FOXBORO – Patriots cornerback Shawn Springs has the book on Terrell Owens. And Randy Moss. And even Tim Brown.

The veteran said after Wednesday's mini-camp session that he keeps notes on every receiver he's faced, and pulled his forefinger and thumb apart a couple of inches to show how thick the notebook is that he has on T.O.

"I keep notes on all receivers over the years. These guys are too good not to know them. T.O., Moss, I still have notes around from Tim Brown. I have a lot of it up here too," Springs said, pointing to his head.

It makes sense that Springs' dossier on Owens would be the thickest – the two have played in the same division for much of their careers: first the NFC West, when Springs was drafted by Seattle and Owens by San Francisco; then the NFC East, as Springs moved to Washington and Owens played for Philadelphia and Dallas. Now, Springs is with New England and Owens the Bills.

He may have his notes, but they aren't a substitute for watching film.

"No, no, no, no, no. Tape is amazing. You still need tape," he said.

Springs learned about note taking from his father, Ron, who spent eight years in the NFL as a running back, and some of his father's teammates.

"They'd say, 'Hey, when you play against guys, take notes. You might play him again,'" Springs said. "Ask receivers; they probably do it. Ask (Joey) Galloway . . . Torry Holt would probably have one."

But Springs is stingy with his information – he quickly said "nope" when asked if he'd ever share his notes on Moss with the receiver, and his cornerback mate Terrence Wheatley joked that he's a little insulted he hasn't gotten a chance to see the notes yet.

* * *

Some observations from Thursday's mini-camp session, which seemed to go at a higher tempo, particularly in the early going:

-- During positional drills, as the offensive linemen were doing footwork around cones, Randy Moss ambled over and started shouting, "I like that coach! Get those feet right!" Moss always seems to have something to say with everyone on the field, and draws a lot of laughs.

-- Terrence Wheatley had himself a pretty good day, and most of it came at Greg Lewis' expense. He broke up a pass from Matt Gutierrez intended for Lewis in 7-on-7 work, and in 11-on-11 work, he batted down a pass from Kevin O'Connell that was intended for Lewis.

-- Conversely, Jonathan Wilhite wasn't as sharp. He was in coverage on two long completions in 11-on-11 work -- a 40-plus-yard strike from Tom Brady to Moss and a deep ball from O'Connell to Lewis.

-- Pierre Woods, Brian Hoyer and Rich Ohrnberger all had to run a punishment lap, though it is unclear why; Hoyer and Ohrnberger ran theirs together, so it likely was a fumbled snap.

-- Stephen Gostkowki again was strong from longer distances, hitting from 56 and 52 yards during hurry-up work.

* * *

New England announced that it released RB Patrick Pass, one week after re-signing the player who had spent the first seven years of his career with the Pats but was mostly out of football the last two years. On Tuesday, Pass said he had been living in North Providence with his family and had continued to work out; a couple of weeks ago, looking to get back into the NFL, he called the Patriots.

Pass was happy to be back with New England and said he wanted to end his career where it had begun, but his comeback bid has likely ended.

* * *

Adalius Thomas played for Rex Ryan in Baltimore and loves the sense of humor of the new Jets coach. But Thomas wasn't about to get himself in trouble by responding to some of Ryan's recent comments: "It's something that you don't normally see in the media in June, so it's something you (reporters) really jump all over and really go from New York to Miami and then come here with it and expect me to pour gas on it. No, thank you," he said, laughing . . . Sammy Morris participated in Thursday's camp session, the first time he's been on the field this offseason. With his return and Pass' release, there were 12 players absent: DL Ty Warren, LB Jerod Mayo, DL Jarvis Green, S Brandon Meriweather, CB Mike Richardson, DB Ray Ventrone, S Brandon McGowan, T Mark LeVoir, WRs Shun White and Tyree Barnes, and injured rookies Tyrone McKenzie and Brandon Tate.

smanza@projo.com