The Patriots wrapped up their ninth practice of the 2017 training camp and their seventh practice in full pads in a row. The team ratcheted down the intensity today as the players had a full team scrimmage yesterday. Today the focus seemed to be on individual drills, the running game, and situational football.
Jimmy Garoppolo continues to struggle a bit in practice and had some bad misses intermingled with some good throws. His consistency remains an issue. While many pointed this spring as this training camp where Jimmy G. may push Tom Brady a bit for the top QB position. But we haven’t seen that and right now Brady remains far ahead of Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett.
No Shows: Alan Branch, Dont’a Hightower (PUP) and Andrew Jelks (NFI) didn’t practice but were in sweats on the sidelines. Matthew Slater was not seen. Mike Gillislee, Danny Amendola, David Jones and Nate Solder worked with the training staff of the lower fields.
Quick Hitters:
- Brissett had an ugly connection with Austin Carr during positional drills. Someone was way off the mark on the play. With the ball hitting the ground almost 10 yards behind Carr.
- In a comical ending, Rob Gronkowski jumped offside and was a good 10 yards downfield before realizing his mistake.
- Brandon Bolden and LeShun Daniels were getting a lot of work today with the running game in focus.
- The defense was starting to show some exotic looks and were moving players around with some different fronts. With the younger players on the field, it shows that they are picking up the system well.
- Kony Ealy and Deatrich Wise had a nice stuff on a short yards running play where the offense tried to go to the outside.
- Brady hit Dwayne Allen on a nice play action fake down the seam during 11s.
- Garoppolo had Tony Washington open streaking down the right sideline but overthrew him.
- D.J. Foster showed nice quickness on a cutback run to the left. The play was going to the right and he saw the flow and saw a big gap and jumped into it.
- Jacoby Brissett launched a deep sideline pass to Foster that looked perfectly thrown but Jonathan Jones made a really nice recovery and tipped it away.
- Jones (yes Jonathan) then bobbled and dropped a kickoff
- Devin McCourty made a nice play of breaking up a deep post pattern that Jimmy G. threw to Tony Washington.
- Brady and Chris Hogan connected on a nice crossing route
Hot Takes:
Stephon Gilmore spoke with the media after practice and said there are no friends on the field if they’re wearing a different jersey.
“There really are no friends on the field to me,” he said. “Once I’m on the field, we’re not friends, but off the field, I am very respectful. I respect everybody on the team, talk to them…it’s nothing personal. Just when I’m on the field, I’m super competitive and there are no friends.”
Danny Amendola told the media the reasons he re-signed back with New England. “I love playing for this city, I love playing for this team, and I love the atmosphere [Bill Belichick] brings,” Amendola said. “I want to play good football, and I feel like this is the place where I’ll be able to challenge myself and play the best football I can, and ultimately that’s why I’m here.”
Trey Flowers has kept his humble pie cap firmly on and spoke to the media about always trying to improve his technique. And Brandon Bolden cracked up the beat writers with his tales of having his baby daughter around. “She’s great, eats and poops a lot. Who doesn’t want that?”
Play of the Day: Devin Lucien made a fantastic catch of Jimmy G. deep post throw in the pouring rain. Lucien was running stride for stride with Cyrus Jones who had blanket coverage. The pass began to tail over Lucien’s opposite shoulder and he made a tremendous adjustment in mid-air to snag the ball down with Jones all over him and somehow hold on. Great play by a young WR that needs those splash plays if he wants to make the roster.
Two plays later Garoppolo threw his worst pass of the day, badly overthrowing Tony Washington down the right sideline where Nate Ebner easily picked off the pass. That sequence has been Jimmy G’s camp so far in a microcosm. One great play, one bad one.
After practice, I was asked by Mike Petraglia to record some video on our observations from the session on the field for CLNS.
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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)
