On Rookie Camp and Maroney...

Saturday observations from Mike Reiss of the Globe:

* Receiver Chad Jackson made a positive first impression, catching everything thrown his way and making a few difficult grabs on high-thrown balls and one over the middle. Forced to pick one player who stood out from this practice, the answer would be Jackson.
* Players wore shorts, jerseys (no pads) and helmets for the indoor practice.
* There was a lot of work on pass-catching and running back Laurence Maroney and tight end David Thomas were consistent in hauling in throws from Corey Bramlet (the only QB in camp). Thomas made one very nice grab on a long crossing route, and Maroney outran outside linebacker Jeremy Mincey to snare a long touchdown toss.
* Tight end Garrett Mills wasn’t as consistent, with a few tough passes bouncing off his hands.
* Kicker Steve Gostkowski showed solid leg strength while booting kickoffs. He consistently was kicking the ball from one end zone to the other end zone in the 80-yard practice bubble.
* It was difficult to gauge the speed of all the players, but Maroney, Jackson and Thomas all gained separation when needed, and looked the part. Maroney looks fast.

AND Reiss' Sunday observations:

* Head coach Bill Belichick spent some early time with the outside linebackers -- Jeremy Mincey and Pierre Woods -- giving them one-on-one instruction as the team was broken into drills specific by position.
* Players wore shorts, jerseys and helmets (no pads).
* With heavy rains in the area, the workout was held inside at the Dana Farber Fieldhouse.
* Laurence Maroney, Chad Jackson and David Thomas, the team’s top three draft picks, continue to snare most every catchable ball thrown their way. Jackson, specifically, seems to catch balls away from his body with fine form.
* Defensive back Vernell Brown (free agent) intercepted a pass thrown late and behind Chad Jackson in passing drills. Cornerback Willie Andrews (7th round) had a nice pass breakup on Jackson along the sideline, closing fast as the ball was thrown a bit late.
* Tight ends David Thomas and Garrett Mills worked on long snapping in a punt drill. Thomas seemed a bit more polished with the skill. Mills had a nice catch across the middle in passing drills later in the practice, as the ball arrived as he cut.
* Dan Stevenson, the sixth-round pick who primarily played right guard at Notre Dame, got some work in at center.
* Corey Bramlet remains the lone quarterback in camp.
* Rookie free agent receiver Matt Shelton had a few drops in positional work. Fellow rookie free agent Erik Davis had one drop, but also made some nice catches.

The Felger article is the one that excites me the most:
http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=139214

And lastly, Laurence Maroney who is wearing #39. I was told to check him out on a website called youtube, some guy put together a Maroney video.
Watch it. If you can't spend the entire 4 minutes, make sure you at least fast forward to 1:25 and watch that play but most iportantly, watch the play at 2:20. Speed, Vision, WOW!!! (The guy that put it together set it to some movie music, and it gives you goose bumps when you watch the 2:20 highlite because the music all kicks in - nice!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwBbBY0tf6E&search=new%20england%20patriots

Tell your friends you heard it here!