WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, West Virginia — In this week’s joint practices, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady took all the first-team snaps and backup Jimmy Garoppolo none, all of which means absolutely nothing regarding who will start Saturday night at New Orleans.
Showing no impact from the Deflategate hubbub, Brady put on a clinic in Thursday’s second practice against the Saints. He connected on 16 of 18 passes in the 11-on-11 drill, with one drop by tight end Rob Gronkowski.
When asked who would start, Patriots coach Bill Belichick gave his usual sun-comes-up-in-the-East newsflash.
“We’re in the third week of preseason, and we all have a lot of work to do, so that includes all of us — everybody,” he said.
Belichick did offer a positive response when a reporter asked about the level of play shown by Brady and Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
“They’re great players,” he said. “I think there are several other great players in that category in the league now that have had similar careers with similar longevity. I think if you go back through your history, you’ll probably find a handful of players that fall under that category at different periods in time.
“Again, all that is great; you can write a great story about it. My focus is on our team and our development and where we are as a football team. With all due respect to all those players, that’s not really my deal now.”
— Running back LeGarrette Blount had a solid week of practice and could make his summer debut Saturday night. Blount is working back from a knee injury suffered in practice, but he has looked very impressive this summer.
— Offensive tackle Marcus Cannon should also make his preseason debut in New Orleans after missing two-plus weeks of camp and the preseason opener with an undisclosed injury.
— Center Bryan Stork has not practiced in more than two weeks because of an undisclosed injury, so undrafted rookie David Andrews and versatile backup Josh Kline will continue to share the reps at center against the Saints. They will be sandwiched between rookie guards Shaq Mason and Tre’ Jackson on the first offensive line.
— Tony Dungy on Thursday confirmed the long-held rumor that quarterback Peyton Manning thought the New England Patriots spied on the visitors’ locker room at Gillette Stadium.
Dungy told “The Dan Patrick Show” that “whether it’s true or not, (Manning) treated it as true. We didn’t have a lot of strategy discussions inside the locker room there.”
“Peyton takes everything to the Nth degree,” said Dungy, who coached Manning with the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008.
As a Colt and Denver Bronco, Manning is 3-7 at New England, 6-13 vs. the Patriots overall.