Patriots OTA report: Jimmy Garoppolo had a rough day

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By Erik Frenz @ErikFrenz

June 4, 2015

3 minutes to read

FOXBOROUGH — If Tom Brady does not win his appeal, Jimmy Garoppolo will have to sharpen up.

The New England Patriots’ second-year quarterback had a rough day in team drills on Thursday, throwing five interceptions in 11-on-11 work while completing 23 of his 35 attempts in those drills. There were times when his accuracy, velocity, and touch shone through, and at least a couple of his interceptions were on tipped balls.

Garoppolo also held onto the ball entirely too long on a few occasions that might have resulted in a sack in live action.

There’s still plenty of time for Garoppolo to turn things around, with three months remaining to the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he had a rough start to the workout program last season as well. Regardless, Garoppolo’s practice performance on Thursday was not a step in the right direction.

Here are some more notes from Thursday’s practice, which ran roughly two hours in length in cloudy, chilly conditions.

– Attendance: With no numbers to identify the players, attendance was once again tricky. There were 72 total players present for practice, 31 wearing blue (defense) and 41 wearing gray (offense). The notable players not in attendance included wide receiver Matthew Slater, wide receiver Brandon LaFell, cornerback Malcolm Butler, linebacker Jerod Mayo, linebacker Dont’a Hightower, offensive lineman Ryan Wendell, tackle Sebastian Vollmer, tight end A.J. Derby, defensive lineman Jabaal Sheard, defensive end Chandler Jones, and defensive tackles Sealver Siliga, Alan Branch, and Dominique Easley.

– The Patriots continued trying different combinations on the offensive line. Caylin Hauptmann got a lot of looks at guard, with Cameron Fleming, Marcus Cannon, Tre’ Jackson, and Shaq Mason getting turns as well. Jordan Devey got a few opportunities at tackle. These combinations may not mean anything at all, and coaches may simply be sending guys onto the field to fill spots, particularly with big names like Wendell and Vollmer still missing from practice.

– Danny Amendola and Travaris Cadet got some opportunities returning kickoffs, and Dion Lewis was the primary punt returner for the day.

– LeGarrette Blount ran a lap early on in practice, but the reason why was not clear. He fumbled later in practice and ran another lap.

– In the first 11-on-11 drill, Darryl Roberts, Bradley Fletcher, Daxton Swanson and Logan Ryan all took turns at cornerback. In the second drill, Fletcher and Ryan were the first cornerbacks to get their opportunities.

– Jamie Collins made his return to practice this week after missing the first session of OTAs, and he made an immediate impact on a Brady pass for Rob Gronkowski. Collins’ airtight downfield coverage forced an incompletion.

– Brian Tyms made a lot of plays in the first OTA session, and made some more this week. He started off the practice making some nice adjustments on poorly thrown passes, and he hauled in a few more in the final 11-on-11 session of the day.

– In 7-on-7 work, Brady finished 8-of-11 and Garoppolo finished 10-of-11. In 11-on-11 drills, Brady finished 22-of-30 with an interception and Garoppolo finished 23-of-35 with five interceptions.

– Interceptions were hauled in by safeties Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, and Tavon Wilson, cornerbacks Bradley Fletcher and Jimmy Jean, and a linebacker who could not be identified.

– Fletcher’s interception was a particularly nice play, with the former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback leaping in the end zone to pick a fade intended for Aaron Dobson. Fletcher didn’t let the height of the pass or his height disadvantage get in the way of making the play.