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Play of the day

The Patriots wrapped up today's afternoon session by running two-minute drills with the first- and second-team offenses and defenses. Loud music subbed for crowd noise.

The first-team offense was efficient, and Tom Brady connected on the play of the day when he threw about 30 yards downfield to Benjamin Watson, who made a terrific catch in double coverage. Brady followed by hitting Reche Caldwell on a fade route at the sidelines. Operating in the red zone, Brady showed some of his trademark fire, barking at linebacker Don Davis for, in Brady's view, holding Kevin Faulk on an underneath pass that fell incomplete.

Matt Cassel had less success. He struggled to move the second team (although his receivers didn't help) until throwing an interception to Willie Andrews on a deflected pass.

The Pats will return to the practice field at Foxboro tomorrow, for sessions starting at 8:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Joe McDonald will be here to blog, so check back often. Shalise Manza Young will have coverage in tomorrow's Providence Journal. That's all for today.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Pump up the volume

The Patriots just went through pass drills, offense vs. defense, as the sounds of Bon Jovi, Guns n' Roses and the Rolling Stones blasted from the sound system. Tom Brady was pretty sharp, though Troy Brown dropped two straight passes (one was thrown a little bit behind him). Brown faced some tough coverage from Eugene Wilson.

Matt Cassel didn't look very good, almost getting picked a couple of times by Ellis Hobbs. We've seen a lot of Bam Childress this afternoon and a lot less of Kelvin Kight.

Not on the field this afternoon after having practiced this morning are defensive backs Randall Gay and Rodney Harrison.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Afternoon practice under way

The Patriots took the field for their second practice session of the day around 2:30 this afternoon. The players are wearing shoulder pads, helmets and shorts for the light-contact session.

Punter Josh Miller got some reps, launching punts to Troy Brown and Kevin Faulk. Then the offense and the defense split up, and the first-team offense did some unimpeded pass and run routes. With young fans chanting his name, quarterback Tom Brady threw passes to Brown, both over the middle and down the field, along the sideline to Reche Caldwell and underneath to tight end Benjamin Watson. Corey Dillon continued working with the first-team offense.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots sign veteran wide receiver

The New England Patriots just announced the signing of Eddie Berlin, a 28-year-old wide receiver with five years of experience in the NFL.

Berlin played four seasons with the Tennessee Titans before joining the Chicago Bears last year. He saw very limited action at wide receiver in each of those seasons except 2004, when he had 20 receptions for 278 yards with Tennessee. Berlin also has experience as a kick and punt returner with the Titans.

He's 5 feet 11 inches tall and 195 pounds, out of Northern Iowa.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

One more back

The Patriots welcomed one more player to his first day of camp today: rookie tight end/fullback Garrett Mills, who many believe could be an impact player in the Patriots' offense. Mills was the team's fourth-round draft choice out of Tulsa.

The players held out of the morning practice included Chad Jackson, Benjamin Watson, Marquise Hill, Jarvis Green, Chad Brown and, of course, Tedy Bruschi.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

A long way from prime time

Signs that the real season is still a ways away: While the Pats' workouts are on break at the practice fields, soccer practice is taking place on the main field at Gillette Stadium. A huge chunk of the seating is covered up, and the field looks in terrible condition from the summer concert season.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Large numbers / Photo

There are 92 players on the Patriots roster at this point, and 22 of them are listed at 300 pounds or more. One of the big guys is second-year, 310-pound offensive lineman Logan Mankins, who gained the reputation of being an intimidator last season, but is actually quite soft-spoken. Mankins said today that he feels stronger and more confident coming into this season than he did last year.

The biggest guy on the team is rookie offensive tackle Ryan O'Callaghan, the Pats' fifth-round draft choice out of the University of California. The massive O'Callaghan is 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 330 pounds.

The smallest guy on the roster is actually not place kicker Martin Gramatica, whom you might have suspected, but Vernell Brown, a 5-8, 165-pound undrafted rookie cornerback from the University of Florida. Brown is one of 16 guys on the roster who are listed under 200 pounds.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

More on Randall Gay

A little bit earlier we talked about the return of Randall Gay. Here's what Bill Belichick had to say this morning about Gay's ankle injury-shortened 2005 season:

"It was a frustrating situation because it seemed like something that was going to resolve fairly quickly and it kind of didn't. It kind of dragged on and on. So it's good to see him back out there and get some reps. He needs to get his confidence back, get his timing back and get used to the different techniques that defensive backs play."

Belichick said Gay was a smart player and a hard worker whose return should help the team.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Kight flying

There are quite a lot of unfamiliar faces catching passes for the Patriots during this camp, but few are as unfamiliar as Kelvin Kight. The 24-year-old wide receiver was signed by the team in late July. He was not drafted out of the University of Florida, has played in exactly one NFL game -- with the Green Bay Packers in 2004 -- and he has exactly zero pro receptions on his resume. Kight has also been the property of the St. Louis Rams, the Minnesota Vikings and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Kight distinguished himself on special-teams drills after arriving in Foxboro, and today he was a favorite target during passing drills, running crisp routes and making catches on a few pass plays that drew cheers from the crowd.

Bill Belichick was guardedly upbeat about Kight's play so far, but added that he didn't want to "get all wound up over a few catches."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick's press conference

Bill Belichick spoke to the media for about a half-hour today, taking a lot of questions about the return of Rodney Harrison. While the reporters seemed agog about Harrison's ability to return so early in camp, Belichick -- dressed in blue shorts with one of his trademark gray sweatshirts, sleeves hacked off just below the elbow -- was characteristically nonchalant. Asked if he was suprised that Harrison came back, he shrugged and said "we don't really have a deadline" for the return of players from injuries, that when they're ready to progress, they're ready to progress.

Belichick said he hopes to use today's session to evaluate whether the players who returned to the team yesterday -- Harrison, Dan Koppen, Richard Seymour, Johnathan Sullivan and Randall Gay, all of whom are in pads today -- are ready to see any action Friday night in Atlanta.

The coach was complimentary toward place kicker Martin Gramatica, who had a little bit of trouble with his boots today. Belichick said Gramatica looks to have the same ability as he did before sitting out last season, and he said Gramatica handles the wind well, adding that the breeze seems to have been more of a factor this camp than in seasons past. He rejected suggestions that he might coach differently without Adam Vinatieri around to make the big kick at the end of the game, saying that if you don't have confidence in your players to make the play for you, then those guys shouldn't be on your team.

Near the end of the session, someone asked Belichick if he makes any free-agent signings of marginal players just so that they can be "fodder" for training camp. The coach said he doesn't look at it that way, and said coaches who quickly cut players without trying to let them contribute take the risk of regretting that decision later.

"There are a lot of players that came into this league and in all honesty weren't very good in their ability to contribute in the short term, who turned out to be pretty good players," Belichick said. "If you want to cut them the first day of camp ... then you can do that, but there's a lot of those guys who you're going to be playing down the road, probably a lot of them could come back and beat you as a matter of fact. You know, they need some time."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Questions about the secondary

The Patriot defense is beginning to look like itself, with the recent returns of Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison. Another guy they're happy to have back in pads is third-year cornerback Randall Gay, who missed much of last year with an ankle injury; he had surgery in the offseason.

Gay was surrounded by media at the end of the morning practice session, answering good-naturedly a barrage of questions about the nature of his injury. He tried to play hurt until being put on injured reserve, ending his season, in mid-November. Gay, who started in the Super Bowl two winters ago, was left to watch the Patriots' playoff loss to Denver from his home in Louisiana.

"I would have liked another Super Bowl ring, even if I didn't play," Gay said.

Asked if any teammates had questioned his toughness, Gay said not that he knew of. He also said that he would have appeared in camp earlier if it were up to him, but he was advised to take a little more time off before starting his drills.

Both Gay and Eugene Wilson told reporters that they would do what they needed to shore up New England's suspect secondary this year, even if it meant rotating between safety and corner.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

A beautiful day to work

The New England Patriots have begun their second-to-last day of practice before the team's first exhibition test, on Friday night against the Atlanta Falcons. There are a couple of hundred people here in Foxboro on a perfect summer day, with bright sunshine and temperatures comfortably in the 80s.

After 15 minutes or so of stretching, the Pats offense took the field, as soft adult contemporary music played from the sound system (a far cry from the hard rock and rap that you hear before the start of a real game). Tom Brady handed the ball to Corey Dillon, who ran off left tackle to get the offensive drills started.

In addition to the local media contingent, ESPN reporters Sal Paolantonio and Duke Castiglione are here today. Best fan apparel so far: there's a guy in front of the media tent wearing a 1960s-vintage Joe Namath University of Alabama jersey.

Today's schedule calls for two practice sessions, the first one ending around 10:30 and the second beginning at 2:30. Bill Belichick is scheduled to address the media at 11:20. We'll keep you up to date on any and all developments.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments 0