| Brandon Lloyd has provided plenty of highlights in New England, but his misses standout just as much.(AP Images) |
Patriots QB Tom Brady and WR Brandon Lloyd still lack chemistry.
It’s been an awkward pairing for New England Patriots quarterback and his newly imported wide receiver. Just a few weeks before the season, Lloyd bluntly stated that he felt no chemistry with Brady. He later recanted in the early season, saying things were budding.
But the jury is still out. Lloyd has caught 35 passes, second most on the Patriots, for 407 yards and a touchdown. But those numbers would be even larger if he and Brady were on the same page.
In Sunday’s overtime win against the Jets, Lloyd was targeted eight times and finished with one reception. Brady simply missed him on a few of the misses, but Lloyd ran the wrong route at least once and dropped three other balls.
Asked about the drops Thursday, Lloyd said that the “ball didn’t stick."
“That’s why we have such an accomplished group of pass catchers -- if a guy is not having the night that he would particularly like, there are other guys who can pick up the slack,” Lloyd said. “And Tom does a great job of finding receivers and continuing to make positive plays.”
That’s one way to look at things. The other is to try to find the cause of the issues. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has spent some time trying to figure out it and came away with one takeaway: Work harder in practice.
"It was one of those days where we were close on some deep throws,” McDaniels said. “There were some missed opportunities there -- I’m sure Brandon would like to make some of those plays and we have to work hard in practice. I think that’s where the timing and chemistry and those deep throws that obviously have a lower percentage chance of working.”
Travel plans: The Pariots will conduct practice at Gillette Stadium Thursday morning and then fly to London for Sunday’s game against the Rams in the afternoon. While excited for the trip, the players know it isn’t a vacation. "Yeah, it is a business trip definitely, and that's what we are going for, to play a football game," TE Rob Gronkowski said.
Injury report: LB Jerod Mayo missed his first practice of the year Wednesday due to an elbow injury compounded by illness. Lloyd also was a new edition to the injury report, as he was limited with a knee injury.
Did not participate: RB Brandon Bolden (knee), CB Ras-I Dowling (thigh), S Steve Gregory (hip), LB Jerod Mayo (illness/elbow), DL Trevor Scott (hamstring), LB Tracy White (foot). Limited: DL Ron Brace (back), S Patrick Chung (shoulder), WR Julian Edelman (hand), TE Rob Gronkowski (hip), TE Aaron Hernandez (ankle), LB Dont'a Hightower (hamstring), WR Brandon Lloyd (knee), OL Logan Mankins (calf/hip), OL Nick McDonald (shoulder), CB Sterling Moore (knee), RT Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee), RT Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee), WR Wes Welker (ankle). Full: DL Kyle Love (knee).
Nick Underhill covers the Patriots for MassLive.com. Follow him on Twitter @CBSPats or @Nick_Underhill.