Brady drops back to pass during the first day of training camp. (AP)

Just wrapped up the morning session down here at Gillette, and here are a few notes worth passing along. (We’ll have some quotes before the start of the afternoon session.)

•The weather was the story this morning, as practice started at 9:30 under slightly overcast skies. Things were supposed to be pretty humid, and didn’t disappoint — the skies finally gave way roughly an hour or so into practice, and a hard rain started to fall. The Patriots kept practicing through it … until thunder and lightning started, which sent players and fans scattering. By my count, practice was called at 10:51 a.m., roughly 40 minutes before it was supposed to end.

•The rains changed our usual procedure. On most days during training camp, players are available for individual interviews as they come off the field. Today, the following players gave individual press conferences in the press box: Kevin Faulk, Fred Taylor, Greg Lewis, Wes Welker and Pierre Woods. The offensive players got a bunch of questions about the state of Tom Brady — expect plenty of those stories tomorrow. (According to media relations, both Randy Moss and Brady are scheduled to speak tomorrow.)

•By my count, there were 11 players who weren’t on the field for the morning session: wide receiver Joey Galloway, wide receiver Brandon Tate, cornerback Shawn Springs, linebacker Tyrone McKenzie, offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger, offensive lineman Mark LeVoir, defensive lineman Darryl Richard, wide receiver Randy Moss, defensive lineman Ty Warren, defensive lineman Jarvis Green and linebacker Shawn Crable.

•Coach Bill Belichick was asked indirectly about the possibility of Michael Vick joining the Patriots. He said: “Michael is an outstanding player and hasn’t played in a couple years. But our focus is now (on practice).” He was also asked about the possibility of going after other free agents: “Every situation will be evaluated on its own merits.”

•Brady gave the world the first peek at his surgically repaired left knee — well, a partial look, anyway. The quarterback, who practiced with sweatpants throughout the spring, had football pants on for the morning session, which revealed a partial brace on the lower part of his knee. As for how he looked, it appeared he was moving around without trouble. It is important to note that he continued to practice while the rains were coming down, but looked like he stopped when the weather started to get really bad.

•Because it was a partial workout, the Patriots were likely unable to get some work in. It was a good day to focus on the wide receivers. Julian Edelman and Matthew Slater appeared to get extra reps, although some of this might be attributed to the fact that Moss and Galloway weren’t on the field. There were some especially impressive moments when Brady and the quarterbacks were working with the receivers on what appeared to be slant-and-go routes, and Brady and Wes Welker made a sweet connection in the corner of the end zone, which drew big cheers from the fans in attendance.

•Another play of note came when linebacker Adalius Thomas batted a ball in the air, and safety Brandon Meriweather came away with a nice pick. Jonathan Wilhite was another cornerback who came away with a good morning session, one that included a pick of his own. Wilhite appeared to get a lot of reps with a reasonable facsimile of the No. 1 defense, but that might be because Springs wasn’t on the field.