the Pats will be "preparing for a tough camp in New England"
The consensus is it will be more physical, "there will be more 2 a days" and "it will be harder" and "they are getting ready for a hard core training camp"
You can see that video:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d ... nfirm=true
Today was the first day of Training Camp and practices, and Mike Reiss has the lowdown:
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/p ... ss_pieces/
Day 1, first Patriots practice
FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots held their first practice of training camp this morning (9:30-10:45). The team was in full pads and worked on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium. Heavy rain and lightning ended the session about a half-hour earlier than scheduled.
Here are a few observations that stood out from the session:
# 1) Defensive flexibility. Flexibility is one of the buzzwords of a Bill Belichick defense, and we saw the unit line up in a standard 3-4 but also work some four-man line. This has been commonplace, as the Patriots are a "multiple" defense. One of the first thoughts I had when I saw this was how the Patriots – now in Belichick’s 10th year – have a considerable head start over other NFL teams with new head coaches. This system has been in place, the veteran players know it, and it provides more opportunities to tweak schemes -- even on the first day of training camp. Rookie Ron Brace was right in the mix in the four-man line work.
# 2) Jonathan Wilhite stepping up at cornerback. With veteran Shawn Springs not on the field, second-year player Jonathan Wilhite stepped into his left cornerback spot. Wilhite had an interception of quarterback Kevin O’Connell over the middle. Earlier in practice, safety Brandon Meriweather picked off a tipped O’Connell pass that was intended for receiver Shun White.
# 3) Tight ends and their role in the offense. When the Patriots worked their 9-on-7 inside running drill, tight ends spent time in the offensive backfield in a lead-blocking role. This was expected with no pure fullback on the roster -- Heath Evans signing with the Saints in free agency – and it led to the following thought: When a team has versatile tight ends, it provides an offense with more options, and can stress a defense in the matchup game.
# 4) Big applause for Tom Brady. While rookie free agent quarterback Brian Hoyer was the first player on the field, it came as no surprise that Tom Brady drew the loudest applause upon his arrival. Wearing a black brace over his left knee – the brace was visible as it extended from under his jersey pants – Brady waved his left arm toward the crowd of several thousand as he jogged from one drill to an open area of the field.
# 5) Jerod Mayo & Brandon Meriweather follow-up. In spring minicamps and organized team activities, linebacker Jerod Mayo and safety Brandon Meriweather were held out of on-field work. At the time, the question was: Are they injured and should there be concern? Now we have the answer, as they were both on the field this morning with a clean bill of health.
Here's a cool pic of the practice fields
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/p ... riots.html
