New England Patriots Links 8/06/09 - Gutierrez Lands With The Chiefs

Mike Reiss asked Pat Chung why he sprints during practice while every other player jogs:

"You got to get warm, man," he answered after a 105-minute practice held in near 90-degree temperatures. "It's conditioning. It helps for the season, so I do it."

Chung has done a little bit of everything in training camp -- playing in the deep third of the field, lining up as a slot corner, and also showing up various times on special teams. His all-out approach is easy to notice.

Safety Brandon Meriweather has been impressed.

"He's a real good athlete, he does a lot of things well," he said. "He's going to be real good."

Shalise Manza Young says versatile Darius Butler is getting quite an education from Patriots receiving stars.

"You just have to come out and be on your P’s and Q’s every play," Butler said. "It’s not only Moss. It’s Welker, Galloway, Greg Lewis, all of those guys can beat you any play, especially when you have a guy like Tom [Brady] throwing the ball. It’s just a great challenge every play."

"It is definitely an adjustment coming from college, because in college you might line up against one fast guy one week and then three weeks later you might have another guy that is pretty good, but in the [NFL] everybody that you line up across is good," Butler said. "They can beat you on any play, so you have to be [at your best] on every play."

Butler has one goal in mind this year: "Get better every day."

TRAINING CAMP OBSERVATIONS

QB Tom Brady ducks his head for a quarterback sneak during Wednesday's practice at Gilette Stadium.

• Andy Hart offers his detailed notes from Wednesday morning's practice.
• Erik Scalavino presents his Wednesday a.m. camp recap.
• Paul Perillo has a short recap of yesterday afternoon's shorts and t-shirts walkthrough.
• Ian Rapoport notes the presence of NFL Network and the NFL officials at morning camp, plus a successful QB sneak by Brady and the absence of Wilfork due to the scheduled induced birth of his third child.  Nice.
• Mike Reiss assesses Day 7's morning practice.  This was one aspect that stood out from the session – Brady and his presence in the shotgun.  Plus, Adalius Thomas being disruptive and Gostkowski booming out kicks.
• Ian Rapoport chalks up another walkthrough for the afternoon session.  Dullsville, although some of the absent players were seen for the first time - Bruschi, Seymour, Warren, Wilhite, and Watson.
• Mike McDermott posts a slideshow from Wednesday morning's practice.
• Mark Farinella offers his 6th audio blog/slideshow from Gillette Stadium, this episode features an interview with Gil Santos, voice of the Patriots.  (6.58 min.)

TEAM SHOTS

• Patriots Today: Guyton and Mayo; refs in town; highlights from practice.  (11.20 min. video)

LOCAL SHOTS

• Karen Guregian reports "Free agent Kevin Carter came and very much liked what he saw in Foxboro during his visit yesterday. And now he’s back home in Tampa, Florida with his wife and son, deciding if he wants to be a Patriot, according to an industry source."
• Mike Reiss reports that newly released backup QB Matt Gutierrez was claimed by the Kansas City Chiefs on waivers.
• Chris Gasper and Mike Reiss Patriots Notebook:  Ex-Raider QB Andrew Walter praises his new teammates; Shanahan's 2nd visit to camp; and a list of who's hurting.
• Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook:  Injured players who are missing camp are mostly day to day and close to coming back; Patrick Chung prefers to be called just Pat; two more days of two-a-days left.
• Jeff Howe asserts that with Rodney Harrison gone, this is the time for Meriweather to shine.
• Ben Collins features WR Terrence Nunn, undrafted ex-Nebraska star who sat out last year, but caught the interest of the Patriots.  Nunn said Moss is helping him with everything from getting off the press to working with his hands. It’s showing, too; Nunn twice wowed the crowd yesterday with full-extension catches.
• Shalise Manza Young says Terrence Nunn is catching on nicely with the Patriots.
• Mark Farinella focuses on Stephen Gostkowski, who has Belichick's solid support.
• Christopher Price notes backup QBs O'Connell and Hoyer aren't worried about the addition of Andrew Walter to the rotation.  Walter has already taken a sizable number of reps from O'Connell in the short time he's been here.
• Ian Rapoport gets the rookies' reactions to the size of the Patriots playbook, and their strategies for learning it.
• Mike Reiss notes the presence of NFL officials yesterday at Gillette to go over the rule changes and help the coaches and players figure out what will be acceptable in 2009 and what will draw a flag.
• Mike Petraglia recaps the so called 'Brady Rule,' noting the NFL is making it an official "point of emphasis" this season for referees to be on the lookout for such illegal hits.

LONG SHOTS

• Tim Graham (ESPN) Camp Confidential: Patriots working to get back.
• Pat Kirwan (NFL.com) Observations from Patriots Training Camp.

8.  Galloway took issue with me when I asked him if he could still run a 4.3 in the 40-yard dash. He said he didn’t know where that 4.3 rumor came from because he believes he still has a 4.1 left in him. "Don’t let the gray beard fool you, the guy can fly," said Bodden.

• Tim Graham (ESPN) AFC East quote marks.
• Tim Graham (ESPN) Podcast: Patriots WR Wes Welker.  Tom Brady has put in a lot of work and is ready to start the season. Welker also explains why he hasn't become a diva like some other WRs.