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Tate confident in his second-year improvements

Jul 30, 2010 1:39pm
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By Danny Picard
CSNNE.com

FOXBORO -- Brandon Tate played in only two games as a rookie wide receiver for the Patriots last season. The 2009 third-round pick out of North Carolina was placed on season-ending injured reserve in November, just after his appearances as New England’s fourth receiver in Weeks 7 and 9.

The knee-injury that ended his season was precipitated by the torn ACL/MCL that Tate suffered during his senior season at UNC.

Tate is now entering his second year as a pro, and while he said after Friday’s training camp that he still feels like a rookie, he sounded extremely confident that the improvements he's made in the past year have been significant.

“I feel like I came a long way, from everything to route running to getting in the playbook,” said Tate. “Every day or every night before I go to sleep, I’m in the playbook, every day. So I’m just trying to get better.

“This year I feel like I’m more ready, because coming in as a rookie, you don’t know what to expect. But since I’ve been here the whole year, now I know what to expect and how everything goes. So I’m just getting more comfortable.”

With the additions of seasoned receivers like David Patten and Torry Holt to go along with New England's returning vets, Tate has had plenty of help along the way.

“Whenever I have questions or if they see something on film that they think I could have done better, they’ll tell me,” said Patten. “If I have questions, they’ll answer any kind of questions about whatever, and they just give me good input on it.”

Patten is among those players in this year’s competition at the wide receiver position and he’s liked what he’s seen out of Tate so far in the early stages of training camp.

“He’s been competing, and he’s been playing really well,” said Patten. “He has some good skills, and he has an opportunity to go out and be a part of this team. I feel like he’s doing everything in his power to put his best foot forward.”

Danny Picard is on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DannyPicard
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