FOXBOROUGH — Day 2 of Cam Covid Watch took place on the back practice fields at Gillette, and we can say this: Mac Jones played better and was more comfortable getting all the reps with the starters.
Tuesday was better, but context matters. Yes, there were some very competitive periods, but they were still in shells, reducing it to a glorified flag football game. If you think there were 40-plus competitive reps for Jones, good luck.
But it wasn't nothing. It was something. It just wasn't the kind of day that's going to sway anything.
And here's the other thing we can say: Cam Newton is missing out. These are reps he needs. These are reps the Patriots and Bill Belichick, if they still believe Newton is the person to start the season, need Newton to take. After last year, and all the built-in excuses for Newton, being away from the field and back into Zoom meetings is exactly NOT what anyone wanted for Cam 2.0.
Here's what Newton missed on Tuesday:
A lot of situational work. The kind of looks you very rarely get during camp, aside from a period here or there. This was basically a catch-up day for the Patriots offense and defense, working on end-of-half, two-minute and red zone situations.
And Jones got all the reps. Even if they weren't do-or-die situations, they were still great looks for a rookie quarterback. And the fact that he got all the reps, didn't have to split them with Newton, or work with the second-teamers, and they were all against the first-team defense, that's huge for Jones and for the comfort level of his teammates if and when Jones gets a chance to drive the bus.
Jones did some really good work. While there were some tough looks and errant passes later, the most significant part of practice was the end-of-half situation. Jones deftly led the team down the field and handled the clock situations perfectly. He threw a dime touchdown to Jakobi Meyers that floated in the air perfectly and allowed Meyers to dive and catch it before going out the back of the end zone.
Then there was the back-shoulder throw three plays later to Jonnu Smith up the seam. This is where Jones has constantly stood out.
If Jones threw it front side, Adrian Phillips was likely going to make a play if not intercept the pass. Smith wouldn't have been able to catch a low pass, and a high pass would have been deflected. Jones, in a split second, put it right on the back shoulder of Smith and Phillips couldn't do anything about it. Another touchdown. High-fives all around from players to players, and coaches to players.
This is where Jones shines as the only-a-matter-of-time starter for the New England Patriots: his combined accuracy, ball placement and spiral is outrageously good. Remember how all those Alabama receivers were asked in the lead-up to the draft about which QB, Jones or Tua Tagovailoa, would they want to catch balls from?
They all never hesitated and said Jones. We now know definitively that it was not just the talent for the Crimson Tide — Jones helps make it all look easy because he always puts the ball in the right spot. It's like 10-year veteran stuff. Even his incompletions, unless there's a misread by the receiver, are passes that just barely miss, by like 6 inches or a foot.
We can't say the same about the other QB — the one who was missing all those reps.
Do I think things have changed over the past two days? No, and Belichick played into that as he dodged Newton Covid questions.
"There's a big learning curve for all rookies," Belichick said of Jones. We all have a lot of work to do. We're three weeks into training camp. We got a long way to go."
Three weeks. He didn't say that by accident.
That being said, Jones has a huge opportunity on Wednesday against the Giants.
For most joint practices, that would be the only heavy day, and the second day would be light. But with the game not until Sunday night, I expect both Giants practices to be full-go. At the least, Belichick will tell Joe Judge that he wants his quarterback tested hard, even if it's just for half the session. Judge will do anything Belichick asks him to do.
So Jones has the stage to himself on Wednesday. It might very well be the biggest day of his very young career. Then he has to share the stage with Newton.
The first two days were nice, and necessary in the education of Mac Jones. And it was crucial missed work for Cam Newton.
Wednesday is game day.