Patriots training camp notebook: Focus on situational football on Day 8
Friday’s Patriots training camp practice saw the team back in full pads, with an emphasis on situational football.
Patriots training camp resumed on Friday, with the eighth practice of the summer. As the team battled the heat, the intensity of the drills also picked up.
For one, the Patriots were back in pads after a non-pads day on Thursday. Plus, a focus on situational football added urgency. They continued working in the red zone like they started to do on Wednesday, but also repped two-minute drill situations later in the day.
Overall, it was a balanced day in terms of performance. “Good camp practice,” safety Jabrill Peppers noted afterwards. “They [the offense] made some plays, we [the defense] made some plays. You keep competing like that, there’s no option but to get better.”
What made it a good training camp practice? Let’s get to that, standouts from the day, and more in today’s Patriots training camp notebook…
Two-minute drill
After running some drills that looked like prep for the two-minute drill throughout practice the Patriots did one full, live two-minute drill – clock running and all – at the end of the day. Jacoby Brissett led the way, and got the offense down the field in 13 plays. He capped the drive with a 15-yard strike to Pop Douglas four a touchdown with under 10 seconds to go.
Pop pops
For the first week of camp Pop Douglas didn’t take part in any team drills as he worked his way back from a hand injury. Over the last two days though he’s started to ramp up. Although he’s wearing a red non-contact jersey he played a limited role in team drills on Thursday, with a much bigger role on Friday. He led the team on Friday with five catches, working with both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye.
The difference Douglas makes when on the field is immediately apparent. There isn’t another receiver on the roster who can separate the way he can. He also tested the defense down the field, hauling in a touchdown from Brissett on a slot fade.
“His explosiveness, what he can do in stretching the field, obviously he’s a weapon for us,” Brissett said after practice when asked about throwing to Douglas. “He definitely took a couple of chunks out of the defense today…he has that ability to stretch the field.”
In addition to Douglas, rookie Javon Baker was very involved on Friday. He had multiple catches during team drills, including a lunging grab in the back of the end zone on a throw from Maye in red zone 11-on-11.
Positive days for both top quarterbacks
Friday was a good day for both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye. Brissett completed 16 of his 26 passes (he got a few more reps with that elongated two-minute drill) while Maye was 10-of-14.
Brissett’s best plays came when working in the high red zone (between the 10-20 yard lines). He wasn’t afraid to fire the ball into the end zone from distance. On top of the touchdown to Pop Douglas, he had a keyhole throw on a corner route to K.J. Osborn, placing the ball where only Osborn could get it with Christian Gonzalez in tight coverage.
Maye didn’t test the deep parts of the field as much, telling reporters after practice that’s what he felt the defense was taking away. He was efficient and consistent underneath though completing 10 of his 14 attempts.
While he didn’t flash the long ball he did display his ability to throw on the run. On his best throw of the day, he rolled right in the red zone and hit Kayshon Boutte in the front corner of the end zone, leaving the ball just outside of the pylon in a tight window.
After Brissett’s two-minute drill, Maye got a chance to run a live drive with six minutes on the clock. He went three-and-out with his third down pass getting batted down at the line of scrimmage.
Overall though, it was a solid day for Maye. That’s notable because it’s the first padded practice that was a positive for him, and he’ll now look to build on it moving forward.
Quiet day for backup quarterbacks
For the first week of camp, the Patriots maximized reps for Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye by having Joe Milton and Bailey Zappe alternate periods. Basically, in each team drill Brissett would rep, then Maye, then one of either Milton or Zappe. The next period would be Brissett, then Milton, then whichever of Milton or Zappe didn’t go before.
On Friday, it was almost exclusively Brissett and Maye in team periods. Milton got one drive, in the simulation game situation Maye got. Like Maye, he also went three-and-out.
This will be a new trend to follow. Was it just a one-off thing, given the situational practice? Or are the Patriots really starting to get the top two guys ready for game action?
WATCH: Barth & Callahan react to Day 8 of Patriots training camp
Sticking with the veteran left tackle
After starting padded practices with rookie Caedan Wallace at left tackle with the projected top offense, the Patriots made the change in yesterday’s non-padded practice by putting Vederian Lowe in that spot. This came after Wallace struggled in one-on-ones, but had looked good in team drills – as did the line as a whole with him in there.
With a preseason game now less than a week away, it bears watching if the current group sticks together. Preseason action will be the biggest tell of what offensive line combinations do or don’t work, and there are only so many reps available in that setting.
One-on-ones
The Patriots did another period of one-on-ones on Friday, with wide receivers going up against cornerbacks and linebackers and safeties going up against running backs and tight ends. Here are some of the standout winners from that period…
La’Michael Pettway over Dell Pettus
Brenden Schooler over Mitchell Wilcox
Mikey Victor over Javon Baker
JuJu Smith-Schuster over Alex Austin
Mitchell Wilcox over Dell Pettus
Rhamondre Stevenson over Raekwon McMillan
Tyquan Thornton over Azizi Hearn
Jaylinn Hawkins over Hunter Henry
Antonio Gibson over Jahlani Tavai
Javon Baker over Isaiah
Shaun Wade over JuJu Smith-Schuster
Judon back in action
Things continued to trend in the right direction between the Patriots and Matthew Judon on Friday. After walking out of practice early on Monday and not being in the facility on Tuesday amid contract issues, Judon practiced for the second day in a row. Most notable on Friday was the fact that Judon participated in a fully-padded practice, willing to risk injury while his contract situation remains unsettled. That’s an encouraging sign for him and the team reaching a new deal soon.
Cornerbacks keep stepping up
The last few days we’ve highlighted different players – Isaiah Bolden and Marcellas Dial – who have stepped up in the battle for the third boundary cornerback spot. Now let’s add another name to the list, with Marco Wilson having a strong day on Friday.
Wilson was on the field quite a bit in team drills, and didn’t have any instances where he was cleanly beat in coverage. He also made what was probably the defensive play of the day. Late in Jacoby Brissett’s two-minute drill Wilson was one-on-one on Ja’Lynn Polk on the outside. Polk beat Wilson on an out route initially, but Wilson was able to quickly recover and knock a well-thrown pass away preventing what may have been a catch-and-run touchdown. That was one of his two pass breakups on the day.
Advantage in the kicker battle?
Each kicker got five more live reps on Friday – four during a specific field goal period and one with the team practicing getting the field goal unit on the field with a running clock.
Both kickers hit their run-on attempts – Chad Ryland from 47 yards and Joey Slye from 43. During the dedicated field goal period (which was immediately after), they each attempted kicks from 32, 39, 48, and 52 yards. Ryland hit all four of his, tucking his 48 yarder just inside the left upright. Slye went 3-for-4, missing just right from 48.
For the summer, Ryland is now 17-of-18 on field goals. Slye is 15-of-18.
Attendance
Defensive backs Marcus Jones and Joshuah Bledsoe were the only players on the active roster not spotted at Friday’s practice. Jones left Thursday’s session early with an injury.
Marte Mapu was on the field but not in uniform, as has been the case throughout camp. Kendrick Bourne made an appearance as well.
Jabrill Peppers was back in uniform for the first time after getting hurt during practice on Monday.
What’s next?
Patriots training camp resumes on Saturday, with a scheduled 11:00 a.m. ET start to practice. That will be followed by an off day on Sunday, with the team returning Monday to start getting ready for the preseason opener on Thursday.
