Now this is perfect coverage. In phase, looking back for the ball. This Darrelle Revis guy might be pretty good for us…
Defensive linemen Will Smith, Tommy Kelly and Vince Wilfork were all full participants for all two hours of practice. That’s a promising sign for a defensive line rotation that was ravaged by injuries last season. Wilfork, in particular, has looked much improved over OTAs, where he appeared to be lumbering around a bit.
As has been the case in each practice we’ve watched Garoppolo, there were some notable highs and lows. The high came in 11-on-11 drills when he threw a beautiful, arcing 40-yard bomb down the right sideline to hit receiver Jeremy Johnson in stride for a touchdown. Just a sweet deep ball in which Garoppolo later said he noticed the safeties had rotated, creating the window in which to throw.
Tweets of Note from Tuesday’s Patriots Minicamp Practice
Many themes of the offseason are continuing but the headline has to be the progress of Wilfork and Kelly. Doesn’t mean they won’t still end up on PUP, but their presence in 11-on-11 work can’t be taken as anything but a positive.
Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly and Will Smith never left the team today to go into the bubble. That’s good news.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) June 17, 2014
Mankins, Gronk, Ryan Mallett, LaFell, Slater, DJ Williams, T.Hawkins, Skinner, & Gallon were in the rehab group that was limited
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) June 17, 2014
With Mallett sidelined, Garoppolo again got lots of work & there was more good than bad. Definitely sharper than what we saw at last OTA.
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) June 17, 2014
Danny Amendola has a really nice catch in the back of the end zone on a ball from Brady in 7 on 7s.
— Christopher Price (@cpriceNFL) June 17, 2014
CB Daxton Swanson continues to impress in a fairly crowded defensive back group.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) June 17, 2014
Duron Harmon is going to be the starting safety next to McCourty, in my opinion. Competition is his to lose.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) June 17, 2014
No Dennard again. Not sure if his absence is injury related but we haven’t seen him this spring. #patriots #minicamp
— Paul Perillo (@pfwpaul) June 17, 2014
rookie RB James White got good run with top offense (ie Brady under center), as did rook Jon Halapio at RG
— shalise manza young (@shalisemyoung) June 17, 2014
Patriots Film Study: Duron Harmon, Patrick Chung Vie For Starting Safety Role | New England Patriots | NESN.com
Good comparison read from Doug Kyed. I really liked what I saw out of Harmon last year. Good size, range and solid tackling. As for Chung, he was a PatsProp favorite during his time in NE the first time, but as a free safety he was not at his best. Unfortunately his size and play temperament don’t match up and result has been a lot of injuries for him. If he’s kept in the box he brings an aggressive downhill approach, but his range is not ideal for the back end.
Revis is a good player and I’m glad we have him,” he said. “We’ll keep working with him. There is still a lot for him to learn in a new system and all that. But he’s a very experienced and accomplished player and we’ll just try to fit him in to the things we’re doing, both individually and collectively and his other teammates in the secondary, especially once we get into multiple defensive back groups – with five, six, however many are on the field at the same time, there is a lot of communication and adjustments and things like that involved too. He’s worked hard and done fine.
Are you surprised with the lack of reps Marcus Cannon is receiving at Guard? He filled in nice for Vollmer at tackle last year and is clearly a quality runs blocker.
Not really, I know the speculation was that Cannon was headed for guard when he arrived but in my view he’s settled in a swing tackle who could play guard if needed to. He brings a lot of value, but I no longer think he’s going to be a long-term guard and that’s okay. The real question now is how well could he play left tackle in a pinch? The release of RJ Mattes last week puts Cannon a little bit more in the forefront as a swing backup.