FOXBOROUGH — The teams and units were jumbled up for the first scrimmage under Mike Vrabel, so it's tough to have many concrete takeaways when it comes to units. So I'm going to keep it more on an individual basis after the hour-long session has concluded.
I liked ... QB Josh Dobbs, who finished 10 of 12 with a touchdown, which was the play of the night down the left sideline to Kayshon Boutte over Marcellas Dial. Dobbs is not afraid to push the ball down the field and is pretty comfortable hanging in the pocket as long as possible.
I didn't like ... QB Drake Maye, who finished 9 of 17 with two interceptions. The first was a poorly thrown checkdown to Stefon Diggs that he couldn't handle, and it popped up to LB Robert Spillane. Maye's other interception came on the final play of the scrimmage in a 2-minute situation where there was a miscommunication with rookie receiver Kyle Willams and Alex Austin would have taken it to the house if he didn't slide down on purpose.
Maye's only touchdown, to a wide-open Kyle Williams, came on a trick play as Maye was 4 of 5 on the opening drive. Maye went 4 of 9 the rest of the session, including the two picks and he had to throw away about 4 or 5 balls. Hard to tell what the issue was - could have been the receivers he was playing with - but he was having trouble finding people open on time. Maye did have a nice scramble on third and 10.
I liked ... the kickers, who were perfect. Andy Borregales: extra point, 34 yards, 42 yards, 53 yards. Parker Romo: extra point, extra point, 33 yards.
I didn't like ... seeing Kendrick Bourne and Caeden Wallace leave with injuries. Bourne was tackled to the ground by CB Brandon Crossley, when it was just supposed to be thudding. Bourne came up limping on his left leg.
I liked ... the defense causing issues. Jaylinn Hawkins had two interceptions, Robert Spillane had a pick (he credited Kobee Minor with getting the initial deflection), and fumble recovery.
I didn't like ... Rhamondre Stevenson fumbling back in this stadium after a long run. And it wasn't like a great hit or anything. Crossley came from his left and just punched it out. This is going to continue to be a worry, until it isn't.
I liked ... how we had NFL refs for the first time this camp.
I didn't like ... Demontrey Jacobs having a false start on the first third down of the game. Too many flashbacks to last season. Marte Mapu got a personal foul for throwing the football, and DJ James had defensive pass interference.
I liked ... a lot of the pass rush. Saw Jeremiah Pharms (sack, hurry), Truman Jones (two pressures), Christian Barmore, Bradyn Swinson, Harold Landry, Anfernee Jennings and Spillane jumped out in that regard.
Vrabel praised Jones before the session.
"Yeah, he was an off-season award winner and worked extremely hard," he said. "Knows both spots, outside linebacker. He's improved, I think, special teams. I think his special teams has improved. Looking forward to seeing that tonight, hopefully, and see some of that stuff tonight. But he's a smart player and who I think physically has changed his body and is on par with what those outside linebackers look like."
I didn't like ... Will Campbell. This capped a tough week for the rookie as Giardi noted that Truman Jones beat him on successive pass rushes, and he then received some help from Stevenson. Hey, rookies are going to have weeks like this. It happens to just about everyone. It's going to be important how he adjusts and gets going in the other direction.
I liked ... how Kayshon Boutte just keeps making plays, this time with a touchdown.
I didn't like ... Efton Chism and Lan Larison having drops.
I liked ... the end around to Ja'Lynn Polk, who also had a catch, but didn't like Hunter Henry's block at the end of it to limit the gain. I also liked Lan Larison's touchdon run from
I didn't like ... the trick play run for Demario Douglas and the interception he threw to Hawkins. They can junk that play.
I liked ... the idea of this. The Patriots should expand it, make it similar to the Family Night scrimmage the Packers put on for charity. You could punt Bill Belichick's meaningless walkthrough into the sun.
I didn't like ... how we didn't know how the scoring went, which was the brainchild of John Streicher. "I think the scoring will be, like I told the team, you want to complain about the scoring, talk to Stretch," Vrabel said. "He's doing the scorekeeping, so any score-related issues, talk to Stretch."
I also didn't love how the units were jumbled up. Maye's line was Campbell, Wilson, Brown, Mekhi Butler/Tyrese Robinson, and Demontrey Jacobs. Dobbs had Marcus Bryant, Wallace, Cole Strange (high shotgun snap), Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses. I would have liked to see starting and backup units together, and just draft those.
"Who can communicate, who can work with somebody that maybe they didn't work with in previous practices," Vrabel said of jumbling the lineups before the session. "Not sure how many lineups stay the same throughout the course of a 17-game schedule. So, I think this is a great opportunity for these guys to have fun, to compete, to have some energy, to do it in our stadium. This is all new for everybody here. Pre-game opportunity to go out and go through that operation before we play Washington and just want to be intentional but also want to have fun and let these guys go and play and have the officials here. So, I think it'll be a – I'm hoping for a good night."
For those keeping score at home, here were the intended targets:
Maye – TE Gee Scott, Kyle Williams, Stevenson, Diggs, Chism
Dobbs — Polk, Douglas, Boutte, Westover, Baker, Henry.
I also didn't like how it only lasted an hour. The Patriots are off on Saturday and Sunday, and walked through on Thursday. We couldn't get 90 minutes?
Players who were out:
WR Mack Hollins
CB Christian Gonzalez
CB Carlton Davis
DL Keion White
C Garrett Bradbury
RB Antonio Gibson
LB Jahlani Tavai
DL Joshua Farmer
OL Sidy Sow
OL Vederian Lowe (PUP)
Hollins went through warm-ups.
