Pats Training Camp Day 1 Recap

Play of the Day
A pretty touchdown bomb from QB Tom Brady to WR Randy Moss In 11-on-11 scrimmaging, Moss streaked past DB Willie Andrews and Brady lofted a perfect pass to a wide-open Moss down the left sideline. The capacity crowd erupted in cheers as the play unfolded.

Who’s Hot

P Danny Baugher

The first-year punter looked good in both team and individual drills, repeatedly hitting long, arching spirals.

Who’s Not

DL Kareem Brown

The fourth-round draft pick has apparently been suspended until Monday for violating an unspecified team rule, according to a report in The Boston Globe.

Quote of the Day
“Yeah, he doesn’t play for us.” ~ Patriots head coach Bill Belichick

(Belichick’s quip came after a reporter asked if Browns rookie quarterback Brady Quinn’s contract differences with Cleveland are having an effect on contract talks with New England first-rounder Brandon Meriweather.)

Other Day 1 Notes
Training camp started at 8:45 a.m. sharp. The players were greeted by warm, but not uncomfortably humid, weather and a capacity crowd.

Patriots donning red (no-contact) jerseys included RB Laurence Maroney, LB Junior Seau, LB Eric Alexander, and all three QBs (Tom Brady, Matt Cassel, and Matt Gutierrez). Conversely, RB Sammy Morris was no longer wearing a red jersey, which he had been doing during mini camp last month.

CB Asante Samuel was not present for the first practice of training camp. His holdout has officially begun. When asked about his fellow DB, safety Rodney Harrison said after practice, "I miss Zant. I wish he was here. I know he’s working hard and I can’t wait to see him."

First-round pick Brandon Meriweather was also not in attendance Friday morning. The rookie DB remains the Patriots’ only unsigned draft choice.

Other notable absentees: WR Donté Stallworth and QB Vinny Testaverde. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette speculated a few days ago that Stallworth is injured. Testaverde, though he participated in mini camp, was not under contract with the team and remains a free agent.

Randy Moss is no longer sporting the number 6 jersey. He is now wearing 81.

WR Kelley Washington was taken off the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and took part in the morning practice. Seven other Patriots remained on the PUP, however: DL Richard Seymour, WR Troy Brown, WR Chad Jackson, TE David Thomas, DB Mel Mitchell, DB Eddie Jackson, and RB Justise Hairston.

First-year punter Tom Malone struggled all morning. He had some nice punts, but was inconsistent. Incumbent veteran Josh Miller was relegated to stop-watch duty, chronicling the snap-to-punt times and hang-times of both Malone and Baugher.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft was seen walking the practice field, mingling with coaches and training staff.

As he did during mini camp, newcomer Adalius Thomas took turns at both inside and outside linebacker.

CB Ellis Hobbs nicely broke up an otherwise well-thrown deep ball intended for Jabar Gaffney during WR-vs-DB drills.

Brady hooked up with Moss on several passes, much to the delight of the overflow crowd.

Morris looked good catching passes out of the backfield during offense-vs-defense scrimmaging.

Kicker Stephen Gostkowski had a great start to training camp. He was a perfect 8-for-8 in team field goal attempts at the end of this morning’s practice.

Patriots.com

In other news, the Pats cut rookie HB Justin Hairston.