Roche: Patriots Scrimmage On Day 8 Of Training Camp
FOXBORO (CBS) -- Bill Belichick went a bit of a different route on Day 8 of Patriots training camp as he audibled for an intrasquad scrimmage.
Here are some thoughts and observations from Friday's practice:
- Matthew Slater, Nate Solder, offensive lineman Andrew Jelks and receiver Cody Hollister were not present for the session.
- Players on the lower field doing conditioning included Malcolm Mitchell, Duron Harmon, Rex Burkhead, Mike Gillislee, defensive back David Jones and tight end James O'Shaughnessy. Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman Chris Hogan all were present for the beginning of practice but then went down to the conditioning field.
- As for the scrimmage, Tom Brady stood out once again. The 40-year-old threw 10 completions over three series of work that resulted in two field goals and a touchdown to Devin Lucien. He also had a near touchdown pass to tight end Dwayne Allen, as it looked like Allen made the catch with both feet in the end zone, but it was ultimately ruled a no-catch by one of the coaches.
After Brady was done for the scrimmage he was seen doing band work on the sidelines. He went at that pretty hard and seemed fidgety, antsy and energetic when out of the game -- in a good way. It's easy to see how much he still loves playing and loves the game. Brady also did a quick sprint for Lucien in the end zone in the second half after he caught a touchdown from Jacoby Brissett.
- Brady spoke for the first time since the day after Super Bowl 51, touching on numerous subjects including an interesting answer when ESPN's Mike Reiss asked him about his wife Giselle saying Tom had suffered a concussion last season.
"I don't want to get into things that happened in my past, certain medical history and so forth. I really don't think that's anybody's business," said Brady.
Brady also talked about wanting to play into his 40s, and sparked some online outrage when he said Coldplay is one of his favorite bands.
- Jimmy Garoppolo was inconsistent again, as he made some nice throws on a couple of deep balls that were broken up. He also hit several short passes to running backs and tight ends, but missed on some throws to his receivers. You wonder if Garoppolo is the kind of player that, when the lights come on, everything goes up a notch.
- Jacoby Brissett showed off his strong arm a few times. He had a big throw to tight end Sam Cotton and threw a touchdown strike to Lucien. He also had a series where it looked like he had a miscommunication on a deep route, and he was also sacked by a combination of Deatrich Wise and Adam Butler.
- At wide receiver, both Austin Carr and Lucien stood out. Dion Lewis had numerous touches at running back.
- Wise had a good scrimmage as the rookie had what looked to be a pair of sacks, including a strip sack of Brissett.
- Among the defensive backs, Kenny Moore II, D.J. Killings and Jason Thompson made some notable plays.
- The Pats will practice Saturday at 9:15 am and it's open to the public. After a day off on Sunday they'll welcome the Jacksonville Jaguars for joint practices on Monday and Tuesday, which are also open to the public and begin at 9:30 am.
That's all ahead of the first preseason game on Thursday night at 7:30pm. You can see the game on WBZ-TV and the Patriots Preseason television network.
