Roche: Competitiveness On All Fronts At Patriots-Redskins Joint Practices
RICHMOND (CBS) - A great Tuesday of football here in Richmond, VA as over 21,000 fans watched the Patriots and Redskins conduct a joint practice for the second straight day.
Looking forward to the game Thursday night at FedEx Field, a game you can see on WBZ-TV channel 4 at 8pm. Our broadcast begins at 7:30pm with Patriots Gameday.
As for observations from Day Two:
-- After a morning practice on Monday, the teams took to the field shortly after 1pm in the summer heat and humidity on Tuesday. The practice went on for much longer than the first. We were there around 2.5 to 3 hours and many of the players were cramping up towards the end.
-- After each team did separate drills for a bit, the teams got together for 1-on-1 receiver vs. defensive back drills and it was good stuff. Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Logan Ryan, Kyle Arrington, Malcolm Butler, and Justin Green of the Pats battled the likes of DeSean Jackson, Lee Doss, Andre Roberts, Ryan Grant, Santana Moss, Rashad Ross and Cody Hoffman. Browner won one particular battle and was gesturing to the crowd which was yelling at him for holding. Pretty funny. Robinson and Doss beat Revis, but Revis won a few battles too. Ryan Grant totally fooled Justin Green on one play as well. Jackson bested Butler too. It's a tough drill for the d-backs.
-- Bill Belichick said prior to practice that Ryan Mallett would see a lot of playing time in the preseason games. Mallett has a wealth of talent, including a rocket for an arm. He will get a chance once again to show that he's starting QB material. To me, he's inconsistent. In camp on Tuesday, for instance, Mallett hit Bryan Tyms on a beautifully thrown long ball. The very next play he threw the ball over the head of Derrick Johnson by 10 feet.
-- Lots of great stuff from Tom Brady again. He hit Julian Edelman on a few long passes, including one tight pass on which Redskins LB Keenan Robinson hit Edelman hard. How did Edelman react? By belting out a Ric Flair "Wooooooooooo" as he was pumped up.
-- The play of the day from my perspective was a ridiculously well-thrown, well-placed ball from Brady to Danny Amendola in the corner of the end zone. As great a pass as you'll ever see that very few NFL quarterbacks can throw.
-- Also, after a frustrating play on which Edelman and Amendola had some route issues, a frustrated Brady yelled, "What are we doin!?" Brady responded with a TD pass to Edelman that had Vince Wilfork and the defense jumping up and down in delight.
-- Bill Belichick was into it as well. On a field goal attempt, Washington had too many men on the field and Bill improvised by tossing his hat in the air as a flag -- just shows his competitive nature.
-- The Pats defense did a good job again vs. Robert Griffin III, although, RG3 and the offense had some moments. I also like Kirk Cousins. He looks like he could be a good starting QB for some team.
-- Vince Wilfork had a pick and the crowd let out a big approval . . . good stuff!
-- One more practice Wednesday morning and then it's on to the game on Thursday. Can't wait!
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