FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick regularly sends players on a penalty lap if they make a mistake in practice, such as jumping offside or botching a quarterback-center exchange.
Anyone who has attended a practice over the last 16 years knows that's a regular occurrence, and sometimes it can be an entire unit.
But it isn't often that Belichick sends a player or unit on a double lap. His level of agitation has to be unusually high for that to happen.
That's what unfolded Thursday (a full-unit double lap) during a training camp practice that at one point clearly didn't meet his expectations.
Here's why, according to players:
On Wednesday night, the Patriots had been working on various situations in the kicking game, and got caught with 12 players on the field while attempting to a block a field goal. As part of the normal process of making corrections, the mistake was revisited in Thursday morning meetings with players.
When the same mistake was repeated in Thursday's afternoon practice, it naturally irritated Belichick. Hence the double lap, and what seemed like a longer-than-normal post-practice address to players.
This is, in many ways, the essence of training camp -- the process of making mistakes, then corrections in meetings, before testing players/coaches the next day to see if those mistakes happen again.
The Patriots didn't pass the test Thursday.
A few other observations from practice:
Belichick's agitation extended to reserve interior offensive lineman Josh Kline and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who were sent on a lap for a bad center/quarterback exchange.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski made one of the highlight plays of the day, as rookie safety Jordan Richards had him covered tightly toward the right sideline but Gronkowski still came down with a high-arcing pass from Tom Brady. As safety Tavon Wilson said, that's just an example of how Gronkowski is truly never covered. It sure seemed like Richards couldn't have played it better.
Wilson intercepted Garoppolo on a short pass over the middle for a would-be pick-six. Wilson has shown up throughout camp as a player who has built momentum through the first week.
A thinned wide receiver corps with Julian Edelman (came up a bit gimpy Sunday), Brandon LaFell (PUP/left foot), Brian Tyms (carted off Tuesday) and Aaron Dobson (unknown) not practicing left Danny Amendola, Josh Boyce and Brandon Gibson as the top targets.
The Patriots made a few back-end roster moves, waiving offensive guard Harland Gunn (claimed on waivers from Atlanta Sunday) and signing offensive lineman Mark Asper and tight end Mason Brodine. Both Asper and Brodine practiced for the first time Thursday.
Veteran defensive end Rob Ninkovich showed up in one-on-one drills with two strong reps -- first against left tackle Nate Solder (outside speed rush) and then beating Asper badly. Tough spot for Asper, who just signed. Meanwhile, fellow end Chandler Jones also looked strong in the drill in reps against Cameron Fleming and Solder.
