Monday saw the return of what Bill Belichick calls “real football” to Foxborough. It was the New England Patriots’ first fully-padded training camp practice of the year, after spending the last few days in what Belichick calls “an extension of the spring” in terms of it being a teaching and install period.
Now the Patriots are in what is the true “evaluation” period of camp. As Belichick pointed out before practice, it’s not like the coaching staff will put no weight into the work the team did in the spring and for the first few days of camp. At the same time, these reps in full pads give a much more complete image of what players are going to be asked to do come gameday.
With full pads come increased physicality, and with physicality comes the unfortunate reality of injuries. We’ll start there as we take a look at Monday’s practice…
Injuries
FOXBOROUGH, MA – Patriots OL Cole Strange arrives for training camp practice at Gillette Stadium on July 26, 2023. (Jim Louth/98.5 The Sports Hub)
Monday’s practice saw multiple players get banged up and have to spend time with the training staff. Some, such as tight end Scotty Washington, guard Chasen Hines, and safety Brad Hawkins. However, guard Cole Strange suffered what appeared to be a left knee injury early in practice, and didn’t return.
Strange’s injury happened early in practice, during positional drills. After a rep against Lawrence Guy Strange slowly walked to the sideline and undid his left knee brace. He then slowly walked back to the athletic training area with a member of the Patriots’ training staff, stopping briefly to chat with Belichick. After spending about 10-15 minutes on the training table he came back onto the field and did some light jogging, then returned to the table again. Towards the end of practice he rejoined the rest of the offensive linemen on the sideline during team drills, but did not take any snaps.
The Patriots are already dealing with a lack of depth on the offensive line, and Strange’s absence would only exacerbate that. His status will be something to watch in the coming days. Christopher Price of The Boston Globe has reported that the injury is “not serious.”
Attendance
Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson during positional drills at training camp. (Katie Bennert/98.5 The Sports Hub)
In addition to injuries, attendance further exposed depth issues at key positions for the Patriots.
Among those not at practice were running back/wide receiver Ty Montgomery, who hasn’t practiced since suffering a knee injury on Thursday. Rookie guard Jake Andrews and linebacker Terez Hall also remained out. Rookie wide receiver Kayshon Boutte returned to practice after missing Sunday’s session.
Matthew Judon, Trent Brown, and Rhamondre Stevenson were both present, were limited. Neither took part in team drills.
As for players on the injury lists, guard Mike Onwenu, tackle Calvin Anderson, and safety/special teamer Cody Davis remain unavailable. Defensive end/special teamer DaMarcus Mitchell returned after starting camp on the NFI list.
Offensive depth tested
Jul 27, 2023; Foxborough, MA, USA; From left to right, New England Patriots guard Atonio Mafi (55), New England Patriots guard James Ferentz (65) and New England Patriots center Kody Russey (66) do a drill with weight bags during training camp at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Down three starting offensive linemen in Brown, Onwenu, and Strange, there were plenty of opportunities for some of the Patriots’ other linemen to get high-leverage reps. As a result, the line in front of Mac Jones changed throughout the day.
To start, we saw Conor McDermott at right tackle and Riley Reiff at left tackle. To this point, the two had been rotating at left tackle with Brown on the left side. In another wrinkle late in practice, 2022 seventh-round pick Andrew Stueber saw time at left tackle with the presumed starters. This is Stueber’s first NFL camp – he missed all of last year after he tore his hamstring last spring.
At guard, Atonio Mafi saw increased reps with Strange out. James Ferentz also saw some reps at guard as well as center.
The Patriots’ depth issues also showed up at running back, with Pierre Strong, Kevin Harris, and J.J. Taylor the only three players at the position taking part in the full practice. At one point, while they were going through a run fits drill, the Patriots had co-wide receiver coach Ross Douglas helping the quarterbacks with play-action mechanics. At one point Jones handed the ball to Douglas on a ‘draw’ in 7-on-7s, and Douglas started juking his way down the field, which drew a cheer from the sideline.
Jahlani Tavai stays busy
Jun 12, 2023; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai (48) works against a resistance rope at the Patriots minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Over the past few days, we’ve highlighted Jahlani Tavai as an early training camp standout on the defensive side of the ball. He had another good day on defense on Monday, but that’s not why he’s getting included in the notebook.
Late in practice during a goal line run period, Tavai lined up on offense as a fullback. He led the way on three dive runs, including a couple of touchdowns. After practice, safety Jabrill Peppers noted of Tavai’s willingness to take on offensive snaps, “the more you can do, the better.”
The fullback role used to be a big part of the Patriots’ offense, but was removed in Matt Patricia’s offense last year. With Bill O’Brien coming back, the question has been asked if the traditional fullback position will return. Full time, the answer is likely no. If the Patriots planned on using the fullback on even a semi-regular basis, they probably would have added one to the roster. Still, even non-fullback teams have occasional situations where they want a lead blocker out of the backfield. Offensive linemen or tight ends are often use, but for the Patriots it looks like it could be Tavai in that role.
Ok, actual football
New England Patriots defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. (91) throws a weight bag during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
That’s enough about the alignment stuff that was more of the focus the first few days of camp. Let’s get on with the actual football evaluations what come with the full pads, especially when it comes to the players in the trenches.
Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise because of the depth issues, but the defensive front had the advantage on Sunday. In particular, Deatrich Wise and Christian Barmore had standout reps. Both came on bull rushes – Wise against Reiff and Barmore against Ferentz. Those took place in team drills, as there were no traditional o-line/d-line one-on-ones on Monday.
At the third level, Jabrill Peppers showed up on multiple plays in run defense. His highlight came at the end of practice, when he perfectly timed a burst through the line to pop Kevin Harris for a loss on a goal line rep.
No slowing down for Demario Douglas
New England Patriots wide receiver Demario Douglas runs a drill during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
On the offensive side of the ball, it was another strong day for rookie wide receiver Demario Douglas. Douglas had been putting together a strong camp from Day 1, but as is usually the case with rookie players of his body type (5-foot-8, 192), the question still loomed of how he would adjust to NFL-level physicality.
In his first padded NFL practice, that didn’t seem to be an issue for Douglas. Not only did he continue to get open in the passing game, he drew a big cheer from his teammates after setting a powerful block during a 7-on-7 drill early in practice. As has been the case the last few days, he mixed in at times with the top two offensive units in team drills. At least as of Monday, there’s no reason for the Demario Douglas hype train to slow down yet.
What is Mike Gesicki’s role?
New England Patriots tight end Mike Gesicki makes a catch during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Early on in practice during positional drills, the Patriots were doing run fits with the linemen and running backs on one end of the field, and a 7-on-7 passing drill with the quarterbacks and receivers on the other. Notably though, the tight ends were split up. Mike Gesicki and Scotty Washington were at the passing drill, while the remaining tight ends took part in the rushing drill.
When the Patriots signed Gesicki, one of the big questions was the team’s plan for him on offense. In the past, Belichick has referred to Gesicki as a big wide receiver, and treated him as such from a coverage perspective. This is another sign that his role may be a hybrid of a wide receiver and tight end given his formational versatility. Washington, who has similar formational versatility, makes sense in that context as well.
Offense advancing
Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien at Patriots training camp. (Alex Barth/98.5 The Sports Hub)
Now into the second week of training camp, we’re starting to see the Patriots’ offense build on what was installed in the spring. While they’re not at a full gameday level yet (nor are they expected to be), some more complex concepts are starting to mix into the playcalling.
One thing that has stood out the past two days is the rising amount of motion in the offense. Last year, the Patriots ranked 26th in the league with a 10.8 percent motion rate. Given motion can help scheme receivers open and help lift a quick-target passing attack, it figured to be a bigger part of what the team will do this year. Right now, it’s starting to look like that will be the case.
Hang times
Punters Corliss Waitman and Bryce Baringer wait on a snap from long snapper Tucker Addington at Patriots training camp. (Alex Barth/98.5 The Sports Hub)
Monday saw two more team punting periods, which means two more sets of hang times. It was a dominant day for rookie Bryce Baringer. Not only did he have the better hang times, but more importantly his kicks seemed to be giving returners fits. The rotation on the ball seemed to make them challenging to field, and he had two punts muffed – the first by Marcus Jones and the other by Myles Bryant.
Here are the hang times from the day, from both periods, from Baringer and Corliss Waitman…
Baringer:
5.21 seconds
5.31
4.71
5.09
4.91
—
4.84
5.02*
5.00
4.82*Waitman:
4.80
4.30
4.89
3.62
—
4.22
4.28
4.44*muffed punts
