New England Patriots OTA’s: Darrelle Revis Tested, Jimmy Garoppolo Shines

Yesterday, the New England Patriots held their ninth organized team activity, and the media had access to it for the third time.

Based off of the reports I have seen, this session was a good one for the Pats, and as Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald points out, it may have been the best offensive session yet for the team.

"Brady was perfect today. Very few balls hit the turf. This was far and away the offense’s best practice under the media’s watch."

Here is the attendance report, as reported by Howe:

"Absent: QB Ryan Mallett (excused), WR Aaron Dobson (foot surgery), WR Brandon LaFell (unknown), CB Alfonzo Dennard (unknown), DL Dominique Easley (torn ACL), DT Tommy Kelly (knee surgery), DL Armond Armstead (unknown)Limited: TE Rob Gronkowski (torn ACL), DL Vince Wilfork (torn Achilles), DE Will Smith (torn ACL), CB Justin Green, LB Deontae Skinner, WR Matthew Slater, TE D.J. Williams"

Both Howe and Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston made a point of saying that Vince Wilfork participated much more this time, which is great news for the Patriots. New England will need Wilfork as healthy as they can get him for the 2014 season, because he is the key in having a good run defense to go with what should be an elite secondary.

One of the newest members of that secondary, Darrelle Revis, was tested a bit more yesterday, even getting beat a few times by Julian Edelman.

"Julian Edelman beat Darrelle Revis for a couple catches during practice. It’s the first time we’ve noticed Revis get beat in the three open practices."

Is this something that is worth noting? Of course. But this doesn’t mean for a second that Edelman is even close to Revis in terms of talent. I love Edelman, but Revis is on a whole different planet. Once the Pats put the pads on, Edelman will have a very difficult time getting off of ‘Revis Island’.

And finally, Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots second round pick, took advantage of Ryan Mallett’s absence, and turned in a very good workout. From Mike Reiss:

"Garoppolo also made a few excellent throws in 7-on-7 red zone work. He was the last player off the practice field, spending some extra time with newly signed receiver Jeremy Johnson."

Overall, it sounds like another quality outing for the Patriots. As we approach training camp, it is good to hear that the team is slowly getting healthy, and that everybody is looking good at this point in the offseason.

(If you missed the links earlier, here is Reiss’ report, and Howe’s)