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August 7, 2007
Day 11, 1st practice
FOXBOROUGH -- Here are five observations from the Patriots lone practice today:
1) A new face. In the middle of today's practice, a new player appeared on the field in a No. 38 jersey. That player is presumably cornerback Dante Wesley, who was reportedly acquired from the Bears for a conditional draft choice. While the presence of a newcomer might have been a surprise to onlookers, it wasn't to the players on the field, as they had been informed earlier in the day by coach Bill Belichick that a personnel move had been made. Wesley, who is a sturdier cornerback at 6-1, 211, figures to add depth on defense and could be a factor on special teams. He took some repititions at cornerback during practice.
2) Defense gets it going. The defense was buzzing around the field, and we counted five interceptions (Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, Gemara Williams, James Sanders, Mike Richardson). After some of the picks, defenders were celebrating, taking joy in stonewalling the offense. Cornerback Ellis Hobbs explained that when defenders noticed members of the offense were upset, it led the defenders to turn up the excitement level that much higher. At one point, linebacker Tedy Bruschi was motioning to the crowd to get them into it.
3) Brady fuming. As quarterback Tom Brady walked off the field, he appeared to be angry at what had taken place at practice. He simply stared straight ahead, with his mouth closed and his paces brisk as he exited. Earlier in the practice, he was unhappy with a teammate and let him have it. It wasn't the only time Brady, who was picked off by linebacker Mike Vrabel at one point, showed such emotion. He was not pleased at various points of practice.
4) Dynamite defensive backs. Cornerback Randall Gay had one of his better practices, batting away a few passes, one of which led to an interception by James Sanders (nice play to corral the ball with one hand). The other was a solid, diving play near the sideline on a ball that was thrown toward the corner of the end zone. Meanwhile, Sanders and Ellis Hobbs both had nice pass breakups. A lot of spirit was shown by the defensive backs, which raised the energy level of the practice.
5) Caldwell checks in. One of the best plays for the offense came when receiver Reche Caldwell dove to haul in a Tom Brady pass over the middle, with rookie Brandon Meriweather in coverage. Caldwell has been getting more repititions with Randy Moss not on the field, and he's shown up at times with some nice plays.
Posted By: mreiss | Time: 05:32:11 PM | E-mail | Link
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