Tom Brady’s near 15 minute chat session with the media wasn’t all about contract stuff. He was also asked about a number of other topics, including the absence of left guard Logan Mankins, who is embroiled in a contract dispute; the low expectations from national pundits, as well as Wes Welker’s comeback and the bare walls at Gillette.

Here’s what he had to say:  

On low expectations: ”I don’t give a damn really. I don’t care what you guys think. I know what we think. And what we think we can accomplish. What my Dad thinks? I don’t really care about. What my Mom thinks? I don’t care about, because they don’t know. The only guys that can do anything about it are the guys on this practice field. It feels pretty good to me what we’re doing what I see out here. We just gotta continue to put the work in.”

On Mankins: ”Well, Logan’s been a great player for this team, a great representative of the organization. He’s a great player. We miss him. No doubt. He’s a good friend of all the guys on this team. He’s got a lot of fans in the lockerroom. We’re hoping at some point the situation gets resolved. In the meantime, we have to go out and do our job.” (more…)

Lost in that scrum in the picture from the Patriots Twitter is Tom Brady. The quarterback met with the media for the first time in a few months today on Day 2 of training camp.

Brady talked about a lot of topics, but one pertinent one was his contract that’s waiting to be extended. Mostly, Brady lavished praise on the team, lauded coach Bill Belichick as the greatest coach ever, and said he has a “great relationship” with Robert Kraft.

Yet he also declined to discuss his personal feelings on his contract. Interesting. Want highlights?

Brady, on a contract status update: “Coach doesn’t like us talking about it a whole lot. I kinda stick to that. As I said before, nobody here can solve it except for myself and the team. I’m in the position a lot of guys are around the league on this team. I’m under contract, it’s my responsibility to come out and play as hard as I can. I’ve always felt that’s what I love to do, anyway. I love to come out here and compete. I have a job. That’s important to realize, too. It’s an interesting time in the world. I’m glad I get to come out here and do something I love.”

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We’re back out at it for Day 2 on a much nicer day for double sessions of training camp. Thankfully, no rain… though I’m not sure the players are so excited about that.

Anyway, what happened during Day 2, Session 1 for the Patriots?

– LB Derrick Burgess, once again, was a no-show for camp as he contemplates retirement. Coach Bill Belichick said he expects Burgess to be here, but it hasn’t happened yet.

– WR Sam Aiken returned from the NFI list to practice today, a good sign. Meanwhile, WR Darnell Jenkins, DB Bret Lockett and DT Kade Weston didn’t work out. WR Matthew Slater was not on the field either.

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We’re here on Day 2 of the Patriots training camp, and you can read a recap of the opening day right here. What did coach Bill Belichick have to say?

To start, he addressed the topic du jour of yesterday, which was his scrubbing of the walls of Gillette Stadium: “Walls needed painting.” He followed it with a smirk, and that was it.

Awesome. But Belichick wasn’t as jokey jokey about linebacker Derrick Burgess, who missed yesterday’s practice as he considers retirement. Belichick essentially threw his hands up at the deal.

“Of course, Derrick wasn’t here yesterday,” Belichick said before he was asked about it. “We expect him to be here. He’s not here. But his situation isn’t unprecedented. We’ll deal with it going forward. I’m not sure I know all I need to know, but we’ll take it day-by-day.”

Asked if he’s spoken to Burgess, Belichick said he’s said all he’ll say. While he hates to not have all his players there for whatever reason, he said the situation is “inevitable.“He discussed it as an opportunity for others.

(more…)

When we left the Patriots following mini-camp, one of the last voices we heard was player personnel director Nick Caserio lauding second-year players S Patrick Chung, CB Darius Butler, and WR Julian Edelman. He expected big things from them come training camp.

Yet now that training camp is here — as we enter Day 2 at 9:30 a.m. today — these players don’t seem to be taking anything for granted. Edelman, for instance, is still living in a guest room in Pierre Woods’ house instead of setting up permanent residence.

“Any time you get comfortable, that’s when something’s going to go wrong,” Edelman said yesterday during Day 1. “Nothing’s ever settled over here. You’re competing every snap.”

That’s the same mindset as Butler takes. The player who lined up alongside cornerback Leigh Bodden yesterday is primed to grab a starting spot. But he knows nothing is guaranteed.

(more…)

If you simply haven’t had enough football at the tail end of Day 1 of the Patriots training camp, you’ve come to the right place. Check out this video by Herald photog John Wilcox:

At the end of every day, we’ll participate in a pasttime as old as training camp itself — taking an observation and blowing it way out of proportion. Here’s today’s edition:

Toward the end of the afternoon session, the Patriots lined up for some red zone and goal line situations at the far end of the field.

Now, many of us have been salivating at the thought of Tom Brady having a few more weapons at his disposal, namely 6-6, 265-pound tight end Rob Gronkowski, as well as rookie cohort and tight end catching-machine Aaron Hernandez.

And wouldn’t you know, two of the first numbers Brady called, were for his new rookie tight end duo. He hit Gronkowski in the left side of the end zone, as the mammoth tight end beat safety Patrick Chung, who was completely helpless and overmatched on the play.  Brady then picked on Chung again as he put the ball up on the right side, where a leaping Hernandez wrestled the ball away from the second-year safety.

Scoring touchdowns in the red zone was an area the Pats wanted to improve on, and after just one day, and one session, it already looks like problem solved. We will completely ignore the fact Gary Guyton picked off one of Brady’s passes in between those two stellar plays.

So, yep. A huge development, one that could continue into the 2010 season. Maybe.

Laurence Maroney had a captive audience earlier today, as he explained how he’s using the game of chess to help make him a better football player.

”Chess can help with football because the one thing about chess, you’re not moving for right now, you’re moving to set up moves later on. That’s how football is,” Maroney said. ”You’re making a move to set up something later on. I can see the linebacker here, but what move can I do to set this safety up, also?”

Maroney, who recently donated chess boards to the Taunton girls and boys clubs, has been in a chess club the last three years learning from the grand masters.

Maroney said he plays against a few of his teammates, but wouldn’t identify them.

Was he the best chess player on the team?

”No, but I’m going for it. ” Maroney answered. ”I’m practicing to get there.”

And so we’re back at it. The Patriots conducted the second workout of training camp, which was also the second on Day 1.

How did it go?

– The attendance report was the same as this morning. LB Derrick Burgess was a no-show again, as be reportedly considers retirement. WR Sam Aiken, WR Darnell Jenkins, and DL Ron Brace all watched practice in shorts. Same with Wes Welker.

– It was another intense, full-pads kind of day, with plenty of thud during drills. Running backs aren’t getting taken to the ground, but there is definitely some hitting. That was evident in the team work at the end, which had tons of hitting.

(more…)

Patriots WR Wes Welker  spent the first day of training camp working with resistance bands while his teammates were in pads. You learned that here. Welker is still on the Active/PUP list, able to come off at any time. What did he do today? Check it out in this shot from Herald photo John Wilcox:

Patriots linebacker Derrick Burgess, who re-signed for a one-year deal this offseason, was the only player officially on the roster not to show up for the opening of preseason camp. And that seemed, well, odd.

Now, we know why.

The 31-year-old pass-rusher is considering retirement, according to a league source. Burgess is apparently pondering whether he wants to show up or call it quits in a career that saw him make two Pro Bowls.

The news was first reported by ESPN.com’s Len Pasquarelli and confirmed by the Herald.

A former Ole Miss star, Burgess had five sacks for the Patriots last year after the team rescued him from Oakland for two mid-round picks. Still his best moment may have come off the field when he took responsibility for LateGate.

He was expected to help solidify the pass-rush this season for a team that recently cut Shawn Crable, who would have filled the same role. Now, Burgess’ own role is up in the air.

While he wasn’t the most productive player ever, he was solid. His absence would leave a hole and create another opportunity at outside linebacker.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick did some redecorating during the off-season, taking down pictures of players from the three championship teams and all remnants of the Patriots glory years. The Pats coach is trying to make a break with the past, and have the 2010 players forge their own identity.

How did the players feel about having the walls bare and tangible reminders of their history removed?

Here’s what a few of them had to say following practice:

TY WARREN: ”Whatever the organization wants to do to motivate, by all means, go ahead. (Pictures) don’t have anything to do with coming out here, and playing and defending the run, and playing the pass, or completing the pass. That’s life. You have to come out here and do that. Those pictures, if the building is set on fire, those pictures would be gone. Football would still be played. So it really don’t matter. Not to me. I don’t think it matters to a lot of guys. There was a shock factor. Everyone was like, what was going on? When it was explained how we’re not reflecting on the past, and we’re focusing on right now, I can understand that.”

(more…)

 In a total complete shock, Patriots guard Logan Mankins held out today, declining to show up for the first day of camp. That meant guard Nick Kaczur, the former right tackle, is tasked with taking Mankins’ place at left guard.

Kaczur (77, left) didn’t do an interview during mini-camp, so it wasn’t entirely clear how he was handling the transition and what he thought of his new plight. So today, we asked him…

What’s up?

“It’s definitely a little different, you gotta shorten up your steps and things like that, but it’s an adjustment and I look forward to the challenge,” Kaczur, the longtime starter at RT said today after the workout. “I’ll do what I can.”

Kaczur offered detailed, thoughtful remarks, clearly choosing his words carefully. To his credit, he answered every question about the awkward situation, including many over and over. We like that.

(more…)

Finally, it began. The Patriots opened the 2010 training camp with a training camp workout on the Gillette Stadium practice fields. On a rainy, fairly crappy weather day, it was great to see.

We hit you with a pre-practice update this morning, but want to know what happened on the field? Check it out below:

– Coach Bill Belichick alluded to a few players being “day-to-day” and there were a few players missing in action. LB Derrick Burgess, wasn’t on the field, for one. WR Sam Aiken, DT Ron Brace and WR Darnell Jenkins all walked onto the field in shorts midway through, as they didn’t participate. The trio did sit-ups in the corner.

– Randy Moss said he’d be ready to roll for camp, and he certainly seemed to be. That was clear when Tom Brady hit Moss deep on a crossing pattern to beat S James Sanders and go out at the 2.

(more…)

The Patriots training camp begins today, the first step in a long process that only ends with Monday before the Week 1 game vs. the Bengals. Yes, it’s going to be quite the marathon.

No worries. The Rap Sheet and Team Herald will be with you every step of the way. With that in mind…

Here are a few important things to know and expect as we cover the Patriots 2010 preseason camp:

– The Rap Sheet is your one-stop shopping for all Patriots-related items, and we’ll be updating it several times a day throughout camp and, well, every other day afterward. If you haven’t bookmarked it, why not?

– The all-important twitter account is @RapSheet, and if you’re not following, now is a great time to start. You’ll get news, random observations, stupid pictures, and analytical thoughts (we have them packed away somewhere) before and after practice and plenty of other times.

– Patriots coach Bill Belichick is slated to speak on most days during camp at 9 a.m. That means by 9:30 a.m. or so — depending on how long he talks — we’ll have quick highlights of what he says up in this space. Today’s update is right here.

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Roughly (or exactly) 200 days since the Patriots walked off the Gillette Stadium field following a brutal playoff loss to the Ravens, Patriots coach Bill Belichick stepped to the podium to officially open 2010 training camp.

Finally, right? Lots of issues to discuss, and he hit on a few of them right off the bat.

Want some highlights?

– Belichick confirmed that, as expected, guard Logan Mankins is not here. Yup, let the holdout begin. As soon as I mentioned his name in a question, Belichick said, “All the players that are here are under contract. Logan’s not under contract.”

– Belichick discussed Wes Welker’s rehab, even using the specific injury in his answer. Couldn’t believe it! Essentially, Belichick said Welker’s rehab is long “like everyone else who’s had an ACL. We’ll see how long the whole process takes, but it’s the last 10, 20 percent, those are the hardest to get back.” Welker is still on the active/PUP list.

(more…)

On July 10, I mentioned that I’d be going on vacation until camp began. And sure, I got a little sidetracked, posting on issues such as news about Patriots guard Logan Mankins’ contract situation, Vince Wilfork’s promotion, and Randy Moss’ hiring of agent Joel Segal (along with his trip to Sea World).

But finally, nine days ago, I really left. Off to the wonderful golf courses of Kiawah Island and the ranch in Mississippi that The Banktress’ family calls home.  Sure, it was a crappy time for a vacation that just couldn’t be helped based on scheduling issues. But once there, time was spent 4-wheelin’,  riding horses, and resting. (Yes, I was totally and awesomely  out of place.) Meanwhile…

Colleague Karen Guregian took solo reins of the Rap Sheet, handled all the news for the paper and did a fantastic job doing so — which was entirely expected. (Thanks Karen!) Now, with the Patriots stepping onto the field this morning to take part in the first training camp day open to fans, let’s take a swing back in time:

What did I miss?

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 Andy Simms, the agent who represents Devin McCourty and worked through the night with the Patriots brass to get the first-round pick into Foxboro for the official start of camp tomorrow, spoke earlier today about the rookie’s desire to make it on time, and how important that was to him.  Simms also mentioned just how relieved McCourty was when the deal was finally struck, and the defensive back could officially join his teammates.

”Both Devin, myself and the Patriots, all three parties involved with this felt getting a deal done, and having Devin there at the beginning of training camp, was key,” Simms said during a phone conversation earlier today. ”Devin was very excited, and to some extent, relieved he didn’t have to go late especially judging the tempo and slow pace of the negotiations all around the league. I’m not sure anyone thought it was possible.

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Shawn Crable certainly wasn’t a lock to secure a spot at outside linebacker and make the 53-man regular season roster. He fell more in the wildcard category. Given he didn’t play a single down during the regular season entering his third season, it was hard to know exactly how good he was, or had the potential of being.

With his height (6-5) and enormous wing-span, he was a natural for the outside linebacker spot in the 3-4. So it’s possible with a good camp, he may have snagged a spot.

And maybe he would have shown his worth this season and lived up to the promise and potential of a third-round draft choice. But the Pats, tired of waiting, had apparently seen enough of the injury-prone linebacker, cutting him earlier today.

(more…)

The Patriots have announced the release of linebacker Shawn Crable. They had placed him on the active/PUP list yesterday, but today, completely cut their ties with the 6-5, 247 pound product out of the University of Michigan.

Crable, who was on injured reserve in each of his first two seasons, was expected to compete for one of the outside linebacker jobs. He was a third-round selection in the 2008 draft.

While he did dress for several games, he never appeared in a regular season game.