Patriots Training Camp: Rounding Up Week One

The NFL season is, as they say, a marathon, not a sprint.

But looking at how fast this 2009 iteration of the New England Patriots have hit the books, the field (and each other) so far, you'd be forgiven for thinking the season started next week.

The Patriots have had 14 practices in the first seven days and 11 have featured hitting and conditioning with full pads.

Obviously few people get a real look at multiple training camps every year but I can assure you that the ratio is one of the highest in the league.

It sets a tone across the organization, too: get your lunch pail, it's time to do work.

And the Patriots have had a lot to hammer out in just the first week. Coming off a year where the team managed 11 wins without their star quarterback, it'd be easy for some to think the team could coast through preseason with a "business as usual" outlook.

Not so.

There are a lot more questions than answers at this point for a team that will need to reign in an offensively upgraded division if it's going to return to the playoffs.

Being in the bottom third of the league in third down defense is simply not going to get it done in 2009 barring another offensive explosion. Even if that is the case, Belichick is hardly going to sit on his hands defensively.

So early in camp there's little definite when it comes to who will or won't make the roster, who is likely to see the majority of snaps during the season, or any of the other big-picture questions that will be answered in the coming weeks.

But it's telling that Belichick has focused largely on situational drills involving red zone offense and defense right from the beginning.

Situational drills are a favorite of Belichick, especially those with time constraints focusing on end of quarter and end of game scenarios.

This is a team that returns a good amount of its starters and second-stringers so there should be little handholding in terms of learning the system and that seems to be the case early in camp.

But there's not a whole lot of conclusions you can draw so early. A first-week standout can miss the roster, so I'm holding off making too many declarations too early.

With that, though, here are few early thoughts based on the first week of Patriots camp:

Brady has remained sharp

Brady proved that the zip he showed in minicamp was not a mirage and thus far there's been little to no discussion about his injury.

The most talked about quarterbacks to this point seem to be backup Kevin O'Connell and newcomer Andrew Walter (as well as the departed Matt Gutierrez and Cleo "thanks for the cup of coffee" Lemon), but the quarterback depth chart is hardly, if ever, settled so early in camp. 

Adalius Thomas looks ready to excel

There's been good early noise about Thomas, a special teams maven from his Baltimore days who was given a rather large contract (five years, $35 million) by New England when he hit free agency before the 2007 season.

Thomas was as good as advertised in his first season (though didn't make the expected jump to top-tier elite pass-rusher some thought he might) and was injured in 2008, playing in just nine games.

This year, Thomas will likely wear the defensive radio helmet and will be the Patriots' primary pass rush threat from the linebacker position this season.

Thomas has earned his contract so far with solid play, but he has yet to make the jump most—myself included—believe he's capable of.

In this training camp, however, Thomas has excelled. Mike Reiss of The Boston Globe already has Thomas as the best defensive player in camp the first week.

Whether Thomas' contract is looked upon as a good buy or a phenomenal value (or perhaps a bust) will depend on his this season shapes up.

It seems he's aware of that fact.

Vince Wilfork dedicated to the season

The Vince Wilfork situation looked like it had the potential to derail, or at least distract, the Patriots heading into 2009.

Wilfork skipped the team's voluntary organized team activities, which are, of course, about as voluntary as getting wet when you fall out of a boat.

It was a message to the team that he wants, and thinks he deserves, a contract extension.

With Richard Seymour also hitting free agency and left tackle Matt Light and Tom Brady slated to hit the market after next season, New England's books are looking like they could get top-heavy quick.

I've been fairly clear in that I think Vince Wilfork is quite possibly the most important player to this Patriots defense. The nose tackle position, in the 3-4, is the most crucial lynchpin and losing a star nose tackle in his 20s is never a good idea.

It's good news for New England that Wilfork has decided to not extend his holdout into training camp—whether his reasons are benign, monetary, or he's simply feeling the need to prove his worth early and often to the team.

T.J. Donegan is a featured columnist on the New England Patriots team page. You can contact him by email here or follow him on Twitter here.