For the first time since arriving in Arizona, the Patriots and Seahawks got to do something with an actual football emphasis; they practiced (what a novel concept!).
With all 53 players on the active roster and 10 practice-squad members healthy enough to work, a rarity for this late in a season, the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks opened their practice week for Super Bowl XLIX with their weekly “Competition Wednesday” practice on the campus of Arizona State University.
Head coach Pete Carroll usually determines playing time based on who has the best day of practice on "Competition Wednesday." The three Seahawks who entered the week with some injury concerns, CB Richard Sherman, FS Earl Thomas and OG J.R. Sweezy all practiced with the first teams and showed no ill effects. All three should be fine for the Super Bowl.
Speaking of ill effects, Patriots QB Tom Brady said he's been battling a cold, and taking extra garlic to try and fight it. Perhaps it's a trick the Northern California native picked up in Gilroy. Head coach Bill Belichick did not seem concerned about his quarterback's sniffles.
Said Belichick, “He took all the snaps.”
New England held a two-hour practice session that Belichick saw as significant for getting his team back on a regular schedule following two days without practices.
"This Wednesday is kind of like a regular Wednesday, tomorrow will be kind of like a Thursday, Friday will be like a Friday,” Belichick said. “So we’re trying to get back on schedule.”
The NBC broadcast crew -- including play-by-play man Al Michaels, analyst Cris Collinsworth and sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya -- attended the practice.
