FOXBOROUGH - After being the talk of the spring and mandatory mini-camp, Elijah Ponder’s training camp has been, well, fine. The 2nd-year pro hasn’t missed any time and has been consistently running with the first-team defense opposite free-agent acquisition Dre’Mont Jones. That consistency has been needed as Harold Landry remains on the PUP following offseason knee surgery.
But asking Ponder to be an every-down edge is a lot different than his role from a year ago, when he was mostly a designated pass rusher who finished his rookie season with 4 sacks. From Mike Vrabel’s viewpoint, has the kid from Cal-Poly handled his new role?
“I think good,” he told me on Monday morning. “I think he continues just to be more comfortable and understand what the game is and what it is from a special teams standpoint, what it is from a first and second down standpoint, what some of the formations are, what he may be looking at, some of his keys, doesn't seem to be overly stressed or panic.”