Since Andy has set the precedent that these blog posts need to have lame names, I’ll kick off the first “Paul’s Calls” with some observations from the Patriots first OTA session open to the media.

With mostly young players and newcomers on the field we’ll have to wait at least another week (the next OTA practice open to the media is May 28) to see Tom Brady in action. Kevin O’Connell worked ahead of Matt Gutierrez and rookie Brian Hoyer running the offense during the 90-plus minute workout, and overall I thought he looked pretty good.

Evaluations are tough to make with players wearing shorts and helmets, but a couple of players I spent time watching were Shawn Crable and Vinny Ciurciu (pronounced Church-you). Crable is obviously in the mix at outside linebacker while Ciurciu arrives as a veteran free agent looking to find a home in New England – be it as a special teamer or as a backup inside linebacker.

Crable showed nice mobility working in seven-on-seven drills, dropping effectively into coverage and doing a nice job of sticking with receivers. The 6-5, 243-pound former third-round pick looked like he added some bulk to his frame during the offseason. After practice he said he worked on one area in particular that he felt needed some extra attention.

“A lot of training, a lot of leg workouts, trying to get my legs bigger and stronger,” Crable said when asked what his offseason has been like. “A lot of one-on-one with [strength and conditioning coaches] Harold [Nash] and Mike [Woicik]. A couple of meetings and watching film and things like that to try to learn.”

That has to be music to Andy and Fred’s ears. They have been constantly harping on Crable’s spindly legs ever since he arrived last spring, and his work in that area is sure to pay dividends.

“I have to learn,” Crable said when asked what the coaches told him to work on. “It’s my second year and I have to be more consistent and doing a lot of things better. They’ve voiced that opinion to me and I have to take that seriously.”

When asked what he learned from what in essence was a red-shirt year as a rookie, Crable’s eyes lit up.

“A lot of knowledge,” he said. “I sat through a lot of meetings and had a lot of workouts and things like that. Just hoping to be smarter this year.”

I’m sticking with my pre-draft analysis on Crable. I believe he’ll be a significant contributor with the opportunities he’s sure to receive in 2009.

Ciurciu is an interesting player who worked on the inside during drills. He’s been a special teamer for the most part during his stints in Carolina and Minnesota, and while he’s content to find a similar role with the Patriots he’s also open to whatever opportunities may arise on defense.

“I’ve been playing special teams for a very long time and I look forward to contributing to the team in that area and wherever else they need me – backup linebacker and whatever,” said Ciurciu, who played at Boston College with center Dan Koppen. “I don’t have any experience playing in a 3-4, but I look at every year as a learning process. Every year you go in and try to learn as much as possible and figure out as many ways to contribute as possible.”

Ciurciu is not likely going to steal a starting job away anytime soon, but if things workout he could fill a valuable role. At 6-0 and 240 pounds he’s bigger than Larry Izzo, who he ostensibly would be trying to replace as a key special teams cog and backup inside linebacker. But Ciurciu is big enough to potentially serve as a legitimate backup, unlike Izzo, and therefore could provide some depth at a spot that seems to have very little.

Then again, maybe he doesn’t make it out of training camp – how’s that for a Fred Kirsch-like covering of all bases!!!

One day of rookie mini-camp practices is in the books and there were a few observations from a cool, cloudy day in May.

First, Patrick Chung definitely looks the part. Whether it was during position drills at the beginning of practice or in 7-on-7 work, Chung carried himself like a football player. He came out of Oregon with a reputation of being physical and he looked like he was dying to drop the hammer on any number of receivers that ventured across the middle in his presence. Obviously we won’t know a thing until he gets some pads on and the contact gets heated up, but Chung impressed.

Darius Butler, another second-round pick, was dominant in the afternoon practice. That came after a less-than-ideal first workout in the morning according to Andy and Erik. I missed the morning practice while trying to get the latest edition of PFW ready for the printers early next week, but my boys tell me he struggled a bit. He failed to catch a couple of punts, had a hard time keeping his feet during drills and struggled a bit in coverage. None of that was on display in the afternoon. He was in the receiver’s shirt on every play, had a terrific interception near the sideline and appeared to be the best athlete on the field. He didn’t get any chances to redeem himself as a punt returner, but his work at corner was eye-popping. So much so that I cast a skeptical eye toward Andy based on his early scouting report. (He said, shutup, Fatboy!).

Sebastian Vollmer, the final of the four second-round picks, is huge. Offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia worked his troops out on the far side of the fields well away from our view so it was hard to see what was going on, but Vollmer showed some good footwork in some lateral mobility drills and was the tallest of the five men working in Dante’s Inferno. He also sported a sizable bandage on his nose.

Jermail Porter, a former college wrestler who has never played football, sported No. 91 in white and worked with Scarnecchia and the linemen. The veteran coach had Porter stay behind after the workout to further refine his stance and technique. Like Vollmer, he also struck a rather intimidating pose at 6-5 and 310 pounds, although it’s far too early to know if Porter will wind up being the second coming of Stephen Neal.

One final note … quarterback Brian Hoyer threw the ball well during the afternoon practice. With the exception of a few miscommunications with his receivers, which is to be expected with so little time to prepare, most of Hoyer’s throws were on time and accurate. From a physical standpoint he looked ready to get to training camp to compete for a roster spot.

Bill Belichick just closed out the second day of the draft, and draft weekend as a whole, with his press conference. He had a lot of interesting things to say, including high praise for Tyrone McKenzie. Belichick said the inside linebacker – who started out at Michigan State before a family issue forced his transfer to Iowa State and eventually South Florida — is among the most impressive prospects in terms of things like character and maturity that he’s ever come across. He also praised his ability to be an impact player very quickly at three different schools in three different systems. Look for McKenzie to vie for reps early in training camp.

Belichick also said that a lot of forces led to the Ellis Hobbs trade to the Eagles. It was a combination of things and not really something that the Patriots anticpated. For all of Belichick’s quotes — in audio, video and text form — check patriots.com.

Looking ahead the Patriots will now turn their attention to signing rookie free agents. Given the guys the team drafted with its 12 selections this weekend there are some areas that will likely be filled out through tryouts and rookie free agent signings. Just to have a good, solid rookie camp later this week my guess is the team brings in at least one quarterback, a couple running backs, another wide receiver and at least one tight end. Linebackers and safetys too.

Thanks for reading. Hope we made the weekend a little more enjoyable and informative.

By the way, the PFW in Progress Radio Show is getting torn to shreds on the PatsFans.com forum. Guess you can’t please everyone. Hey, at least they are talking about us. If you like us, head on over and defend us. If you hate us, head on over and shred us.

Myron Pryor is certainly built like a NT. I remember liking him on film watching someone else a year ago. Now that he’s in the draft I didn’t like his film quite as much this year. I don’t really get the pick. Brace seemed like a backup NT and potential insurance for Wilfork. What’s the deal with another NT type late in the draft? It’s not like he can help out on special teams. If not for the Brace pick, I would have been OK with Pryor. Now? I don’t love it. But how many guys in Patriots history have a Y in both their first and last name? Can’t be many. I’m not looking it up.

What do you take after you’ve taken a bunch of developmental guys to fill out a practice squad (as Tom Waddle put it)? The answer is a long snapper. The Patriots just used a sixth-round pick on Hawaii long snapper Jake Ingram. He’s supposed to be the best in the crop, for what that’s worth. And I think he could make the team. If I were Nathan Hodel I would rent, not buy, at this point. Ingram is the next Lonie Paxton.