FOXBOROUGH -- The Patriots held a passing camp practice today, and it included the same 36 players who were on the field Wednesday.
LB Victor Hobson (6th year), S Tank Williams (7th year) and TE David Thomas (3rd year) were the "headline" attendees among veterans. Bill Belichick explained to reporters after the practice that the three-day passing camp was designed to give repetitions to players who haven't played as much in the team's system.
Here are five observations from today's session, which was held in shorts (no pads) on the upper practice fields:
1) Multiple WR vs. multiple DB work. One of the primary purposes of the practice seemed to be introducing pass-catchers to the team's multiple-receiver packages, and in turn, defensive backs to the team's multiple-defensive back packages. The offense would work on one field, the defense on the other, then the two would come together. We spotted rookie CBs Jonathan Wilhite and Terrence Wheatley with interceptions.
2) Victor Hobson runs better than advertised. Victor Hobson is making the transition from on-the-line OLB in the Jets' 3-4 defense to off-the-line ILB in the Patriots' 3-4 defense. In doing so, he will presumably be asked to run a bit more, and he appears to do so better than advertised. It's always dangerous to make judgments based on a late May passing camp without hitting, but the view from here is that Hobson is going to help the Patriots this season.
3) Junior Seau decision will be closer to training camp. In speaking with reporters after practice, Bill Belichick was asked if the possibility of Junior Seau's return was closer to reaching a resolution. "I'd say it would probably be closer to training camp than [early June's] mini-camp," he said.
4) Punter situation will not duplicate last year. Last season, the Patriots brought three punters to training camp (Josh Miller, Danny Baugher and Tom Malone) and Bill Belichick said at the time that the competition would be judged over a longer stretch of time, based on who was most consistent. The Patriots currently have three punters on their roster (Chris Hanson, Scott Player and Mike Dragosavich), but it's difficult to imagine a scenario in which all three will be at training camp. The reason is that NFL teams no longer have NFL Europa roster exemptions and are operating with a hard 80-player cap. That's why the next few weeks are especially important for Dragosavich, a rookie free agent, to show he's worthy of earning a coveted roster spot. From this vantage point, it is difficult to determine how well Dragosavich is doing.
5) OLBs bring impressive length to the field. The casual observer at practice can't help but take notice of the physical presence of OLBs Shawn Crable (6-5, 243) and Vince Redd (6-6, 260). While their true test will come when there is hitting and physical play, it is intriguing to consider the possibilities of what their sheer length could bring to the defense in terms of disruptive presences as pass rushers. They have long arms and long legs, and can make a passing lane seem quite narrow.
Hey Mike, In checking out the roster on patriots.com, I see 81 players. What exceptions are there to the 80-man limit now that the europe experiment is over?
Hi Paul. The draft picks don't officially count against the 80-man limit until they sign contracts.
--Mike
I think its funny how Andrews is reacting like nothing happened. A friend of mine works for the towing company who towed his car after the arrest and I guess Mr. Andrews was a real jerk, telling people, including the police that he was Willie Andrews from the Patriots, blah, blah blah, and that he was being treated unfairly. I guess he also was really rude to the receptionist, and the tow staff.
Basically he was the guy that all of us fans hate becasue he thinks he is special and has the hand of God on his shoulder. Take a page out of Troy Brown's book Andrews and learn some respect. Can't wait to see you playing for Manchester AFL 2 Arena league team in a few years!
It's real smart of you to judge someone based on hear-say; of course I'm sure you've never snapped at anyone when you had a bad day.
I am so happy someone has made a lenght analysis in regards to Redd and Crable... I have been saying for a month now that the patriots are going to purge some of there veteran Special team players like aleander, andrews, woods and maybe even IZZO? I feel like Redd can provide great lenght on DE at OLB and at DE he could be a good replacement for J Green if he leives next year, but my first vision for Redd is on punt and extra point DE teams where maybe his wingspan and length along with Crables' and Woods would be a great adition to our specialist scemes? I would hate to see the team do what they did last year and pass up some young talent for a elder veteran who is past his prime... at some point we need to move on for the benefit of the whole team and clearly age is starting to weigh down the whole team... Contrary to some beleifs i do not feel the DE was to fault in the SB but i would divi up blame like so; 50% off sceme and coaching, 25% O line, 25% def... Anyways, my point is i felt we could have used at least one more of those picks from last year, maybe kareem brown could have slimmed down to play DE or Justin rodgers could have replaced alexander on ST and DE considering the fact that alexander did not see any time in sub pkgs or anything he was predominately a ST guy and his ST was much better in 2006 than last year....Nevertheless i think the pats would be foolish if they cut loose some of these cats and lost them in the process of trying to sign them to the practice squad... i feel guyton and redd will not clear waivers so that being said Izzo and alexander may have to go to make room for the future??????????????
People forget that BB has carried upto 11 LB on the roster from 230 tweeners to 270 lb and mix them up.For the last few year we were avg around 8 LB the loss of depth was very apparent.
mike,
On a another front, does having defensive headset in a LB helmet help in a complex system like the patriots . In the past new veteran/rookie ILB were having getting the system down to call plays at the LOS and now with the headset it will be a play with 2 or 3 options which is picked as a reaction to the offensive presnap adjustment .hence,reducing the mental aspect out of the ILB position.
Mike,what (if anything) have you heard about Tommy Blake of TCU ? He was projected to be a first round pick before the 2007 season,but suffered some serious mental problems.He went undrafted and so far as I know is un-signed. Seems to be would be worth taking a gamble on.
I really can't wait to see some of these young lb's perform in the preseason.
Also always loved cassle, but I think gutierez (spelling) may be #2 when the season opens.
Comon Chad jackson, step up!
I think Tampa signed Tommy Blake as a F/A.
I attended Liberty and saw Vince Redd play half a dozen times in person. He is one of the most athletic 6-6 260 pounders in this years crop of rookies. Running will not be an issue with him. He should challenge right away for a variety of special team positions. If he can get his strength up (upper and lower body) he could be the leading canidate to take over for an aging Mike Vrabel.
Crable, Vrable... any similarities?.?.?.?.
Why is Woods so valuable? Not a degradation. Green's gotta get resigned.
My comment is directed toward Mr Rober Kraft owner of the Patriots on how he is handleing the position Bill Belcheck has created. What I mean Kraft is very character driven as what we are told. Therefore how can he accept that the other teams did not misinterpert the rules realating to spygate. I know he must be a forgiving man, but how can Bill look at Mr Kraft and say he misinterperted the rules.
I am a loyal Patiriots fan and this really bothers me that all over the country the Patriots are called cheaters. If Bill would have admitted that he really cheated it would have been handled a lot easier,,, If I were Mr Kraft I would have fired him for not being honest with him. Even if he did it today, instead of side stepping the media questioning him on this subject... It would have gone a long way to say character matters and winning by any means is not the ultimate goal.
Sincerely,
John
The SPIRIT OF SPYGATE and why didn't the Press press the NFL's dropping of the ball in their own wording?
I am disappointed that the Press, especially the Boston Press has not picked up on the subtleties of the Spy-gate and blown it open. I can clearly see how Belichick, and other coaches misinterpreted the “spirit” of the rule about Videotaping signals. The “rule” and the 2007 clarification “memo” have barely seen the light of day, but has come out in dribs and drabs is that misunderstanding is the use of the video tapes during the “game”. What I have been able to gather is that the letter of law doesn’t restrict teams from video taping other teams, it simply restricted the team to use that video tape during the game. This was interpreted by many to be the game at hand, just in the same manner you can not use any game film during the game at hand.
At the end of 2006 the NFL obviously felt there was some confusion and wrote the “memo” which tried to clarify the rule, but even the memo failed to make it clear that using video tape of signals was prohibited to be used for ANY game.
The Patriots took the high road and didn’t plead their case in the public court and instead accepted Goodel’s decision that they should have understood the “spirit” of the law. So the History books should show that the Patriots Violated an interpretation of the Spirit of the law.
Dear John Soccoccio,
I'm thrilled you don't own the Patriots. Thanks for brightening my day! Do you really think BB looked RK in the eye and said that? I could give a bleep what the rest of the country thinks of the Patriots. There's not a team in this country that wouldn't throw a truck load of money at BB to coach them. That you can't deny! Worry about the price of gas instead. Better yet, come up with a solution for the gas crisis and stop wringing your hands about the Patriots.
MOVEON.pat
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