Instant observations from Day 1 of Patriots 2022 training camp
Mac Jones and Matt Patricia took a minute or two to chat after the team’s first 11-on-11 drills during Day 1 of New England Patriots training camp. They were clearly catching up after those competitive reps.
During the 11-on-11 session, Patricia held a black-and-yellow walky-talky that was linked to Jones’ helmet. Patricia, the offensive line coach, was calling plays, just like he did in minicamp. And while Bill Belichick has yet to name an offensive play-caller (and may not name one this year), the Patriots coach has not given that walky-talky to anyone but Patricia in the offseason sessions open to the media. So it felt notable that Patricia remained in charge in this first practice.
Let’s get onto the rest of the observations from practice.
The top takeaway: It was strange to see Matt Patricia physically removed from the passing offense
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Even with Patricia calling plays, quarterbacks coach Joe Judge spent the most time with Mac Jones. Judge has coordinated practically all of the passing drills with QBs, WRs and TEs. Meanwhile, Patricia has been in charge of the running game drills with the offensive line and running backs — often on a totally different practice field than Jones and Judge.
That’s a bit of an oddity for today’s NFL where the passing game is of the utmost importance. It’s weird to see the play-caller, Patricia, spending a solid portion of practice away from the team’s signal caller, Jones.
Regardless, it didn’t hold back the offense, which was extremely impressive at the end of practice — with Jones hitting touchdown after touchdown to his top wideouts, even when going against top cornerbacks like Malcolm Butler.
Attendance
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
The Patriots had no players in a red jersey, which is an upgrade for cornerback Marcus Jones who spent minicamp in a red, non-contact jersey.
Running back Pierre Strong was present and in pads but did not practice. He warmed up with the team but immediately went down with the non-participants.
The following players were not available or in pads.
PUP: David Andrews, James White, Jonathan Jones, Jabrill Peppers.
NFI: Myles Bryant, Jake Bailey, Chasen Hines, Andrew Stueber.
The little details
The weather: The temperatures hit 80 degrees, with wispy clouds and an occasional light breeze.
The pad level: No pads. No contact. (The first padded practice will be Monday.)
The energy: Running back Damien Harris skipped onto the field to pump up the crowd and, later, the DeVante Parker amped up fans in the bleachers by scoring an impressive touchdown over rookie Jack Jones. The crowd was in it. The players were excited to get to work.
Biggest winner: WR DeVante Parker
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Parker and Jones linked up for an easy touchdown over rookie cornerback Marcus Jones, a smaller guy who couldn’t throw around any physicality in these unpadded practices. On the next play, Parker beat rookie cornerback Jack Jones. Parker didn’t stop there. He was generally dominant in this practice, with a catch later over Malcolm Butler.
That’s a positive sign for the Patriots, who badly needed help in the red area in 2021. That was surely why they acquired Parker. The big note of caution: This was not a padded practice. New England’s offense had a massive advantage.
Biggest loser: The rookie CBs
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It hate using the cliche — but I’ve got to. Welcome to the NFL, young guns. Jack Jones had a great minicamp but was struggling in the red zone against the Patriots’ bigger wideouts. Marcus Jones, in his first practice without a red, non-contact jersey, looked to have a similar amount of issues.
That’s just how it goes for young players, who are literally finding their footing against this higher level of competition.
Everything else that's important
Belichick and Patricia spent all of warmups chatting. They stood in the middle of the offensive unit, which warms up on a different side of the field than than the defense. And while players streamed around them, it’s easy to imagine they were polishing off their plan for the day.
Cornerback Malcolm Butler had an up and down set of reps. He completely shut down rookie receiver Tyquan Thornton and forced Mac Jones to escape the pocket. But on the next play, Butler allowed a 50-yard touchdown to Nelson Agholor.
On the offensive line, Andrews was out, so James Ferentz took over at center. Tackle Trent Brown remained on the left side and Isaiah Wynn kept playing on the right side.
The Patriots are giving cornerback Shaun Wade every opportunity to stay relevant in the slot. He was on the field for the first round of 7-on-7s against Mac Jones and the first-team offense. Wade didn’t have a great minicamp. New England, however, is interested in seeing him in the role for more time before handing it over to rookie cornerback Marcus Jones — or even Jonathan Jones (PUP).
Kendrick Bourne had a nice pair of reps in the first round of 7-on-7s and scored a touchdown on his second catch in as many snaps. He then spiked the ball next to rookie safety (and, mostly, special teams contributor) Brenden Schooleer. It wasn’t a fair fight.
Thornton appears to be the most sluggish receiver breaking in and out of his routes. Maybe he’s in his head (with the playbook still a work-in-progress). Maybe he’s less agile than the others in the group. But he wasn’t setting up his routes with the same speed or savvy as the veterans — which is, of course, typical for a rookie. He eventually made a catch in 11-on-11 and, on the next play, he scored his first touchdown against Jack Jones.
Bailey Zappe looked confused and threw the ball to absolutely no one in one of his early 7-on-7 reps. The rookie, as Belichick would say, has a long way to go. Zappe was consistently off target.
Receiver Tre Nixon ran a lap roughly 40 minutes into practice and between drills. Why? Unclear.
Terrance Mitchell, Shaun Wade and Jalen Mills were consistently the top cornerbacks to start competitive team drills.
Jones threw an incompletion to tight end Devin Asiasi on their final rep in the second session of red zone. Asiasi is one of the players who need to step up in a big way if he’s going to make the roster.
