7/31 AM notes: Rapoport, Scalavino, SMY, Reiss, Hart

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BostonHerald.com - Blogs: Rap Sheet Blog Archive Hello from Patriots Practice #2…

July 31st, 2009
Hello from Patriots Practice #2…
Posted by Ian Rapoport at 11:49 am

So,I’m testing out posting from my trusty Blackberry and if it’s terrible, bear with me. But Patriots practice number 2 is close to ending, and there were some noteworthy things:

– Cornerback Shawn Springs was in the house, a day after missing the practices because of a non-football injury. We’ll see if we can talk to him after.
– Receiver Randy Moss is sitting out the morning again to rest, as is Matt Light, Richard Seymour, Stephen Neal and others.
– We’ll talk to Tom Brady after, and you’ll hear all about how he’s dealin’… Looks fairly normal, though. Maybe a little more comfortable.
– The team worked on punt return a bunch, as returners tried to catch the punt with a ball already in their hand. Working as returners were Wes Welker, Joey Galloway, Kevin Faulk, and Julian Edelman.
– Inexplicably, reserve defensive lineman Stephen Williams hit Brady while he was attempting a pass during the team work portion. That led to a really, really slow lap around the field.

Official Patriots Football Weekly Blog Blog Archive Quick Kicks: Friday AM practice notes

Quick Kicks: Friday AM practice notes

Written by Erik Scalavino on July 31, 2009 – 12:25 pm

...

* There’s a fun drill to watch, which takes place every summer at Belichick’s training camps. An offensive player with a football tries to get past a defensive player in an open-field tackling drill. There were some great individual performances today. CB Terrence Wheatley, one of the smallest players on the team, went up against one of the biggest, 6-6 TE Tyson DeVree. Wheatley made a great tackle, diving for DeVree’s legs and wrapping up with both hands, taking down his giant opponent. WR Wes Welker made a nice juke move against newcomer Herana-Daze Jones, whose diving attempt proved futile. TE David Thomas simply overpowered DB Matthew Slater, running right over the second-year defender. But the most impressive play was made by the versatile Ray Ventrone. Going up against rookie CB Darius Butler, Ventrone faked Butler so well that he was able to run right past Butler, who never came close to laying a hand on him.

...

http://patsblog.projo.com/2009/07/camp-session-3.html

Camp session #3 notes
1:06 PM Fri, Jul 31, 2009
By Shalise Manza Young

Some observations from this morning's session, which began sunny and became gray late. However, the rains held off until a few minutes after media access was wrapping up...it remains rainy now, though, so make sure you check to see if this afternoon's practice has been moved inside before heading here to Gillette.

* Patrick Chung is certainly an eager beaver. Before the team stretches, they run the width of the field en masse, and as you can imagine, everyone runs at their own pace and not everyone is giving it a full effort. Usually, either Eric Alexander or Matt Gutierrez "wins", but Chung has been leading the pack each time thus far. At the end of practice, while they were standing under the uprights for Stephen Gostkowski's field goals, Chung and fellow rookie Darius Butler dropped to the grass to do some push-ups.

* Brian Belichick got to tote the rock today, serving as running back in a tight end/linebacker blocking drill. He also got to play catch with his father again at the close of the session.

* It wasn't Julian Edelman's day on punt returns. The college QB is being put into a lot of different situations, trying receiver and now returner...and he dropped the first two punts that came his way, drawing groans from the crowd. To be fair, the second was a tougher get as he had to backtrack, but it went right through his arms. On his third try, he fielded the ball cleanly, drawing some cheers.

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http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2009/07/day_2_first_pat.html

Day 2, first Patriots practice
Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff
July 31, 2009 01:40 PM

FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots held their morning practice (9:30-11:15) in full pads on the upper practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.

Here were some observations that stood out:

1) Too many footballs on the ground. The overall ball-handling was sloppy, with rookie receiver Julian Edelman dropping back-to-back punts and another pass, receiver Greg Lewis dropping a long bomb in breakdown work, and receiver Wes Welker unable to corral a catchable ball in 11-on-11 work. This was a tough overall practice in the ball-handling area for Edelman, a college quarterback who probably doesn’t have a lot of experience returning punts.

2) Busy stretch for training staff, but nothing serious. At one point in practice, rookie offensive lineman George Bussey and veteran offensive lineman Russ Hochstein were looked at by members of the training staff. Bussey had the brace on his left knee removed while trainers worked on the leg, while trainers seemed to be looking inside Hochstein’s helmet. Both players missed a little bit of action before returning to practice. As the Patriots practice in full pads, and increase the level of contact, it’s a reminder of how physical football can be.

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http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=generalnewsdetail&pid=38074

7/31/09
Doubles no trouble; Friday morning notes
By Andy Hart, Patriots Football Weekly

On the just second day of a scheduled seven days of double-sessions to open training camp, Patriots players are taking the extra work in stride[/i]

...

Who’s Hot: Julian Edelman, wide receiver.
Edelman has shown nice quickness, speed and hands in three training camp workouts. He’s gotten a ton of reps at receiver, some alongside far more established veterans. He’s had a couple drops here and there, but not more than would be expected from a converted quarterback or even any low-round pick.

Who’s Not: Julian Edelman, punt returner.
The former quarterback looked like he’d never fielded a punt before when he was back deep during a special team’s segment Friday morning. The first attempt bounced off his chest and straight to the turf. The second fell through his hands. He was able to haul in the third, drawing a mock cheer from the crowd. And oh by the way, the other returners in the drill – Kevin Faulk, Wes Welker and Joey Galloway – were catching punts while already holding another ball in their hands. He may be a great athlete but Edelman didn’t look like a natural punt returner.

Play of the Day:
Terrence Nunn ran a mid-range out on the right side in team work, finding space between two defenders to make the catch on a Brian Hoyer throw. Despite getting hit by both defenders as he caught the ball and landing on his back, Nunn came away with the very nice reception.

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[PatsWickedPissah]

Re: 7/31 AM notes: Rapoport, Scalavino, SMY, Reiss

"At one point in practice, rookie offensive lineman George Bussey and veteran offensive lineman Russ Hochstein were looked at by members of the training staff. Bussey had the brace on his left knee removed while trainers worked on the leg, while trainers seemed to be looking inside Hochstein’s helmet"

Hopefully, something was found. After all, he's an OL not a brutish DL. Ask Fred Smerlas.