It was a different feel at Patriots training camp on Tuesday, as the New Orleans Saints came to town to join the Pats for a joint practice. It was a nice change of pace for each squad, as the players even mentioned that practicing against their own team was getting a little old.
Key Storyline's:
Brady was off. Tom Brady had one of his worst practices of training camp so far, as he seemed to be off all day. He missed his key receivers often and threw a couple interceptions during set plays against the Saints defense. Brady got more and more frustrated as the day went on, as he surely expects more of himself a few weeks into training camp.
Lloyd looks good. Brandon Lloyd had an impressive day, seemingly catching any ball that was thrown his way. Lloyd is Brady's new deep threat, so the better they look during practice the easier their transition will be to the real playing field.
Record crowd for training camp. It was stated that the crowd at Tuesday's training camp broke the all-time record for a single training camp session, as 14,830 fans were in attendance. This could have been somewhat expected as the Pats and Saints draw large crowds wherever they go, and the Pats have been seeing impressive crowds at their training sessions so far this year.
Players get physical. This was one of the first practices for the Patriots where you could tell the level of competition was turned up, including the level of contact on the field. Players weren't necessarily tackling each other, but there was lots of hard-nosed play on either side. This should get each team in better shape for their pre-season opener this Thursday at Gillette Stadium.
Drew Brees led his squad in some practice plays against the Patriots defense.
Bill Belichick changing his defensive scheme before a play.
Tom Brady running the offense in the no contact scrimmage against the Saints defense.
Both teams in a prayer circle after the practice.
Pats tight end Rob Gronkowski signing autographs for the fans after practice.
Back to the New England Patriots Newsfeed