New England Patriots training camp: recapping Day 3

The third time is the charm. Or in this case, the third day of New England Patriots training camp was when pads were put on for the first time. To get this recap started, here’s your Mike Reiss tweet of the day:

You can bet that on the first goal line carry in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills (he misses Week 1 due to suspension), Blount will hear his number called in the huddle.

What you need to know:

According to WEEI’s Christopher Price, Jabaal Sheard stood out today:

"In one-on-ones between the offensive linemen and defensive linemen, Jabaal Sheard provided a highlight with an impressive spin move on tackle Marcus Cannon. Sheard also tossed Cameron Fleming aside on another head-to-head drill."

Price also made note of an up-and-down, but mostly up, day for Aaron Dobson.

"Quarterback Tom Brady completed a pass to Aaron Dobson in 11-on-11s, but the receiver fumbled the ball after Jamie Collins poked it away. Dobson made amends later with a leaping grab on a Brady pass near the sideline. He beat fellow Marshall product and rookie corner Darryl Roberts. Shortly after that, the whole offense was forced to run a lap. Dobson had a nice catch later in practice in 11-on-11s, and also had an impressive connection with Brady over Jimmy Jean in a passing drill."

Kevin Duffy of MassLive.com named Dobson, Malcolm Butler and Jordan Richards the three standouts of the day. Here’s what he said about Butler:

"Edelman vs. Malcolm Butler seems to be a great matchup so far. In a passing drill, Edelman made a catch on the sidelines, but Butler was shouting afterward, perhaps indicating that it was out of bounds. Butler also swatted a ball away from Brandon Gibson on a comeback route soon after. Later, he knocked one away from Brian Tyms."

And here’s what Duffy noted about Richards:

"Matched up with Scott Chandler in a one-on-one drill, Richards was with the 6-foot-7 tight end stride-for-stride on a deep route up the seam. The ball arrived, and it was thrown high so only Chandler could get his hands on it, but Richards was able to knock it out of the tight end’s grasp."

A few other odds and ends:

• Every Patriots beat writer I’ve read today has talked about the crunching hit defensive tackle Sealver Siliga put on running back Tyler Gaffney during one-on-one drills.
• NESN.com’s Doug Kyed reported that fans chanted “BE-QUETTE”, supporting tight end Jake Bequette as he transitions into the role from defensive end.
• Duffy noted something interesting: in 11-on-11 drills, the Patriots’ defense played with two linebackers (Jamie Collins and Jonathan Freeny) and three safeties (Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and Nate Ebner).

One final note: Garoppolo and Brady split first-team reps, indicating that the Patriots are preparing for the likely possibility that Brady won’t play in Week 1.

And in case you forgot what it’s like to be a freshman on varsity:

Next: 4 Pats vets in danger of getting the chop