Notes from Patriots Training Camp: Day 6

After the first off-day of this year's training camp, the New England Patriots returned to the practice field today. As usual, practice was held on the fields behind Gillette Stadium and was open to the public.

Working through the Twitterverse, here are some notes about today's session:

Attendance

-- Matt Flynn, Matthew Slater, Brandon LaFell, Tyler Gaffney, Chris White, Dane Fletcher, Marcus Cannon, Ryan Wendell, Caylin Hauptmann, Joe Vellano, A.J. Derby, Chris Jones and Alan Branch missed today's session.

-- Cannon and Vellano are new absentees.

-- The team had four new players on the field today: linebackers L.J. Fort and Cameron Gordon, fullback Eric Kettani and defensive tackle A.J. Patailai'i. For more on the signings, click here.

Injuries

-- Julian Edelman, who was banged up on Sunday, left the session early and went to the field house. He did not return.

-- Rob Gronkowski got shaken up a little during a late-practice goal line play. It wasn't serious, though, as he spoke with reporters after the session.

-- Wide receiver Brian Tyms got carted off after getting hit by cornerback Robert McClain during a one-on-one drill. It looked like an arm injury - and unfortunately not good.

Offensive Notes

-- According to Mark Daniels, the quarterbacks performed as follows:

11-vs-11s:
Brady: 15/21, INT

Garoppolo: 13/18

7-vs-7s:
Brady: 7/8
Garoppolo: 3/7, INT

-- With Edelman virtually out, Danny Amendola got a lot of reps and made the best of the opportunity,...

-- ...as did second-year offensive tackle Cameron Fleming, who saw a lot of reps with Cannon sidelined.

-- Josh Boyce led all of Brady's receivers with five catches today.

-- Travaris Cadet made a nice catch in the end zone with linebacker Jonathan Freeny in coverage.

-- Prior to going down injured, Tyms made a "terrific grab downfield".

-- Overall, the offense did not have that sharp of a session.

Defensive Notes

-- Jabaal Sheard beat center Bryan Stork, who has had an impressive training camp, in 1-on-1s.

-- The defense displayed a 3-4 look in 11-vs-11s with Sheard and Rob Ninkovich as the outside linebackers, Chandler Jones as a defensive end and Malcolm Butler, Tarell Brown and Logan Ryan as the cornerbacks.

-- Butler intercepted a Brady throw when he undercut Josh Boyce. It was Brady's first pick of training camp.

-- Nate Ebner, on the other hand, recorded Garoppolo's lone interception.

-- The unit looked good during goal-line-drills, stopping the offense three straight times.

-- During 1-on-1s, the defensive backs got the better of the wide receivers, winning 16 of 27 matchups.

Special Teams Notes

-- Amendola, Cadet and Dion Lewis worked as the kickoff returners.

-- Zach Moore blocked a kick.

Miscellaneous

-- Dont'a Hightower was the only non-quarterback to wear a red non-contact jersey.

-- Tom Brady, who turned 38 yesterday, was greeted by the fans singing "Happy Birthday".

-- Cornerback Tarell Brown switched jersey numbers: from 9 to 31.

-- Once again, music blasted through the speakers to simulate crowd noise.

-- Wille McGinest, who will be inducted into the Patriots' Hall of Fame tomorrow, chatted with Bill Belichick on the sideline. McGinest addressed the team after practice. The huddle ended with "awwww yeah".