FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots' first open offseason practice is in the books with a typical offseason practice that was light on competition, but featured a lot of necessary teaching.
"We've had the phase two sessions which have been productive, players have done well there, but now we're moving along, moving ahead," Bill Belichick said prior to practice. "It's a long process here, and we've got a long way to go. Working a lot of people, we're doing some basic fundamental things here. Not trying to over-evaluate anything, just trying to get everybody comfortable with what they're doing. We'll have plenty of time for that here, as we go but, it's good to get out on the field and be good to be able to see us actually go out there and work against each other a little bit. Make some corrections and teach and improve and move forward."
We'll get into our observations and some three up/three down after we bring you ...
TWO THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
New offensive frontier: For better or for worse, the Patriots are in the post-Josh McDaniels era and he has been replaced by Joe Judge, Matt Patricia and ... Bill Belichick?
This is how things went:
Judge is clearly the QBs coach. Patricia is the offensive line coach, assisted by Billy Yates. In 7 on 7, Judge relayed the plays to Mac Jones. In the early team portion, it was Patricia. Later, it was Belichick. All of it was spoken from the coach into the QB's ears — no headsets, which were a staple with McDaniels. Certainly an interesting way to go about it, and it is very early in the process.
"I think right now it's all about learning and first day you come out and you set a baseline, you know, fix the things that you want to fix," said Jones. "And like I said, they all have great knowledge of our offense, and we're all on the same page, so that's the important part to me. There's no fall off or anything like that. And it's not my decision to make and we have plenty of time for all that. Right now it's about the guys and I getting on the same page — running backs, tight ends, receivers and then working with the offensive line doing some things with them just to make sure we're on the same page so it always goes back to the players and we're excited to you know, grow together and learn from whoever is coaching us."
Noticeably absent from the offensive braintrust, at least in this practice, was tight ends coach Nick Caley, who has the most amount of experience with the Patriots' offense. But it is early, and things can and do often change even into training camp.
"Yeah, look, there's a lot of jobs that we have to do, we're all working on those things now but -- it's May," said Belichick. "They'll change in June, they'll change in August, they'll change in September. So, we'll evolve it to the things timely that we need to do. If you're asking about game plans, we're months away from that -- months."
How did things go offensively overall? Wouldn't say it's a well-oiled machine, and wouldn't say it's some impending disaster — it's May, there are a lot of new moving parts all over the place. I will say that the pace and crispness between plays is an area that will need to be improved, and there was a rough stretch to begin with a fumble, false start and then a lap done by everyone on offense, including the coaches.
(Adam Richins for BSJ)
Some absences more concerning than others: If proven veterans like Matthew Judon, Lawrence Guy, Nick Folk and Adrian Phillips want to skip an OTA here and there, fine. They've earned it. And you figured N'Keal Harry wouldn't show up because, well, he's not long for this place unless there's a rash of injuries. But Isaiah Wynn? Here's hoping he had a legit excuse and will have rock-solid attendance from here on out, and it's not a repeat from last year when he didn't participate much in the offseason, and then got off to a poor start. Let's just say that did not go over well. If Wynn thinks he's doing it to pace himself because he has a guaranteed contract this year, or if he's withholding his services without a contract extension beyond this season, then it wouldn't be surprising if the Patriots start to look for alternatives — that's the way it goes here.
Without Wynn, Trent Brown made his return to left tackle for the first time in a long time, with Justin Herron taking over at right tackle. If Wynn stays away too long and the Patriots like what they see (Wynn's viability here was a reason why I advocated for a tackle early in the draft), Wynn's immediate future here could be in doubt.
Elsewhere on the offensive line, David Andrews didn't do much and yielded to UDFA Kody Russey and veteran James Ferentz. As expected, Mike Ownenu was at RG, and Cole Strange started from Day 1 at LG.
(Adam Richins for BSJ)
Josh Uche, a man of many hats: Not sure how much was due to absences or what, but Steve Belichick wasn't lying when he said last week that Uche would be "an important piece to the puzzle for us going forward." Puzzle piece might be the buzzword, because good luck figuring out where he might line up. Uche basically split his day between inside linebacker and as an edge rusher. Could be filling Dont'a Hightower's multidimensional role there. It's early. Coaches just might be giving him a look
Newcomers headline cornerbacks: Found it interesting that Malcolm Butler and Terrance Mitchell — both free agents — along with slot Jonathan Jones were first up at cornerback. Jalen Mills, rookie Jack Jones and slot Shaun Wade were the next group.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
Not in attendance: OT Isaiah Wynn, DT Lawrence Guy, Edge Matthew Judon, DT Byron Cowart, WR N’Keal Harry, OG Chasen Hines, OT Andrew Stueber, LB Harvey Langi, LB Jahlani Tavai, S Adrian Phillips, Edge Ronnie Perkins, K Nick Folk, K Quinn Nordin.
Limited: TE Hunter Henry, RB James White, C David Andrews, LB Anfernee Jennings, S Jabrill Peppers, LB Cameron McGrone, WR Tyquan Thornton, DE Sam Roberts, CB Marcus Jones, RB Pierre Strong, DB Brendan Schooler.
DRESS CODE
Sheels.
LENGTH OF PRACTICE
One hour, 55 minutes under sunny skies and comfortable temps.
QB STATS
None. This was a glorified walkthrough. Stats are not worth your time, and they are meaningless at this stage.
TOP PLAYS
Really only one, and it was a coverage bust that had Belichick talking to a few players. Brian Hoyer went up top to DeVante Parker for about a 60-yard touchdown. No one was around him.
(Adam Richins for BSJ)
DeVante Parker
THREE UP
WR DeVante Parker: He just looks like a mature, veteran, real-deal receiver. Really good on his routes. Strong.
LB Raekwon McMillan: Was a rising player before his injury last year, and picked up where he left off by starting next to Ja'Whaun Bentley.
QB Mac Jones: Thought he looked fine, although there was some definite frustration at times as well. Said he's cut the body fat a bit, and worked on his mechanics.
THREE DOWN
WR N'Keal Harry: We're doing this again?
LT Isaiah Wynn: He needs to give himself every chance at success for his team and his future, and that starts with trying to make every practice session.
CB Joejuan Williams: Appears he's made the transition to safety, and he got roasted on a crossing pattern where he wasn't close.
(Adam Richins for BSJ)
QUICK HITS — ROOKIE EDITION
Real quick impressions of the draft picks...
LG Cole Strange: Didn't appear as tall as I figured but definitely not small. Seems very much an interior linemen. Athletic ability is great. Strength will determine how good he is a rookie. Man, he can get to the second leve.
WR Tyquan Thornton: Worked on the rehab field. Tall and very thin.
CB Marcus Jones: Man, he is tiny. Will be intersted to see how he holds up physically, which will depend on where they play him.
CB Jack Jones: Another one in the thin club. Quick feet. Worked on returning punts.
RB Pierre Strong: Didn't do much. Crowded backfied.
QB Bailey Zappe: Stuggled a bit. Thick build.
RB Kevin Harris: New England's Quadzilla. His thighs are huge.
OG Chase Hines, OT Andrew Stueber: Not spotted.
(Adam Richins for BSJ)
SCHEDULE
May 25
May 26
May 31 — Open to media
June 1
June 2
June 7 – Mandatory Minicamp open to media
June 8 – Mandatory Minicamp open to media
June 9 – Mandatory Minicamp open to media
June 13 – Open to media
June 14