Tom Brady Gets Frustrated, Jimmy Garoppolo Lights It Up In Day 2 Of Patriots Training Camp
BOSTON (CBS) -- From hot and sunny on Day 1 to dark and rainy on Day 2, there was a distinctly different feel on the practice fields of Gillette Stadium on Friday morning as the New England Patriots embarked on their second official practice of training camp.
The day got started with a very irritated Bill Belichick offering an exasperated reply when pressed to explore some hypotheticals about Jimmy Garoppolo and Tom Brady before the team headed out to a wet practice field.
Belichick also noted that Jamie Collins' unexplained absence in Day 1 was an excused absence, and that there are "no issues" with the player.
WBZ-TV's Dan Roche was one of the few who happened to catch Brady on his way out to the practice field.
Tom Brady quietly walks out for Training Camp practice Day Two @GilletteStadium - #Patriots #wbz pic.twitter.com/cLGX3METBk
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) July 29, 2016
And he also caught the arrival of Collins.
Jamie Collins out for practice after missing Day One of #PatriotsTrainingcamp with excused absence - #wbz pic.twitter.com/Y6TACohKmy
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) July 29, 2016
Though the rain fell lightly, practice took place in front of a healthy number of fans who braved the elements.
Brady Gets Mad
No quarterback threw an interception on Thursday, but that streak ended on Friday, when Brady was picked off by Duron Harmon on the goal line.
Takes 1.5 practices, but Brady becomes the first #Patriots QB to throw an interception. Picked off by Duron Harmon at the goal line
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) July 29, 2016
Brady also failed to execute a pass on 7-on-7 drills, resulting in a pass getting batted down at the line. The soon-to-be-39-year-old was not happy with that development.
Tom Brady slammed his helmet on the ground after finishing a 7on7 with a batted pass by a staffer holding a tennis racket.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) July 29, 2016
Brady's a little frustrated today. Just slammed his helmet into the ground
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) July 29, 2016
Rookie Jacoby Brissett also threw a pick in practice.
Garoppolo Lights It Up
Meanwhile the other quarterback -- or rather, the starting quarterback ... for four weeks -- put on an impressive show in those 7-on-7 drills, lighting it up with 9-of-10 passing and two touchdowns, according to Jeff Howe.
Garoppolo was ???????????? leading off the 7-on-7 period. 9 of 10, finished with TDs to Harper (vs. Butler) and Bennett (McCourty).
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) July 29, 2016
Brady Back On First Team
The quarterbacks are squarely in focus this summer, and so it's noteworthy that when it came time for 11-on-11 drills, it was Brady who got the reps with the first team. That was not the case on Thursday.
Brady gets first reps in 11 on 11 drills. Fires a strike to Gronk over the middle.Jimmy G went first yesterday
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) July 29, 2016
QB reps flipped today -- Garoppolo first in 7-on-7, Brady first in 11-on-11. Each received same number of full-speed reps overall -- 17.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) July 29, 2016
By making his announcement Thursday that Garoppolo's the Weeks 1-4 starter and Brady's the Week 5 starter no matter what, Belichick did his best to ensure there would be no budding QB controversy. The usage of the two QBs through two days seemingly adds to that effort.
David Andrews Gets First-Team Reps Over Bryan Stork
QB is not the only position where eyes are focused this summer, as at least two jobs on the offensive line are seemingly up for grabs. That includes the center position, where second-year man David Andrews got in the work with the first team over third-year center Bryan Stork.
Competition at center caught my eye, with David Andrews bumped up in Day 2 over Bryan Stork. They rotated in spring practices as well.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) July 29, 2016
Andrews was the starting center today. Interestingly, he has snapped to Brady both days.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) July 29, 2016
Center battle continues. David Andrews got the start over Stork in 11s. Rest of OL remained Solder, Thuney, Cooper, Cannon.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) July 29, 2016
You'll notice that the interior combination there does not include Shaq Mason or Tre' Jackson, who played quite a bit last year as rookies. Josh Kline, who also played quite a bit on the interior last year, was not in that starting group.
It's obviously too soon to draw any conclusions from any of the early combinations in camp, but they all should be noted as camp progresses.
Two New Guys Catching Punts
Julian Edelman's on the PUP list, but he's also likely off the punt list.
That's at least what is to be expected from the drafting of Cyrus Jones, who returned punts quite well for Alabama. Jones was handling that duty on Friday, along with rookie V'Angelo Bentley and Keshawn Martin, who returned eight punts for New England last season.
Practicing punt returns: Cyrus Jones, V'Angelo Bentley, Keshawn Martin
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) July 29, 2016
Nate Washington Watches From Sidelines
On Day 1, Nate Washington was so gassed from practice that he vomited. On Friday, he was a spectator.
Nate Washington didn't practice today. Must've tweaked something. Watched early portion of practice.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) July 29, 2016
DeAndre Carter Turns Some Heads
With Edelman and Danny Amendola starting camp on the PUP list, there's an opportunity for the receivers lower on the depth chart to make a lasting impression. And DeAndre Carter has apparently done that.
Even though he remains a longshot to make the roster, you know who is pretty good? Undersized WR DeAndre Carter. Was on PS last year.
— Kevin Duffy (@KevinRDuffy) July 29, 2016
DeAndre Carter also showed up today. Slot receiver has some skills
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) July 29, 2016
That's great for Carter, but the better news for the Patriots is that their injured guys look good.
Edelman and Amendola ran a solid 5 minutes worth of uphill sprints. They look really close.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) July 29, 2016
The Patriots will be back out for Day 3 of training camp on Saturday morning at 9:15 a.m., and then again on Sunday at the same time.