FOXBOROUGH — Some thoughts and observations after the Patriots practiced for about 90 minutes on the upper grass fields:
• Not everyone was present for the voluntary sessions.
"The spring, you guys know, is voluntary," Mike Vrabel said. "We would love to have everybody here, but that's not the reality. That's not the reality in the NFL. There won't be 100% participation or attendance at practice. And let me just say this, the guys that aren't here or guys that aren't at practice, everybody's got a different practice plan. We've talked about that. But the communication has been great for whatever reason that guys aren't at practice. Carlton [Davis III], [Kayshon] Boutte, [Mack] Hollins, Gonzo [Christian Gonzalez], Gabe [Jacas], and then I would say you may not – [Harold] Landry [III] won't be at practice, Kyle Dixon. That's pretty much the guys that won't be at practice."
Obviously, Gonzalez's absence will generate a bunch of discussion. It could be a big deal, or it could not be a big deal. Gonzalez has been around for most of the voluntary workouts to this point. No, he doesn't need to be out there, especially as a boundary corner. We'll have to see how this progresses.
"I would say that I value the communication that I've had personally. I know that our defensive coaches have had conversations with Christian," Vrabel said. "Again, I wish that they were all here so that we can coach them. But the ones that are here, that's where our focus will be, and we'll pour everything that we have into those players. I know that his professionalism and being ready to go, or whatever personal choice some guys have during the spring, I'm confident that they'll all be ready."
• First-round pick Caleb Lomu, who played only left tackle during rookie camp, was only at right tackle behind Morgan Moses today. At one point during team sessions, Moses was pumped for a block Lomu made. Moses dapped him up strongly, and then two spent about five minutes discussing the finer points of line play, with Vrabel not far away.
In fact, sixth-round pick Dametrius Crownover took more snaps at left tackle than Lomu did.
Lomu and Moses split first-round reps.
• Alijah Vera-Tucker was the left guard with the starters, but once team drills started, he worked off to the side. He was replaced by unheralded