Well today was the trading deadline and as we all expected…oh wait sorry wrong sport.
Today was the 4th day of training camp for the New England Patriots and the 6th and 7th sessions overall. Some quick notes from the practice today.
Media gathered for the session felt that the defense was better than the offense at this point which is understandable it’s like the pitchers being ahead of the hitters in February during spring training.
DT Albert Haynesworth passes his conditioning run and was on the field for practice today. During the pads session in the afternoon he was involved in about half of the practice and it was reported that when he was on the field he looked “dominant”. Also it was noted that when paired with Vince Wilfork inside the two were a wrecking crew and gave a glimpse of what it could look like in Foxboro this year.
Other stellar defenders were LB Brandon Spikes, who was a hitting machine, and by all accounts the best player on the field. Other defenders earning praise from viewers were Jerod Mayo and Dane Fletcher. DB Leigh Bodden looked good as well grabbing a pick on a Brian Hoyer pass.
The offense tended to struggle and everyone associated seemed to have a tough day. The quarterback’s weren’t sharp, the running backs had a tough time hitting holes and holding onto the ball, the line had a tough time getting those holes open and the receivers had a case of the dropsy’s.
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WR Chad Ochocinco had a couple bad drops and leaped too early for another ball. He spent an extra 20 minutes after practice with the DB coach Josh Boyer going over some stuff.
Aaron Hernandez struggled in blocking, while QB Tom Brady has some low throws and miscommunications with some of the receivers.
A pair of rookies QB Ryan Mallett and RB Stevan Ridley each had a fumble, as did RB Danny Woodhead.
Brady even stayed after practice to do some more running while Mallett hung around to work on his footwork.
While it may not have been great I believe this was only the second session in pads so far and the players missed a lot of time due to the lockout. So things that would be worked on during OTA’s now have to be compressed into the short time they have in training camp.
One other note from camp Boston Celtic All-Star guard Rajon Rondo was seen hanging out during practice and made contact with some of the Patriots players. The two teams have been linked the last few seasons with players from both teams supporting the other.
Earlier in the day Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio met with the media and he had a few things to day that were of interest.
First he expects “The Lawfirm” BenJarvus Green-Ellis to be in camp very shortly. Green-Ellis is a restricted free agent and can sign with any team but New England can chose to match the offer. It almost sounds like he is just going to end up re-signing with the Patriots this week.
He also noted that contract discussions are on going with OL Matt Light. Hopefully they will have Light wrapped up and signed fairly shortly.
And on rookie Marcus Cannon, Cesario says “he looks great, he has done everything he has been asked to do and we’re optimistic.” Current Cannon is on the Active/Non-Football Injury List due to his cancer treatments.
The team will not be practicing on Monday as they were given the day off. The new CBA calls for one day off during the first week of practice. For all the latest training camp information go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.
Stay with Sox & Dawgs for all the latest Patriots news through the free agent frenzy. We will post larger signings and trades as soon as we can and will recap the minor days near the end of the day.
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