Patriots Training Camp Blog: Defense Still Strong At Shorter Practice On Thursday
FOXBORO (CBS) -- There were lots of absences from Patriots training camp practice No. 7 on Thursday in Foxboro. It was a day where you can clearly see "the grind" -- both mentally and physically -- beginning to set in.
The good news is the players have an off day on Saturday and then next week it's on to joint practices with New Orleans (followed, of course, by the preseason opener with the Saints at Gillette).
Meanwhile, here's a few thoughts and observations from New England's seventh practice:
-- No Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, Donald Brown, Brandon Bolden, Bryce Williams, Jonathan Cooper, Bryan Stork or Keshawn Martin. Nate Washington participated a bit late in practice after being out since the first padded practice, so that's a good sign.
-- I thought it was another good day for the defense. The run defense was solid with Markus Kuhn making a big surge during a 9-on-7 interior running situation. Cre'von LeBlanc and Vinnie Sunseri each made nice breakups in the 1-on-1 receivers vs. defensive backs matchups too.
-- Meanwhile, Duron Harmon picked off a deep Tom Brady throw and made a point of returning it to the end zone long after the play was dead. Perhaps a message or "returning the favor" after Gronk and the offense had been celebrating excessively earlier in camp after scoring touchdowns.
-- I also thought Jordan Richards stood out a bit on Thursday. He made a nice play against tight end Martellus Bennett, who has six inches and about 80 pounds on the defensive back.
-- There were several plays when I though the Pats defensive front got the best of the offensive line in 11-on-11 situations. There were a handful of plays that Brady or Jimmy Garoppolo would have been sacked if they were going at full-speed (and allowed to hit the quarterbacks).
-- I continue to enjoy the coaching/teaching aspect of camp. After one particular situation, Bill Belichick was seen talking/teaching with Rob Ninkovich and then with Chris Long. He was with Long for quite a while and you could see Bill using his hands to illustrate where and which way Long could/should go on certain plays. Belichick is very hands on during camp.
-- Meanwhile, on one particular sequence, Dante Scarnecchia was ticked off at one of his o-lineman and let him have it. He threw his hands down and was yelling and screaming. It might just be me, but I feel like you can see a sense of urgency from Scarnecchia as he tries to find a set rotation of healthy linemen. So far, it's been tough with many of his candidates banged up.
--- Finally, don't forget the only place to watch the preseason games is WBZ-TV. Our first game is Thursday, August 11 when New Orleans comes to Gillette Stadium. Yours truly, Christian Fauria, Matt Chatham, Paul Perillo and Andy Hart will return as the broadcast team. Can't wait!
