The Patriots held practice session #19 of the preseason in shorts and shells in front of the general public at Foxboro earlier today.

Among the players missing the session were LB/DE Jermaine Cunningham, DT Albert Haynesworth, LB Brandon Spikes, DE Mike Wright and WR Taylor Price. Several other players watched practice but did not participate as they are rehabbing various injuries among those players were RB Kevin Faulk, CB Ras-I Dowling, DE Shaun Ellis and S James Sanders.

Rookie RB Stevan Ridley returned to practice today after suffering a leg injury on Monday.  T Matt Light continues to be held out of the 11-on-11 team drills making it unlikely that he will play Thursday night against Tampa Bay.

The offense continues to go through a rough patch as QB Brian Hoyer got picked a couple times, once each by CB Leigh Bodden and S Brandon Meriweather.  S Patrick Chung also grabbed himself a pair of INT’s in the drills on QB Tom Brady.  Rookie QB Ryan Mallett continues to show off his powerful arm in camp as he connected on long passes to WR Matthew Slater and another to rookie WR Jeremy Ross, both came on coverage by CB Devin McCourty.

Rookie TE Will Yeatman, an undrafted free agent, took the third team tight end reps today over rookie draft pick TE Lee Smith who seems to be falling back a bit.  It looks like Smith now may have some competition for the third tight end spot, should there be a roster opening for it come September.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Meriweather did get a bunch of 1^st team reps today but when it came to working on prep work for Tampa Bay it was actually Sergio Brown who was paired with Chung at the safeties.

LB Jerod Mayo says he is comfortable playing anywhere and today at practice he played both inside and outside.  Since he has been in New England he has been an inside linebacker but at Tennessee Mayo played outside and he’s pretty good going sideline to sideline.

At the end of the session WR’s Wes Welker and Chad Ochocinco both attempted 34-yard field goals and both missed drawing groans and moans from their teammates.  Both, by the way, have appeared as a kicker in a NFL game in their careers.

Ochocinco once again wore his yellow shoes in practice, while P Zoltan Mesko wore an orange shoe on his kicking foot.

Head Coach Bill Belichick thinks the team has improved and that they have a good attitude.  “We’ve pushed them pretty hard in the practices and drills…we’ve had a lot of guys fighting through bumps and bruises staying out there on the field.”

Former Patriots DL Ty Warren who recently signed with the Denver Broncos tore a triceps muscle yesterday in practice.  The Broncos have not decided whether to place Warren on the IR.

The Patriots worked out WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh and S Darren Sharper yesterday. Apparently according to a report, S Renaldo Hill was not worked out.  There has been no contract offer made to either player.

The NFL Supplemental Draft is on Wednesday and there are five players eligible for the draft and as of right now former Ohio State QB Terrell Prior is not one of them.  He is meeting with the NFL today in an effort to be eligible for the Wednesday draft.

Any team that selects a player in the Supplemental Draft losses that corresponding pick in the NFL Draft next April.  So for an example, Oakland selects a player in the 4^th round they would then forfeit their 2012 4^th round pick in the regular draft.

The Patriots are $9.2 million under the salary cap and that is not including the $3 million veteran exception that they have to ask for.  They are currently 16^th in being under the cap in the league.  Clubs must spend 89% of the $120.375 million cap for the 2011 season or money goes back to the NFLPA at the end of the season.

The Patriots announced their practice schedule

Wednesday

Walkthrough will be held from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.

The Patriots Experience will be open from Noon to 3 p.m.

For all the latest training camp information including updated practice times go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

Former New England Patriots defensive back and position coach Corwin Brown who held the Granger IN police and SWAT team in a 7-hour standoff last week will be arrested upon his release from the hospital according to the Chicago Tribune.

Brown, who was hospitalized after suffering what police said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the torso during the incident, has been charged with Class B felony confinement, Class C felony confinement and Class D felony domestic battery, according to a statement from the St. Joseph County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.

Brown is undergoing treatment for a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his torso.

To see the statement released from the Brown family, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Brown’s family released the following statement alluding to it that they feel he is suffering the after effects of head injuries from NFL play much like those of the late Dave Duerson.

First, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for the many prayers and offers for help and assistance from family, friends, former teammates and coaches during this very difficult time for our family.

We truly are sorry for the events which unfolded Friday, August 12, 2011.   The pain and suffering experienced by our family has been overwhelming the last few days, but we are relived and thankful that the outcome didn’t come to a tragic ending. We thank God and ask for his forgiveness.

We would also like to thank the members of St. Joseph County Police, J.T. and Sonny for their professionalism in handling the situation and helping to save Corwin’s life.  He was not meant to leave us Friday, August 12.

Corwin inflicted the most serious harm to himself and his family with a gunshot wound, but thankfully, the bullet missed all vital organs.  He finally cried for help, surrendered and prayed for forgiveness.

But there is a tragedy in this story which has unfolded over the last several years.  Many are asking, what would cause a young man who has been blessed beyond all measure, with a life so promising that he would put himself and his family in harm’s way? We believe Corwin is suffering from symptoms similar to those experienced by the late Dave Duerson and were caused by the many notable collisions during Corwin’s career in the NFL.  For those reasons, Corwin chose to not disclose his symptoms, as he did not want to bring shame to any coach, team, organization, or the NFL.

We can no longer remain silent and we believe it is important that his former teams, teammates, coaches and the NFL to understand the severity of this situation.   As a result, we have reached out to neurologist Dr. Robert Cantu in Boston to request a consultation with Corwin and our family. We are hopeful that we can connect soon and he will agree to help Corwin and our family.  Certainly, we realize there will be a significant financial cost to bear, and we offer our plea for help.

Corwin loved his profession and was one of the best at his position.  

He enjoyed playing for some of the greatest coaches of all times, Dr. J.W. Smith of Julian High School in Chicago; Bo Schembechler who coached Corwin at University of Michigan; and Bill Parcells while he was at the New England Patriots and New York Jets.  Corwin’s dream was to one day become a head coach, so he could give back to a game that gave him so much.

It was Bill Parcell who stated in a 1999 New York Daily News article that Corwin had a bright future in coaching, “He’s been in the foxhole with me for a long time,” said Parcells.  “He’s a real special guy.”

The Corwin we know and love is gifted intellectually and athletically and loves his family.  We remember him going to the University of Michigan motivated to be a “Michigan Man,” energetic and full of laughter, then returning from the NFL not trusting, suspicious, distant, gloomy, exhausted and depressed.

Corwin helped so many people over the years, and now we pray for help in his time of need. We pray for his healing and recovery.  We pray for those who may have answers to please come forth and help our family.  We pray that his former teams and the league that he adored hear our cries and provide assistance.  Most of all we pray for studies to better understand and prevent this from happening to another player, as well as current families dealing with the same situation.  

Finally, we ask for the media to respect our privacy as we seek support for Corwin and our family with coaching and counseling.  We plan to make no other statement on this issue, until we better understand the nature of Corwin’s symptoms.

God kept Corwin Brown here for a reason and we pray we find that reason.  Please keep Corwin, Melissa, Corwin Jr., Tayla and Jaedan in your prayers.

Sincerely,

The Brown Family

Brown, a Michigan graduate, played professionally for the Patriots, New York Jets and Detroit Lions.  He later was a coach for the Patriots and Jets in the NFL and the University of Virginia and the University of Notre Dame in the NCAA.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

The 18^th session of training camp was a full pads session held inside the practice bubble due to the rainy conditions outside.  That meant the open public practice session was cancelled, as was the Patriots Experience.  You can hopefully try again tomorrow or on Wednesday.

WR Wes Welker met with the media and he says he feels really good more than a year removed from his ACL injury.  “This is the best I’ve felt in my career.  I think just (in) the knowledge of the game and being able to be (100%) healthy.”

Asked if he really meant it’s the best he’s felt in his entire career, he again answered yes.

Director of Player Development Nick Caserio also spoke about Welker and he is just amazed at how well Wes has come back from the injury.

Caserio also touched on the workout players and the amount of players they’ve had into to camp for a look.  He said that going back into his notes from last year they have seen the same amount of players.  It just seems like a lot more due to the compressed time period of training camp due to the lockout.  He said the team is just doing its due diligence, doing their homework and staying prepared as they gather information on players.  You never know when an injury will pop up and one of these workouts will help the team make a decision on whether or not to sign a player.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Among the players missing the bubble session were DT Albert Haynesworth, LB/DE Jermaine Cunningham, LB Brandon Spikes, WR Julian Edelman, WR Brandon Tate, WR Taylor Price and DE Mike Wright.  Several others missed the session but watched from sidelines and worked on their rehab.

T Matt Light was more involved today as he works toward starting in Miami Week 1 on Monday Night football.  OL Zach Roth also returned after being hurt a couple days ago.

Some notes on players from the session include DL Mark Anderson who looks really good.  The former Bear has been playing well and was singled out post game last week by Bill Belichick.

RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis looked exceptionally quick on the turf.  Probably safe to say “The Lawfirm” is raring to go.

Rookie QB Ryan Mallett continued to get a lot of reps today after starter Tom Brady was done with his.  QB Brian Hoyer also saw a bunch of reps as well.  Rumors are Mallett takes on Tampa Bay and Hoyer gets Detroit.  I don’t know if they’ll split the games in half or if they are going to play the entire game.  So where does that leave Brady?  Waiting to blow the doors off the Dolphins defense on September 12.

Brady and WR Chad Ochocinco were seen talking to each other between plays and reps as they seem to be working on the nuances of the Patriots passing game.  WR Deion Branch and TE Aaron Hernandez both made a nice catch during drills.

The opinion of observers on free agent signee DL Andre Carter is that he is a hard core, go all the time practice player.  He’s a lot for the offensive line to handle and he plays the run as well as the pass.  In football parlance…he’s a beast.  Looks like the Mad Genius of Foxboro has found another potential gem in a scrap heap.

Defensively, S Sergio Brown has been gaining more snaps in practice over Brandon Meriweather.  It’s been looking like Meriweather might get bumped down the depth chart or possibly released as the team looks to get stronger at safety.  Today they brought in Darren Sharper and Renaldo Hill for workouts.

The defensive backs as a whole had a lot of pass deflections today, and while the corners are on lockdown mode the middle of the field has been susceptible to being open and Welker has been picking it apart.

S Patrick Chung had the hit of the day when he absolutely plastered Hernandez after a catch.  As Hernandez got out into the flat Chung was waiting for him and promptly introduced the Connecticut-born tight end to the turf.

On every play during team drills, Belichick would call out down and distance and then the offensive unit would have to run a play for it.  Just more situational football.

The teams practice schedule for the next few days is as follows:

Tuesday

Practice will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Patriots Experience will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Wednesday

Walkthrough will be held from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.

The Patriots Experience will be open from Noon to 3 p.m.

For all the latest training camp information including updated practice times go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem