Injuries take their toll on Patriots in eighth camp practice

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FOXBORO -- Practice was almost over. The Patriots had already run through a variety of drills, one-on-one, seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 periods. By the time the team's hurry-up period began, there was a noticeable lethargy exhibited by players.

In one repetition, quarterback Tom Brady dropped back to pass and targeted Rob Gronkowski. The throw darted low, but it fell within Gronkowski's over-sized catch radius. When the tight end bent to grab it, he didn't bend far enough, it bounced off his mitts and fell incomplete.

For a player who regularly sacrifices his body to make difficult catches -- even in training camp -- it looked like a tired rep. 

When the team's eighth practice -- its fifth fully-padded session -- was over, the energy drain could be seen in the results. There had been five dropped passes in all, two fumbles and a muffed punt. 

"You have to always fight through," Gronkowski said when asked about the "dog days" of camp. "It's camp every single day, you're going out on the field full pads, you have to fight through it no matter [what]. You have aches and pains, your legs are tired, whatever it is. It's camp days. This is when you build your body for the whole season."

While coach Bill Belichick admonished defensive players on Thursday, making the entire unit run two laps for a substitution error, Brady got after his offensive teammates near the end of the afternoon when they didn't show much urgency in getting lined up out of the huddle.

"It was a moment where he was telling everybody to get going," said running back James White. "It was a 'grind' moment in practice so everybody needed some energy for us to have success out there on the field."

Patriots players experienced what may have felt like more than the usual grind on Friday. On offense, especially, the number of healthy bodies had dwindled. It meant more action, more repetitions for fewer players. 

The attrition has been significant over the course of the last week. Tight end Scott Chandler missed his first practice on Friday after apparently injuring his leg on Thursday. Running back LeGarrette Blount left practice early after suffering what looked like a right knee injury. Aaron Dobson missed his second consecutive practice, Brian Tyms missed his third consecutive practice and Julian Edelman was out for the fourth straight day. Right tackle Marcus Cannon continues to miss time while Sebastian Vollmer is still limited, and running back Tyler Gaffney's absence further thinned New England's running back group. 

Overall, including players on the physically unable to perform list and the non-football injury list, the Patriots began Friday's workout with 21 members of their roster out of action. 

With those players out, it gave myriad opportunities to veterans looking for a spot on the roster or young players looking to find a niche. Danny Amendola was the only receiver on the field who contributed to the team in 2014. Otherwise Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo were staring down receiver groups comprised of players like Brandon Gibson, Josh Boyce, Jonathan Krause and undrafted rookies Chris Harper and Zach D'Orazio. 

Injuries have touched the team's depth on the defensive side of the ball as well. With Chris Jones and Alan Branch still sidelined, repetitions have become available on the interior of the defensive line. That group lost one more player at the end of Friday's practice when rookie first-round pick Malcom Brown appeared to tweak his left foot or ankle, making him a limited participant for the rest of the day. 

Despite the physical wear and tear, as well as the general fatigue that sets in over the course of training camp, Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich explained that it was essential to remain upbeat at this time of year. 

There is work to be done, boxes to be checked, regardless of whether or not the team is fully healthy. The train keeps moving. 

"You gotta stay positive and understand that we got a long way to go here and we gotta continue to get better," Ninkovich said. "Just have constant improvement. We still got a long way to go, and we gotta improve in a lot of areas. This is where you get it done."

 

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