Talk about your sophomore slumps.
Terrence Wheatley entered training camp last summer feeling pretty good about his chances of earning some significant playing time in the Patriots� secondary. After all, the affable and athletic cornerback had worked his way into the starting lineup as a rookie before falling victim to a season-ending wrist injury against the Colts in Week 9.
But a nondescript camp and a knee injury suffered late in preseason led to Wheatley being inactive for six of the first seven games. His lone appearance came in a 26-10 win over Atlanta in Week 3, a game in which he recorded his only two tackles of the season.
Wheatley would play in four other games, but only saw time at cornerback once in a bit role. Other than that, he was relegated to special teams.
That�s hardly what was expected of someone drafted in the second round with the 62nd overall pick in 2008. And that includes the player himself.
Wheatley can only hope the third time is the proverbial charm. His first two seasons were definite downers as he appeared in only 11 games, recording four tackles and two passes defensed.
It�s too early to tag Wheatley as a bust � he�d likely have to fall apart not to make the Patriots this season � but he�s definitely approaching a crossroads in his young career. Not that he feels like the pressure is on.
Wheatley sees the dozen OTAs the Patriots are holding this spring, and next month�s three-day minicamp, as chances to improve his technique and strengthen the communication skills of the secondary as a whole.
At the moment, Wheatley is a bit player in that group.
Veteran Leigh Bodden and youngster Darius Butler, who showed steady improvement as a rookie, project to be the starters at cornerback. Third-year pro Jonathan Wilhite, who started eight games last season, and Devin McCourty, the team�s first-round pick in April�s draft, also figure to be in the mix.
So getting on the field is going to be a challenge, but one Wheatley welcomes.
�Competition is good,� the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Colorado product said. �Competition is what makes you better. If you�re not a competitor, you�ve got the wrong job profession. So competition is good. It�s a challenge, for sure.
The Patriots pulled a dusty page out of an old playbook when they recently agreed to joint practices with the Falcons and Super Bowl champion Saints in advance of preseason games with both NFC South teams.
The Patriots will host New Orleans for a pair of practices Aug. 10, two days before their preseason opener at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots will then visit Atlanta for two practices Aug. 17 and a game two days later.
All four of the Patriots� preseason games are on Thursdays.
This will be the first time the Patriots have practiced with another team since hooking up with the Giants in 2001, Belichick�s second year in New England. The benefits are obvious, although that doesn�t mean this is the start of a trend.
�I think a big plus is you get to work against different teams, different matchups individually, and different schemes,� Belichick said. �It slows down your teaching installation a little bit because you have to do what they�re doing, but I think that�s OK.
After 12 seasons with five teams, including a ridiculously successful stint with the Patriots from 2001-04, receiver David Patten found himself out of football last season.
But the Patriots, always good for a surprise or two when it comes to free agency (see punter David King, a former Aussie Rules player), signed Patten in February.
Whether Patten, who�ll turn 36 in August, is still here in September remains to be seen, but he was out there for practice last week trying to get up to speed. And by that, he meant mentally even more than physically.
�That�s this game,� Patten said. �I mean, don�t get me wrong, you have to have the physical capacity to come out here and compete at a high level. But when you get to this level, what separates one player from the next is his mental capacity � his ability to pick plays up, pick defenses up, pick the system up quickly, and be able to process things from the time you leave the huddle until the quarterback gives the cadence.
The Foxboro Faithful have been fretting over the absence of quarterback Tom Brady for much of the Patriots� offseason conditioning program. However, No. 12 has been around enough to make an immediate impact on one new teammate.