FOXBOROUGH -- Here are five observations/nuggets from this morning's rookie minicamp practice -- with players wearing shorts and no pads -- in the Dana-Farber Field House:
1) Mayo starts his work on the weak side. First-round draft choice Jerod Mayo got his initial work at the weakside inside linebacker spot in the 3-4 alignment. He was most often paired with sixth-round pick Bu Ruud, who was playing on the strongside, over the tight end. Mayo has the flexibility to play both the strong- and weakside spots. The weakside spot was held down by Tedy Bruschi for most of last season. When Rosevelt Colvin sustained a season-ending injury in late November, Bruschi moved to the strongside, with Junior Seau taking over on the weakside.
2) Tom Brady mentors rookies. After the session, linebacker Shawn Crable talked about how QB Tom Brady held court with some of the rookies in the training room before practice. Brady and Crable have a natural connection, as both attended Michigan, but Crable said it wasn't a Michigan-only type of setting. "He just got done working out and came in to speak to us," Crable said. "He just gave us some advice, things he has done over eight, nine years."
3) Eyes on the corners. A lot of football players look good in shorts and T-shirts, so it can be dangerous to look too much into one practice, but rookie cornerbacks Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite both appear to be very quick. Wheatley, wearing Asante Samuel's old No. 22, primarily lined up at Samuel's old left cornerback spot. Wilhite was mostly on the right side, although when he switched to the left, he had an early-practice interception after showing nice explosion while breaking on a ball thrown in front of him.
4) Total players = 27. There were 27 players on hand, which were broken down this way: 7 draft picks, 11 free-agent signings and 9 players in for tryouts. All of the tryouts were on offense (8) and punter (1). A list of those tryout players is not currently available. Of the 27 players, 14 were on offense (Matthew Slater included here), 12 on defense, 1 was a punter.
5) Matthew Slater -- two-way talent. Fifth-round draft choice Matthew Slater began practice working with the receivers, and at one point, Bill Belichick pulled him aside and tutored him on route-running. At the end of practice, Slater donned a blue temporary jersey and was playing safety. He intercepted a tipped pass on the final play of practice. "It felt good to be able to do both," Slater said after the workout. "I feel like I'm in a blessed situation. I'm glad they've given me the opportunity to work on both sides of the ball. I have a lot to learn."
Patriots coach Bill Belichick is scheduled to hold a press conference at noon. After the press conference, the plan will be to go through any notes from practice and pass along any other items that seemed noteworthy.
Something tells me our new "too short" corners will have doubters eating their words by season's end.
Dragosavich? Please?
Mike - Great work as usual. I really don't know what I would do with out your daily blog, especially during the off-season when Pats news can be somewhat scarce!
As for the "5 from practice" article, can you please provide us with a bit more insight around the different roles/responsibilities of the two inside linebackers in the 3-4 set? I understand weakside vs strongside involving where the tight end lines up, but what about when there are two tight ends in a formation, or when a tight end goes in motion?
Also, what would make Mayo a better fit for the weakside vs the strongside?
Tha
So, TB is in the house but veterans don't practice with the rookies? It was just the 27 guys on the field?
I'm very happy to hear TB is back in New England
Me too. Thank goodness Tom Brady is back at practice. I was worried he was going to show up on Dancing with the Stars....
Any news on Kevin O'Connell? How's he look?
Good stuff, though...
Agreed. This blog is my Patriots fix. You could talk about each players favorite places to eat and I would still read. I am so eager for an update.
Looks like Slater is following in the footsteps of Troy Brown - come in as a great special teams guy, look to contribute on offense and defense. Lets hope the talent level is there so that we don't miss the "other" TB too much.
Love to hear that Brady is there the first day to talk to the new players. This is Tom and Tedy's Team, all the way.
Love this bleeping team.
Yeah, I agree!! This is my only fix for Patriot info, now that I live on the West coast. Mike, thank you for keeping us up to date. I love the practice notes.
Now if we can just get Dunkin' Donuts, real pizza, and good Chinese food out here in LaLa Land, things would be perfect.
i heard dunkin is going to socal! i cant wait for our new young defense. i have a feeling this is going to be another spectacular year, but more mirroring of 03,04! HOMELAND DEFENSE!
@ Los Angeles: you have to go out to Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, or Alhambra for good Chinese food.
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