Top Rookie Performance: Punter Tom Malone. Everything he hit was a bomb.
Malone's power kicking (punting) has put him in a new light at camp. He overcame
the horrible shank from the other day to launch some deep punts during Monday's
practice.
Top performer of the day: Kevin Faulk. It is becoming a theme that Faulk
grabs top honors in this category, but he's rightfully earned this label for
another day. Faulk was seemingly everywhere on the field. You would be hard-pressed
to find another player who is out-hustling Faulk. Multiple plays of the day
dictated the necessity to make him the top performer of the day.
Top play of the day: Top play is a toss up between a screen pass to
Kevin Faulk and an arcing pass down the sideline to Faulk. Both plays Faulk
showed considerable quickness, the kind that makes him a threat for defenses
to be concerned about.
Stock is dropping: Offensive lineman Clint Oldenburg. While he has the
size and certainly has an established history in college, what he hasn't done
is to translate that to the pro level yet. Oldenburg had some technique issues
in minicamp. He got another lesson in technique during practice on Monday. If
he's going to stick, he'll need to correct his mistakes and pick up the learning
pace.
Most athletic play of the day: Leaping above the defender to catch a
long pass from Tom Brady, earns Randy Moss the props for the day.
Notable camp battle: Wide receiver roster spots are limited, and Kelley Washington is making a case for being one of the ones who earns his. Washington
spent a good part of practice making routine catches. It was his sideline out
route and catch and total fake-out of rookie Brandon Meriweather that caught
our eyes. If he continues to show that type of athleticism and solid receiving
skills, Washington may knock Jabar Gaffney or Reche Caldwell back into the free
agent market.
Sightings: UConn Huskies football head coach Randy Edsall and his staff.
Extra Credit: Matt Gutierrez. As if Gutierrez didn't get enough reps
in camp now that Tom Brady has said he's taking it easy, Gutierrez has been
after practice almost daily working with the coaching staff to get better. If
he's going to be released, he'll at least know the Patriots offense pretty well.
Final Thought: The collision that rookie defensive back Brandon Meriweather
had with Randy Moss could have been another catastrophe if one of the two of
them were injured. It put into perspective the need for rookies to be aware
of their surroundings at all times.