Day 2 Observations From Patriots Training Camp: Angry Brady And Bill The Teacher
FOXBORO (CBS) -- A look at what went down at day two of Patriots training camp at Gillette Stadium.
-Tom Brady showed some frustration on the field during practice. He shouted at some offensive linemen and was intercepted on a leaping grab by Duron Harmon. When a pass intended for Malcolm Mitchell during 7-on-7 drills was batted down by a paddle, he lost it. Brady grabbed his face mask with both hands for several long seconds and the proceeded to slam it to the ground as what looked to be his mouth and ear pieces went flying.
Then after a set of 11-on-11, he walked over to a spot, dropped to one knee and again swung his helmet to the ground. We all know Brady gets upset when things don't get well -- especially when it comes to execution -- so it just may have been a case of frustration with the way practice was going.
However, I also can't help but wonder just how ticked off/frustrated he is that he actually has to sit because of Deflategate.
- I will never get tired of watching Brady throw, and will miss when he's gone. Brady hit DeAndre Carter and Rob Gronkowski on two particularly beautiful (but difficult) completions. They were the type of passes that only Tom Brady could make as he threw to a spot on the field -- not the receiver. Special.
-- Lots of coaching/teaching on this Friday when the Patriots once again practiced without pads. Bill Belichick always professes his love for teaching the game and it shined through on this day. We caught him telling rookie receiver Malcolm Mitchell, "you gotta get open" - and then a few players later after Mitchell made a nice catch in the end zone, he gave him a high-five as he ran by.
Bill was also hands on showing some techniques to veteran safety Patrick Chung. Teaching never stops.
- Belichick also caught our eye with some creative hands-on work with his specialists. As practice winds down, Belichick always calls for Stephen Gostkowski to come out and boot several field goals. On this day, despite the rain and already slippery grass conditions, Bill decided to add to it.
First, just before long snapper Joe Cardona snapped the ball, Belichick took a water bottle and squirted water all over the ball. Next time, as players were all lined up, he squirted at the hands and face of holder Ryan Allen. And finally, the next time he did it to Gostkowski as he was readying to and kicking the ball. All field goal attempts were good, by the way.
That just goes to show you the little things that Belichick thinks of that could come up in the season such as rain/inclement weather conditions. He seemed to have a smirk on his face the entire time he was doing it, too.
We also talked to punter Ryan Allen about it and he said, basically, when the coach first did it he was surprised but now understands that it's another way to face the elements.
"I think the first time when I was a rookie I was like, really? I had just started holding when I got here during that 2013 season, and it's funny," he said. "But I'll tell you, it helps. It teaches you to focus and really zone in to the fine-tuning of holding and being precise for Steve back there."
- Watched un-retired offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia for a while during practice. From individual to 2-on-2 to 11-on-11 drills it always seemed the same from him: watch, shout a thought or two, write something down on a piece of paper, repeat. No anger, just seemingly more teaching.
Also, I found Dante's comments from the other day (relayed by ESPN's Mike Reiss) about wanting a set rotation this season interesting. We've become used to lots of rotation among the o-linemen so that will be interesting to watch.
- As I mentioned, lots of teaching/coaching going on Friday. Watched Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia working/explaining some things to Cedric Thompson and Vinnie Sunseri as Pats DB's were working on red zone communications/coverages. Again, no screaming. Just teaching.
- LeGarrette Blount said on day one of camp that he worked hard in the offseason on his ball-catching skills and it's something that has caught my eye early on. Blount figures that if he can catch the ball effectively that it might lead to more playing time. I also loved watching Blount sprint down the sidelines Thursday to congratulate Aaron Dobson on a nice catch in the end zone. Asked him about it afterward and he said he has become close to Dobson. It's also a great way to begin forming that team chemistry.
This is a close team that always handles distractions well, and it shows itself in camp.
-- Loved Dont'a Hightower throwing a ball at Gronk after the tight end caught a touchdown pass and broke into a bit of a dance in the end zone. Hightower was on the sideline on the play but I'm sure he has plenty of pride/belief in his defense, so he showed a bit of anger there. Like it.
-- Loved, loved, loved watching Nate Solder after practice playing with his son Hudson. Hudson was diagnosed with tumors on his kidneys but Solder says he's doing awesome right now. We sometimes forget that these players are human. Solder, by the way, looks good as he comes back from a torn biceps injury that ended his 2015 season in Week 5.
- It's been fun to watch the first two practices. Can't wait for the first padded practice of camp Saturday.
