New England Patriots Training Camp, Practice 11: Observations and Notes

There was a massive turnout at Gillette Stadium for the New England Patriots' 11th session of training camp practice. The traffic on I-95 made me a few minutes late for practice, and I had trouble finding a spot to park, much less a spot to sit.

After lucking out with an open patch of grass on the hill looking into the end zone, I pulled out my pen and pad and began taking notes.

Here are just some of my observations from today's practice.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter @erikfrenz.

Absentees

The list of absent players is growing.

Among the new names missing from practice today were Albert Haynesworth, Brandon Spikes and Mike Wright. The injury status of those players remains unknown, but all participated in Thursday's practice.

Others who remain absent are Shane Vereen, Eric Kettani, Kevin Faulk, Ryan Wendell and Marcus Cannon.

Notables in shorts were Kyle Hix, Matt Light, Josh Barrett, Brandon Tate, James Sanders, Ras-I Dowling, Myron Pryor, Brandon Deaderick and Ron Brace.

Nate Solder Takes First Team Reps

With Matt Light still suited up in shorts and a T-shirt, Nate Solder took the first team reps for the second consecutive practice. Whatever deficiencies Solder supposedly has in his fundamentals have yet to come through, as he has kept rushers and opposing defenders at bay with ease.

According to Boston Herald beat writer Ian Rapoport, Solder is excited to work with Light.

"I couldn’t be happier about that, having those veteran guys. (Light) is an outstanding guy and you hear so much on and off the field, and he’s a great guy to look up to. But there’s so many good guys on the team.”

Although Light remains the front-runner for the starting spot, Solder's development is something to keep an eye on, and his learning curve may not be as steep as some thought it would be when he was drafted.

Mark Anderson Quick To Get on the Field

The Patriots signed defensive end Mark Anderson Friday morning, and the five-year veteran immediately made his way onto the field for this afternoon's practice. Although not listed on the roster handed out to fans, he was wearing No. 95, a number which was previously unassigned.

Anderson had a strong rookie season, totaling 12 sacks including six sacks in October of '06 alone to earn defensive player of the month honors.

There is work to be done, as he has slumped since that breakout rookie year, but he could contribute as a pass-rusher off the edge. His contributions in the running game are still questionable.

Stevan Ridley Pushing for Playing Time

If the scouting report said that Ridley wasn't a solid pass catcher and couldn't bounce runs to the outside when the lanes weren't there, you wouldn't have known it from watching him practice on Friday afternoon.

Ridley and BenJarvus Green-Ellis were the primary backs in seven-on-seven pass-catching drills. Though there weren't many big plays to speak of, it was nice to see Ridley display the fundamentals of pass-catching, like catching the ball away from his frame and locking the ball into his hands.

Those skills could come in handy (no pun intended) if Shane Vereen misses significant time.

There was one particularly impressive play in red-zone drills, where Ridley took the handoff and bounced outside off the right tackle Sebastian Vollmer, beating the safety into the end zone for the touchdown.

There's still work to be done in some areas, though, specifically pass protection. In what is a crowded backfield, Ridley is looking to make himself stand out and really earn that roster spot.

Pass Catchers Catching On, Put Thursday's Practice Behind Them

It was a rough outing for the wide receivers on Thursday. Almost all of the receivers had multiple drops, and Chad Ochocinco was among the leaders in that category with nearly half a dozen that bounced off his hands.

The unit's work improved as a whole on Friday afternoon, with far fewer passes falling to the ground. Ochocinco dropped one early on but made up for it with several impressive catches, including one over second-year cornerback Devin McCourty in the back of the end zone for a touchdown in red-zone drills.

Another impressive catch was made by Taylor Price, who made an acrobatic catch on a deep bomb down the right sideline despite airtight coverage from Kyle Arrington on the play.