Greg Bedard: Mac Jones “had it” in day two of joint practices

Greg Bedard of BostonSportsJournal.com joined the Felger and Mazz program on Thursday after day two of joint practice between the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers. When asked for his thoughts on practice, Bedard mentioned that the offense had a good day and that he thought Patriots quarterback Mac Jones "had it" at joint practice.

Mac Jones "had it" on day two 

Mazz: So Greg, I was going to ask you, because I read what you wrote yesterday, and the way you framed it in the story was "these are some of my concerns, areas of confidence with the Patriots after seeing them measured up against another team and a middling team at that". So, again, and I know you just touched on this, but you obviously had areas of concern going into today, what would you say are the areas that you were happiest to see them bounce back?

Greg Bedard: Well, definitely offensively. I mean, watching them the first day, you were just like, "alright, how how the hell is this team going to move the ball? How are they going to do anything?" Like nobody can get open. The quarterbacks are holding the ball. Sacks are an issue. They can't protect. And today was just a lot better in everything. I thought Mac Jones looked more comfortable, not that he didn't look comfortable yesterday, but he just had it today. I thought he was really good in today's practice. I thought Bailey Zappe had his moments. He had a couple of interceptions, but I thought Bailey was very strong. He's going up against the twos every session, so there's a little bit of a difference there, but I just thought that the scheme was a little bit better. I thought day one they used a lot of short stuff and a lot of quick game. They eliminated a lot of that today. And were a little bit more aggressive down the field. I thought the wide receivers did a good job making plays. Whether it was the young guys, Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte, DeVante Parker was a force again. He was on day one. He was more of a force in day two. Kendrick Bourne got involved and JuJu a little bit. But to me the most improvement that I saw from the Patriots today was just in their offense. There was hope that they weren't going to have to squeeze water out of a rock every time they touched the ball.

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To no one's surprise, Bill Belichick was reserved Wednesday morning on the subject of ex-Dallas Cowboy Ezekiel Elliott.

“Good to have Zeke. We had a good visit with him and I look forward to working with him,” Belichick said minutes after Elliott’s signing was announced by the team on the first day of joint practices in Green Bay. “I’ve never coached Zeke before, but (I’m) glad we have him. I spent time with him last night on the trip (discussing) terminology and plays and protections, things like that. We’ll work him in there when he’s ready and see how that goes.”

Rhamondre Stevenson is confident how it will turn out. And, unlike his head coach, willing to share how strongly he feels..

“Tremendously,” he said a couple of hours later, following Elliott's first practice with the team. “Tremendously.”

Quarterback Mac Jones concurred.

“Seems like a great fit,” he said of Elliott. “Really just want to take him under our wing. He’s a guy who’s played a lot of football in the NFL, so I’m just trying to learn from him too.”

Jones, noting that Elliott “just got here” and joking that “he’s like in his pajamas,” thinks his new teammate will need less help grasping their offense than getting outfitted in team apparel.

“Really just trying to get him some Patriots gear and make sure he’s good to go,” Jones said. “He knows football; it’s just the terminology’s a little different. I’m not worried about him.”

Nor should Jones be concerned with Elliott’s get-up.

When he emerged from the Don Hutson Center and walked onto Clark Hinkle Field (the Packers immortalize all-time greats at every turn at and around adjacent Lambeau Field) Elliott was layered in navy blue. He donned a hoodie under his pads and jersey (as signaled on social media, Elliott was No. 15, which he wore at Ohio State) along with sweat pants over his leg pads.

Elliott jogged through some routes and high-stepped through early practice drills, but mostly stuck close to running backs coach Vinnie Sunseri before the Pats joined the Packers on Ray Nitschke Field for an intense succession of 11-on-11 series.

Prior to 2022, when he gained a career-low 876 yards in 15 games, Elliott eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark three times and caught 47 or more passes four times in his first six NFL seasons. The recently-turned 28-year old also rushed for at least 10 touchdowns four times, including a dozen last season, and is highly regarded as a pass blocker.

Adding him on a one-year deal lends a layer of depth to a position group featuring unproven second-year running backs Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong, who was absent on Wednesday. Stevenson had 210 carries, netting 1,040 yards, and caught 69 passes in 2022 to become the first Patriot to lead the team in rushing and receptions since Tony Collins in 1987. But his production decreased significantly (27 rushes and nine receptions overall), while hampered by an ankle injury in Weeks 16-18.

Stevenson shared that he “might have had a little clue” ahead of Elliott’s signing, revealing that the two have met in the past thanks to a connection arranged by their agents. Expressing admiration for Elliott’s substance-filled style as a runner — “his determination, the relentlessness” — Stevenson says “our games are going to complement each other very well.”

Receiver Demario “Pop” Douglas continues to uncover and consistently make catches. During an early practice period, while the Pats’ offense experienced mixed results, Douglas crossed to the near sideline and in an instant flashed his hands up to snare a hard throw from Jones. Soon thereafter, he made a nice adjustment to snag a Bailey Zappe pass thrown slightly behind him.

Overall and especially in the latter half of practice, the Packers exerted steady pressure on Jones, who worked behind a line that continues to employ Riley Reiff at right guard and Sidy Sow at right tackle. By Period 11, a near half-hour segment comprised of alternating, ‘late-game’ possessions, the Pats sputtered. 

A string of four straight plays entailed: a run by Jones, leaving the pocket, a screen attempt being thwarted, a false start and an incompletion behind Hunter Henry. Then, after Jones hit Kendrick Bourne, the Pats were called for an offensive pass interference.

Later, during a two-minute drill, after Jones scrambled up the middle and clocked it on the next snap, he was forced to turf a throw immediately before Nick Folk came out to hit a 44-yard field goal.

On a gusty afternoon, with the wind blowing between 14-18 m.p.h., veteran Nick Folk and rookie Chad Ryland kicked against the elements as much as each other.

During a sequence of eight straight field goal tries, featuring alternating attempts from 33, 38 and 43 yards, Folk made 3-of-4 and Ryland went 2-for-4. All three misses veered wide right. Later, capping two-minute offensive plays, Folk drilled a 44-yarder and Ryland, hurrying off the sideline with the kicking unit, converted from 40 yards out. 

Folk’s last attempt appeared on line, but the officials ruled it no-good when the ball dipped toward the netting, which was blown in front of the uprights. The screen looked like a sail attached to a yellow mast shaped like a goal post. 

The 16-year pro Folk, as he tends to do in every set of kicking circumstances, processed the results as productive.

“It’s just a good work day,” he said afterward, inside the Don Hutson Center. “That’s all it really is. You just have to deal with the conditions that are given to you, just like you would on a game day. 

“I know we kicked in a probably stronger wind than that in Buffalo a couple of years ago. You just got to deal with what you’re given, go out there and perform. It’s a good learning day, anytime you get a day like that, where you can kind of work on what you need to work on and, hopefully, kick well through it.”

On the snowy December night Folk referenced from 2021, when the Pats beat the Bills, 14-10, he hit two field goals despite 40 m.p.h. gusts. His Buffalo counterpart Tyler Bass missed his only try when it got airborne and, as if striking an invisible wall, took a sharp right turn.

In Wednesday’s practice, Packers rookie Anders Carlson, had a kick do the same, only with a hard left turn. Carlson also missed an earlier attempt. His struggles in the wake of two missed PAT tries in Green Bay’s preseason opener underscore the contrasting approach the two teams are taking at the position.

The Pats drafted Ryland in the fourth round, but he is in competition with the reliable incumbent Folk. The Packers signed Carlson as their lone place kicker, after letting go of veteran Mason Crosby. 

Bob Socci is in his 11th season calling play-by-play for the Patriots Radio Network on 98.5 The Sports Hub.