FOXBOROUGH – Here are some observations from today’s practice that was open to the media.

Before I begin, a few disclaimers.

• It is VERY, VERY early, so don’t go flying off the handle about anything. Things will certainly change in time.
• This is the third practice the Patriots have had. We don’t know what was done the other two, or whether this was a “let’s try a few things” sessions. Also, the Patriots know the media is watching. They might show some things or hide some things accordingly.
• The media is limited in what we can report. Specifically, we can’t report “on offensive or defensive strategy. This includes describing formations, personnel groups or non-conventional plays.” We also can’t report comments made by coaches.

So, with that backdrop, a few intentionally vague thoughts after watching practice:

• There was a lot of teaching going on, which is what these OTAs are designed for. But it wasn’t only the coaches. Players were helping other players. Saw Vince Wilfork showing Jermaine Cunningham the finer points of leverage during a drill. Jerod Mayo was helping Dont’a Hightower. The safeties were doing a lot of talking amongst themselves.
• The secondary seems to have a bunch of moving parts with different players playing in different groupings, though there appeared to be a solid core (which we can’t report).
• Devin McCourty was at cornerback.
• It seemed clear to me that CB Ras-I Dowling, who went on IR last year after hip surgery, is working his way back from the ground floor. He appeared to be lacking some reps and when he was on the field, he didn’t possess the same explosiveness that we saw early last season that got him immediately in the lineup. He appeared very stiff and lacked fluidity. On a couple of occasions he was easily beaten down the field. But it’s very, very early and he may need some easing back.
• Another thing that really jumped out was the S Josh Barrett was noticeably slimmer, which is something that needed to happen. I thought Barrett was way too big last year – he almost looked like a linebacker – and that often showed up in his play when he had trouble changing direction. Maybe Barrett hasn’t lost weight, but it sure looked like he has changed his body – and for the better.
• Dan Connolly was the top center, even missing both guards and one tackle. To me, that reinforces that it’s his job to lose against Dan Koppen – unless injuries prove such a problem closer to the season that the team is better off moving Connolly to guard to given them a “best five.”
• None of the rookies just assumed a starting role. That’s no surprise at all. But Chandler Jones, Dont'a Hightower and Tavon Wilson appeared to not be far off from being in the mix.
• Not much jumped out about Jones that we didn’t already know. He’s learning his way around this defense. Same with Jake Bequette.
• Somewhat surprised Hightower ran solely with the linebackers. Figured he might get some DE work, but he could be working on different things in other practices.
• LB Bobby Carpenter was on the field a lot.
• Jonathan Fanene looked bigger than I guess I pictured. Patriots have some bulk inside with Wilfork, Kyle Love, Fanene, Brandon Deaderick, Gerard Warren, Myron Pryor, Marcus Harrison, Marcus Fortson and Ron Brace. A lot of competition there again in this camp, just like last year.
• Josh McDaniels’s spin on the offense was noticeable and there was a lot of carryover from what he did in Denver. Probably didn’t help things that Aaron Hernandez was the only real tight end on the field (aside from UDFA Brad Herman, who was playing with a limp).
• WR Chad Ochocinco seemed to pickup where he left off. Deion Branch had to tell him where to line up at one point, and then Ochocinco went offsides and had to run a lap.
• WR Wes Welker had an uneven day catching the ball. (Hurry, somebody go write that he’s being distracted by contract talks! Kidding.) Did find it a little amusing that at one point Brady threw a pass to Welker in the seam that was reminiscent of the Super Bowl play. Brady threw it high – but slightly to the inside this time – and Welker snagged this one while leaving his feet.
• WR Brandon Lloyd looks like he’s been living in his offense for a while – which he has in Denver and St. Louis – and a natural. He catches everything with ease. Can definitely see what scouts said -- not a burner but a long strider who can cover ground -- about him.
• There were not many “wow” moments for anybody today. Not a whole lot stood out. There were on a few sessions of 7-on-7.
• Ryan Mallett underthrew a ball and was picked off by Marquice Cole. Mallett didn’t look sharp. Brian Hoyer was on his game. Cole played a lot of gunner on punt team.
• Brady seemed solid. Nothing outrageously good or bad. The one thing that stood out was his rapport with this group. With Jabar Gaffney and Donte’ Stalloworth returning, it had a “getting the band back together” feel. The WRs were having a lot of fun being around each other.
• There was a lot of sub package defensive working happening. Don't know if that's an everyday thing, or just for today.

The shirts-and-shorts session began with stretching. Offense wore blue and defense wore grey. As noted on Tuesday, the players did not have jerseys on, but numbers could be spied on shorts and helmets.

I didn't see Sebastian Vollmer, Daniel Fells, Logan Mankins, Brian Waters, Tracy White, Myron Pryor, Anthony Gonzalez, or Jeremy Ebert while scanning the practice field. It's possible any or all showed up after reporters left the session.

Rob Gronkowski was seen jogging and working with trainers. He was joined by Brandon Spikes, who had offseason surgery on his right knee; Matt Slater, who might have tweaked something during the session, and Nate Ebner, who spent time on a stationary bike during rookie camp because of an unknown injury. Spikes looked okay, running at one point on a harness (it does look as weird as it sounds).

I think Addai/Vereen will be the key for that.  When either of them are on the field, the Patriots are no so obviously one-dimensional.  Both can be part of the running or passing game.  Hopefully they can stay healthy.

dokgonzo wrote: There's nothing wrong with letting the other team know you intend to run the ball down their throats when you can actually pull it off. Ridley, Bolden, plus 2 FB's and a couple monster TE's should allow them to do just that. During the Dillon years the Pats drove other teams crazy in the 4th - you know they were going to run the clock out, and no one could stop them from doing it.

Shane Vereen will challenge Stevan Ridley for lead role in running game

It’s time to conclude this quick five-part series that took a look back on my list of things to watch during OTAs. This doesn’t mean the analysis is complete, as two of the Patriots’ final seven OTAs are still open to the media, but it seemed like an appropriate time to make some snap judgments.

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Scroll through the blog to see the first parts, which checked out Rob Gronkowski, the secondary, wide receivers and rookies. Here, let’s roll through the running backs. This is what I wrote in Thursday’s paper:

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In all likelihood, the Patriots will give their running backs role-specific duties, but there are still questions after BenJarvus Green-Ellis’ departure. Can Stevan Ridley take over as the primary ballcarrier? Is Shane Vereen better than advertised between the tackles? Can Danny Woodhead keep it going after a superb Super Bowl? How much does Joseph Addai have left in the tank? Does undrafted free agent Brandon Bolden deserve the comparisons to Green-Ellis? Potential can be a beautiful thing, but it yields plenty of unknowns.

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Analysis: The big thing that jumped out was Vereen served as the top back during practice. The unknown is whether or not it means anything, particularly since I have no idea who took on that role during their first two sessions. It’s just like preseason carries in that regard, as Bill Belichick will designate certain times for certain players to have their time with the first-team offense. But again, Vereen is high on my list of players to watch during the offseason, since it was difficult to make any lasting impressions last year.

Addai got a decent amount of snaps, too, but I don’t think it’s a given that he’ll make the roster. I do think, though, that with a young backfield, Belichick would like a veteran to stay in the mix.

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Aside from Vereen’s snaps, I can’t say who did or didn’t run well. There’s no contact during OTAs, which makes it difficult to reach any worthwhile impressions on the performance of the running game. In all honesty, the first time to assess the running attack will be the preseason opener. There will be observations in the meantime, but teams need to be going full speed to show what they’ve truly got on the ground.

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Credit: Boston Herald

dokgonzo wrote: A lot of the "to run or not to run" decision will also come from BB. The question is: has he seen enough of blowing leads in the 4th, and seeing Brady get hammered for 4 quarters, to dictate the style of offense to McD?

FOXBOROUGH -- We'll be back in a little bit with some observations from practice, but here's the rundown on who wasn't participating:

Not present: LG Logan Mankins, RG Brian Waters, RT Sebastian Vollmer, WR Jeremy Ebert (school), TE Daniel Fells, DT Gerard Warren, DT Myron Pryor (Pryor's non-attendance is not 100 percent. It was tough to see with no jerseys again).

Present and watching: OT Markus Zusevics.

Present and rehabbing: TE Rob Gronkowski, RB Joseph Addai, WR Matthew Slater, LB Tracy White, LB Brandon Spikes.

Returned after being out last week: S Nate Ebner.

All of the rehab group appeared to be moving well, so the injuries seem to be coming along. Gronkowski looks about 10 times better than he did in the Super Bowl. Addai was doing a lot of resistance training at a decent pace.

Will return in about 30 minutes with a practice report.

Thursday, May 31, 2012 10:46 AM

Notes from the Patriots’ Thursday morning OTA session

It Is What It Is

Christopher Price

FOXBORO — The Patriots just wrapped up an OTA session on the fields behind Gillette Stadium under a brilliant late-spring sky. The practice, held in shorts, sweats and T-shirts, ran for roughly 90 minutes, and like last week’s session that the media had access to, had the same pace as an uptempo training camp practice — quick and efficient, but not too fast. Here are a few quick notes:

•The following players were not spotted on the field for the duration of the session: offensive linemen Brian Waters, Logan Mankins and Sebastian Vollmer; wide receiver Jeremy Ebert and tight end Daniel Fells. As was the case last week, tight end Rob Gronkowski worked off to the side, running sprints and stretching. Meanwhile, special teamer Matthew Slater, linebacker Tracy White and running back Joseph Addai also worked off to the side. (Addai looked nimble working through cone drills.) Linebacker Brandon Spikes started with the team in the stretching line, and then appeared to depart for the practice bubble.

•With the understanding that very little should be read into personnel moves because it’s still May, there were some interesting faces in different places. On the offensive line, with no Mankins, Waters or Vollmer, Robert Gallery got a lot of snaps at right guard, while Marcus Cannon saw plenty of time at right tackle. In addition, Dan Connolly and Dan Koppen rotated pretty steadily at center, with Donald Thomas (who didn’t play center last season) working as a backup center for portions of the workout. Connolly and Ryan Wendell also rotated in at the guard spots, while Nate Solder spent most of his time working as the left tackle with what appeared to be the No. 1 offensive line.

•Quarterback Tom Brady was pretty animated throughout the practice, while offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was a hands-on presence with the quarterbacks.

•In 7-on-7′s, there were several different combinations utilized in the secondary, but it is worth noting that for the second consecutive week, McCourty appeared to take the bulk of the reps at cornerback. (It looked like McCourty and Ras-I Dowling were paired as the starting corners.) There were several different pairings at safety, including Nate Ebner and Pat Chung, Ebner and Ross Ventrone and Josh Barrett and Sergio Brown. Steve Gregory rotated into the mix as well. Ebner made a nice pass breakup on a pass from Brian Hoyer that was intended for Brandon Lloyd.

•One interesting special teams note — Donte Stallworth worked briefly as a kick returner, along with Julian Edelman, Danny Woodhead and Devin McCourty. Working as a special teamer would almost certainly increase Stallworth’s chances of making the final roster. (It’s worth noting that the last time he worked as a returner was 2005 with New Orleans.) One other thing regarding Stallworth — he appeared to tweak something in the early stages of practice, limping off and spending time on the sidelines. It didn’t appear serious, as he was quickly back on the field.

•Lloyd looked comfortable again working with the wide receivers, not overwhelmed by much at all. It was a relatively uneventful session for the bulk of the receivers. (After appearing to struggle through much of last week’s session, Chad Ochocinco didn’t really pop up much on the radar. He did have a very nice catch on a pass from Brian Hoyer in passing drills early on in practice.) Other skill position highlights included running back Stevan Ridley working with what appeared to be a reasonable facsimile of the starting offense in 11-on-11 drills near the end of practice. (He looked good, but dropped a short pass from backup Ryan Mallett toward the end of the practice.)

• Lot of red zone and two-minute drill work, which is the usual method of operation during installation. There was also some work against cards (diagrammed plays held up for the scout team offense or defense), which indicates the Patriots were preparing for an opponent or two. Again, nothing unusual about that.
• Thought it was interesting that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels spent some time working one-on-one with QB Ryan Mallett. Appeared they were working on footwork, which has been one of the weaker parts of Mallett’s game.
• First-round pick Dont’a Hightower saw his role expand a little bit more in this practice. He had been solely at middle linebacker in previous practice but ventured out to other LB positions during practice. Hightower also appeared to be much more comfortable with what he was doing, so he played a little bit faster. Seems to be rounding into shape.
• With Rob Gronkowski, Daniel Fells, and Aaron Hernandez out, and Brad Herman and Bo Scaife not able to make it through practice, DE Alex Silvestro was the lone TE for much of practice. Let’s just say he doesn’t have a future there.
• The offense was sluggish getting in and out of the huddle and coach Bill Belichick had them run three penalty laps (two the second time).
• Tom Brady was very sharp during practice. He hit his first six passes and finished 18 of 26 with most of the completions going to Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney and the running backs. There weren’t many downfield throws.
• Brian Hoyer was also sharp, completing 10 of 13 throws. Mallett, after working with McDaniels, was 7 of 10, but twice he was saved with diving catches by Julian Edelman, and his incompletions were way off. Mallett also threw into triple coverage once.
• Two rookies, Tavon Wilson and Alfonzo Dennard, stood out in the secondary with a few pass breakups each. Seems that the rookies are starting to catch on.
• Not an overly impressive day from Ras-I Dowling. He just appears to be a little stiff at this point. But, again, he’s coming off hip surgery. Will eagerly be waiting to observe him in training camp when he should be at full health and ready to compete for a job. He’s already in sub packages. If Dowling can grab a starting spot, that will allow the Patriots to be more flexible with Devin McCourty. But right now he’s rebounding nicely at cornerback.
• Brandon Lloyd did nice work in the red zone with a couple of touchdowns. He just has terrific body control. Really think the sky’s the limit for him in this offense. Of course, not having any TEs around makes Brady look at the WRs more. Those reps certainly can’t hurt.
• WR Britt Davis picked up some reps with Chad Ochocinco not at practice. Davis showed well today with a knack for sideline catches.
• Will Allen continued to get some reps at safety.
• Steve Gregory looks like we figured when the Patriots signed him: a jack of all trades in the secondary. He can do a little bit of everything.
• Like what I’m seeing out of the secondary as a whole. Marquice Cole is quite an athlete. Sterling Moore continues to develop with more reps. Kyle Arrington is still playing well. Things look to be coming together back there.
• Impossible to really tell much along the two lines. The OTA rules are constricting for those positions. DE Trevor Scott continues to be impressive. Rob Ninkovich isn’t doing much standing up, but that’s usually a game plan thing during the regular season.
• There was also a lot of work on kickoff return. The Patriots used a bunch of different people, but I have to say that I was impressed with Donte’ Stallworth. He has some explosion back there. Of course, not one is hitting anybody so it’s really tough to draw any conclusions.