FOXBORO, Mass. — Left tackle Matt Light and left guard Logan Mankins were the only two players missing from practice on the third and final day of Patriots minicamp at Gillette Stadium on Thursday. This was the first time all week anyone other than Mankins was absent.
Per usual, wide receiver Wes Welker participated in a half hour of practice, and safety Patrick Chung wore the red, non-contact jersey.
Head coach Bill Belichick, quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien and wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea all said after practice that they were impressed with the team's progress over the last month, with Belichick mentioning that the team has built a solid foundation for training camp. New England breaks for five and a half weeks before training camp in late July.
Media has been permitted to watch seven practices over the last four weeks — four OTAs and three minicamp sessions — and Thursday's session got off to a different start from the rest. After stretching, the Patriots split up between offense and defense on separate fields and worked on plays.
Before Thursday, the team started each session by breaking off into positional drills before the offense and defense worked together in unison. Thursday's start probably indicated the team wanted to put an emphasis on certain plays in the meeting room and made sure to execute them right away at practice. It's also a good indication of the team's progress at practice.
