Roche: More Than 21,000 Attend Patriots 'Competitive' Day 3 Training Camp Session
FOXBOROUGH (CBS) -- The Patriots held their first practice in full pads of their 2016 training camp Saturday at the Gillette Stadium practice fields in Foxborough.
Here are a few thoughts and observations:
We begin with something that was insanely awesome: 21,731. That's the attendance for Saturday's practice. Now I know we've said that training camp practices are a great thing to experience if you're a Pats fan, but never would expect 21,000-plus to come out on a late July Saturday. Crazy and some folks didn't have a good viewpoint as they watched from Gillette Stadium ramps. Kudos to those that came out to watch and cheer their Patriots.
If Day One's word was "enthusiasm" and Day Two was "frustration," "competitive" might best sum up Day Three. From 1-on-1 offensive linemen versus defensive linemen battles to goal line running plays, there was a lot of competitiveness as the Pats practiced in full pads.
What caught my eye though was after a good round of battles between offense and defense, there were plenty of hand slaps and pats on the back for each other before each unit went back to its own work. No fighting or anything like that as we've seen in past camps.
Even though the temperature only hit 80, it was a scorching hot sun that the players worked through. To me, it made it a "mental toughness" day for the players, kind of a "who is football important to?" type of day.
Rob Gronkowski continues to celebrate every touchdown he scores, even here in practice, like it was a crucial regular season touchdown. Funny to watch as Gronk beat Patrick Chung for a touchdown and promptly raised a finger in the air in excitement before heading over to Martellus Bennett for a chest-bump.
Some players just seem to stand out each day as you watch over the course of two-plus hours. I thought tight end Bryce Williams had a good day catching the ball and also in his route running. Tight end A.J. Derby made some plays too.
Not surprisingly on the first padded workout, there were some injuries. The biggest was offensive lineman Jonathan Cooper, who went down with a foot injury and was carted off the field. NFL Network's Ian Rappaport reports it wasn't structural. Fingers crossed, as Cooper had worked with the first unit at right guard so far. On the positive side, sixth round draft pick Ted Karras stepped in and had what looked to be a good day. Keep in mind, Dante Scarnecchia says he wants a five-man unit this season as an offensive line and not the rotations we've seen in the past few years.
Tom Brady was noticeably frustrated Friday, even slamming his helmet a couple of times. However, Saturday was a different day. Brady shouted words of encouragement to his receivers throughout the practice and seemed to be playing with a good, solid energy all day.
Brady did let out an expletive after yet another pass attempt was blocked by one of the giant paddles that a staff member was using to make it harder on Brady. The difference this year seems to be that staffers are not only holding the paddles up in the passing lanes, but also "trying" to swat at passes, something that is ticking off No. 12.
Meanwhile, in the past two years, we've watched in camp as Brady and Gronk have worked with players off to the side while special teams units were working on another field. First, it was with cornerback Darrelle Revis and then last year it was with tight end Scott Chandler. This year it was Martellus Bennett.
On Saturday, Aaron Dobson was added to the group. I feel like Dobson is that high draft pick potential superstar player that everyone feels can be a superstar. He has the body type that the Pats have only had when Randy Moss was here, displaying size and speed to possibly emerge as a top wide receiver, but he's never been able to live up to that potential. Now, maybe the Pats are going to give him one last chance to succeed here in New England. Dobson is certainly someone to watch in preseason games and joint practices. Heard a few "Atta boy A-D" shouts from Brady Saturday.
Jimmy Garoppolo threw some nice passes on Saturday, most noticeably deep balls to James White and Keshawn Martin. Garoppolo does seem to be in control and as comfortable as one can be in year three. His command at the line of scrimmage seems good and his read progression looks to be quickening up. It will be interesting to see if he looks better and better in joint practices and preseason games.
One thing that's been fairly obvious over the Brady years is identifying back-up quarterbacks that look like they can throw and belong in the NFL. Jacoby Brissett fits that bill. I remember seeing Matt Cassel and Brian Hoyer the same way. By the way, Brissett did have a pick as Vinnie Sunseri got one of his passes.
Curious to see how much Donald Brown might help. The former UConn star is probably on his last stop in terms of trying to establish himself in the league. He carried the ball quite a bit Saturday and looked good.
LeGarrette Blount helped the first team offense go 2-0 in one goal-line battle as Blount ran behind Nate Solder, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Karras and Cameron Fleming.
Bryan Stork left practice and didn't return. D.J. Foster did, too.