Tebow, Spikes on Hernandez, Dennard on himself
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| photo via @MikeReiss |
The general takeaway from the media's observations was that this was one sloppy day. Tim Tebow threw two interceptions, but did catch a few passes. From all accounts, Ryan Mallet didn't look that great either.
A sloppy day for the whole team. What else would you expect of a rainy first practice of the year?
Of course, the Aaron Hernandez thing loomed over everything and made it's way into the post-practice conversations. The Patriots players can't talk about it of course. If anyone gives anything specific to the public, they might be looking at a subpoena to the grand jury. Things are already crazy enough down in Foxborugh.
Tebow, a former teammate of Hernandez's called the situation "heartbreaking" and "sad". The two were at least kind of close in college, as Hernandez caught passes from Tebow at his private workout for scouts before the draft. When asked, Tebow did say he was praying for him.
Brandon Spikes was another former teammate of Hernandez's. He offered even less than Tebow.
Brandon Spikes on Hernandez. "I can't even comment. I want to but I can't."
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) July 26, 2013
Urban Meyer, former coach of all three of the mentioned Gators, has come under a lot of heat lately. Reports of incidents involving violence and drugs connected to Aaron Hernandez during his time at Florida have been surfacing recently. When asked about the coach's reputation, Tebow came out in his defense.
"Coach Meyer is a great man, one of the best I've had the privilege of being around," Tebow said. "He's someone that not only tries to win football games, but he's someone that tries to invest in young men's lives and help young men grow. He cares very deeply about that, and that's one of the reasons I'm so close to him and why I'm proud of him."
Aaron Hernandez wasn't the only hot topic of the day though. Unfortunately, the Patriots have another player in legal trouble.
Alfonzo Dennard, currently on probation for punching a police officer in Nebraska, was charged with a DUI not too long ago. Obviously, he did not comment on that. Perhaps the Patriots did as reporters noted that Kyle Arrington was running ahead of Dennard with the cornerbacks. That's bad news all around.
