Roche: Observations From Day 1 Of Patriots Training Camp
FOXBORO (CBS) - After nearly six months without Patriots football, it's great to have the Patriots back at it on the practice fields of Gillette Stadium.
Here's a few observations from day one of training camp:
-David Andrews and new defensive lineman Michael Bennett were both absent from practice...
-Isaiah Wynn - who missed his rookie campaign with an Achilles injury - was the left tackle early on but when the Pats went 11 v 11, Joe Thuney took his spot, Ted Karras was in the left guard slot....
-Jerod Mayo had the headset on while coaching the defense during the 11 v 11 drills...
-When special teams work is taking place on one field...Tom Brady traditionally does extra 1 on 1 work with key receivers. Over the years, it's been Randy Moss, Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, etc. On day one, it was first round draft pick WR N'Keal Harry and old friend TE Ben Watson....
-Also during that special teams time rookie QB Jarrett Stidham was being tutored on his footwork....
-Just a different look with no Rob Gronkowski out there. First of all, he's just a massive man...and he was always chirping during offense vs defense competition. He loved trash-talking and most of the time, he backed it up....
-QB Danny Etling wasn't wearing the usual red QB jersey. Instead, he wore a white jersey and took reps with wide receivers and special teams. ESPN's Mike Reiss tossed out the idea of Etling perhaps doing what Taysom Hill did so well for the saints last year. After practice, Etling took the "whatever it takes" approach when asked about it. Should be fun to watch during the preseason.....
-Tom Brady threw a lot of passes on day one and threw a lot during drill work. Brady needs to get up to speed with so many new wideouts and it looked like he was fully aware of that fact with how much throwing he did...in WR vs DB goal line work, Brady threw to Braxton Berrios, Maurice Harris, Gunner Olszewski, Ryan Davis, Dontrelle Inman, Damoun Patterson, Jakobi Meyers, N'Keal Harry, Phillip Dorsett...in other words, everybody!..
-Brady did throw an early pick in goal line 2 WR vs 2 DB work....Jonathan Jones had the interception. Jones, who has made significant progress over the years, also had a nice break-up during 11 v 11 drills on a pass from Brady to Berrios....
-The loudest roar from the crowd came on a Brady 11 v 11 TD pass to N'Keal Harry with coverage from Devin McCourty. Harry reached behind to make the catch....
-Punt return duties were manned by Gunner Oslewski, Brandon Bolden, Phillip Dorsett, and Braxton Berrios......
-Kickoff returners were Brandon Bolden, Jon Jones, Gunner Oslewski, and Braxton Berrios...
-Bill Belichick is constantly coaching his players up all over the field and that was no different on day one... At one point, Bill was working with the defense...specifically D-lineman Mike Pennel, Jr., Dont'a Hightower, and Devin McCourty.....
-The tempo is always up in camp....and when the entire offense shifted from one end of the field to another..who but O-Line coach Dante Scarnecchia was 10 yards ahead of everyone else running ahead...71 years young and still going strong....
-And by the way...Dante was first Patriot coach or player on the field.....
