We told you before the OTA season started not to believe the hype when it came to evaluating player performance this month. But ... we just can't help ourselves. We need to talk about football!
On Thursday, we couldn't help but notice Chad Ochocinco struggling with the same issues in practice that plagued him throughout 2011. New Patriots wideout Brandon Lloyd was just the opposite.
Lloyd impressed the media Thursday, and multiple reporters from the Boston Globe write that's been the case all week before the sessions were open. One reporter suggested the quarterbacks have been looking for Lloyd.
Lloyd's seamless transition shouldn't be a huge surprise.
"I'm familiar with the nuances of the offense," Lloyd said. "So that definitely helps with the transition coming to this team."
Lloyd has a leg up on many of the Patriots' receivers because he's so familiar with Josh McDaniels' scheme. And after playing with Kyle Orton and Sam Bradford the last two years, Lloyd knows that his numbers could climb as a potential No. 1 receiver on an elite offense.
"He's good," Lloyd said of (Tom) Brady. "He's good from far away, and he's good up close."
The same can be said of Lloyd so far in New England. Between Lloyd, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, we basically know the top four options for Brady in the passing game.
It's figuring out the rest of the wideout depth chart that will be tough.