FOXBOROUGH - Observations through the first 11 practices of training camp, including six in full pads.
- The game is starting to slow down for Drake Maye. At least, the game he plays every day in practice (a regular season game will be a lot different). You can see him work through his progressions a little quicker, but not too quickly, and make better decisions with the football. It's not perfect - Maye didn't see JuJu Smith-Schuster on a red zone rep and was picked off in a got-to-have-it situation late in Tuesday's session, throwing high to Javon Baker (more on him and that rep later) - but there's been improvement. He's still at his best during 7-on-7 - pretty sure the league hasn't adopted those rules yet - but some of his rougher team periods of late have been an offensive line problem first and foremost, and Maye's not at the point in his development where he can mask that unit's deficiencies.
- The Pats don't play a game that counts for another month, but I'm not enjoying spinning the wheel on the O' Line. The interior appears set: Sidy Sow at left guard, David Andrews at center, and Mike Onwenu at right guard, but tackle is a problem. Rookie Caedan Wallace has been inconsistent and dealt with an injury on Tuesday. Chuks Okorafor has been out for several days - injury unknown - leaving Vederian Lowe as the left tackle for the last five practices and a heavy dose of Calvin Anderson on the right side. If you've wanted to know why the offense has struggled to establish any rhythm and movement in the run game or been better at protecting the QB, there you go. It's not good enough. Can it get there? I have no idea. There's a lot on OL coach Scott Peters and his assistant Robert Kugler, and don't suggest a trade. No one gives away good linemen.
- I've been blunt regarding Smith-Schuster, but I have compassion and feel some for the 27-year-old wide receiver. His legs aren't consistently there, and it's led to a normally sure-handed dude dropping passes that, two years ago, he wouldn't have. JuJu has insisted he's 100% healthy. He might be. It's just that his 100% is not what it used to be. I know he's made some good money, but it's been tough to watch at points. Short of catastrophic injuries at the position, I don't see how he makes the team.
- Javon Baker — where to start? There has been some breathless reporting on what he's doing in camp. Some of it is true. Some of i escapes my eyes, and mine are wide open. Baker made a ridiculous catch Tuesday over Christian Gonzalez. Whether he got his feet in bounds is unknown (tough angle for where we're sequestered), but with his large mitts and late burst, you see the possibilities. But then there was the play I mentioned above, where Maye's high throw appeared to clang off Baker's hands and was intercepted: challenging play, but one you need to make. A play later, Maye threw a rocket toward the sideline that the rookie pass catcher got both hands on - cleanly - and didn't make the catch. Being hit or miss won't help his case to get a ton of snaps. Also, while we chart 1-on-1s, I don't view those reps through the same lens as I do 7-on-7s or team. There's a lot of freewheeling, and you just don't see that in the structure of an offense. Anyway, something to keep in mind. The talent is there, but the consistency is spotty.
- Time for the Pats to poop or get off the pot when it comes to Matthew Judon. This situation has dragged on far too long, and I'm not just referencing the start of training camp. Eliot Wolf has had seven (!) months to determine what Judon's value is, their long-term thinking concerning him, and whether or not a deal is doable. What is he (they, if you want to include the rest of the brain trust) waiting on? Playing hardball doesn't win the negotiation for them. Judon is not happy, and that's festering. Pay him or don't, and move on. If that's the decision, the defense will be minus a playmaker, but this team isn't winning the Super Bowl.
- I don't know how much of a jump Keion White will make, but I love his approach. During 1-on-1s, White told us he hasn't used his power move all camp because that's a part of his game that doesn't need refinement. Instead, he's trying to develop other moves. He's also done it by seeking out more reps versus Onwenu.
"That's kind of the guy I want to go against every day. And a lot of times, he gets the better of me. But I like that because that makes me better at the end of the day."
I asked Onwenu about those moments.
"I think we all — D linemen and O Linemen — have a good two-way relationship, or, you know, if we see something or if we feel something, we might tell them. I think specifically with Keion. It's a good matchup for me, going against a little body, and he has a lot of shake and a lot of power, so it gets me in my set and just be able to be focused and just take him."
Yes, he called White a little body. "He's not 310."
- I wouldn't be comfortable with the cornerback depth. Alex Austin has struggled, Marco Wilson has been a mixed bag, Marcus Jones returned to practice after several days on the sideline, and he's not proven yet, and Isaiah Bolden has been up and down. But yeah, other than that...
Again, there's a long way to go, but I'd like to see someone take charge.
- As I wrote earlier in the camp, some of these practices could have been shorter simply by being more efficient with time, but I think Jerod Mayo has pushed the group this summer, and that's not something that's happened in the last few years of Belichick's tenure. Hell, they actually tackled Monday. Aside from some goal-line stuff, I can't remember the last time I saw that. It's important. The new head coach believes callousing these guys to the rigors of preseason and regular season games is smart. So do I. And yes, I understand players could get hurt, but this is tackle football. It's a risk every time they step on the field.
