Hmm... Is Julian Edelman 'securing' the ball (like the original caption reads) or preparing to throw it?

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Chris Forsberg talks about the morning's steamy training camp, of the final day it's open to the public.

The Patriots launched practice with a healthy emphasis on the two-minute drill. Quarterback Tom Brady and the first-team offense worked on utilizing sideline routes and spiking the ball on routes over the middle to stop the clock before the kick team would run on the field to simulate a field goal attempt.

Christopher Price reports players were in t-shirts and shorts for the duration of the session. No one was traded and no one keeled over from the heat

The focus appeared to be on situation football — with the second game of the preseason looming on Thursday against the Bengals, New England was in prep mode for most of the morning, with the focus clearly being on Cincinnati. There was extensive work on both sides of the football, as well as special teams, but there was no specific focus on one particular area.

Andy Hart ponders a couple of thoughts during the full-roster walkthrough.

Just a side note, but it seems like Randy Moss and Vince Wilfork are regular pre-practice buddies. The duo often talks during stretching or, as they did today, gets in a little catch with a football before the action heats up. Not sure what to make of the bond, just passing it along. For what it’s worth, Wilfork can catch the ball. I’ve seen him make a good number of one-handed receptions at various times in camp. He might not look like one, but he’s a really good athlete.

Erik Scalavino remarks on what Belichick referred to as the "unofficial" transition from a training camp-style week of practice into more of a regular season mode, and some thoughts from Richard Seymour.

"I definitely feel like we have a lot of talent," Seymour added. "Now is the time to work on our individual techniques, because during the season, we’re so busy game-planning, so busy focusing in on our opponents, that we really don’t have the time to work on fundamentals as much as we do in camp. If we put that work in now, it’ll definitely pay off in the regular season."

Ian Rapoport notes Wes Welker's participation in practice and his desire to play on Thursday, but it's up to the coaches.

The Patriots did their final preparation for the Bengals game on Thursday, though like last time, it mostly involved working on what they’ll do. Preseason games aren’t exactly game plan worthy.

Speaking of the Bengals… Quarterback Carson Palmer is on the mend after a high-ankle sprain suffered in his team’s first preseason game. His coach Marvin Lewis called him "probable." Others who’ve seen Palmer walk around are a little less optimistic.

Bill Belichick Tuesday morning Press Conference.  (17.45 min. video)  Transcript to follow.

"Are we making progress?  Yeah, we should.  We've practiced, what is it, 27 times."

DLs Jarvis Green and Ty Warren, NT Vince Wilfork and LB Jerod Mayo walk off the training field at Gillette Stadium this morning.

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Bill Belichick Post-practice Presser.  (19.00 min. video)  Full transcript to follow later.

Over the weekend, Shun White returned to active duty in the Navy, so he's on Military Reserve. We released Mike Richardson and signed running back Chris Taylor, and this morning consummated a trade with the Broncos for Le Kevin Smith to Denver.

Back out on the field yesterday afternoon and again this morning.  A lot of situational work, start getting ready for Cincinnati. As I said, this is a very important week for us in terms of building on the base that we started from the first two weeks of training camp. A lot of the things that we're working on now are building blocks in order to get to the higher plateau that we need to be at. It's important that we continue to escalate our game here. Every opportunity we get out there on the practice field, in all honesty, there aren't that many left until the start of the season. We're well past the halfway point. That's where we're at here for today."

Mike Reiss notes players were in full pads for the morning practice.  Mankins was back on the field, Ohrnberger was not as a precautionary measure.

Terrence Nunn dazzles on long pass. It might have been out of bounds, but regardless, rookie wide receiver Terrence Nunn turned in the best catch that I’ve seen to this point in training camp. It came in 11 on 11 drills, with Nunn sprinting down the left sideline, with Leigh Bodden in coverage and safety James Sanders providing help. Quarterback Brian Hoyer lofted a beautiful pass and Nunn went into a full-out dive to catch it right before it hit the ground. Regardless of whether it was out of bounds, the catch showed tremendous concentration and athletic ability.

Paul Perillo updates us on the oppressive first practice of the day and a couple of roster moves.

The team signed running back Chris Taylor, who spent parts of two seasons with Houston but has been out of football since last October. The 5-11, 220-pound former Indiana Hoosier has played in seven career games and carried the ball 42 times for 160 yards and a touchdown. With Sammy Morris missing practice the last two days, perhaps Belichick felt Taylor could add some depth in practice. The coach said he’d like to have six running backs in camp and has gotten by with five thus far. Taylor took part in the morning workout.

To make room for Taylor, the Patriots released cornerback Mike Richardson and also placed wide receiver Shun White on the reserve/military list, where he joined his former Navy teammates Tyree Barnes and Eric Kettani, both of whom participated in spring drills with the Patriots.

The running game once again was in focus for the morning workout as the team did quite a bit of hitting in 9-on-7 drills and again during the team periods. The practice even closed out with some goal-line work. The defense featured both 4-3 and 3-4 looks with Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork and Jarvis Green manning the front three in the latter. When the Patriots switched to four-man fronts, Myron Pryor was inserted next to Wilfork inside. The drills were also noteworthy because they featured starters against starters, which isn’t always the case during training camp.

Christopher Price wraps up morning camp from a sweltering Foxborough.

There was some extensive work done on kick returns — the Patriots went back to special teams over and over again.

In passing drills, Kevin O’Connell spent a lot of time working with Tom Brady, while veteran Andrew Walter was working with rookie Brian Hoyer. Hoyer had a nice moment when he rolled out and found Terrence Nunn on a nice connection. Later on in the morning, Walter hit Julian Edelman on a nice crossing pattern over the middle. And my new camp binky Sam Aiken made a nice grab of a Brady pass. (Brady and Joey Galloway later just missed on a deep ball down the middle later on when Brady overshot the veteran wide receiver.)

Cornerback Leigh Bodden (23) leaps over wide receiver Greg Lewis to keep the ball away.

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Andy Hart has a few items worth mentioning from the morning walkthrough.

--A staple of the team’s offense in the past, the screen game has gotten plenty of work throughout the summer practice action. Look for a variety of different screen looks to unfold into the regular season, including options for both backs, tight ends and wide receivers.

--Offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, as he so often does during training camp, did his own workouts following the conclusion of the walk-through. Clearly one of the hardest working coaches in the NFL in terms of his job, the New England coaching legend puts in an equally impressive effort maintaining his health through his regular post-practice summer workouts.

Mike Reiss notes the second practice was held in shorts and shells, at half-to-three-quarters speed.  Jon Bon Jovi was present for the workout.

Brady, Moss … & Edelman.  After the Patriots worked on a few plays inside the 10, quarterback Tom Brady wanted to go over some of the finer points of route combinations with two of his receivers – Randy Moss and Julian Edelman. It looked like Brady was tutoring Edelman on how he wanted a specific route run. That Edelman is on the receiving end of such instruction – and running combination routes with Moss – is an indication of his progress.

Ian Rapoport offers his notes from Tuesday afternoon's camp.  The offense earned a night off from team meetings.

You know it’s getting late in camp when Patriots coach Bill Belichick breaks out his annual Random Big Guy Catching a Punt For A Reward kinda thing. And today was the day.

Belichick called up the players for a post-practice huddle, and a cheer emerged. Then, as excitement built, rookie offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer — AKA Sea Bass — trotted down 40 yards to prepare to catch a punt from Chris Hanson.

While the team waited anxiously, Vollmer reeled in the wobbly kick, bouncing it off his chest and finally corralling it.  Cue pandemonium and celebration.

Shalise Manza Young gives her take on the day's workout.

There was a lot of scout-team work in this session, with the top offense going against the scout team defense and vice-versa. Jamar Love was repeatedly beat by Randy Moss for catches and touchdowns.

Belichick spent a few minutes along the sidelines with Derrick Burgess at one point, and appeared to be explaining a technique to the newest Patriot. Belichick did not appear angry, he was simply discussing the finer points, putting his hands in Burgess' chest at one point to illustrate his point.

Paul Perillo discusses Brady's excitement to play in preseason plus news and notes from Tuesday's camp.

Who’s hot: Randy Moss – I’m falling into the typical training camp trap of selecting Moss, fully aware that I could substantiate doing so every do he’s in uniform. The wideout was galloping all over the field during some situational work, catching several passes including back-to-back touchdowns as the clock was winding down.

Who’s not: Jamar Love – This one really isn’t fair considering the experience levels of the players involved, but Love had the misfortune of covering Moss throughout the afternoon as part of the scout defense. Moss likely lost count of his catches at one point because Love was powerless to stop the onslaught.

Andy Hart describes some defensive fronts used Tuesday afternoon, plus more notes and observations.

–During one point in team work on defensive the four-man front line included from left to right Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Myron Pryor and Richard Seymour. Pryor was lined up over the ball. While fellow rookie Ron Brace has gotten a number of reps with the returning veterans, this is a good sign for another defensive line draft pick to be rubbing elbows with the top group. Le Kevin Smith also rotated in for Warren at one point in the segment.

–During another portion of team work a different spin on the four-man front included from left to right, Derrick Burgess, Jarvis Green, Richard Seymour and Tully Banta-Cain. At trend seems to be developing with the team fielding a variety of four-man looks including some of the heavier variety and some on the lighter side with a likely eye on rushing the passer.

Christopher Price passes along a few quick hits from the afternoon session.

As was the case in the morning, much of the work throughout the afternoon session was spent on situational football, with Belichick calling out various scenarios and then having the players run the play. Much of the day was spent with the No. 1 offense working against the scout team defense, while the No. 1 defense did the same against the scout team offense.

Boston.com posted plenty of photos from Patriots Training Camp - Day 12 for those who weren't able to attend.

WR Terrence Nunn finds a hole and darts through it during training camp Monday. Photo courtesy of Chris Ferreira

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Mike Reiss offers five insightful notes from Day 12, first practice.

Eyes on the pass rushers. There was some solid one-on-one pass-rushing work to digest in this session, with the five offensive linemen lined up and one pass rusher isolated against one of the blockers at the snap. Richard Seymour looked un-blockable at times; on one snap, he bulldozed rookie Rich Ohrnberger back into the orange cone that was the "quarterback." Sixth-round draft choice Myron Pryor also showed some quickness when lined up over the guard, although he seemed easier contained when over the center.

Erik Scalavino presents his quick hits from the a.m. full-pads session.

The Play of the day was made by rookie WR Terrence Nunn, who continues his training camp hot streak.  During 7-on-7 work, Nunn ran a go-route down the numbers on the right side, with fellow rookie Darius Butler covering. Rookie QB Brian Hoyer lofted a pass Nunn’s way, but it was slightly behind him. When Nunn looked up and noticed where the ball was, he adjusted by leaping and twisting his body counter-clockwise. As he secured the ball with both hands, his body nearly parallel to the ground, Nunn was crunched simultaneously by Butler and rookie safety Pat Chung. Nunn held on, however, and, for his effort, received a raucous applause from the crowd.  Nunn made another spectacular catch on a pass thrown behind him in 11-on-11 action. He reached back with both hands and snagged the ball right before it appeared that it was headed for an interception.

Christopher Price offers his updates from camp, probably the hottest day so far with temps in the 90s.

The battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot rages on, but I have to believe based on what we’ve seen so far, Walter has usurped Kevin O’Connell for the role of primary backup. Walter looked smooth in drills (Coach Bill Belichick just remarked Walter "looks more comfortable in the huddle each day"), and O’Connell looked to have another tough morning. He overshot a wide open Tyson DeVree in 7-on-7 drills, and later had two bad throws that were easily picked off — one by safety Brandon Meriweather and another by cornerback Leigh Bodden. (In the interest of equal time, O’Connell did have a nice connection to wide receiver Shun White down the sidelines later in practice.)

Shalise Manza Young wraps up the full heat, full pads practice, noting "thus far in terms of camp reports from around the league, Bill Belichick is certainly holding one of the toughest camps in terms of physical demands on the players."

Ty Warren impressed, chasing Edelman downfield after a reception by the rookie, and showing that the extra two weeks the training staff had him wait before getting onto the field was well worth it; Adalius Thomas also flashed his speed, chasing down Nunn after a screen pass and pushing him out of bounds at the 5, about 30 yards from the initial play.

Ian Rapoport checks in after the morning's workout.

Tight end Benjamin Watson was back at practice after missing about a week. He needed to be, considering the competition at his crowded position.

LB Shawn Crable made his big return from the PUP yesterday, then wasn’t in the house today. So much for his claim to be healthy… (Bill Belichick didn’t seem to indicate there was a major problem. Wonder if he’ll be back out for the afternoon…)

RB Fred Taylor takes the handoff during Friday morning's walkthrough practice.

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Paul Perillo recaps the very short Friday morning session, a 90-minute walkthrough in shorts, T-shirts and their new red Patriots hats.

As is normally the case, most of the players who have been missing recently were present for the walkthrough, including Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Shawn Crable, Ty Warren and Benjamin Watson.

Andy Hart reports the players were given Friday afternoon and Saturday off,and notes it came as a pleasant surprise to the players.

After what he deemed a "productive week," Belichick thought his team was ready for a break. At the same time, he and his staff will use players’ day off to "re-calibrate" where they’re at in this still very early point in the team-building process.

"This is new to me, getting time off from training camp. It’s pretty cool, but I mean it’s not a time to get away and just cut loose," WR Greg Lewis said. "The time is given to get your body back, get mentally prepared for what’s coming up for us and to hone in on the skills and the stuff that you’ve learned so far. And try to bring it back to you when we come back."

Christopher Price notes which players spoke to the media after practice about a variety of topics.

After the workout, Stephen Gostkowski, Pierre Woods and Vince Wilfork all talked to the media about a variety of topics. Woods addressed the acquistion of new linebacker Derrick Burgess, while Wilfork talked about his contract situation and the birth of his new baby boy, David. ("He’s going to be a golfer," Wilfork joked.)

• Ian Rapoport says very little happened at practice this morning, Burgess was not present.
• Christopher Price presents the transcript of Vince Wilfork's Q & A following practice.
• Patriots.com presents Bill Belichick's Friday Press Conference.  (18.02 min. video)
  
• Mike Reiss offers a Derrick Burgess perspective, Today's Press Conference nuggets: Belichick's comments on Burgess, and the 2006 Belichick - Burgess Pro-Bowl connection.
• Mark Farinella focuses on Brandon Meriweather, ready to step up in the absence of "Hot Rod."
• Mike Florio (Pro Football Talk) Handicapping the AFC playoff picture.

Patriots' autographs from 8/06/09 Training Camp: Fred Taylor, Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris and BenJarvus Green-Ellis

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What a terrific way to spend a summer morning, sitting on bleachers under a sunny sky, watching the Patriots practice and being surrounded by mobs of happy fans. 

Summing up my feelings was a three-year old boy in a Brady jersey doing a hop-skip down to the field, holding his father's hand and singing "I love football" over and over, with dad smiling away at him.  That's what it's all about folks.

Here are a few things that stood out to me as I watched the practice.  Sometimes it's like a three or four ring circus out there though.  While watching one group of players I'd hear the crowd cheer, which usually meant I missed a good play from the other end of the field - but that's why my son was with me, as a personal 'instant replay.'  : )

• Today's emphasis was clearly on Special Teams, with players in groups of around six taking turns blocking punts.  Chris Hanson would punt point-blank at a player who had to dive over it, block it, find it and pick it up.  Belichick would sometimes have to stop and correct a player's technique, but they all looked good.  The players were then moved back a bit further from Hanson to repeat the same drill.
• Special teams coach Scott O'Brien who is easy to spot, very animated during practice, and more limber than he looks punted alongside Hanson to a second of set of players for that same drill.

RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis running past a blocking pad at Gilette Stadium, with special teams coach Scott O'Brien visible behind him.

•  At one point during some end-zone work, Bill Belichick would roll a large, heavy ball towards either Kevin O'Connell or Brian Hoyer after the snap while they were scrambling and looking for their open receivers.  Neither got hit, but both had to move out of its way and it elicited a lot of laughs from the crowd.  Andrew Walter was spared the extra challange when it was his turn in the rotation.
  
• Director of player personnel Nick Caserio has been actively working with the wide receivers during camp, very hands-on and demonstrative.  A couple of people around me assumed he was the WR coach, but Chad O'Shea has that title.  When the offense was shut down on the final play of practice, Caserio and the rest of the offensive coaching staff had to run a lap with the players.
• To be fair on that play Edelman was MAULED by Darius Butler, causing him to drop a well-thrown pass (I didn't see which QB threw it), and Butler should have had a pass-interference called against him.
• Walter overthrew Edelman a few times early in practice but connected with him later on.  His passes all look strong and hard even on the long throws.  No ducks, wobblers or indecisiveness (yet).
• Sam Aiken had a terrific reception, from O'Connell I think, where he had to stretch himself out fully to make the catch and earning him some loud applause from the crowd.  It will be interesting to see if he makes the roster.
  

P. S.  The blond bomber (my lucky daughter) struck again with four autographs this time. 

WR Julian Edelman carries the ball during the morning session of practice at Gillette Stadium. 8/04/09

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Julian Edelman entered the 2009 Draft as a QB, came out drafted in the 7th round as a wide receiver, and now has punt and kick returner added to his list of potential duties.  Special teams coach Scott O'Brien conceded that learning the different nuances of each position will take time and practice, but it's this positional flexibility that will most likely earn Edelman one of the coveted spots on the final 53-man roster.

Coach Belichick has always prized players who can play multiple positions and as Christopher Price noted, Edelman was being evaluated and groomed for his versatility right from his first pre-draft workout with the Patriots.  "While his quarterbacking skills wouldn’t necessarily translate to the next level, the thought of using Edelman as a potential offensive chess piece appealed to the New England brass."

"When we worked him out there, we worked him out as a receiver," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "We worked him out as a quarterback. We worked him out as a running back and worked him out as a returner. We looked at all the different skills that we thought we could potentially work him at and that was part of his evaluation, as well as his actual playing at Kent State."

Not surprisingly, Edelman has spent camp time trailing alongside successful jack-of-all-trades Wes Welker and staying close during practice to get his advice and learn by his example.  For Edelman's part, his extra work and determination has paid off with noticeable improvement already - more catches and less drops. 

During the three training camps I've attended, Edelman has been active and involved with a high number of reps in both WR drills and special teams drills - fielding kicks and punts, and even my inexpert eyes have been able to see him getting better from one day to the next. 

It's the idea of using Edelman as "an offensive chess piece" that intrigues me.  I'm curious as to how the Patriots intend to use him and especially if they intend to use him beyond receiving and returning.

The national media mentions Edelman with regards to whatever Wildcat options the Patriots' offense might put together and has hinted that's why he was drafted, but he hasn't practiced in that capacity so far - at least not publicly.  Personally, I'm still not sold on the Patriots going that route, utilizing Edelman in a pure Wildcat package (with slow, coming-back-from-knee-surgery Tom Brady lined up as a receiver, against guys who would just LOVE to be the next Bernard Pollard hero of the NFL?  Come on!)

This morning's 2-minute drill work featured some goal line situations where the offense worked on two of it's plays of choice in short-yardage situations – direct snaps to the running back and a QB sneak.  No Wildcat, although with ESPN's Adam Schefter, NFL's Mike Mayock and former Broncos' coach Mike Shanahan present, I'm not surprised.

Training Camp - Moss

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48.9 miles North of Gillette Stadium, I rustled the family out of bed for the trip to Mecca, Gillette Stadium.  We hit the road around 7:30am, a refueling stop at Dunkin Donuts (refueling for us, not the car), and started south.  495S, 3S, 95S, Exit 9 to Route 1 towards Wrentham/Foxboro.  Yeah, this North Shore boy was in unfamiliar territory.  No, it's not my first trip to Gillette.  It is, in fact, my fourth.  The South Shore just ain't right.  Sorry Marima, but I know you feel the same way about the North Shore. ;-)

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