< Back to Front Page Text size – +

Answers to rookie minicamp practice, Part II

Email|Link|Comments (3) Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff May 1, 2009 12:25 PM

1) From Andrew from Haverhill
Q: Mike, I'm curious where the 3 defensive lineman play. Brace and Pryor look like Nose Tackles, while Richard looks like he could play either Nose or End. Looking for insight as to whether they are playing to replace Wilfork or Seymour. I'm assuming they won't sign both to long term deals.
A: Andrew, the Patriots did not line up in 11-on-11 work. The d-linemen were “broken down” and working solely with line coach Pepper Johnson, in a 1-on-1 type setting, for most of the practice. Bill Belichick stopped by at one point.

2) From West:
Q: Mike, I'd be interested to know if any of the rookies seem more quietly confident at the outset than their compatriots. Do any of them appear wise beyond their years? Because the Patriots place so much value on maturity and on the mental part of the game, it's always an interesting trait to look for in the newbies.
A: West, I didn’t interview any of the players after practice, but from watching them on the field, I think Patrick Chung looks like a leader. I was also impressed with him yesterday in his press conference.

3) From Jim L.
Q: Mike, I'd like to know who is the first to [throw up] because they've been training for the 40, vertical jump, shuttle run, bench press, etc. rather than football.
A: Didn’t see anything like that from this practice Jim.

4) From Richard:
Q: Mike - watching Brandon Tate at UNC, you could see he was pretty thin. At the combine, he measured in at 6', 183lbs. I've seen him recently listed at 195lbs though, so perhaps he's bulked up. Would you say he physically looks the part at rookie camp, i.e., does he pass the eyeball test?
A: Just seeing him on the sideline, he passed my eyeball test. The true test, as we know, will come when the pads are on at training camp.

5) From Dean:
Q: Mike, Brace is my main curiosity as well. How well does he move and if he moves well do you think that will translate on the field. Didn't see a lot of him in open space at BC... Also, any standouts among the rookie free agent, Belichick hit on a few solid players in that area last off-season.
A: The defensive linemen were mostly working with the bags, and focusing on specific techniques. We didn’t see them moving much, other than warming up. Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, I didn’t think Brace was laboring or anything like that, but it is a little too difficult to assess general movement based on what we saw.

6) From Andrew:
Q: Mike, I'd love to see how Chung does in coverage drills. The knock on him is that he's not a great man to man cover guy, but I wonder if people look at his massive hits (like leveling two Michigan lineman, or tearing Pettigrew's head off), and assume that because he was used as a rover at Oregon, he doesn't have very good man coverage skills.
A: We saw a lot of one-on-one coverage in this practice. Chung was competitive, and to me, showed he’s more than a “box” safety. There was one play where he seemed to falter with his technique and the receiver got behind him. But I wouldn’t read too much into it. He looked more fluid to me than stiff.

7) From Supwithyou:
Q: Will be good to know how comfortable the new coaches look. Also, how much national attention are the Patriots getting? Any non-local reporters? I know this might be hard to gauge, but who seems to be mentoring whom? Who seems to be having fun, while who seems all business?
A: Nothing really stood out coaching-wise, and I wouldn’t want to pigeonhole anyone based on one practice. I did watch Chad O’Shea (receivers) and Scott O’Brien (special teams), as well as Bill O’Brien (from receivers coach to QBs/de facto coordinator). Bill O’Brien seemed to take charge at times. Didn’t see any non-local reporters. Chung seemed to be a leader in the group. I thought all the rookies seemed to be all business.

» Back to Front Page

3 comments so far...

Mike, thanks for answering questions. Keep doing what you do. I really apreciate your work and admire your thoroughness. Great job! Your blog is one of 3 sites I visit regularly throughout the day (the others are profootballtalk and my e-mail). Informative, insightful and very good analysis.

Posted by Andrew from Haverhill May 1, 09 12:38 PM

Any word on the 8-10 tryout players? Last year I think one or two of
them were signed. I had read that Aaron Perez a punter from UCLA
and Josh Allen RB/WR from Troy were among the players trying out.

Posted by Jim Keddy May 1, 09 01:09 PM

Great work as always Mike. How is Jermail "Big Daddy" Porter doing? I think he could be an intriguing project. Do the Pats see him at guard or tackle? I read that he had worked out with the Kent State football team, anticipating getting drafted or signed as a RFA. So, I imagine he knows how to put his pads on etc. At least the Pats have experience with wrestlers, though I read that Neal had some football experience, while Porter has had none.

Posted by Charlie May 1, 09 02:10 PM

DO NOT HIT THE SUBMIT BUTTON MORE THAN ONCE!

You must be logged in to submit a comment.

This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.

Mike Reiss, Christopher L. Gasper and the rest of the Globe team provide regular updates –and a behind-the-scenes look– on the daily happenings of the Patriots.

see all globe blogs