The New England Patriots Practice in the Rain
Thursday July 30, 2009 the New England Patriots kicked off their 2009 training camp. I knew that there was a threat of thunderstorms in the morning, but hoped the rain would hold off. There was only a slight almost comfortable mist at the beginning of camp, and for a while it seemed the storm may hold off until the end of session 1. Yet dark clouds still loomed ominously just to the North of the Stadium as a constant threat of rain during the first hour of came. Then the clouds gradually opened up just after 10:30 AM and within 15-20 minutes it became an all out downpour. The Patriots kept practicing in the rain for as long as possible, despite lightning nearby; eventually after one close strike which shook the stands everyone began to vacate the stands and the Patriots cleared the field shortly thereafter.
The Patriots went back at it for an afternoon session, and the rain held off. I was not there for the afternoon session, but apparently Randy Moss only likes to come out to afternoon practices, for some reason. I guess when you have already proven yourself you can do that; although, Brady doesn’t seem to miss any sessions. I remember calling the stadium back in 2007, unfamiliar with training camp, and asked a question about whether some of the starters would be at training camp; thinking that perhaps once they had proven themselves they were not required to be at training camp, and they told me it was a real practice. I have since come to learn that the pros are not all that different from high school and college in that everyone needs to be there as much as possible. If not for skill development, then for team cohesion; as rookies need to learn from the veterans players as much, if not more so, then from the coaches. I have especially come to see this with the Patriots. So why are some players out more often? I can only hope it is because they have other more pressing commitments such as family or health concerns.
One thing that one must wonder is how the team, especially those players who are there both sessions everyday, is going to fair through this grueling 7 straight day practice schedule. Reports from various news sources are saying the team was starting to show fatigue and moving sluggishly on Saturday. Granted it is only week one, and it is natural for a fatigue to start setting in now, but if it is only day 3 and they are dragging they are really going be hurting next week. They have no day off in sight until at least next Thursday August 6th, at which point I suspect the roster may get a bit smaller.
Tom Brady hands the ball off to Laurence Maroney during practice on Thursday
Tom Brady is of course back, as I said he has not missed a practice, and is looking better than most of the quarterbacks out there, despite his injury. He is still wearing his knee brace, and is working himself back into shape slowly, and appears at this point as if he will be ready to go, although it is not entirely clear how much the knee may still be bothering him. The rumors that the Patriots may be interested in Michael Vick seem much more farfetched, especially after yesterday’s signing of Cleo Lemon giving the team 5 quarterbacks on their roster, which they will need to get down to 3 by the end of preseason. It will be interesting to see if the Patriots can keep Brady healthy and/or find a good backup so they can get back on top of the NFL and bring home another championship this year.
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Tags: camp, injury, knee, Laurence Maroney, new england patriots, pats, qb, tom brady, training camp