Hi Kids,

Sorry it’s late but I just got back from lunch with my boys and it’s almost time for me to head back out. Unfortunately I have a bunch of numbers scribbled on a piece of paper and barely remember what they were for…hehe.  This morning’s muggy session was in full pads and there’s another one later this afternoon from 4:00-5:15.

• Today was the Rookie Slip & Slide day in which the newbies were soaked with a hose while sliding along the wet grass chasing footballs. Tedy manned the hose and the other vets manned the balls.  I didn’t catch any creative hair cuts today though, which usually coincide with the mud bath day.
• Brady was back after his rest day yesterday, racing his coach (trainer? ball boy?) over to midfield after the stretch period.
• It was a split day during blitz pick-up drills pitting LBs vs. FB/RBs with offense and defense sharing the battle victories.
• They were doing some heaving hitting on the goal line today.
• Single lap takers for today were Gutierrez and Titus Adams (who?) then Brady and Hochstein took one together for a botched snap.
• During full squad work, Cassell went deep to CJ Jones and Bryant broke it up nicely along the sidelines.
• During Red Zone work Maroney saw lots of action and Moss nearly ended up  hitting the goal post as he flew into the endzone flanked by defenders. Morris scored a  TD right after as well.
• Mayo was working the middle again today with Alexander and Hobson. Tedy and Tank worked together.
• Slater had some nice returns today during practice and each day after practice, Sealy works with Slater on catching kicks. He usually starts with a ball in one hand, catches the kicked ball in the other hand, then tosses one in the air to catch that one too. It’s a mixed bag in terms of his consistency but he does keep practicing every day.
• Overall, it struck me as a fast paced, heavy hitting practice during full squad work. Sorry I don’t remember many details as quite a few hours have passed and I’m getting the sessions confused in my mind.

I expect a walkthrough later tonight (just a guess) due to the shortened time frame of the session and also because players are off tomorrow.

The Pats have released additional practice dates (thankfully!)

Closed Friday and Saturday (but I’ll be at Springsteen)

Sunday:  8/3 2:30-4:30

Monday  8/4 9:00-10:30 & In-stadium Season Ticket Holders practice 6:30-8:30

Posted: July 31st, 2008 under 2008.
Comments: none

Home extremely late from the practice so I’ll try to get this out as soon as I can. (Sorry kids, but family comes first!)  Today was a busy day with lots of things to do before and after camp. I hit up the new Red Robin restaurant before camp with Jake and Mike. It was a good choice.  Today was a hot one and moreso for me because I was sporting an Andre Tippet jersey in honor of our Hall of Famer so it was quite sweaty up there on the hill.

Here are the bullet points for today.

• Guys were in full pads once again but Brady wasn’t dressed. I think I saw him at towards the end of practice in sweats on the sidelines with Cassel but I didn’t have binoculars so I’m not sure if it was him or not. Regardless, he was most likely on a Vet rest day anyway so nothing to worry about.
• There was a huge group of camp kids (and Moss fans) sitting in front of us who served as his personal cheering squad. He came by and signed some autographs before getting to work. A couple of Patriots Alumni members came and talked to the kids about getting a good education, fielded their questions and signed some autographs as well.
• While the guys were stretching out, I recorded a short video clip at the PFW tent for the Hall at Patriot Place fan section.
• Still no sign of Light, Thomas, etc. or the usual PUPs.
• Zebras were still in the house and there were lots of flags being thrown and whistles blaring including one in which Seymour jumped.
• Moss caught one at the post in double coverage, then he bobbled but maintained. BB even questioned  the officials whether it was a TD or not and it was ruled good.
• Watson had a nice TD at the post in double coverage then tossed the ball into the crowd. Naturally, they returned it to the ball boys.
• Richardson picked off Gutierrez.
• Crable and McMahon took laps.
• Jerod Mayo is (cue Chico and the man voice)  loooking goooood!
• Fernando Bryant went down after colliding with Brandon Meriweather who intercepted Gutierrez. He remained in the middle of the field being checked out by the trainers, then moved to the sidelines for a bit before testing out the legs in the other field and returning to action.
• During one-on-one work, RBs had the upperhand over the LBs once again in the close endzone. WR and DBs worked in the far EZ
• Gary Guyton took lot of reps at outside linebacker this afternoon.
• Matt Slater spent time at safety.
• Catch of the Day was a one handed, overhead,  fingertip grab by Moss.
• They spent quite  a bit of time working on punts and during FG’s there was one miss.
• After practice, they had a tribute to Andre Tippet, (which I’ll be posting in the podcast feed ASAP) and the whole team was in attendance. Lucky break for autograph seekers as most of the guys stayed for autographs.
• I’m sure there’s more but it’s almost 8:00 and my dogs are letting me know that they need attention.

Tomorrow is a weird double schedule with a normal 8:45-10:30 AM session but rather than an evening, it’s an afternoon 4:00-5:15. I REALLY wish they would post more dates so I can schedule all of those appointments that I need to make this next week!

Posted: July 30th, 2008 under 2008.
Comments: 2

I didn’t get home until after 9:00 from tonight’s practice because I had to pick my son up.  My house is a pit, I’ve yet to eat, and I have a headache so I need to make this one quick.  It was a gorgeous, comfortable summer night on the hill and the boys were back in full pads for a spirited practice after this morning’s walk through.

• Biggest news: Rodney Harrison was back, fully suited up and jumping right in to practice.
• Still no Matt Light, the rest of the PUPs, Clement, Redd, Sanders, Seymour or David Thomas, who left injured yesterday.
• Zebras were on the field and a few flags were thrown out there.
• Randy Moss continues to be in a league all his own. It must be discouraging to be a rookie corner going against him, as Wheatley knows! However, 22 did rob Moss of a TD in the EZ by knocking it away. He later celebrated with a chest bump with Meriweather and Wilhite.
• One on one passing drills pitted RBs and TEs vs LBs in one field and DBs vs WR in the other and I was like a swivel head trying to catch action in both fields reacting to the “ahhhs” of the crowd.  I hate to admit it but Tedy was a few steps behind more than once tonight   Watson looked good on the drill and of course, Moss was being Moss in the other field.
• Chad Jackson dove and hauled in a nice Brady pass and looked better tonight than some of his other outings.
• Sam Aiken looked sharp to me tonight and scored a TD from a Brady pass.
• Bryant and Spann had picks with the latter being a tipped by Mayo.
• First unit’s two minute drill stalled when Watson dropped a TD ball at the post when he hit the ground and when Wheatley defended successfully against Moss in the corner of the EZ.
• Cassel to Moss over Wheatley later completed a two minute drill with a TD.
• Running backs signed tonight with Maroney drawing the huge cheers second only to Moss who signed although it wasn’t his turn. (Brady hasn’t been signing daily this year as in the past.)

Tomorrow is a single afternoon session @ 2:30. Sorry there’s not much detail here but I’m beat and there’s still lots for me to do before I can sleep.  There are some more pictures up on my Flickr account, although I’ve yet to label and tag them.

Posted: July 29th, 2008 under 2008.
Comments: none

Headed out with Big Al and Jake for the first of two sessions today and arrived a bit late but missed nothing.  The guys were dressed in just shorts and t-shirts for a walk through session that even the PUPpies could participate in. It wasn’t that crowded today and I’m sure fans who stayed home were thankful. Although, those that were there must have made out well with autographs if that was their bag.

• I spotted PUPpies Harrison, Vrabel and Welker out there (who was stretching out with a trainer). Matt Light was not there and was likely getting treatment with the trainers inside.
• Zebras were in the house.
• When doing routes, the spread offense was Moss, Gaffney, Jackson and Watson.
• WR, safeties and cornerbacks stayed on the field continuing to run through plays after most other positions had already left the field. They ended up signing.
• Tedy B  was a media maven today doing a sit-down with Felger (probably for tonight’s show), a one on one with Massorati then was at the center of the huge group of cameras and microphones.
• Tedy spotted Big Al when he waved to him so he came over and I got my annual hug and photo with Tedy. We chatted for a minute and I  wished him well for the upcoming season.
• On the way out, we spotted the Bruschi Boys in line to emulate Dad’s moves at the Experience.
• I’m watching the video of the rule changes right now during Belichick’s press conference live stream. I’m sure that it will be archived for later viewing on patriots.com

I’ll be heading back out to tonight’s session later tonight and plan on taking advantage of the long break to get some things down around the house.

Posted: July 29th, 2008 under 2008.
Comments: none

Just in from the single afternoon 2:30-4:30 session and need to make this quick as I have something to do ASAP.  I’m just going to give some bullet points of what I remember. (Deferring to the paid guys tonight, folks

• It was yet another full pad practice and there was no shortage of hitting today. Quite a bit of red zone work,  spirited two minute drills and  7-7′s.
• Brady took most of the reps today but it wasn’t the best day for the offense and players were showing their frustration.
• Sam Aiken had a decent day as did Mayo, specifically in the pass protection drill.
• I’m keeping my eye on Wheatley as he catches it most days.
• Seymour was on the field but Bruschi and Moss were not (My guess is veteran day off.) (There may have been more missing but these were the ones that I noticed.) Light was absent again as well.
• David Thomas left the field with a trainer and didn’t return.
• Fifita took a lap.
• Fernando Bryant deflected a Brady pass.
• Meriweather had a near INT in the EZ while he and Wheatley were double covering CJ Jones.  A loud “awwww” erupted from the crowd.
• Pierre Woods picked off Cassel.
• It was pretty packed today, both with fans and media.
• Running Backs signed today and for the second time this week, BB did too. The crowd went wild again and broke into the chant.

Time for me to leave so that’s got to be it. Tomorrow is a double (so does that mean it’s sure to rain?!) Watch for a mini podcast later tonight.

Go Pats!

Posted: July 28th, 2008 under 2008.
Comments: none

On the first day of Training Camp, Tom Curran asked me to help him out with something. Here’s the result:

Posted: July 27th, 2008 under 2008, video.
Comments: 3

Due to inclement weather, otherwise known as torrential downpours practice was held inside the field house. Mrs. B was smart staying home, because I got drenched walking from the stadium to the field house. Due to the fact that the field is only 70 yards long inside the field house, it is hard to tell whether the team is doing red-zone drills, or just regular drills.

Attendance:      New Offensive Lineman Pete McMahon will be wearing 64.
Those not in attendance: Richard Seymour, Matt Light, Jason Webster, Vince Redd, Marcus Pollard

* Jordan in his 3rd practice continues to impress
* Three players took a lap tonight: Logan Mankins, Steve Fifita, Jimmy Martin
* Randy Moss joked around standing in the middle of the endzone and yelling right before a receiver was supposed to catch the ball. He also tried to deflect a pass, which didn’t phase the receiver.
* The running backs are doing a drill where one of them is the running back trying to hold on to the ball, the other is trying to cause a fumble.
* TE coach Pete Manguarian worked 1 on 1 with Ben Watson.
* Brady was firing bullets tonight having not thrown this morning
* Belichick ran right into the middle of the line of scrimmage, squirted water either at the lineman or on the ball, and then ran out (talk about situational football)
* Linebacker Gary Guyton got praise from Belichick for picking up on something the other linebackers in the play didn’t
* All four quarterbacks looked impressive with tight spirals on most of their passes
* Chad Jackson looked like he had a better handle on adjustments as compared to last year when Brady, Belichick, or McDaniels used to scream at him
* Bob and Myra Kraft took in practice, with Bob spending some time talking to Ernie Adams
* Once again our first defense included: Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, Le Kevin Smith, Adalius Thomas, Tedy Bruschi, Tank Williams at Linebacker, Pierre Woods, Fernando Bryant, Lewis Sanders, James Sanders, Brandon Meriweather
* Offense we had of course Tom Brady, Laurence Maroney, Ryan O’Callaghan, Russ Hochstein, Dan Koppen, Logan Mankins, Wesley Britt, Randy Moss, Jabar Gaffney, Chad Jackson
* Running Backs, Tight Ends, and Quarterbacks signed tonight, and with only VIPs in attendance they seemed to luck out
* Perhaps in response to having most of the practices in pads, Belichick gave the team the night off.

Posted: July 27th, 2008 under 2008.
Comments: 3

So, I came home from the Christening and got into my Pats gear (although it was raining here for a couple of hours) to  set out to camp then called and they finally officially canceled it due to rain. See you tomorrow for the single afternoon session.

Go Pats!

Posted: July 27th, 2008 under 2008.
Comments: none

Just in from this morning’s session and I’m throwing out things from memory really quickly because I’ve got to get ready for the Christening this afternoon.  I left the house late this morning because it was raining here for hours and I kept calling the hotline (1-508-549-0001) to check to see if it was canceled or not. Obviously it was on and I so I headed out with Jake. It turned out to be a hazy but nice morning for camp.

Here are the quick tidbits for today:

• It was the 5th straight “practice” in full pads. Last night was just a (closed to the public) walk-through session so it doesn’t really count in my mind. Even the PUP guys were allowed to attend.
• Kaczur is off PUP and as you know, Mruczkowski retired yesterday.
• Brady took it easy today again, deferring to his understudies.
• I didn’t spot Seymour out there (but admittedly didn’t specifically look for him; just realized now that I didn’t see him) so I’m not sure if he was out there or not.
• Lamont Jordan suited up and is wearing #32. He got lot of carries today when working on the running game and looks to be a powerhouse. In a rare move, Brady fumbled a snap.
• Bruschi batted away a Cassel pass in tight coverage but I missed the intended receiver. (That’s what happens when I camp with friends and chat. Richardson also batted one away.
• Gary Guyton had the sole pick of the day (and a good one at that) with a one handed, over the head pluck of a Guitierrez pass at the line of scrimmage that he likey would have taken to the house.
• Chad Jackson had a better day than Friday  (although nothing outstanding) and once again was the primary kick returner.
• Gutierrez and Connolly took a lap together.
• Kelley Washington did his best to get the crowd to make noise during the special teams portion, signalling for noise by raising his hand above his head to the crowd.
• Jonathan Stupar missed a short Cassel pass and when it went right through his arms, the crowd reacted loudly.
• Mayo and Hobson worked together on the inside with the second team again today.
• Gaffney got a big crowd reaction with a corner TD catch in double coverage by Wheatley and Meriweather. On the next play, Moss caught one at the post and the crowd made noise once again.
• Gostkowski was at 100% with field goals at the end of practice. The first one took the newbies on the hill by surprise but then the tradition of catching the balls and tossing them back was in full swing. Tedy was having fun encouraging the kids to make the catches and could be heard at one point laughing and yelling  “Anyone over 40, is not allowed to catch them.” Clearly, he got a kick out of watching the kids.
• For the Jake Exclusive of the day: From where he was sitting, he saw Crable dog it on the last play of one of the drills and Sealy went off, mocking him and imitating his lame effort. He yelled “Try to act like it’s your job. BECAUSE IT IS!!”
• In the absence of Vrable, Tedy hangs with Adalius and Tank on the sidelines.
• Linebackers signed today as did Brady. Tedy was the first over there and got his usual ovation followed by the cries of “Brady!”  when he made his way there. However, the crowd went WILD asa smiling  His Hoodie-ness approached the sidelines to sign. The crowd began chanting Bel-i-chick, Bel-i-chick… which is what I heard as I was making my way to the car to get home on time.

There’s another session tonight which I’m going to try to make but I can’t guarantee since I have that party to attend. Will we see shorts and shoulder pads tonight, or will the full pad streak continue on?

Jake took some great pictures which will be posted later on my Flickr account and look for a podcast later tonight.

Posted: July 27th, 2008 under 2008.
Comments: 1

Hi Kids,

I just got in, took care of the dogs and grabbed a much needed bite to eat (Note to self: remember to eat lunch next time and bring some snacks) so it’s a little late in coming but here goes:

I’m kicking off the season with my usual disclaimer:

I’m just a fan like everyone else and  I’m not an expert by any means.  There’s plenty that I don’t know and I continue to learn something new every day.  I just happen to live close enough to camp and don’t work during the summer so I’m fortunate to be able to attend every session. Admittedly, my reports will be Bruschi biased. (Hey.. I’m a Bruschi Backer and old habits are hard to break!) I don’t have wireless access at camp nor do I  have access to players, press releases or press conferences so I can only report what I happen to observe. There are lots of things going on at once so I may not even catch “the play of the day” while looking at something else or may even get things wrong. Also, by the time I drive home and make my posts, it’s possible that I may not even have anything unique to add. With that being said, I’m happy to share my observations and thoughts with you for what they’re worth.

And now…. Let Mrs. B’s Annual Training Camp Reports begin!

I headed out early for the afternoon session and the weather was perfect: 75, sunny, no humidity (except on the grass where the soggy field soon made it feel like a steam bath.)  Guys were in full pads for the 3rd practice in a row. I grabbed my usual spot on the hill near the media tent and said hello to many of the folks that have seen me year after year. I felt choked up when I first sat down though, feeling the absence of Dan Pires. He will certainly be missed.

Here are my take home points for today:

• Ben Jarvus-Green Ellis (I still chuckle at the coincidence of his name) was off PUP and on the field but the remaining 11 are status quo. Seymour didn’t practice. I was hoping to catch him and  check out the svelt bod that they were raving about yesterday. I did remark to Mike (from Sharon)  that I found it surprising that he wasn’t one of the off season workout winners since he got himself into such great shape.
• Adalius Thomas led the charge during the initial run during the stretching period.  (Meanwhile I was catching up with fellow Planeteers and helped Tom Curran out with a piece that he filmed for NBCsports.com that will be ready early next week.)
• There was a lot of special teams work today and Chad Jackson (17), Matthew Slater (18), CJ Jones (19) and Terrance Wheatley (22),  saw lots of the return work action. Wheatley stood out to me.
• The much anticipated pass protection, blitz pick-up drill reunited famed opponents Tedy Bruschi and Heath Evans,  perking up the crowd. Bru schooled Heath at one point with a twirling move but when he faced off against Sammy Morris, they connected and he practically leap frogged over the RB.  There was some helmet slapping and laughing going on and when the entire drill was done, Morris pretended to leap frog  over him.   Over all, the LBs were much stronger in the drill with Mayo making a strong showing and Kevin Faulk not looking quite himself.
• Tank Williams worked inside with Bruschi with the first team.  Mayo and Hobson worked at the inside position with the second team. Lots of scrimmage work focused on the run game.
• During the passing portion, Gaffney was Brady’s favorite receiver while Moss missed a long bomb much to the crowd’s disappointment.
• Practice ended with field goals in the opposite endzone, including one fake, and it looked like all but one were good from where I was located. I can’t be sure however,  and it’s times like this that “Zebra Days” come in handy.
• To close practice, the vets ran sprints on the left field while the rookies continued to run through plays on the main field.
• The big boys in blue, the DLine,  signed autographs today as did Randy Moss. Brady ran off towards the media while Tedy ran off to play with his boys.

There’s no open practice tomorrow and it looks like I’ll only  be able to attend Sunday MORNING due to a family commitment in the afternoon. (I may not even have time to get the AM report out before I have to go so just bear with me, please.)

Tonight’s podcast will be up…. later. I guarantee that there will be something I remember after I press publish but this will have to do for today.

**One housekeeping note, the best and easiest way to get the reports as soon as they come out is to either subscribe in a feed reader using rss or simply add your email address to the form on the site and Feedburner will deliver the post to your email in-box.

Posted: July 25th, 2008 under 2008.
Comments: 4