Greg A. Bedard offers his minicamp observations from Day 2: Things were sloppy for the Patriots' passing game in the rain.
- After a strong start in 7-on-7, the passing offense slumped in 11-on-11 situations. The wet conditions didn’t help things. Tom Brady voiced his frustration – loudly – once.
- Brady was 25 of 36 in competitive situations and hit on just two of his final six passes.
- Brian Hoyer was picked off for the third time in minicamp when linebacker Dont’a Hightower made a leaping grab and returned it a short distance for a touchdown. Hoyer finished 7 of 19.
- Ryan Mallett completed his final six passes. Prior to that, he was 5 of 18 and was just one of eight to start practice. He did have the prettiest ball of the day – a deep score down the left side to Donte' Stallworth -- that burned CBs Malcolm Williams and Ras-I Dowling.
- The defense worked a lot on sorting out coverage in the red zone against flood concepts with three receivers/running backs working against four defenders. Offensive bunch formations were included.
- After practice, cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer confirmed our suspicions that Dowling is not 100 percent. Boyer said Dowling is "trying to push through and get back into game shape" after hip surgery. That’s evident on the field. But it seems that he’s making progress. It’s only June. Both Moore, who did have one nice play on the ball, and Dowling struggled for most of the day.
- The most significant personnel change – and, again, it’s early so it probably doesn’t mean anything – was that Sterling Moore took all of Dowling’s snaps in nickel defense. Guessing the Patriots continue to like Moore’s ball skills. Dowling hasn’t really made any plays. Also interesting to note, after playing left cornerback for the first time on Tuesday, Dowling received even more reps (if not more) on the left side. As a rookie, he was only a right cornerback. Could be preparation for Devin McCourty to do some safety work down the road if Dowling proves ready to take on more.
- Undrafted free agent DL Justin Francis continues to get a lot of playing time. Even saw him stand up today. He’s heading for a role as Mr. Versatility on the line if he keeps it up through camp. Francis would have had a sack in a real game.
- DB Tavon Wilson again saw some snaps at linebacker in subpackages. Like we said, this is not a surprise. He did it at Illinois.
- When Alfonzo Dennard went out with leg injury Williams received all his snaps. Remarkable how similar the two are physically.
- Top catches: Brandon Lloyd (two of the sliding variety) and Wes Welker in traffic.
- Deion Branch continues to make a living as Brady’s underneath receiver. Branch is still pretty good in about a 10-yard box.
- WR Britt Davis has really shown up this offseason. He’s got some burst and does a good job catching the ball. Made a nice adjustment on a ball thrown behind by Mallett. He’s a candidate for one of those guys that really shines in the second half of preseason games. Maybe he’s the new Taylor Price.
- Jabar Gaffney had an outstanding practice. A couple of sliding catches, a few touchdowns in the red zone.
- Patrick Chung got more reps as a kickoff returner. With his injury history, not sure I’m crazy about that.
- Chandler Jones had a sack against Mallett when he blew past LG Jamey Richard, who was promptly replaced.
- S Steve Gregory made a nice play breaking up a pass from Brady to Welker when Gregory really drove on the out route.
- S Nate Ebner had two pass breakups and then gave up a touchdown to an unknown WR (missed the number). Williams, Moore and Tavon Wilson also had pass breakups.
TEAM TALK
- C. Ferreira reports Robert Kraft presented 2011 team members with the 6th AFC Championship ring of his tenure on Wednesday. Nice bling for 2nd place.
- Andy Hart tells us what happened Wednesday at minicamp.
- Erik Scalavino notes how positive Tom Brady is, not only about the team's general progress at minicamp but for their prospects heading into the break.
- Paul Perillo notes special teams coach Scott O'Brien hopes the Patriots' inconsistent kick return game will change in 2012.
- Paul Perillo reports WR Britt Davis is battling long odds to stick around, but he's already outlasted two higher-profile receivers in Ochocinco and Gonzalez.
- Press Conference Transcripts: Bill Belichick (13.06 min. video) and Tom Brady (10.48 min. video).
- Coach Interviews: Ivan Fears (3.48 min.), Josh Boyer (2.04 min.), Brian Flores (2.01 min.), Pepper Johnson (2.30 min.), Chad O'Shea (5.11 min.) and Scott O'Brien (6.20 min.)
- Player Interviews: Britt Davis (2.36 min.), Steve Gregory (2.39 min.) and Patrick Chung (3.05 min.)
- Patriots Today - A unique path to NE for Holley. (2.27 min. video)
- Patriots Today - Hernandez working through camp. (2.10 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Christopher Price shares his notes from Wednesday afternoon's minicamp practice.
- Greg A. Bedard runs down the attendance and participation status of the players yesterday.
- Christopher Price tells us why Brandon Lloyd might be one of the most rare receivers in recent Patriots' history.
- Jeff Howe reports Bill Belichick shot down the notion that the team violated an unwritten rule by claiming injured TE Jake Ballard off waivers from the Giants.
- Mike Reiss calls Tom Brady a maniacal stickler for details, when it comes to playing quarterback.
- Jeff Howe writes Tom Brady is always working on his mechanics and overloading on the fundamentals this time of year.
- Shalise Manza Young notes Tom Brady is staying focused, feeling good and is glad to be back on the field.
- Mark Farinella gets the impression Tom Brady still has fun playing the game.
- Karen Guregian observes Alfonzo Dennard has made a good first impression on the field, and some of his abilities 'jump out at you' to make you think he could be a pretty good player.
- Rich Thompson reports Steve Gregory became a starting strong safety in the NFL by practicing against one of the league's elite QBs.
- Field Yates posts highlights from Scott O'Brien's chat with the media, including his impressions of rookie Nate Ebner and the process of finding kick returners.
- Mike Petraglia notes RB coach Ivan Fears knows Stevan Ridley can overcome the fumbling hurdle if he keeps working at how he holds the football.
- Mike Rodak offers some quick hits from the assistant coaches who spoke to the media Wednesday.
- Mike Reiss notes the Patriots reached out to the Saints about the possibility of holding joint practices during training camp.
- Jeff Howe Patriots Notebook: Patrick Chung has been used on ST as a kick & punt returner in sporadic reps during minicamp; Brandon Lloyd has gotten himself noticed at camp through his athleticism and ability to make all sorts of catches; Welker, Dennard, Moore and Kettani each received medical attention after tweaking their legs in the rain; Mankins & Vollmer worked out to the side of the field.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Jarrett Bell (USA Today) Pats' Kraft hands out AFC title rings, wants the 'real one'.
- James Walker (ESPN) Likes, dislikes from Jets, Patriots minicamp.
- James Walker (ESPN) Notes from Patriots minicamp.
- Chris Burke (SI) Don't blame Patriots for Giants losing Jake Ballard.
- Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) Rob Gronkowski should be ahead of Jimmy Graham.
- AP Report (Pro Football Weekly) Belichick, Patriots welcome La Russa, Thibodeau.
- Ralph Vacchiano (NY Daily News) Angry NY Giants coach Tom Coughlin 'very disappointed' to lose TE Jake Ballard on waivers to Patriots.
- Paul Schwartz (NY Post) Giants' Coughlin peeved about Reese's fleecing on Ballard.
- Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) Jerry Reese won't explain the loss of Jake Ballard.
- Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) Adam Sandler impressed with Rex Ryan's acting ability.
- Mark Schoeck (Pro Football Weekly) Best record doesn't usually translate to title success.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Fourth-year holdouts could be more common under new rookie wage scale.
- Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Inside the Playbook: Drawing up every offensive formation you need to know.
- Jack Bechta (Nat'l Football Post) 5 things rookies should know about dealing with the media.