Patriots football is back and if you're like me you spent all day today scanning the various media outlets for reports on what was going down on Day One. And also maybe setting your desktop with pictures of Tom Brady once again in full pads.
After the long offseason many things are often clarified on Day One of Training Camp.... who's still recovering from injuries, where the new players are lining up, and most importantly how #12 looks. Here's what we gathered from today...
-- Belichick looks like he's easing the important veterans back into the action. Randy Moss, Jarvis Green and Joey Galloway were all given the first practice off. Tedy Bruschi, Matt Light, and Richard Seymour all got the afternoon off. So yes, there are almost two straight weeks of double sessions scheduled to start, but clearly Belichick will temper the work, especially for veterans. With that said we need to state this now:
TOM BRADY WILL MISS A PRACTICE AT SOME POINT IN THE NEAR FUTURE. It will not mean his knee is acting up, it simply means he's getting a little extra rest. So when Brady's missing, don't panic Patriots Nation.
-- Speaking of Brady all accounts seem to be that he looks like his old self. Armen Keteyan thought he looked stiff, but everyone else saw no difference. I also noticed that Brady was wearing black cleats. I don't know if this is illegal since he was the only one on the field with black cleats that I could tell, but just a weird thing that I, an uber-Pats geek, noticed.
-- Rookie Julian Edelman continues to impress, making a collection of good grabs in his first day. There always seems to be one player that gets everyone excited in preseason and then disappears once the games start to count. It will be worth keeping an eye on Edelman though. If you haven't seen this video from "Joo Joo's" college days, I highly recommend it... it would rank near the top of Bill Simmons Unintentional Comedy Scale.
-- There continues to be speculation about Mike Vick to the Patriots and I really don't understand how people possibly see a place for him in New England. It seems like just because Bill Belichick doesn't come out and say "WE ARE AGAINST SIGNING HIM" that everyone considers the Pats to be the most-likely destination. Whatever. Not gonna happen.
-- Sadly there always seems to be some kind of contract squabble that boils over to the surface around the start of training camp and this year it's Vince Wilfork who's unhappy with how negotiations on a new deal or extension have gone. Over the years I've learned to not stress about Patriots players who are unhappy with their contracts. They have a way of working themselves out one way (Richard Seymour) or another (Deion Branch).
Wilfork is a personal favorite of mine, and I've long written about the importance of the nose tackle in a 3-4 defense. It would certainly make a lot of sense for the Pats to lock him up long term, but we don't know what's really going on withe negotiations. Now with Ron Brace in the fold the Pats do have somewhat of a back up plan. Vince has definitely outplayed his rookie contract and is one of, if not the best, 3-4 nose in the NFL.
Hopefully things will get worked out. Luckily Vince is a man of his word and is playing out his rookie deal. That shows his integrity and is yet another reason why I'd like to see him be a Patriot long term. But seriously if he's playing for the Dolphins in a couple years it's gonna make me vomit.
-- This years collection of players on the PUP list is small and less surprising than in years past. However there are a couple surprises, namely the Shawns: Shawn Springs and Shawn Crabel.
Crabel is a huge disappointment. He looked promising in last years preseason, and we all know how badly the Pats need a pass rushing OLB. While Brady was clearly going to be the most watched offensive player on Day 1, Crabel could've well been the most watched defensive player. There's speculation that maybe he failed the conditioning run. Or he could be injured again. It's impossible to know for sure, but let's hope he's out there soon.
Given Springs age and injury history it's probably a good bet that he got banged up sometime between OTAs and the start of training camp. Jonathan Wilhite stepped in at corner for him, and it looks like he could be a significant contributor on the Patriots defense this year.
No injuries were reported on Day One, thank Hoodie. Stay tuned for further camp updates. I'm also on Twitter: PatsPropaganda.
