Patriots training camp notebook: Mac Jones in focus on Day 7

Author Alex Barth

August 4th, 2021 2:20 PM

Tuesday’s Patriots practice – the first of 2021 in full pads – featured a heavy dose of Cam Newton. On Wednesday, the team returned to shorts and shells and put Mac Jones back in the spotlight.

Jones threw 23 of the 45 total passes in competitive reps during the session, including 16 straight to end the day. He completed 17 of those attempts, most of which came in 11-on-11 drills.

It was an up-and-down day for the first round pick. There were highlights, including a perfectly-placed deep crosser to Gunner Olszewski against double coverage. Yet he did struggle at times, showing some inconsistencies that are expected from a rookie. During the middle of practice, defensive players got their hands on three consecutive passes.

The first of those three actually began as a positive for Jones. He sidestepped a rusher in the pocket, and lofted a throw towards Jonnu Smith. It was a tough yet catchable ball for Smith, who jumped up a rotated to his back shoulder to get himself in position. However, the pass bounced off Smith’s hands, and Devin McCourty snatched it out of the air for a pick.

After an interception that may not have been Jones’ fault, his next pass wasn’t picked off but probably should have been. He overthrew Tre Nixon, and D’Angelo Ross nearly scooped the ball of the ground. He closed the trio with a simple pass breakup.

After his 1-of-6 in competitive drills yesterday, it’s feels fair to say Wednesday was a ‘bounce back’ for Jones. Of course, that comes with the caveat of it being another unpadded practice – we’ll see if he can continue to succeed when the pads come back on tomorrow.

Here’s more from Day 7 of Patriots training camp…

• Catching up with Cam

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  After posting his best performance of the year on Tuesday, Newton leveled out somewhat on Wednesday. He was 7-of-13 throwing the ball in team drills with two interceptions.
  
  Early in practice, safety Adrian Colbert jumped in front of a medium crosser intended for Hunter Henry. It looked like Newton was trying to lead Henry out in front, but the throw ended up bringing him upfield.
  
  Newton's second pick was the result of a timing play by J.C. Jackson. Jackson lurked behind Jakobi Meyers in 7-on-7's, then jumped a curl route for the INT. It was part of an notable sequence by Jackson, who broke up the next pass as well.
  
  On a day where Jones was heavily featured, it makes sense that Newton would slip relatively under the radar. We'll see if his workload is re-upped in tomorrow's padded practice.

• What to do with N’Keal Harry?

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  Bill Belichick often uses the phrase 'stacking days' when it comes to training camp, and N'Keal Harry has certainly done so over the last two practices. After showing out with two highlight grabs on Tuesday, the 2019 first-round pick found himself as a volume target on Wednesday.
  
  Even when you put his pending trade request to the side, Harry's current situation is a fascinating one. He's had three strong days of practice, but still seems firmly behind Nelson Agholor, Jakobi Meyers, and Kendrick Bourne on the depth chart. Meanwhile, the team has players with special teams backgrounds such as Kristian Wilkerson and Isaiah Zuber surging towards roster spots, while Harry has played just 21 special teams snaps in his two years in the NFL.
  
  It would be incredibly uncharacteristic for the Patriots to keep a fourth wide receiver who offers no special teams depth, so it seems like Harry will either have to catch that trio at the top of the depth chart or find a role in the kicking game to make the team. Adding the trade request back into the equation only deepens what may be the most wild card story of camp.

• Two more sacks for Judon

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  Despite it being an unpadded practice, Matt Judon once again made his presence felt. The newly-signed linebacker recorded a pair of sacks on Wednesday. Deatrich Wise picked up a sack as well.
  
  With just one padded practice in the books, it can be hard to evaluate the players up front. But from what we've been able to takeaway so far, Judon seems to be separating himself from the rest of the edge group.
• A case of the drops

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  It's been a strong camp overall for the Patriots' pass catchers but there were some problems with drops on Wednesday. The most notable was the one from Jonnu Smith, which led to Mac Jones' lone interception of the day.
  
  Nelson Agholor, Sony Michel, and Rhamondre Stevenson had the ball bounce off their hands as well. With rain in the forecast tomorrow, it wouldn't be surprising if ball security is a focus of practice.

• Injury tracker

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  Christian Barmore took part in all of Wednesday's practice after being sidelined late on Tuesday with what appeared to be a left foot or ankle issue. Henry Anderson was also present after missing Tuesday - he was injured on Monday.
  
  Raekwon McMillan was not spotted at practice after leaving early on Tuesday with an undisclosed injury. Akeem Spence also missed the day, and no reason was given for his absence.
  
  On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver Devin Ross pulled up midway through practice. It looked like an upper-leg injury.
  
  Ted Karras remains out after getting rolled up on late last week. Kyle Van Noy is still in a red non-contact jersey.

• Notable Quotables

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  Josh McDaniels on balancing the quarterback reps: "I would just say there’s a rhyme and a reason for what we’re doing out here. We meet non-stop and stay late, are in early, talking about all that stuff. So there's a rhyme and a reason for all the things we're doing. Hopefully everybody is one day at a time, making progress and moving forward. Sometimes they're gonna get a little less. Sometimes they're gonna get a little more."
  
  Troy Brown on what he and Jerod Mayo bring to the coaching staff as former players: "I just think we bring a sense of history to the program. Something that these guys can ask questions about. What it was like for me 20 years ago and these guys have no clue. Some of these guys were just being born so they have no clue what the culture was like in that building. Obviously we bring that to the table as well. And then just the amount of knowledge about this organization, this team, and just football in general that we can provide to these guys. They may not be comfortable asking other people about it. Sometimes they can identify with us better because we did play and they feel more comfortable asking questions that they may find silly to ask Bill or some other coach on the staff. So I think we bring that to the table and hopefully that works out great for the players."
  
  Steve Belichick on his relationship with Jerod Mayo: "Me and Jerod, we've known each other for a long time. Back when I was a QC and Jerod went on IR those couple years, he spent a lot of time with  me, we called it back in the dungeon. He was in a dark place. I was in a dark place. So, we spent a lot of time together. It was really, really beneficial for me as a young coach to get an elite player's perspective. And I'm sure at the time he didn't think he would be coming down this path, but he just kind of got to see the other side of it."
  
  Brian Belichick on what kind of player makes a good hybrid safety/corner: "Each player is different. It really can depend on who we have, on who the personnel is on the other team. But we’re looking for smart, tough, dependable football players. A lot of times guys like that (who) can play with good fundamentals can play either position. But it depends on guys’ skill sets and who they’re going against, stuff like that. If you’re smart, tough, dependable and you use good fundamentals, usually you can move around in this defense."
  
  Mike Pellegrino on if he's excited to get Stephon Gilmore back: "Love Steph, great guy. Right now, he's ‘coach Steph.’ He’s working the other part of his game. Working off the field. Trying to get better. He's rehabbing. He's getting there. Taking it one day at a time, but in the meantime, he always helps the younger guys. He's doing his part. He's being a good teammate, you know. He's been great in the room. I'm always excited to get guys back out on the field, but right now we're playing with who we got, and we'll go against you know, whoever we need to."
  
  Ivan Fears on Damien Harris running all the way to the end zone on each rep: "That’s him. That’s him, and that’s the rest of the guys. He sort of got that going with all the guys, taking it the distance. That’s a great opportunity for them to get their running in, you know what I mean? Build their conditioning before we get into multiple reps . . . that’s all. You’ve got to give Damien credit for that."
  
  Carmen Bricillo on the first day of padded practices: "I would just say, what we’ve learned from that is that we need to continue to work on our fundamentals. It starts with a good first step and it ends with pad level. We just have to concentrate on those two things every day and I think we’ll make headway."
  
  Mick Lombardi on Kristian Wilkerson: "For sure, like you said, on the practice squad and Kristian was active for a game I think against the Jets. He got a couple opportunities there. A guy like Kristian Wilkerson understood his role last year in terms of ‘Hey, I’m a young kid, I’m trying to grow, I’m trying to learn the offense.’ Because he wasn’t with us last year in training camp; he was in Tennessee. So he came in here, he was quiet, he did his job, took the coaching, and then it played into the offseason. Worked hard. Stayed in shape. And then hopefully that translates in training camp. He’s going a good job, working extremely hard. He understands the playbook, he’s giving great effort, he’s playing fast. That’s what we ask every single receiver to do in our room. That’s really what we ask every player to do in our program. He’s doing a good job of that."
  
  Nick Caley on working with the new tight ends: "I've had a lot of fun. It's a hard-working group of guys. They love the game, they're students of the game, they bring good energy. I think we've got a great group of guys. Players that want to come out here and learn everything from A to Z in our offense. And I've been pleased. I've been pleased with the attention to detail. Certainly we've got things we've got to clean up each and every day, but the approach, the professionalism, the work ethic, the passion, the camaraderie to help one another, it's been outstanding from these guys. And I'm really excited and proud to coach them."
  
  Vinnie Sunseri on developing as a coach compared to developing as a player: "It doesn't change. It's work hard, do your job, do what you're asked to do. And if you do that and you work hard, everything's going to be OK."

For more on Day 7 of Patriots training camp, check out today’s recap podcast featuring The Athletic’s Jeff Howe.

MORE: Day 6 training camp notebook

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Author Alex Barth

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