Notes from Training Camp

I realize that I probably say this every year, but I'm going to say it again. If you get an opportunity to go to training camp you need to go. It is just a fantastic event. There's stuff for the kids to do, there's autographs to be had, and of course you get a glimpse of the team as it comes together.


I got there a little bit early (practice was to start at 230 and I arrived at the field by 2pm) and already the bleachers were nearly full. I sat on the hill in the grass which is about the best view you can get of both practice fields. It just to happens that I was near the press tent. Since it was early, I went over to chat with Mike Reiss, from the Boston Globe. He was the first media guy to arrive and was sitting by himself. He's a real nice guy, fun to chat with, maybe I'll invite him to golf as well. (My buddy called me a media whore.)

There were a lot of oohs and aahs from the fans as the players began to trickle onto the practice fields. A lot of "Look- there's Adalius" and "Look- there's Moss" and so on. Tom Brady was last to come out and he nearly got a standing ovation - the place went crazy.

Practice was held in full pads and there was certainly a LOT of hitting going on. There was a lot of first O versus first D, there was blitz pickup drills, there was some special teams work.


Adalius Thomas was once again working as the strong side middle line backer. This is a change of position from Baltimore where he played outside and was highly effective. To his credit his has held the company line saying that he'll play wherever they want him to. As far as the linebackers go, this could be a special year -IF they all stay healthy. Bruschi looks like the Bruschi of old, Vrabel is back on the outside where he belongs and Rosie looks good. Add in Junior Seau to back them all up and you've got quite a corps. Second year LB Pierre Woods also made some nice plays which is important to the depth of the LB's.


With Maroney in a non-contact RED jersey, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris got lots of action. While Morris looked pretty decent, he got beat by blitzers more often than you'd like to see. Kevin Faulk was just outstanding. He broke at least 3 runs, never missed a blitz pickup and was involved in the play of the day. Faulk motioned out of the backfield to a WR position and was followed by Bruschi in coverage. On the snap he ran a go route down the sideline followed very closely by Tedy, with Hobbs providing over the top help. Brady launched the ball into the tight coverage and it looked like he shouldn't have even thrown the ball. The ball came down right into Faulks hands, he tucked it and was pushed out by Hobbs. Bruschi was only a half step away, Hobbs was a half step away, yet Brady snuck the ball in perfectly. The place erupted.

On another play - one that I hope we'll see many more times- Brady hit Randy Moss deep. It was real subtle how Moss got open and may not have even been noticed by most bystanders. It appeared to be a play that wasn't designed to go to Moss, but Brady couldn't find anyone else open. Moss was barely coasting and was 40 or so yds downfield when Brady finally made the throw. Moss picked up on it and went into a sprint. I couldn't tell who was in coverage from my angle, but he was stride for stride with Moss - who eventually had to almost stop and wait for the ball to come down some 60 yds downfield. Moss looked up for the ball while "incidentally" bumping the safety and knocking him slightly off balance just as Moss jumped up to snare the ball. Brady has acknowledged that he hasn't been overly accurate when throwing to Moss. It almost seemed like he's trying too hard to make a perfect pass to him. In a lot of drills, when Brady wasn't putting where he wanted you could hear him give out an "AAAAGGHH" before the ball even got to Moss. It happened probably 5-6 times and only when throwing to Moss. One ball almost skipped to him, but Moss was able to reach down and pull it off the blades of grass.

Kelley Washington participated in practice and looked pretty good. The other WR that stood out was Jabar Gaffney. It's easy to see why many of the local writers are saying he'll start opposite Moss on opening day. What was really cool was the way they employed the 3 WR sets. The first Offense had Moss, Gaffney and Welker. One would assume that Moss and Gaffney would be the wide guys with Welker in the slot. Most of the time however, Welker would line up wide right with Moss wide left and Gaffney on Moss' side in the slot and it was an imposing sight to see them break the huddle and line up on the same side. Looking at the various formations, it was hard not to imagine what the hell an opposing defense will do to TRY to stop this team.

While Welker didn't really stand out on Offense, he had a good day returning punts. He will make a big difference for this team in the battle for field position. Another guy that really stood out on special teams was rookie free agent CB Larry Anam from BC. He's big and pretty fast, but he was relentless in his pursuit of the ball. He's a very long shot, but Belichick puts a premium on special teams, so maybe he's got a chance.

Overall it was a good, fast paced, hard hiting practice. Now I can't wait to see how it all comes together on game day!