Minicamp: Thursday, June 11, 2009

Day 2 of 2009 Mini-camp has ended, and the story that had the media buzzing was veteran CB (first-year Patriot) Shawn Springs. To the wonder of the media, Shawn is a diligent note-taker--the Curt Schilling of the NFL, if you will. It takes more than just freakish athleticism in the NFL, you need to have your head on your shoulders and be a smart player. You're bound to lose the hop in your step that you had coming out of college, when you play your 13th pro football season, like Springs intends on doing this year. When asked about star WR and how the competition would be against him, Springs replied saying that he wouldn't know what to do even if "I could bring a notebook this thick on him," as he manipulated his fingers about 2 inches apart. When inquired further upon it, Springs added that he had been taking notes on star wideouts since high school. He kept explaing, "Man, these guys are too good to go out there and not know them, so, when I played Randy [Moss], I had a game plan against him. Whether it’s Marvin Harrison, or going way back to Jimmy Smith, or Chad Johnson. I’m a big note taker." This is oviously good news for Patriots fans, as this shows Springs' commitment to having a great year.

Another harbinger of light coming out of Foxborough on Thursday was about the progress of the tight ends (no, not Giselle Bundchen). Although Ben Watson and David Thomas are the projected starters, this year's training camp foretells an epic position battle, as veterans Chris Baker (from Jets) and Alex Smith (from Bucaneers) may be left out of a starting job. However, when asked about the competition, Smith held his head up, "Competition brings out the best in everybody. You never want to be scared of competition. When you see everybody else making plays, you want to step your game up as well. It makes it tough, but it makes me want to stay out here even more." We saw the benefits of an open competition for a given position last year, when Joe Flacco beat out two former first round draft picks, Troy Smith and Kyle Boller, for the Ravens' starting QB job, and went on to lead Baltimore to the playoffs. Look for a breakout year for whatever Pats TE gets the job, since he will always have another biting at his heels for a chance to take his spot.

First-string running back Sammy Morris arrived at camp today, a day late.