Patriots training camp notebook: More lineup changes on Day 19
The penultimate day of Patriots training camp saw the team make some more changes to the offensive lineup.
Thursday was the second-to-last day of Patriots training camp for this summer. As was the case on Wednesday though, the practice looked more like a regular season session than a training camp one.
For the second day in a row both the starting offense and starting defense spent most of the practice going against reserves. Those reserve were working off of cards, mimicking plays of the Washington Commanders (the Patriots’ opponent in Sunday night’s preseason finale) rather than running the Patriots’ playbook himself.
This was also a non-padded practice, which naturally lowered the intensity. At the same time it was the longest practice of the summer, running almost two and a half hours (most of the practices have been right around two hours in length).
With that, the takeaways from Thursday’s practice are mostly based on usage. That starts up front, with a new-look offensive line…
Changes at tackle
Vederian Lowe has been the Patriots’ starting left tackle for most of the summer, but left Thursday’s practice with an injury. He remained out Friday, with Chris Price of The Boston Globe reporting Friday that the injury is “not expected to be a long-term thing.”
Still, as long is Lowe is out the Patriots will have to use another combination up front. Rookie Caedan Wallace stepped in to finish practice on Thursday but Friday saw bigger changes. Mike Onwenu moved out from right guard to right tackle, bumping Chuks Okorafor from right tackle to left. Rookie Layden Robinson – who has had a strong camp – stepped in at right guard.
It’s basically been two days with two different offensive line combinations without Lowe, so it’s a little too early to say what the primary plan is without him. What is notable about Thursday though is the Patriots are still clearly open to playing Onwenu at tackle, despite him having spent most of the summer at guard.
More Maye with the top unit
On Wednesday Maye very briefly got his first reps with the starting offense in a live practice period. However he didn’t throw any passes with that group.
That changed slightly on Thursday. Maye took six snaps from center David Andrews with the rest of the projected starters around him, stepping in for Jacoby Brissett before the rest of the backups came on the field. Of those six reps Maye threw four times. He completed three of four with a throwaway, with all four targets being right around the line of scrimmage. Two of the plays – both completions – were on designed rollouts. Overall, these ‘starter’ reps for Maye feel more like the team getting him ready to play with that group in Sunday’s preseason finale than Week 1 against Cincinnati.
Maye opened it up more with the backups, and had a mostly good day throwing the football. He completed 13 of 17 passes in team drills. A constant theme was Maye hitting throws outside the numbers – even from the far hash – showcasing his arm talent. He also had a plus throw to rookie Ja’Lynn Polk (more on him in a bit) on a deep crosser that came late in his progressions.
However he did have one interception that resulted mainly from a questionable decision. Late in practice he had a chance to run a one-minute drill, after Jacoby Brissett led the team into field goal range on his turn before. On the first play Maye tried zipping a ball short and over the middle to a tightly-covered Jaheim Bell.
Rookie Dell Pettus hit Bell just as the ball came, knocking it up in the air. Pettus batted the ball a couple of more times before it landed in the arms of defensive tackle Trysten Hill for the interception. It was another instance of Maye looking rushed in a live one/two-minute drill, something that has been common throughout this year’s Patriots training camp.
Busy day for Ja’Lynn Polk
It’s been noted that rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk has been repping more with the Patriots’ top offense. He continued to build momentum on Thursday catching a team-high six passes working with both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye.
Polk getting that kind of volume is encouraging, because that’s the kind of player he projects best as in the NFL. He’s not running as many big play routes, but is capitalizing on the opportunities opened up underneath by those concepts. In recent practices, he’s also seemingly done a good job of reacting to both quarterbacks moving in the pocket and making himself available if plays break down.
Backup center still a need
Depth at center remains a question for the Patriots. Liam Fornadel got a number of backup center reps on Thursday and struggled. He had two bad snaps (both out of shotgun), and one communication where he didn’t snap the ball as the rest of the offense started the play. Nick Leverett got the other half of the backup center snaps and was better after a bad snap on Wednesday.
Pettus making plays
UDFA safety Dell Pettus has only gotten better as Patriots training camp has gone on. He made two more notable plays on the ball on Thursday. He was in primary coverage on Drake Maye’s interception, and jumped a route on a pass from Jacoby Brissett to Jaheim Bell in a 7-on-7 period nearly grabbing a second INT.
“He’s definitely making a case for himself, not only defensively, but also on special teams,” head coach Jerod Mayo said when asked about Pettus before Wednesday’s practice. “That’s going to be a hard decision there, but he’s doing a good job for us.”
Alex Austin shines
Dell Pettus wasn’t the only member of the secondary making plays on Thursday. Alex Austin had a couple of pass breakups as well. Austin continues to see most of his reps with the top offense, and seems to be in line for at least a rotational role at boundary corner once the regular season starts.
Kicker battle update
The first field goal of practice came at the end of Jacoby Brissett’s one-minute drill. That period was run on a different field than usual, towards the one skinny goalpost (seen on the far side of the left field in this photo) the Patriots have on their practice field. Chad Ryland got the kick, and hit it from 47 yards just tucking it inside the right upright (again on narrow goal posts, would have been good with room to spare on a normal upright).
Later practice wrapped up with each kicker getting four alternating attempts, which has been the case for most of this summer. The distances today were 32, 37, 42, and 49 yards.
Joey Slye went first and was 3-for-4, with his lone miss coming from 42 yards wide right. His 37-yarder was a near-miss, crossing over the top of the right upright.
Ryland went 2-of-4 during this period (finishing 2-of-5 on the day) with makes from 32 and 42 but misses from 37 and 49 (both wide right).
For the summer, Slye is now 43-of-52 while Ryland is 39-of-52. From 40-plus Slye is 25-of-31 while Ryland is 19-of-29.
Bryce Baringer excellent again
Punter Bryce Baringer was quietly had an excellent summer. He punted nine times in team drills on Thursday (mostly with the ball around midfield), and had eight of those downed inside the 20. The one that wasn’t could have been downed inside the five, but rookie cornerback Mikey Victor didn’t make a play on the ball, which got the attention of the coaches.
Here are Baringer’s hangtimes from Thursday…
4.50 seconds
4.69
4.00
4.33
4.72
4.95
4.35
4.70
4.82
Attendance
Vederian Lowe, Hunter Henry, Mitchell Wilcox, Calvin Anderson, Armon Watts, Joshua Uche, Oshane Ximines, Christian Barmore, and Marte Mapu all missed practice on Thursday. There were no new absences or injuries.
Shaun Wade and Anfernee Jennings were both back on the field after dealing with injuries during Wednesday’s practice. Austin Hooper continues to ease his way back in after an injury last week, and was limited on Thursday.
What’s next?
The final practice of Patriots training camp is on Friday morning. After that they’ll have their preseason finale on Sunday, then it’s on to roster cuts.
