The first day of training camp ended without major incident Monday, as Head Coach Bill Belichick ran the team through a helmet and shoulder pads practice in the afternoon.
In addition to the four players held out of Day One for failure to pass conditioning tests, linebacker Ted Johnson also missed the afternoon workout with a hamstring injury. Belichick did not consider the injury very serious for Johnson, who did practice in the morning.
Rookie Dave Stachelski also sat out almost all of the second practice with a foot injury. The tight end participated in the stretching exercises, but skipped out of the drill workouts.
The team worked passing drills in the late session, with both 1-on-1 drills for receivers against defensive backs in addition to 7-on-7 drills. The offensive and defensive lines also began going against each other in 1-on-1 drills.
Wide receiver Vincent Brisby delivered the biggest hit of the day during a fumble prevention drill. Running back Raymont Harris was running through a gauntlet of players hitting him with pads when Briz popped him, drawing some oohs and ahs from the crowd.
Harris also caught the wrath of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis when he slipped after catching a screen pass. Weis stated rather loudly that Harris needed to stay on his feet in order to gain yardage.
The day wasn't all bad for Harris, who is attempting a comeback after missing the 1999 season with a broken leg. When asked how it felt to get hit for the first time in more than a year, he said, "It felt good. Just like I remembered it."
Rookie cornerback Antwan Harris appeared off to a good start, as he performed well in the pass defense. Harris ran stride for stride with Troy Brown on a long incomplete pass, and he later intercepted a Drew Bledsoe pass intended for Terry Glenn. The rookie dove to catch the ball, a play that was cheered by linebacker Chris Slade, who yelled, "Nice job, Twan! Get up, c'mon let's go!"
Safety Larry Whigham also picked off a Bledsoe pass. Bledsoe was attempting to hit Brisby over the middle, but Whigham dove in front for the interception.
Cornerback Kato Serwanga, who has spent the day with the first unit defense, stopped wideout Sean Morey on a 1-on-1 pass play. Serwanga had such close coverage on Morey that quarterback Michael Bishop didn't even attempt to throw to the receiver.
In the linemen drills, veteran defensive tackle Henry Thomas looked strong against several of the offensive linemen. He used spins and swim moves to get past whomever he faced. Rookie offensive tackle Greg Robinson-Randall stopped defensive end Greg Spires dead in his tracks on one rush.
CAMP NOTES: Kicker Adam Vinatieri performed well in a field goal drill, as he made each field goal he attempted, included one from 40 yards… Tight end Eric Bjornson was the holder when the second field goal unit was on the field…Bjornson showed very soft hands throughout the day, which he spent with what appeared to be the first unit…Second-year running back Kevin Faulk picked up Antonio Langham nicely on a cornerback blitz nicely during a full-team passing drill… The afternoon practice had no interruptions, unlike the morning session, which saw a German shepherd run on to the field. The pooch actually stripped Terry Glenn of the ball from behind.
