With the attention taken away from conditioning and put back where it belongs – on football – the Patriots took the field for their second afternoon workout of camp.
Only a brief thunderstorm, which came with some heavy winds, disrupted the practice as the team got to work on the passing game. Drew Bledsoe and Michael Bishop had some success hooking up with receivers during 1-on-1 drills against the defensive backs before the winds started playing tricks with their throws. As was the case on Monday, Terry Glenn got the session off to a great start when he won his battle with Ty Law and grabbed a 15-yard out pattern just inside the left sideline.
Later in the drill, Vincent Brisby got behind Kato Serwanga deep down the sideline for a would-be touchdown and newcomer Aaron Bailey made the catch of the day when he leaped over Antonio Langham, who actually had pretty solid coverage on the play, for a big gain.
Then the rains came and the drills moved from 1-on-1 to 7-on-7. Bledsoe's success rate didn't change much, though. He hooked up with Glenn for a 25-yard gain over the middle (again beating Law), but then overthrew Tony Gaiter and was picked off by Lawyer Milloy. With the increasing winds, both Bledsoe and Bishop had trouble keeping some throws down and watched a few sail over the heads of wide-open receivers.
After the thunderstorm, special teams coach Brad Seely brought out his punt team and watched his kickers, Lee Johnson and Jimmy Kibble, used the strong winds to their advantage. Both belted several high, hanging kicks that drifted toward the right corner of the field, where most were downed inside the 10-yard line.
CAMP NOTES: During the punting drills, Bailey was the lone man back for each kick. He showed great hands and instincts as he affected the coverage with his fair catch fakes. … Earlier in the workout, Seely had Antwan Harris, Sean Morey, Kelly Malveaux, Tony Simmons, Serwanga and Langham working on downing punts down close. Harris and Serwanga were particularly effective in this drill. … The Patriots unveiled a rough version of what their nickel and dime packages will look like during the 7-on-7s. Serwanga, Law, Langham, Milloy, Katzenmoyer, Bruschi and Harris worked together at the start. Tebucky Jones also worked with this group. … The injury crew grew in the afternoon session. In addition to the wounded offensive linemen (Bruce Armstrong, Lance Scott, Todd Rucci and Adrian Klemm), linebacker Ted Johnson (hamstring), tight end Dave Stachelski (foot) and defensive end Brandon Mitchell (leg) were all on the sideline. The latter three put in some serious miles on the stationary bikes while Armstrong, apparently anxious to get back into contact, spent a few minutes hitting the blocking sled. … Practice times remain the same for Wednesday, with the morning session slated from 8:50 a.m.-11 a.m. and the afternoon at 2:50 p.m.-5 p.m. All practices are at Foxboro Stadium.
