The grind picked up again for New England with a single shoulder pads workout in the heat Sunday afternoon.
Apparently the day off helped a few players trickle back to the practice field. Center Damien Woody and guard Joe Andruzzi were healed enough to participate in drills without taking contact as both wore the red warning jerseys. Also on the field running laps and working on the side was linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer, who actually returned for Friday's walk-through.
Wide receiver Terry Glenn was not in attendance. A Patriots official said the absence was not excused. It is not known whether Glenn will be back Monday.
In the practice itself, the Patriots worked on the running game, multi-receiver sets and the two-minute drill. The offense was not particularly sharp after the day off, but linebacker Roman Phifer made his presence felt for the defense. On the first play with the full offense and defense on the field, Phifer met J.R. Redmond at the line of scrimmage for no gain.
The next play was a pitch to Redmond, who fumbled after a decent run. Tight end Jermaine Wiggins recovered. Linebacker Mike Vrabel and defensive end Bobby Hamilton got through to Drew Bledsoe on the third play before the quarterback got a pass off.
Next up was Damon Huard with the second group. After a short run up the middle by Antowain Smith, Huard tried to hit Torrance Small on a quick pass. The ball went off Small's hands and was intercepted by cornerback Ray Hill. Huard did manage to come back and hit Charles Johnson over the middle on his final play.
Tom Brady took two snaps with the third offense, the first of which was a handoff to Walter Williams. Williams got nowhere before he was met by Phifer and Hamilton. Hamilton showed up again on the next play when he didn't bite on a play-action pass and pressured Brady.
Bishop took the final two snaps with the third group. After a solid run right by Williams, Bishop hit fullback Patrick Pass with a screen play. It was completely stuffed by linebacker Antico Dalton, who had the play sniffed from the start.
Following a break for special teams work on free kicks and some seven-on-seven passing drills, the team worked on four-receiver sets. On his first throw of the drill, Huard attempted to hit Sean Morey, who was back with the wide receivers, on a long pass over the middle. The ball never reached its target because safety Antwan Harris picked it off. Brady had a pass tipped by Phifer, but wide receiver Bert Emanuel was able to make the catch. Phifer made up for it on his next play by intercepting Brady's attempt to hit tight end Chris Eitzmann.
Game ticket Availability
A limited number of tickets for Friday's preseason game against the New York Giants have been made available through all TicketMaster outlets. Tickets can be purchased at any TicketMaster outlet, calling TicketMaster at (617) 931-2222 or online at Ticketmaster.com.
Monday only open day of the week
Just a reminder to fans making plans to see practice this week; Monday is the only day open to the general public. New England will practice from 9-11 a.m. and again 3-5 p.m. Monday.
The Patriots will host the New York Giants for three joint-practice sessions, beginning with an afternoon session on Tuesday, Aug. 7 and two practice sessions on Wednesday, Aug. 8. The three practice sessions are closed to the general public. It is a pass only event. The parking passes that were mailed out last week allow up to eight passengers per vehicle, and no RVs or buses are allowed.
