FOXBOROUGH - We’re not yet in the dog days of training camp, but the Patriots are knocking on the door. Monday was the first time that words exchanged between players nearly led to some extracurriculars.
It happened during red zone 7-on-7s. From a condensed split, A.J. Brown had Christian Gonzalez in his face. He took a couple of steps forward before sharply cutting off his outside foot. Gonzalez broke with him, but Drake Maye did what he told us he’d keep doing: give Brown more chances. The short throw was perfect, hitting his top target in stride despite having Gonzalez on his hip and a safety closing quickly over the top.
As Brown reeled in the touchdown, he quickly swung his arm back at the sticky cornerback, and for a moment, it looked like we might have our first scuffle. Instead, cooler heads prevailed. But it might be a matter of time - say tomorrow - before something pops off.
“It's definitely heating up a little bit more, but I think it's been kind of a lot of back and forth throughout training camp,” Kevin Byard said post-practice. “Vrabes (Mike Vrabel) is telling when the offense scores, to go celebrate, (and) we get pissed off…
“I mean, while we're out there, we're against each other, but we're not about to start throwing hands or nothing like that (editor’s note: are you sure, Kevin?). But obviously, as we get closer to these joint practices, you can tell like we're getting to those dog days at camp where you know guys are kind of getting a little sick of each other, and want to go up against somebody else.”
I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you that Vrabel is acting as an instigator, although Byard wouldn't use that word. But as you observe him during practice - as was the case last year - one minute the head coach is encouraging the offense, the next the defense, and in between, there’s a fair chance he’s either giving someone the business or a coaching point. I think he could use a throat lozenge when the session is done.
“Vrabel, he really can't help himself with the back and forth a little bit,” chuckled Byard, “You know, I think it's just kind of - he's a competitor, too. You know what I mean? Like he was like that as a player. I've heard plenty of stories of him being here, getting on scout team, picking off Tom Brady, stuff like that. I think he's just a competitive guy. So he wants his team to have that same competitive spirit.”
Vrabel hasn’t had to worry about that in camp thus far. When it’s been go-time, his players have done just that. But when practice is over, there’s a lot of learning, and that’s not just from coach-to-player, but player-to-player as well.
Sometimes, those teaching moments are there for our eyes to see. Morgan Moses is still in the habit of