The pads came on today and guess what came with them? Our first injuries! Boo. But that’s how it goes.
Here are the tweets that stood out:
@chatham58 Total confidence issue when I was there. He was mr smooth with soft hands and good speed, but wasn’t sure of himself.
— T.J. Moe (@TJMoe28) July 30, 2016
Enjoyed this bit of insight from former Patriots receiver T.J. Moe into Aaron Dobson. Dobson stood out again, but as I said yesterday, he’s always stood out when it comes to one-on-one drills and in the red zone. But when there’s more field to work with he struggles to separate himself/stay standing up after he catches the ball. We’ll see. Always a tough climb when you don’t play special teams and you’re not one of the top two receivers on the team.
Pats OL Johnathan Cooper taking from the field by a cart. Right foot/ankle injury.
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) July 30, 2016
We’ll see how this plays out, but…
#Patriots OL Jonathan Cooper, who was carted off today, is battling a plantar fascia issue, sources say. Not structural with his ankle.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 30, 2016
Hey, it’s not a season-ender, but it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be fully healthy any time soon. So even when he’s back this is something that will have to be managed, and with a ton of young depth at guard, you wonder how patient the Pats will be with Cooper.
Rookie Ted Karras filling in for the injured Cooper at guard during 11-on-11 drills. 6th round draft pick out of Illinois this past May.
— Courtney Fallon (@CourtneyFallon_) July 30, 2016
First, congrats to Courtney Fallon on the new gig for NFL Media covering the Pats. Not only does she share a birthday with me and Bill Belichick, but she’s been grinding for a while before now landing this dream gig. Nice to know we’ve got someone we can trust in this job.
This is a tough roster to crack, but #Patriots (R) TE Bryce Williams looks & moves like an NFL TE. Size, slickness, & big-man body control
— Matt Chatham (@chatham58) July 30, 2016
Never rule out a tight end like this with Belichick. With Bennett possibly only here for a year it would be smart to do everything they can to keep Williams in-house this year.
Not a bad day for football pic.twitter.com/iCY1pKnnxO
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) July 30, 2016
#Blessed
Early in practice, Rob Ninkovich and Shea McClellin got some work in at linebacker. Hightower worked with some defensive ends as well
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) July 30, 2016
My goodness, this front seven is going to be moving all over the place. Good luck identifying who’s who pre-snap. Hopefully this means more chance for Hightower to get after the quarterback.
Donald Brown got the first reps at running back today during the first 11v11 drills
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) July 30, 2016
My expectations for Donald Brown are non-existant but it looks like he’s going to get every chance there is to be a significant part of this team.
Pats practice wrapping up. Highlight of the day was back-to-back TD passes from Brady, one to Gronk and one to Hogan. Impressive plays.
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) July 30, 2016
Nice to see Hogan showing up.
Bryan Stork left field at one point just over halfway through practice. Not sure what happened. David Andrews getting reps as No. 1 center.
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) July 30, 2016
I love Stork but man, the guy is constantly getting dinged. Makes you wonder how much injuries will factor into this key competition.
Another camp practice tomorrow, then we’ll have Rick Stark covering the in-stadium practice on Monday night along with Kevin Faulk’s induction. August is almost here!