The Patriots wrapped up their fifth practice of the 2017 training camp and their third practice in full pads in a row. The crowd was much smaller than the huge throngs over the weekend and the temperatures were much more summer-like than we saw over the weekend.
Bill Belichick said in his morning presser that this was going to be a big week for the team, that they had a lot to accomplish before Jacksonville comes in for joint workouts and preseason game #1.
He added that the evaluation process would really begin and you could tell that the message was received by the team. This session was by far the most intense that we’ve seen to date.
No Shows: Alan Branch, Dont’a Hightower (PUP) and Andrew Jelks (NFI) didn’t practice but were in sweats on the sidelines. Cody Hollister and Duron Harmon were not present. Danny Amendola, David Jones and Malcolm Mitchell retreated to the lower fields for conditioning work as soon as warm-ups were completed. Amendola returned at the end of practice for punt return drills.
Quick Hitters:
- Jimmy Garoppolo was a bit sloppy and careless with the ball again. He threw some poor passes that were picked off by both Demarius Travis and Justin Coleman. He appears to be forcing things a bit.
- With the intensity ratcheted up a bit, some players were jumping off a bit too quickly and had to run penalty laps, including: Vincent Valentine, Josh Augusta, Harvey Langi, Joe Thuney. Jimmy G. and Ted Karras had to do a lap for a bobbled snap.
- More drops today by the offense, including Brandon Bolden, D.J. Foster, Devin Lucien, and Tony Washington all had a case of the dropsies today.
- Kenny Moore had a couple of nice plays today. One pass he deflected but Chris Hogan was able to regain control of the ball. But Moore seems to always be around the ball.
- Devin McCourty made a nice jump in front of a receiver and was able to pick the ball off.
- While not the biggest guy, Tony Garcia is feisty. He and Dwayne Allen got into it a little bit during 1-on-1s.
- Some good work in the secondary today, Eric Rowe, D.J. Killings and Stephon Gilmore all got their hands on and deflected passes today. Gilmore’s was a nice one as he battled Brandin Cooks.
- Cyrus Jones is getting better as camp goes along. He’s showing much better confidence and sure-handedness handling kickoffs.
Deatrich Wise continues to impress. He showed some good explosion and penetration again today and batted down a Brady pass at the line.
Elandon Roberts suffered an injury early in practice. It was a non-contact injury where he was helped off the field by the training staff. But after getting a breather and having his foot taped, he returned to practice as a full participant.
Trey Flowers, Kony Ealy, and Deatrich Wise were given 1-on-1 instruction by Belichick on the finer skills, the angle and timing of punt blocking. In his morning presser BB had said that they’ll work on Ealy’s versatility this week. Belichick also worked with Harvey Langi while the rookie was doing pass rushing drills.
Jacoby Brissett was better today but still missed several makeable throws. Two that stood out were deep passes to Chris Hogan and TE Jacob Hollister. Both men had separation and Brissett has to make those
1-on-1 Battles: Some good ones took place today, Max Rich fought Josh Augusta to a draw. Karras later beat Augusta cleanly. Adam Butler beat Jamil Douglas and Tony Garcia held his ground against Kyle Van Noy. Marcus Cannon and Kony Ealy battled to a draw.
Play of the Day: Jimmy Garoppolo hit Matthew Slater with a 40-yard bomb where the speedy veteran ran a deep post over Justin Coleman. Coleman got a fingertip on the ball but Slater was able to pull it in with a beauty of a catch.
Dustup at the end: Julian Edelman and Stephon Gilmore got into it a bit at the end of practice. They were rolling around the field before other players and coaches got involved and broke it up. As per the Patriots usual M.O. both players were sent to the locker room.
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A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)
