Brady misses practice again

PATRIOTS

FOXBOROUGH -- Quarterback Tom Brady has said that practice is one of his favorite parts of the job, because he believes that's when a team truly improves.

But if the Patriots have made any positive strides over their past three practices, Brady hasn't been there to witness it.

After missing Sunday's lone practice, the seven-year veteran was held out of both of yesterday's sessions.

Coach Bill Belichick didn't specify why Brady hasn't practiced. He said each player has a particular practice routine, which could call for days off, and added that there is also a group of players who are day-to-day because of injuries.

Backup quarterback Matt Cassel, who has led the offense over the past three practices, knows the absence probably doesn't sit well with Brady.

``I'm sure it's killing him not to be out there," Cassel said. ``He's a competitor, and any time you're a competitor, you want to be out there."

Cassel added that he felt Brady will ``be back before you know it, doing his thing again.

``He's a guy I look up to and try to do everything just like him, whether it's in the weight room or in the film room," said the 24-year-old Cassel, whose most extensive pro experience came in the season finale against the Dolphins last year when he was 11 of 20 for 168 yards and two touchdowns. ``He's a guy I look to for inspiration, that I look to, because he was somewhat in my position a few years back, before winning the three Super Bowls."

Defensive lineman Mike Wright was the surprise of 2005 training camp, making the roster as an undrafted free agent after playing for the University of Cincinnati. Yesterday, he was lining up next to returning starters Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren.

Wright's rise up the depth chart is the result of a combination of factors. For one, the personnel at defensive end is thin with Richard Seymour, Jarvis Green, and Marquise Hill all sidelined. At the same time, the 6-foot-4-inch, 295-pound Wright has made the most of his opportunity, earning one of nine ironman awards for excellence in the team's offseason program.

``Every offseason, I go out there and do as much as I can to improve," said the 24-year-old Wright, who played in 13 games last season, all in a reserve role. ``I like seeing my body change and my body progress; it's kind of a little challenge for me. My strength and speed are up a bunch, which should help me hold up [against linemen] easier."

Wright was primarily a nose tackle last year, making 16 tackles, but he's mostly working at end in training camp. He likes the change, saying there is more space to move, and he's more apt to face one blocker, not two.

Despite his extended practice repetitions, Wright isn't about to become overconfident.

``You take it in stride," he said. ``I'm going to take it like I'm a rookie free agent this year, too. I think that's the mind-set I have to have to make the team again."

Mike Vrabel made an impressive transition from outside linebacker to inside linebacker last season, and now he's back on the outside. He acknowledges that the positions are quite different, and there is an adjustment period. ``It's been a while since I played out there; you're talking about since the fifth game last year," said Vrabel, whom fellow linebacker Tedy Bruschi called the MVP of the 2005 defense. ``It's important for me to get back and get comfortable there, work the [pass] drops from there, the angles from there, the rush from there. There is room for improvement on my part, I know that." . . . Long snapper Lonie Paxton, who missed the first five practices of training camp, was activated off the physically unable to perform list yesterday. Asked what sidelined him, he offered one of the humorous lines of the day: ``It was some kind of bug. I don't even know what happened, but it felt like Richard Seymour was in my stomach, trying to get out." The Patriots now have nine players on the PUP list: receivers Bam Childress and Chad Jackson, cornerback Randall Gay, safety Rodney Harrison, offensive tackle Nick Kaczur, center Dan Koppen, fullback/running back Patrick Pass, and defensive linemen Seymour and Johnathan Sullivan. In addition, tight ends Daniel Graham and Garrett Mills have yet to practice in training camp.

Offensive lineman Ryan O'Callaghan, a fifth-round pick out of California, said the coaches have reminded him about last season, when rookies Logan Mankins and Nick Kaczur were called on for extended duty. The message is to be ready, because he could be put in the same situation, and yesterday O'Callaghan worked a bit alongside Stephen Neal, Russ Hochstein, Mankins, and Matt Light. ``I think any player is trying to prove to anyone that he deserves a starting spot," said the 6-7, 330-pound O'Callaghan, a right tackle. ``The opportunity to play with the starters is great; it makes you feel better. But just because I was in there with the ones, it doesn't take anything away from anybody else. [Coaches] just want to put people with different people and see how it goes." . . . Receiver Deion Branch remained a holdout . . . Bruschi, Light, tight end Benjamin Watson, and receiver Troy Brown all participated in just one of the two practices yesterday.

The Patriots signed free agent wide receiver Kelvin Kight and placed receiver Michael McGrew on the ``reserve/left camp" list. Kight, 24, has appeared in one NFL game, in 2004 with the Packers . . . The team also signed free agent defensive lineman Eddie Freeman, a 2002 second-round pick of the Chiefs who has played in NFL Europe the past two years . . . Defensive backs Ellis Hobbs, Asante Samuel, and Eugene Wilson all batted down passes during seven-on-seven drills in the afternoon practice, as the cornerbacks were swarming the receivers . . . Mankins was named one of the team's offseason award winners . . . Fidelity vice chairman Bob Reynolds, one of five finalists for the NFL commissioner's job, is scheduled to be at Gillette Stadium today as part of a news conference regarding the Patriots and Fidelity supporting Pop Warner football . . . The Patriots are scheduled to practice twice today, at 8:45 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The second session is for season ticket-holders and Foxborough residents and will be held inside Gillette Stadium.

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