Day 19 of training camp featured another full pads practice – the 17th time in 24 practices the team has been in full gear. The weather remained oppressive with temperatures soaring into the 90s for the second straight day. That was a big topic following the workout after a couple of players had issues dealing with the conditions on Sunday.

-The team announced a few personnel moves immediately after practice. The most noteworthy was the trading of defensive lineman Le Kevin Smith to Denver. Smith was actually in uniform with his teammates but was escorted back to the locker room just before the start of practice after he’d been traded.

Bill Belichick did not indicate specifically what compensation the Patriots would receive in return, but the coach did say it could be related to the Derrick Burgess acquisition from Oakland earlier in camp. Belichick said at the time that the deal would be finalized at a later date, and various reports indicated the Patriots had sent a third- and fourth-round pick to the Raiders with the latter becoming a fifth-rounder if/when the team could acquire one. FoxSports.com reports the deal was Smith and a seventh-round pick to Denver for a fifth-round pick. If that’s the case, the Patriots likely retained the fourth-rounder from the Burgess trade and sent the newly acquired fifth to the Broncos.

-Also, the team signed running back Chris Taylor, who spent parts of two seasons with Houston but has been out of football since last October. The 5-11, 220-pound former Indiana Hoosier has played in seven career games and carried the ball 42 times for 160 yards and a touchdown. With Sammy Morris missing practice the last two days, perhaps Belichick felt Taylor could add some depth in practice. The coach said he’d like to have six running backs in camp and has gotten by with five thus far. Taylor took part in the morning workout.

-To make room for Taylor, the Patriots released cornerback Mike Richardson and also placed wide receiver Shun White on the reserve/military list, where he joined his former Navy teammates Tyree Barnes and Eric Kettani, both of whom participated in spring drills with the Patriots.

-There was a lengthy list of players missing the practice: Chris Hanson, Shawn Springs, Morris, Paris Lenon, Rich Ohrnberger, George Bussey, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Benjamin Watson, Tyson DeVree, Richard Seymour, Shawn Crable and Mike Wright. Brandon Tate (NFI) and Mark LeVoir (PUP) remained out as well.

-After a scary day on Sunday when Logan Mankins and Rich Ohrnberger had to be taken off the field for heat-related reasons, Mankins was back in action under similar conditions Monday. He joked after practice that he was “alive and well” and had simply suffered from cramps that had his “knees not working.” Much of the post-practice interviews dealt with the intense heat and several players, including Mankins, discussed the need to stay hydrated.
 
-The running game once again was in focus for the morning workout as the team did quite a bit of hitting in 9-on-7 drills and again during the team periods. The practice even closed out with some goal-line work. The defense featured both 4-3 and 3-4 looks with Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork and Jarvis Green manning the front three in the latter. When the Patriots switched to four-man fronts, Myron Pryor was inserted next to Wilfork inside. The drills were also noteworthy because they featured starters against starters, which isn’t always the case during training camp.

-Rookie Sebastian “Sea Bass” Vollmer took some reps at right tackle for the first time I can recall. Vollmer had been getting regular reps on the left side, both in place of Matt Light and behind him with the second group. On Monday he served as the swing tackle, lining up in place of Nick Kaczur on the right side for one play, moving to the left side for the next and then rotating out. Given Belichick’s words about the difficulty of playing both sides earlier in camp, that has to be considered a good sign for the rookie out of Houston.

-The second unit also had some rotating with tackles Wesley Britt and Ryan O’Callaghan working on both sides.

-Tedy Bruschi was back in action for the second straight day. He worked with the second group at inside linebacker next to Eric Alexander while Jerod Mayo and Gary Guyton worked together in earlier reps. Guyton seamed to struggle a bit in the running game, having a difficult time taking on guards and getting off blocks. Most of his work last year was as a sub package cover linebacker so it’s understandable that his adjustment to every-down play may take a while.

-While the 9-on-7 drills are mostly about line play, Fred Taylor looked real sharp while running through some pretty sizable holes. Taylor, who did not play in the preseason opener, also received significant praise from Belichick after practice for his work ethic and preparedness off the field.

-The kickoff and kickoff return units got some work with a variety of players receiving reps as the return men. The pairings included Matthew Slater and Laurence Maroney, Terrence Wheatley and Julian Edelman, Terrence Nunn and Greg Lewis and Kevin Faulk also rotated in throughout.

-There wasn’t a tremendous amount of passing going on but Tom Brady did find some time toss the pigskin a bit. He hit Sam Aiken on a beautiful deep crossing route that was executed to perfection during a team period. Aiken broke open behind a safety and Brady’s pass was already in mid-flight. The wideout made the catch in stride and would have had a sizable gain.

-The goal-line work was hard to monitor considering it took place in the end zone opposite from the media tent (coincidence … I think not). Brady and the offense got off to a good start with a nice play-action touchdown to David Thomas but things were slanted toward the defense from there. Maroney was stuffed off the right side and then Fred Taylor couldn’t find the end zone off left tackle. On the next play, Taylor appeared to be stopped short, again trying to hit it off left tackle. Brady had to go back to the air to find the end zone again, this time hooking up with tight end Alex Smith.

-Those of you reading our updates know we’ve been very impressed with rookie receiver Terrence Nunn. He’s made virtually every possible catch during practice, and on Monday he turned in another one. Running a deep route down the left sideline, he was covered tightly by Leigh Bodden and James Sanders. Brian Hoyer’s throw took him to the outside near the sideline and Nunn was forced to dive. It didn’t look like he landed in bounds, but Nunn made a terrific catch while completely parallel to the ground. I don’t know if there’s room for this guy, but aside from his mishandled kickoff in Philly, he’s made very few mistakes this summer.