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Instant observations from Day 10 of Patriots training camp

henry mckenna
·6 min read
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There was plenty of impressive play on the New England Patriots practice field on Sunday, whether it was N’Keal Harry’s diving highlight-reel catch for a touchdown, Newton’s dime down the sideline to Kristian Wilkerson for a 40-yard pickup or safety Devin McCourty’s interception on Newton.

But those plays should fade in relevance in the coming days. The play that mattered Sunday was a simple rushing play where tight end Hunter Henry appeared to suffer a shoulder injury while blocking linebacker Anfernee Jennings. And then there was the moment where Joe Cardona appeared to hurt his hand. And then there Nelson Agholor’s absence, his first missed practice of camp. Those injuries (if Agholor is, in fact, injuryed) will be worth monitoring in the coming days — all three players are expected to be starters.

Here are more notes from today’s practice.

Attendance

ABSENTEES NEW: WR Nelson Agholor QB Jarrett Stidham K Nick Folk CB Stephon Gilmore RB Brandon Bolden S Adrian Colbert CB D'Angelo Ross OLB Chase Winovich DT Akeem Spence LB Cameron McGrone LB Terez Hall S Joshuah Bledsoe DT Byron Cowart RETURNERS DT Christian Barmore (foot), TE Devin Asiasi (COVID-19/reserve) and OT Ted Karras made their returns to practice. LB Kyle Van Noy was no longer wearing a red non-contact jersey, and participated fully. NOTABLE PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE Stidham was on the field to watch the session in street clothes. INJURIES Henry, Cardona and OL Jerald Hawkins left the field with members of the Patriots' training staff.

The little details

The weather: A moist and muggy 78 degrees. The pad level: Full pads. Contact, baby. The QB order in drills: Cam Newton, Mac Jones, Brian Hoyer, Jake Dolega. The energy: Newton absolutely lit up when Harry made the best catch of practice -- and probably all of training camp. The crowd went wild. Newton also had a good time getting warmed up to a few Fred Hammond tracks. Basically, Newton brought the energy, even if the crowd and the players were on the quieter side. The best throw: Jake Bailey completed a pass to Kyle Dugger. That's really all I can say, by NFL media rules. Aside from that amusing moment, Newton showed off impressive touch to drop a ball in for Wilkerson and a 40-yard catch along the sideline with Jalen Mills in coverage (as I mentioned earlier).

The biggest winner and loser

WINNER: Harry's training camp continued on an upward trajectory. I've mentioned his big play twice now. Not only did Harry make the splaying catch, but he also ran a stop-and-go route, which toasted Joejuan Williams. It was a hugely impressive play. You have to start to wonder whether, as Harry gains confidence, he might genuinely rethink his trade request and decide to stay in New England for 2021. It felt like maybe Harry might end up improving his trade value during training camp -- rather than actually establishing his role on the roster. It no longer feels that way. He has a chance to fight for WR2 snaps. The fact that Agholor missed practice only further highlighted Harry's ascent. LOSER: Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels couldn't have been happy to start practice without Agholor and then lose Henry over the course of the sessions. Those two should be among the Patriots' top three pass-catchers -- at least when looking at the finances.

QB stats

Here are the -- completely out of context -- stats from Sunday's practice. https://twitter.com/ZackCoxNESN/status/1424489693014634498

The top takeaway: Longer runs for the QBs

Jones zipped the ball in to Kristian Wilkerson, tossed right to Sony Michel and hit Gunner Olszewski on the hands over the middle. Newton, meanwhile, hit fourth-string quarterback Jake Dolega -- again and again and again. The veteran was trying to stay warm during the rookie quarterback's extended work on Sunday. And because Newton didn't get as much work as Jones, the veteran spent an unusually long period of time with Dolega. On Thursday, I wondered if maybe the Patriots saw the rainy day as a good opportunity to expose Jones to New England's elements after four years at Alabama. Sunday's practice was ... just another day. So it's interesting to see Jones get that extended run of reps. Newton is still clearly the starter, just judging from the quality personnel he's practicing with and the quality of his play. But it's notable to see Jones get so much run.

Everything else that's important

  • At the beginning of practice, Jonnu Smith and Henry spent some time working with the outside receivers, which led to some hands-on coaching from McDaniels and receivers coach Mick Lombardi. Meanwhile, slot receivers Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski and Kendrick Bourne were taking snaps with some of the less ... versatile tight ends, like Matt LaCosse and Tony Fumagalli.

  • During an 11-on-11 end zone drill, linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley thudded Damien Harris on a short gain. Dont'a Hightower finished off the offense's hopes of a touchdown with a fourth-down sack on Newton, which was a credit to the secondary (along with Hightower) because of its strong coverage. The offense ran a lap for their failure to execute.

  • Later in practice, Bentley appeared to log a tackle for loss on Harris during 11-on-11 end zone work. He did, however, get toasted by LaCosse for a touchdown -- it looked like busted coverage.

  • During 11-on-11 drills, linebacker Josh Uche appeared to get a sack on Newton on what would've been a third down. That led to a new series with Jones. Uche flashed speed during the spring -- I'd like to see more of it during training camp.

  • Harry kicked off 3-on-3 drills by ripping down a nasty, acrobatic jump ball over Myles Bryant. More from those drills: Gunner Olszewski got a nice, quick-releasing route in the flat with Kyle Dugger in coverage, Kendrick Bourne burnt Michael Jackson for significant separation on a flag route, Dee Virgin managed a pass-breakup, and Olszewski couldn't haul in a poorly thrown ball from Dolega despite separation from Jalen Mills.

  • In a 1-on-1, Jones dropped a dime over Harry's shoulder with Dugger in coverage. Smith simply had too much stretch for Joejuan Williams to track down a poorly thrown back shoulder toss in another 1-on-1. In a 2-on-2, Newton couldn't put the necessary touch on a route for Olszewski, with Virgin trailing in coverage.

  • In 1-on-1s, Mills managed to breakup a slant route for Bourne.

  • In DL/OL 1-on-1s, Christian Barmore took a draw against Michael Owenu despite crafty spin move. Deatrich Wise and Isaiah Wynn had a wild rep with arms flying everywhere, but Wise came out on top. Henry Anderson toasted Alex Redmond with a speed move.

  • The Patriots, with significant athleticism at both guard and tackle, have the ability to attack the edges with pulling linemen. Look out, opposing linebackers.

  • I don't know if Newton picked the song, but he absolutely lit up when Fred Hammond's "We're Blessed" came onto the speaker systems during warmups. It was the first time I'd heard it camp. Newton was loving it.

  • I admire -- and perhaps simultaneously pity -- Joe Houston, the special teams assistant who runs with Matthew Slater for most of practice. Slater does incessant work on his release and hand technique during practice. That means a lot of running. Houston is left to work 1-on-1 with Slater for multiple sessions during practice -- it must be exhausting.

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