 | | |
sports > football > patriots > blogs
« Brady checks in |
Main
| Hill released »
August 6, 2007
Day 10, 1st practice
Here are five observations from this morning’s practice:
1) Situations supreme. The Patriots spend a lot of time on situations, specifically those at the end of a game. This morning was about getting the field-goal unit on the field -- once with no timeouts remaining, and other times after a stoppage. Because the practice was held in the stadium, all the pertinent information (i.e. time remaining; timeouts remaining) was on the scoreboard for players to see.
2) Britt in the mix. Through the early portion of camp, we’ve noted the right tackle competition between Nick Kaczur and Ryan O’Callaghan. But second-year player Wesley Britt shouldn’t be overlooked. For the second straight practice, Britt lined up next to right guard Stephen Neal, a reminder that he could be part of the mix as well. Britt started against the Bengals last season (Oct. 1) -- his only start -- and held his own.
3) Brady & Stallworth. At one point in practice, quarterback Tom Brady and receiver Donte’ Stallworth worked one-on-one, with Brady firing passes to Stallworth in the corner of the end zone. Stallworth said it wasn’t necessarily on the practice agenda, but was something Brady wanted to do. “Tom is pretty much the director,” Stallworth relayed after the workout. “If Tom wants to do something, you don’t ask questions. You go do it.”
4) Gostkowski from 57. When it comes to leg strength, they don’t come much better than kicker Stephen Gostkowski. In situational work, he crushed a 57-yard field goal, which was good by at least 5 yards. His long last season as a rookie was 52 yards (vs. Bears).
5) Holding in focus. To say there is a competition for field-goal holding is probably pushing things, but the Patriots cover all their bases, which is why backup quarterback Matt Cassel did some holding in situational work at the end of practice. The holder spot is tied into the punting competition. Veteran punter Josh Miller is the incumbent holder, and if one of the team’s young punters pushes him for the punting job, the Patriots would likely turn to Cassel to hold.
Posted By: mreiss | Time: 01:12:21 PM | E-mail | Link
|
|
|
