Football is back! Well, at least it is in the form of practices. The New England Patriots kicked off their 2016 training camp today at the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium. It was a beautiful but hot practice session that lasted more than two hours. Let's take a look at what happened.
Attendance
-- Jamie Collins, Dion Lewis and Nate Ebner were not spotted during the session. Lewis has been placed on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) earlier this week, while Ebner's absence has to do with him competing in the Olympic Games.
-- Defensive backs Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon were wearing red non-contact jerseys.
-- Guard Shaq Mason was activated off PUP today but did not take part in team drills.
Injuries
-- Nate Washington had to throw up during practice (likely because of the heat). That is all.
Offense
-- The quarterbacks performed as follows:
11-vs-11s:
Tom Brady: 3/6
Jimmy Garoppolo: 5/6
Jacoby Brissett: 3/6
7-vs-7s:
Tom Brady: 9/14
Jimmy Garoppolo: 8/13
Jacoby Brissett: 9/15
-- Brady (11/13) and Garoppolo (14/15) also went through a half-speed two-minute drill near the end of practice.
-- During 11-vs-11s, Brady played with the backup offensive line against the backup defense.
-- Chris Hogan and Aaron Dobson had some nice catches today. Hogan made a reception in double coverage, while Dobson had a one-handed grab in the end zone.
-- Joe Thuney and Jonathan Cooper seem to be the starting guards right now. However, maybe the coaching staff just tries to get the two new acquisitions as much reps as possible.
-- The "top" offensive line consisted of Nate Solder-Thuney-Bryan Stork-Cooper-Marcus Cannon.
-- Martellus Bennett had two drops today.
-- Brady, as he often did, held a side session with some players. Today it was Bennett and Rob Gronkowski.
Defense
-- Devin McCourty, E.J. Biggers, Justin Coleman and Jordan Richards had pass deflections.
-- Rob Ninkovich returned to defensive end today but he also spent some time with the linebackers.
Special teams
-- Cyrus Jones, V'Angelo Bentley and Keshawn Martin worked as the kickoff-returners today.