Training Camp Central: P.M. practice wrap
By Danny Picard
CSNNE.com
FOXBORO -- A quiet day at Gillette Stadium has come to a conclusion, as the Patriots just wrapped up a two-hour afternoon session with 11-on-11 red zone drills.
Tom Brady's last touchdown pass of the day went to rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez on a 15-yard strikeover the middle. It came just several plays after Hernandez dropped what would have been the highlight catch of the week, if not of the entire training camp.
With linebacker Brandon Spikes covering him, Hernandez came streaking across the back of the end zone from the right side of the field. As he got to the goal post, Brady put a high seed right on target, but the only way Hernandez would have been able to make the catch was if he jumped as high as he could, and extended one arm as far as he could.
Hernandez did just that, and seemed to have palmed Brady's dart with his right hand. But as he fell to the ground, the ball just barely slipped out of his grasp for one of the more exciting incomplete passes you'll see in an offseason practice.
Brady ended the previous red-zone possession with a touchdown pass to veteran tight end Alge Crumpler on a nifty play-action pass from the goal line. Brady faked the handoff and immediately looked and threw left, where there wasn't a soul covering Crumpler.
The Patriots spent most of the final hour of practice switching between 11-on-11 drills and kick/punt returns. Wide receivers Julian Edelman, Brandon Tate and Taylor Price were each taking turns returning kicks.
Edelman busted one memorable kickoff return through a hole in the middle and turned it up the right sideline, where he would have been gone for six points, had Patriots coaches not blown the whistle dead, so that Edelman wouldn't run for the inevitable touchdown.
Meanwhile, during the final hour of practice, running back Laurence Maroney was about as non-existent as one could be. Maroney was stuffed on a run early in the afternoon session, and wasn't used much after.
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski hit 8-of-8 field goals to end the afternoon practice session on Tuesday, giving him a total training camp conversion rating of 34-of-37, or 34-of-38, depending on how accurate his numbers were after the morning walk through. Gostkowski told reporters in the morning that prior to the afternoon session, he was either 26-of-29 or 26-of-30. Regardless, his conversion percentage was anywhere from 87-88 percent at that point. He was perfect in the afternoon.
Early in the afternoon session, Patriots quarterbacks took part in 1-on-1 drills with receivers and defensive backs. Among the impressive were receivers Edelman and Tate, and corner back Terrence Wheatley. Among the not-so-impressive? Randy Moss and Brandon Meriweather.
Danny Picard is on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DannyPicard
Your Comments
Facebook
Obama: Help is on the way to hurricane zone
