Ninkovich: Leading edge
Vet is eager to help young Patriots DEs
FOXBORO — Forgive Rob Ninkovich if he feels a bit older than usual this season, but the positional room for Patriots defensive ends got considerably younger around him in recent months.
The 33-year-old has always felt younger than his age because he didn’t get much playing time during his first three NFL seasons with the Saints and Dolphins. But without Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard on the roster anymore, Ninkovich, who is officially listed by the Pats as a linebacker but is deployed more as a defensive end, is undeniably the veteran of the group.
That’s a role that he takes pride in handling, as he mirrors those who helped him at a young age.
“Thirty-three, it’s just a number,” Ninkovich said with a wide smile. “I feel great, just working hard, coming in to help the young guys get up to speed as fast as I can and really help as much as I can. When I was a young guy, I really remember the older guys that would help me. It really means a lot when you’re a young guy. Now that I’m an older guy, I try to help as much as I can with any tip or technique that can help them.”
Ninkovich has credited the likes of former teammates Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas in Miami, and Will Smith and Scott Fujita in New Orleans with helping him assimilate to the league early in his career, and he hopes others can say the same about him one day.
But consider the defensive ends expected to make the roster: Trey Flowers, 23; Kony Ealy, 25; and rookies Derek Rivers, 23; and Deatrich Wise, 22. Ninkovich has more NFL experience than those four combined.
There’s no doubt Ninkovich enjoys doling out advice to the young blood. At the same time, he is wildly appreciative to be preparing for his 12th season considering he tore his ACL as a rookie, was cut four times and pigeonholed as a long snapper in the first three years of his career.
“It’s definitely younger, but that’s the name of the game,” Ninkovich said of the roster. “There are always going to be young, 21-, 22-year-old guys who are coming in right out of college. That’s the way of the world in the NFL. There is always going to be turnover, young guys coming in and older guys leaving.
“For me, it’s just a blessing to play as long as I have. I look back on it, and it’s truly a blessing. Where I came from to where I’m at now, it’s unbelievable.”
Allen lets it go
Tight end Dwayne Allen has dropped four passes in team drills during the first two practices of minicamp, including three in Tuesday’s waterlogged workout.
He got rid of some frustration Tuesday when he made a nice touchdown grab and flung the ball high in the air. He admitted yesterday he needed to get the bad energy out of his system with that heave.
“It’s always frustrating whenever you don’t do your best, whenever you don’t play to the standard that is set here,” Allen said. “That’s exactly what that was — a lot of frustration because I know that I can play better and I know that I am better.”
Allen is expected to be a valued contributor behind Rob Gronkowski, and his early drops might be just a blip on the radar. Even if he can laugh about it later, it doesn’t help in the moment when he is working to solidify his role with a new team.
“There’s a standard of excellence,” with the Patriots, Allen said. “If you drop a pass, that’s not excellence.”
Flowers takes root
Flowers worked on his technique by himself on the field for 25 minutes after yesterday’s practice. Wide receiver Devin Lucien was the only player who remained on the field longer than the Patriots’ 2016 sack leader.
“You can never be satisfied,” Flowers said. “I always count myself as a humble guy. I’m not too high on myself. I’m just a hard worker. It’s not about being the last one off the field. It’s just about perfecting my craft. If I see something wrong with it, just continue to work on it.”
The ins and outs
Defensive tackle Lawrence Guy and offensive lineman Andrew Jelks were not present yesterday for unspecified reasons. Guy was a full participant Tuesday.
Left tackle Nate Solder returned to practice after missing Tuesday’s minicamp opener.
Linebacker Dont’a Hightower, defensive tackle Alan Branch and wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell watched the walkthrough portion at the start of practice before working out on the lower field. Safety Duron Harmon again participated in positional drills before working out on the lower field during team drills.
Linebacker Jonathan Freeny spent another day wearing a red non-contact jersey while continuing to recover from his seasonending shoulder surgery.
Passing grades
Tom Brady completed 24of-32 passes in team drills, including 13-of-18 in 11-on11s. He completed passes to Rex Burkhead (five), Danny Amendola (four), Dion Lewis (two), James O’Shaughnessy (two), Chris Hogan (two), Brandin Cooks (two) and single passes to Gronkowski, Allen, Brandon Bolden, Matt Lengel, James White, D.J. Foster and James Develin.
Jimmy Garoppolo was 16- of-26 with an interception in team drills, including 9-of-18 in 11-on-11s. Linebacker Kyle Van Noy made an incredible leaping play to intercept the pass. Jacoby Brissett completed 22of-33 passes in team drills, including 11-of-17 in 11-on11s, but worked exclusively with the backups.