Think Patriots fans have Super Bowl aspirations? The team opened training camp in front of a record 12,163 spectators who were treated to another show from QB Tom Brady. The soon-to-be 35-year-old QB started hot, completing his first 15 passes and 21 of 22 before finishing 26 of 29. Brady threw deep (to Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Lloyd) and short to Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Danny Woodhead. In other words, the Patriots’ passing offense hasn’t skipped a beat.
Who’s here: Both first-round defensive picks, DE Chandler Jones and LB Dont’a Hightower, started in reserve roles but are in the mix to contribute, especially Hightower. He made a sensational read on a screen pass. Jones had to watch for stretches but is getting a chance to win the RDE in subpackages.
Who’s not: With starters Logan Mankins (PUP-ACL), Sebastian Vollmer (PUP-back) and Brian Waters (reserve/did-not-report list), the offensive lines are a mess and they played like it. The starting unit had LT Nate Solder in his usual spot, and that was it. Dan Connolly was moved from center to RG, Ryan Wendell and Robert Gallery were at LG, and Marcus Cannon was at RT. The starters and the other two lines had communication problems. Sixth-round pick S Nate Ebner watched practice.
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