FOXBOROUGH — Practice No. 6 is in the books. We have everything you need to know, including two rounds of one-on-one pass rush drills, and 5 up/3 down, from today's session:
ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW
Well, the offense was better ... kind of: A day after the run offense was largely a disaster, the Patriots improved ... slightly. The first-team offense ran 26 plays. Of those, there were eight plays that varied in success — 30.7 percent of the plays — gaining between 4 and 10 yards, including a red zone touchdown from Mac Jones to Tre Nixon that was the result of quick throw into the flat.
Here's how the other 70 percent of the plays broke down:
Stuffed runs (2 yards or less): 8
Sacks/pressure: 6
Incomplete passes: 1
Batted pass at line: 1
Drop: 1
Checkdown: 1
What's the issue? The blocking. They are having a very hard time getting on the same page, and they are allowing a ton of penetration. At one point, Ja'Whaun Bentley came in unblocked as Cole Strange allowed him to run through, which got the rookie a lot of coaching from Bill Belichick and assistant line coach Billy Yates. Some of it I think is personnel, the zone scheme calls for lighter more agile players (like Strange) so it's a challenge for bigger guys like Trent Brown and Mike Onwenu, and David Andrews when he's out there (he was very limited today). A lot of it has to do with a lack of attention to detail, which is paramount in this timing/rhythm-based blocking scheme. Not sure how much sense it makes having a line coach in Matt Patricia only paying attention to the line half time the time.
"Yeah, I think we have a lot of room to grow here," said Jones after practice. "And yeah, the goal is for me not to run the ball and throw it. So I think our offensive line is doing a good job, we just have to get on the same page."
It's only been two days in pads, but it feels like the arrow needs to start pointing up soon or some frustration can set in with the players, if it hasn't already with Jones (it feels like it has).
"You know, we had one day in pads out there, like I said, we have a lot of things to work on – everybody," Belichick said before practice. "Passing game, we worked on last week, we were better from Wednesday to Saturday, but this week’s kind of a different type of game: early-downs, runs, play-actions, things we didn’t work on last week. Some things look good, some things we have to clean up and execute better, so we’ll see how it goes. String some days together and see where we’re at. I don’t think you can evaluate based on one play or one period, and that’s really about all we’ve had."
TAKING ATTENDANCE
Out: QB Brian Hoyer (unknown).
Limited: DE Deatrich Wise (unknown), S Jabrill Peppers, C David Andrews, RG Mike Onwenu.
New injury: None.
Returned to practice: DE Deatrich Wise (unknown).
Physically unable to perform list: RB James White
Non-football injury list: OL Chasen Hines, OL Andrew Stueber.
Red non-contact jerseys: QBs.
DRESS CODE
Full pads (Day 2).
LENGTH OF PRACTICE
2 hours under sunny skies.
QB STATS
Mac Jones: 5 of 10, 5 sacks/pressures.
Bailey Zappe: 9 of 13, sack.
HANDS TEAM
Fumbles: None.
Drops: Damien Harris.
Pass breakups: Jack Jones, Henry Anderson
Interception: None.
Sacks/pressures: Anderson, Wilson/Uche, LaBryan Ray 2, Bentley, Barmore, Jennings 2, Judon
ONE-ON-ONE REPORT
(DEC W: Decisive Win. DEC L: Decisive loss)
Offense
Defense
Decisive Wins
- Anderson dusted Durant.
- Sherman shut down Roberts.
- Ekuale overpowered Russey.
- Barmore was quick as a cat to beat Russey.
Notes
- Offensive line won 25-12-7 .
- Barmore and Brown put Owenu and Anderson on the ground at the end.
- Good bounce-back day from Strange. He tied Godchaux to open, and beat Guy and Ekuale — not exactly pass rushers, but powerful guys.
- Backup tackles Herron and Cajuste are really battling.
- After popping yesterday, Jennings took a step back. But he was still good in team.
TOP PLAYS
- Zappe had a nice 15-yard out to Thornton on the sidelines.
- Zappe and Tre Nixon found a soft spot in the zone for 20 yards.
- Mack Wilson blowing up JJ Taylor on a run.
- Zappe nice low throw for TD to Nixon.
FIVE UP
LaBryan Ray: He just shows up all the time. He's off to a tremendous start as a pass rusher.
Ty Montgomery: Think we know who's going to be the pass back now, it's going to be Montgomery who touches the ball a lot.
Tyquan Thornton: Starting to make a couple nice plays a practice. He's stacking success. "I think Ty is a hard worker," Mac Jones said. "He’s starting to really grasp some of the things we’re doing and getting open. He clearly has the speed to get open, and we have a great group of guys and we need to spread the ball out to them. That’s the whole point of this offense is get the ball to different people and not key on one person and spread the wealth and let those guys run after catch."
Bailey Zappe: Got a lot more reps today, which Jones indicated was the plan, and he was much better after a wild first throw that wasn't close.
Devin Asiasi: Caught both his one-on-one reps. Seems to getting the hang of it and Belichick has noticed. "Devin’s made a lot of improvement; I think he’s made a good jump this year as well," Belchick said. "He’s put in a lot of time, a lot of hard work, and I think that’s been reflected in what we’ve seen in the offseason program, and spring practice, and so far in training camp. Physically, looks good. Mentally, the experience that he’s gained and confidence he’s gained – you can see that. We’ll see how it goes as we get into competitive situations and a little more padded practices, we’ll see how all that comes together. He’s tracking well."
THREE DOWN
The run blocking: The line does great in pass rush drills, but struggles with the run. This is
Kody Russey: The UDFA C had a rough one-on-one session with two decisive losses.
Mike Onwenu: Was 1-2 in one-on-ones, struggled a bit in team and might be dealing with something because he was limited.
QUICK HITS
- Jalen Mills sure seems to be CB 1 with Mitchell and Jonathan Jones.
- Strange was much more in control and less aggressive in the outside zone run blocking drills.
- The Patriots swap out the right side of the offensive line a lot, but Trent Brown stays on the field. Not sure what that is about. Maybe conditioning? He looks pretty tired after each period of practice.
- Patriots are very aggressive with their linebackers. They're all making plays.
- Belichick indicated Brian Hoyer should be back. "I would expect him back fairly soon."
SCHEDULE
Wednesday: 9:30 a.m.
Thursday: 9:30 a.m.
Aug. 5th, 7 p.m.: In-stadium practice for season ticket holders and Foxborough residents.
Aug. 6th: OFF