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Saturday, July 28th
New England Patriots:: http://www.boston.com/sports/footba.../patriots_coach_belichick_preaching_patience/
New York Jets: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...nate-training-camp-practice-article-1.1123937
Miami Dolphins: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...phins-camp-rail-0729-20120728,0,4043314.story
Buffalo Bills: http://blogs.buffalonews.com/press-coverage/2012/07/day-three-defense-keeps-wraps-on-offense.html
New England Patriots:: http://www.boston.com/sports/footba.../patriots_coach_belichick_preaching_patience/
Belichick preaches patience
FOXBOROUGH — With the full team not in full pads for the first two days of training camp, and given it’s early in the process, Bill Belichick cautioned Friday it’s too early to make judgments on players.
Speaking before the Patriots’ second training camp practice, Belichick was asked how tight end Rob Gronkowski looked after offseason surgery to repair torn tendons in his left ankle.
“I think when you get to training camp, you try to keep from making minute-to-minute evaluations on anybody,” he said. “You look at a body of work and I would expect everybody after the first day to get a little bit more refined, get a little bit better timing, get a little bit better football playing — anticipation, execution, and all that. We’ll see how that goes after a few days.
“I would say that about all of our players. Get out there, we got going [Thursday], hopefully things will be better today for everybody. Hopefully they’ll be better tomorrow than they were today. At some period of time after we’ve had an opportunity to get everybody acclimated and get everybody enough reps and opportunity to do something, then we’ll sit down and we’ll really take a closer look at the evaluation. We try not to evaluate play-to-play at this point in the season.”
Belichick knows exactly how many practices the Patriots will have over the course of the season, and he divides each session with specific goals in mind. So the player who looked strong on one day when one thing was emphasized might struggle the next day with a different set of plays.
“I don’t think we want to get into a ‘How did he do on this play? How did he do on that play?’ We’ll go a little while here, we’ll have a lot of plays, a lot of days strung together — we’ll be looking at a couple hundred plays instead of a handful on the first day,” Belichick said. “I think it’s a little too early to get too high or too low on somebody on the first day of practice.”
But, to many, the time for real evaluation starts Saturday, when the team will be in full pads for the first time.
Weems signed
With depth on the offensive line an issue, the Patriots signed undrafted rookie tackle Darrion Weems.
Weems, a 6-foot-5-inch, 302-pound Oregon product was signed by the Vikings in May, but was released July 24. He started 14 games at left tackle last fall for the Ducks, an offense that ranked third in the nation in scoring and sixth in total offense.
With Logan Mankins (knee) and Sebastian Vollmer (back) on the physically unable to perform list and Brian Waters not yet in camp, the offensive line has been in a state of flux.
There were changes again Friday, with Dan Connolly at left guard (he was at right guard Thursday) and Robert Gallery exclusively at right guard (he and Ryan Wendell took snaps at left guard Thursday). Nate Solder, Dan Koppen, and Marcus Cannon were at left tackle, center, and right tackle, respectively.
Happy return
James Ihedigbo waited for the Patriots to call him about a return engagement, and once he got the call, after June minicamp, he was happy to rejoin the team.
“It’s all part of the business,” said the Massachusetts native and former UMass standout. “I’m glad to be back here, I’m glad to be back with the team. I’m glad to really get back to work so we can get this thing going.”
After offseason shoulder surgery — he suffered numerous stingers last season and was in pain but never missed a game — Ihedigbo is wearing a red non-contact jersey.
On Thursday, he tackled running back Stevan Ridley, sending both to the grass, which Ihedigbo said was accidental, saying the players were trying to hold each other up.
The Patriots signed safety Steve Gregory in free agency and drafted Tavon Wilson in the second round, but there still might be room for Ihedigbo, who was noted for his smarts last season.
Record attendance
The Patriots’ training camp attendance record didn’t last long: After 12,163 fans packed the fields behind Gillette on the first day, the team announced that 13,654 were on hand Friday, despite the threat of rain early in the day . . . Tom Brady Sr., who seems to make an annual trip east during training camp, was on hand Friday.
New York Jets: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...nate-training-camp-practice-article-1.1123937
Aaron Maybin and NY Jets defense dominate second training camp practice
CORTLAND – A day after Mark Sanchez & Co. looked sharp in their first practice, things got a little sloppy amid a driving rainstorm on Saturday. There were plenty of dropped passes in the wet conditions in the Jets' first practice open to the public. Neither Sanchez nor Tim Tebow played particularly well in front of a few thousand fans. Before Tebow jogged off the field shirtless in a downpour, he completed just 3 of 8 passes and was sacked once in 13 snaps during 11-on-11 team drills.
Sanchez was more efficient (6 for 8, sacked once in 17 snaps), but neither signal caller looked crisp. Aaron Maybin led a stingy defense with a pair of sacks. The Jets played a good amount with four down linemen, a scheme that they are expected to use more with their young and athletic front.
Safety LaRon Landry participated in some 11-on-11 drills and made a nice diving pass deflection in 7-on-7s in his first practice. Things became chippy with Landry and tight end Josh Baker at one point before they were quickly separated by teammates.
Matt Slauson and Vlad Ducasse continued to rotate snaps at left tackle.
Miami Dolphins: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...phins-camp-rail-0729-20120728,0,4043314.story
Two Dolphins' starters sidelined by injuries on second day of training camp
DAVIE—
The Miami Dolphins had not even gotten through two practices before the team lost two projected starters to injuries.
Brian Hartline, who missed most of the offseason program because of a lingering calf injury on his left leg, and an emergency appendectomy, sat out the majority of Saturday's session.
Hartline was replaced by Chad Johnson, who made a few impressive catches, as the starting receiver paired with Legedu Naanee.
Chris Clemons, who spent all offseason as the starting safety paired with Reshad Jones, suffered an injury to his lower right leg during Friday's session and was also sidelined.
Jimmy Wilson, a second-year player who is making a position switch from cornerback to safety, replaced Clemons. Tyrone Culver also worked with the first team.
Last year a lingering hamstring injury contributed to Clemons losing the starting free safety spot to Jones.
Hartline admitted that his medical issues have been a "pain in the [butt]" but wouldn't address his latest setback outside of acknowledging he's presently not at full speed.
Camp observations
~The Dolphins tight ends are thriving in the west coast offense, consistently catching 20-plus yard passes in the middle of the field. Miami's linebackers need to do a better job of covering that position. ... OG Artis Hicks worked as the starting right guard for the second consecutive day, it seems he's clearly ahead of John Jerry in that position battle. ... Eric Steinbach, the newly signed veteran guard, continued to work at left guard, the spot he admits he's most comfortable at. ... QB David Garrard completed a pass for about 30 yards down the right sideline to Johnson, who grabbed the ball while tip-toeing to stay in bounds. ... WR Julius Pruitt reached up and made a great grab in traffic for about a 30-yard completion. ... RB Daniel Thomas, who is pushing to become the team's third-down back, dropped an easy pass.
Who's up?
~Rookie DE Olivier Vernon, a former UM standout whom the Dolphins selected in the third-round, and Derrick Shelby, an undrafted DE from Utah, were effective bringing pressure from the edges. Vernon sacked Matt Moore twice. The team will get a better feel for their pressure skills on Monday, which will be the team's first day in pads.
Who's down?
~Moore has a long standing reputation as a mediocre practice player and Saturday's performance didn't help him ditch that. The session didn't feature any interceptions, but Moore typically makes five bad throws a day. If Garrard continues to outperform Moore this quarterback competition won't last long.
Kickoff Luncheon
~The Dolphins and the Miami Chamber of Commerce are set to host a kickoff luncheon on August 28 (11:30 a.m.) at Jungle Island. Dolphins players, alumni and coaches will attend. For ticket information visit http://www.miamichamber.com.
Quote of the day
~"What does your gut tell you? Can the guy play? Do you want to coach the guy? Do you want him on your team, trust him, believe in him? At the end of the day that's what you want to know." — Dolphins coach Joe Philbin to his coaching staff regarding their player evaluations.
Buffalo Bills: http://blogs.buffalonews.com/press-coverage/2012/07/day-three-defense-keeps-wraps-on-offense.html
Day Three: Defense keeps wraps on offense
PITTSFORD -- The Buffalo Bills' defensive line asserted its presence during 11-on-11 work in the first padded practice of training camp Saturday at St. John Fisher College.
“I thought the defense dominated the practice,” coach Chan Gailey said. “We got a lot of work to do on offense to meet their level of play right now. So it’s a little bit different than it has been, and it’s good for our football team.”
Defensive end Mario Williams pressured quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to force an incompletion on the first play of 11-on-11 work from the middle of the field. Receiver Derek Hagan dropped a Fitzpatrick pass on the second play. Then WIlliams got by right tackle Sam Young, filling in for injured Erik Pears, to force an incompletion on the third play. Fitzpatrick rolled out but found no one open on the fourth play. C.J. Spiller got a decent gain on the fifth play. On the sixth play, defensive end Kyle Moore got by Young and Fitzpatrick into a scramble.
Both Rian Lindell and John Potter drilled 49-yard field goals during special teams work.
Then it was back to more mostly good defense. Fitzpatrick hit Donald Jones on an out route, but cornerback Aaron Williams read the play and let an interception go through his hands and into the receiver's. Then Fitz had to scramble again.
Tyler Thigpen was the No. 2 QB Saturday. Rookie cornerback Ron Brooks picked off a Thigpen pass down the right sideline intended for David Clowney. Brooks had it covered all the way and made a leaping catch. On the next play, Thigpen was pressured and forced a throw over the middle that was picked off by safety Nick Saenz.
Back came the starters. Fitzpatrick had to fall on a bad snap. Kyle Williams burst up the midde for a would-be sack. Nickel linebacker Bryan Scott smartly read a draw play and smothered it. Rookie cornerback Stephon Gilmore blanketed Spiller on a deep route and batted the pass away.
Quarterback Vince Young, working with the third team, had a really good scramble up the middle on one play. Wildcat QB Brad Smith beat the blitz with a nice deep pass to receiver Kamar Aiken.
Fitzpatrick did look pretty good in 1-on-1 and 7-on-7 passing drills. He continues to show promise on deep throws. He hit Donald Jones on a perfect deep strike down the left sideline vs. Aaron Williams. He had good downfield strikes to Stevie Johnson (twice), David Nelson and Scott Chandler. ... Safety Da'Norris Searcy did well in 1-on-1 work vs. tight ends and backs. ... In 1-on-1 pass rush work, Mario Williams again was a force. Andy Levitre had good snaps vs. Kyle Williams. ... Chad Rinehart held his own vs. Marcell Dareus. ... Defensive end Mark Anderson worked well with Marcell Dareus. ... Mario Williams and Dareus combined for a sack in 2-on-2 work. ... Rookie tackle Cordy Glenn false started two stright plays but then rebounded and shut down Chris Kelsay two straight snaps.
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