There’s been some action in Foxboro over the past 3 days both on and off the practice field. First, let’s start with the return of some key injured players. Safety James Sanders and defensive linemen Mike Wright and Jarvis Green returned to practice Monday and were present today as well, often lining up with the starters on defense. Wright was mostly in for different sub packages, such as the Pats’ 4-3 look, which consisted of Wright and Jarvis Green at defensive end and Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork at defensive tackle.
With Rodney Harrison missing practice again, Sanders lined up with the first unit at safety along with last year’s first round pick Brandon Meriweather, who has really impressed in camp this year. His “butter fingers” issue from last season has seemingly gone, as he had 2 good interceptions in Monday’s practice and has rarely dropped balls all throughout camp. Meriweather worked hard this offseason with the coaching staff and the jugs machine trying to improve his hands and all of his hard work has seemed to pay off.
Keeping along the lines of Harrison missing practice time and Tank Williams being lost for the season (and you could also throw James Sanders’ health issues in there), the Patriots hosted veteran free agent safety John Lynch today. I’m not sure what health issues, if any, the 36-year-old safety has, but the Pats have had some success adding older veterans and as long as Lynch didn’t have to play every defensive snap, I think his signing would be a great move for New England. He would bring with him, besides 9 Pro Bowl appearances, a tough, hard-nosed style of play similar to what Tank Williams brought to the field. In fact, if he still runs well, his toughness and experience would represent an upgrade over Tank. We should know where Lynch stands with the Pats over the next few days.
Contrary to some rumors floating around, Tom Brady WILL play this preseason, possibly this Sunday at Tamp Bay. In an interview after today’s practice, Brady said:
“It will be nice to be out there and play a little bit and see if we can make some improvements from last week. Coach has been pretty tough on us and wants us to make these improvements quickly. Tampa Bay is a great test too because they are very well coached. They present different challenges as a team. We have our work cut out for us.”
It will be nice to see what Brady and his receivers can do together after having spent an entire season together. However, I do have concern about Brady staying upright with the patchwork offensive line we currently have. Matt Light and Stephen Neal still have not returned to practice, and Neal is still on the PUP list. Watching Brady’s protection will be one of the more interesting story lines as we finish out the preseason. One factor that may be neglected is the possibility that Cassel, Gutierrez, and O’Connell were not making the correct protection adjustments at the line, which may have lead to protection breakdowns.
Here are some quick observations from camp:
- Chad Jackson Watch: Jackson is now lining up solely with the second team at practice. You may recall coming out of mini-camp, even at the beginning of training camp, Jackson spent time lining up in the #2 receiver spot with the first unit. However, poor play, be it route running mistakes or dropped balls, have relegated him to the second stringers. Today in camp, he rarely saw a ball thrown his way during offense vs. defense drills, and when they did come his way, he often dropped the ball. Things are not looking good for Jackson.