have seen the refs at practice many a times through the years and I did witness the joint practice a few years ago and I can tell that in both cases everything worked the same. I will give you that the Saints DL is likely going to get a little closer to Tom than the Pats DL would.

The Idea in the DL is not just to avoid hitting the QB but also to do their work and get past the OL but their technique and practice stops there as they should then avoid the QB so that they dont disrupt the work being done by the O and secondary and everyone can still work on the play rather then the DL doing his job and then blowing the play dead as you waste time instead the play continues so everyone else can work.

 

[Rob0729]

Good point.

But I haven't been to one of these joint practices, nor have I been to a practice where a ref has been present. I don't know if things play out differently there then in the regular practices I've been to.

FWIW:


BostonHerald.com - Blogs: The Blitz» Blog Archive » Patriots, Saints conclude joint practice at Gillette

Offense seemed to have a better day, albeit in a less spirited competition.

So in other words, Brady had a good day but since the Saints' beat writers don't really care about reporting that via Twitter, it looks like he had a bad day on 11 on 11.

Then again, a training camp practice doesn't tell us much.

 

[Rob0729]

I go to camp all the time and I can tell you without a doubt they do not stop the play for sacks. And I am not sure what you mean by credited as anything reported as a sack or what not would be precieved by the descretion of the reporter I am sure the team credits players for the work done on the field but I am also sure that is not provided to us or the media.

You certainly make a good point about throwing lanes but I think other then that very little done by the DL in TC setting should throw off the QB and WR. The QB should just re-set and make a throw as if the pass rush had whiffed in a real game action. Brady has proven to be to good in live action at re-setting and keeping the play going so I do not except it as an excuse in practice. IMO if Brady and the WR are off as bad as was reported yesterday then they share in much more of the blame then the OL (obviously I dont think this way about live in game action).

Some camps when being reffed do actually credit the defender with a sack. Not all. I am pretty sure Carroll did (I went to camp every year during that era). It has been 5 years since I went to Foxboro so I can't remember much from those camps.

I still disagree with you about responsibility. A bad day could most certainly be on Brady and the receivers, but not necessarily. From my remembrance (again, it has been a while), you tend to see more batted and tipped balls in practice because you really can't rush the passer. Many defenders knowing that they can't touch the QB make plays for the ball rather than rushing the QB.

 

[signbabybrady]

Some camps when being reffed do actually credit the defender with a sack. Not all. I am pretty sure Carroll did (I went to camp every year during that era). It has been 5 years since I went to Foxboro so I can't remember much from those camps.

I still disagree with you about responsibility. A bad day could most certainly be on Brady and the receivers, but not necessarily. From my remembrance (again, it has been a while), you tend to see more batted and tipped balls in practice because you really can't rush the passer. Many defenders knowing that they can't touch the QB make plays for the ball rather than rushing the QB.

Curious how exactly did Caroll credit the defenders? I am not saying that coaches dont credit players for things they do in camp but I am saying that would not provide it to the media or anything like that.

I guess you are right in that I should back off my statement that the OL cant be responsible for a bad day as clearly bad play will change the way the play is ran and could be the reason for a shakey day but I think that in this case Brady could and should still overcome and have a good day. I mean I have seen him do some pretty amazing things under pressure through the years that some pressure from a player he knows will not hit him really shouldnt slow him down.