FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- It’s not unusual during New England Patriots training camp for a player or a play to excite the thousands on hand to watch the defending Super Bowl champions.
On Sunday, it was wide receiver Aaron Dobson’s turn to wow the crowd. During an 11-on-11 drill, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a deep ball down the sideline when Dobson leaped and pulled it down with a dramatic catch over cornerback Malcolm Butler. After the catch, Dobson and Butler shook hands.
“We’re competing against each other every day. I’m going hard and he’s going hard,” Butler said after the practice.
It was only the fourth day of training camp, and the second with the players in full pads, but the trash-talking has been ongoing.
“There’s always a lot of chatter out here,” Dobson said. “It’s all fun out here. We’re all teammates and we look at this as a competition.”
This is an extremely important camp for Dobson, who missed the majority of last season due to foot and hamstring injuries. He played only four regular-season games and was placed on injury reserve in December.
Despite all the setbacks in 2014, Dobson said he’s put all of that in the past and he’s focused on making his presence felt during camp.
“Last season was last year. This is a new year, so I’m just trying to do my best this year,” he said.
He wants to prove one thing: “That I can play,” Dobson said. “I’m here trying to make plays and do what I can do as a receiver.”
Dobson was all smiles when asked if he feels any pressure to impress.
“No, I don’t feed into any of that,” he said. “I’m just out here trying to have fun. I’m out here playing football. It’s a game, so I’m trying to have some fun and make some plays.”
Entering his third season in New England, Dobson admitted he’s feeling more comfortable. It showed on Sunday.
“I feel that the longer you’re in a system, the more comfortable you’re going to get,” he said. “The more repetitions you get, the more comfortable you get. This is my third year being in the offense, so I’m just getting more comfortable as time goes on.”
Dobson spent the offseason working out in Arizona with Devin McCourty and former teammate Darrelle Revis. Facing a pair of defensive specialists like McCourty and Revis helped Dobson hone his craft.
“We did a lot of work out there, so I feel like it benefited me a lot,” Dobson said.
He’ll need to make more catches like the one he did on Sunday if he wants to impress the coaching staff.
