Today, was the first day of Camp and it was AWESOME! So many new guys, so many old friends. And boy, did we have fun! We were out there from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Then we got to talk to our friends on the team. Great guys, all!
WEATHER
It was warm and muggy, cloudy at the start of practice, brighter at the end. It was in the mid-80s but it was breezy and it was soooo great that it didn't rain.
WHAT THEY WORE
The players wore their new Nike practice jerseys -- white for the offense, blue for the defense. The numbers were bigger than the Reebok jerseys we used to have. They also wore smaller shoulder pads, helmets and guys were in shorts or practice pants or those weird lycra running pants (Brandon Lloyd).
WHAT THEY DID
The guys started off with some light stuff at 1:30 then they stretched and did agility work before breaking off into drill groups by position. The skill position guys in the offense worked on half-field passing drills either to the right or left. Then they did some special teams work (kickoff return). Then there was 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 followed by field goals.
WHO'S HOT
Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer looked great. Brandon Lloyd and Jabar Gaffney (despite an early drop) looked sharp as well. Gronk, coming off that ankle injury, looked like new. Defensively, there's nobody being tackled to the ground so it's hard to shine as much but Dane Fletcher seemed to have a good practice as did Patrick Chung.
WHO'S NOT
Ryan Mallett was rough. He only completed checkdowns for the most parts and his throws over the middle reeked of uncertainty. They were often delivered late and behind his targets. Sterling Moore missed a couple of picks he could have made and Alfonzo Dennard, who looked pretty good early in practice, was shown the ropes a bit on the outside as practice went on and veteran receivers spun him around.
WHAT WE SAW
Tom Brady was wearing Under Armour cleats with big red laces. Robert Kraft came out to the field and backslapped with Wes Welker. Matt Slater and James Ihedigbo wore the "DO NOT TOUCH" red jerseys. Brandon Spikes was only on the field for a drill or two before heading out. Rookie Justin Francis left the field with an injury. Steve Gregory had an owie on his pinky that was attended to after practice.
WHAT THEY SAID
"The biggest adjustment is time management. Whenever I was in school, when I got out of practice, I did homework or played video games. But guys are going home to their families and guys are getting into their playbooks. This is our job. This is how were going to support our families and eat food. Its just a whole different approach." - Rookie Chandler Jones on being a professional.
"Sorry, you musta thought I was ducking you." - Linebacker Jerod Mayo on why we didn't play golf this summer.
"That's because you were." - Me, to Jerod Mayo on the topic of ducking me.
"It didnt work out." - Bill Belichick on the release of veteran running back Joseph Addai who, according to Mary Paoletti, quit during his conditioning run.