FOXBOROUGH — Practice No. 18 is in the books; let's run down all you need to know, including stats, 1-on-1s, lineup adjustments and observations from the joint practice with the Eagles:
FOUR THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Patriots offense wins matchup with the Eagles: As opposed to the Eagles' offense (more on that in a minute), the defense is fully entrenched in Vic Fangio's scheme, and fully healthy outside of top pass rusher Jonathan Greenard (PUP), and I thought the Patriots' offense got the better of the Philly defense in the course of this practice.
Session 1 (first and second down): Big Stevenson run, Douglas wide open on playaction. Maye 2 of 2.
Session 2 (first and second down): Decent Stevenson run that could have been better if he cut inside, then outside. Then two straight stuffs (including one play that was a disaster), and nice completion from Maye to AJ Brown against Riq Woolen (great pass protection). Maye 1 of 1.
Session 3 (2nd-10, 3rd-5): Big swing pass to Stevenson with great blocks by Hunter Henry and Mack Hollins, 3rd down slant to Romeo Doubs, Hunt sack allowed on game against Will Campbell and Alijah Vera-Tucker, complete to Boutte against Quinyon Mitchell on 3rd and 5. Maye 3 of 4, sack.
Session 4 (regular drive): On 3rd and 4 after Stevenson runs, complete to Brown against Mitchell. 2nd and 8, Maye threw a beauty touch pass on right sideline to Brown, who appeared to make a sensational catch against Woolen but I'm not sure it counted. Henderson had a great run, but Vera-Tucker called for hold. RB Hassan Haskins had another plus run, but it appeared to be a penalty. On 2nd and 10, great Maye to Doubs deep completion along left sideline against Mitchell. Ended with a completion to Brown despite a total whiff from Henderson in blitz pickup. Maye 5 for 5.
Session 5 (1:05, ball on 20, one timeout): Doubs drop, Maye to Douglas for 11, 19-yard completion to Mack Hollins, incompletion to Douglas where he stopped but Maye's pass expected him to keep going, Maye scramble for 6. With 18 seconds left, Maye hit Hunter Henry who immediately went down. With running clock, field-goal unit ran out, and Andy Borregales made a 53-yard field goal.
Pretty good work by the Patriots' offense against a formidable opponent.
Eagles didn't have WRs DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon: As we told you this morning, the Eagles' passing offense entered these joint practices. Not only are they missing No. 1 WR DeVonta Smith, but first-round WR Makai Lemon also ended up not doing anything in practice. The Eagles are putting in a new Shanahan-based offense, and it's off to a rough start, especially in blitz pickup and handling simulated pressures. That was certainly the case today as the Eagles' two-minute drill with Jalen Hurts went unblocked Craig Woodson, unblocked Kevin Byard and Christian Barmore sack, and then they had some quick, short passes that did nothing and they ran out of time before they could attempt a field goal. It was similar to watching Matt Patricia's offense. About the only thing the Eagles could consistently do was run the ball with Saquon Barkley (Giardi was watching that), as Philly seemed to gash the Patriots' run defense like the Colts did last week.
Here's Giardi ... The Patriots had a few more moments on defense against the Eagles' rushing attack, but man, oh man, were there some gaping holes for Barkley and Will Shipley. Corey Durden struggled at the point of attack on several reps, and there was no edge on at least two occasions to Dre’Mont Jones’ side. Ditto for Elijah Ponder as well.
Out for the Eagles
WR Makai Lemon - hamstring
CB Jakorian Bennett - knee
TE Grant Calcaterra - back
CB Jonathan Jones - shoulder
OT John Ojukwu - pectoral
RB Dameon Pierce - hamstring
CB Shaun Wade - eye/shoulder
WR Johnny Wilson - knee
LIMITED
DB Tariq Castro-Fields - heel
OLB Keyshawn James-Newby - ankle
WR DeVonta Smith - hamstring
Some revealing 1-on-1 reps for Patriots' offensive line: I only watched the offensive line in 1-on-1s today, and the most impressive thing I saw was Jared Wilson going 2-0 against hulking Jordan Davis, and Mike Onwenu going 2-0 against Jalen Carter. Will Campbell lost to Jalyx Hunt badly around the end on the first rush, but came back to win the rematch. Morgan Moses lost to Nolan Smith's speed, and Marcus Bryant also lost to Smith. Caleb Lomu was 1-0-1 with the backups at LT.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
Physically unable to perform list: DE Harold Landry.
Non-football injury list: S Brendan Schooler
Red non-contact jerseys: QBs.
Returned to practice: LB Chad Muma, WR Kyle Dixon
Full participants: None.
Out: CB Christian Gonzalez, C/G Ben Brown, DE Xavier Holmes
Limited: DT Christian Barmore, LB Christian Elliss.
New injuries: None.
DRESS CODE
Full pads (11th day).
LENGTH OF PRACTICE
2 hours under partly cloudy skies
QB STATS
Drake Maye: 14 of 18, sack, drop, scramble
Tommy DeVito: 10 of 19, 2 sacks, INT/Drop
Behren Morton: 2 of 3
IMPACT PLAYS IN TEAM PERIODS
Fumbles: Hassan Haskins.
Drops: Romeo Doubs.
Pass breakups: Kevin Byard
Interceptions: Kindle Vildor (Tanner McKee)
Run stuffs: n/a
Pressures/sacks: Vera-Tucker/Campbell, Mehki Butler, Demetrious Crownover; Craig Woodson, Kevin Byard, Christian Barmore.
PASS RUSH ONE-ON-ONES
Decisive bouts:
• Campbell beaten decisively by Hunt with speed around edge
• Butler dusted by Ty Robinson
• Zion Wilson drove Jacob Rizy back
• Bryant barely laid a hand on Arnold Ebiketie
Some defense from Nick Cattles:
- Gabe Jacas 2-0
- Elijah Ponder 1-1
- Dre'Mont Jones 0-1 vs Mailata
- Milton Williams 1-0 vs Dickerson
- Bradyn Swinson 2-0 against Hinton/Cam Williams
PASSING 1-ON-1s FROM GIARDI
1-on-1 (offense/Drake Maye reps/Giardi)
- Go route to AJ Brown. Can’t make the one-handed catch on Quinyon Mitchell.
- Pop Douglas beats former Pat Jonathan Jones on an in-cut.
- Hunter Henry on an out cut wins vs. Marcus Epps.
- Romeo Doubs with a sharp comeback versus Riq Woolen. Catches it. Ref throws a flag. Looked like OPI.
- Jakorian Bennett blankets Efton Chism on a corner route. Incomplete. No separation.
- Ambry Thomas runs the route - an in cut - for Mack Hollins. Again, incomplete.
- Douglas cooks Cooper DeJean on a corner route.
- Kayshon Boutte telegraphs his route vs a DB with a jersey that was rolled up (no idea what number). Incomplete.
- Chism wins with an inside release on Kapena Gushiken, a rookie from Ole Miss.
- Hollins reels in a go route over safety Maximus Pulley.
TOP PLAYS OFFENSE
• 2nd and 8, Maye threw a beauty touch pass on right sideline to Brown, who appeared to make a sensational catch against Woolen but I'm not sure it counted. I counted it.
• On 2nd and 10, great Maye to Doubs deep completion along left sideline against Mitchell.
• Behren Morton threw into double coverage to Tejhaun Palmer, who bobbled it into the air, two Eagles got their hands on it, and the ball ended up being caught by Palmer on his back.
TOP PLAYS DEFENSE
- Jones with a diving pass breakup on an underneath throw from Jalen Hurts to TE Johnny Mundt. The nickel corner is good for one of those full extension deflections about every other day.
- Quick penetration at the point of attack from Milton Williams and Elijah Ponder erases any options for Saquon Barkley.
- Williams again finds himself in the backfield and snuffs out a Barkley run.
- Good job by Woodson supporting on the edge and forcing Barkley to bounce his run toward the sideline for a short gain.
- Though it came against 4th-string QB Cole Payton, safety John Saunders did a great job reading Payton’s eyes and baiting him into a throw that he intercepted. High-quality celebration afterward as well (finger roll).
- Kevin Byard locking up Dallas Goedert on an in-cut during the one-minute drill to end practice, forcing an incomplete.
SIX UP
C Jared Wilson: Holding his ground against 6-6, 336-pound Jordan Davis twice in 1-on-1s was probably the most impressive individual thing I saw in the practice. That's a good sign, and shows off his increased strength.
S Craig Woodson: Seemed to be all over the field today and had an interception.
S John Saunders: Had an interception and some impressive coverage reps. He's coming on.
WR Romeo Doubs: Yes, he had a drop on a ball slightly thrown behind him, but he's still ascending with a diving third-down catch and a deep reception from Maye.
CB Marcus Jones: He stood out in 1-on-1s, had a pick-six and also had a breakup during the two-minute drill.
DT Milton Williams: Really good day against his former team. Not surprising.
FOUR DOWN
Patriots run defense: Two practices against other teams, two poor performances against the run overall. Cory Durden and edge most at fault.
CB Charles Woods: Dontayvion Wicks made him look pretty bad in 1-on-1s.
RT Marcus Bryant: Ever since he was moved from LT to RT this week, he's reverted back to his rookie form. Was 0-3 with a decisive loss in 1-on-1s.
RG Alijah Vera-Tucker: Was 0-2 in 1-on-1s while the rest of his teammates were more than holding their own, and had some more problematic team reps (sack, stuff/hold).
ODDS AND ENDS
• In defensive passing 1-on-1s, Charles Woods got turned around by Dontayvion Wicks, Carlton Davis got beat down the sideline by Hollywood Brown, Mike Brown slipped, Marcus Jones had a batted pass against Elijah Moore, Woods was again bested by Wicks, Hollywood Brown had a drop, Darius Cooper was pretty impressive against Kobe Prentic, John Saunders was in Eli Stowers' hip pocket, Carlton Davis had good coverage against Dallas Goedert
• The Patriots had their way with Eagles reserve OT Myles Hinton in 1-on-1s. Bradyn Swinson blew doors, Elijah Ponder beat him to the outside, Jesse Luketa easily got inside of him, Gabe Jacas ran him over.
• Eagles starting offensive linemen only took one rep and won them all, but Dre'Mont Jones got good push vs. LT Jordan Mailata.
• Patriots opened their first team period with Kyle Williams and Pop Douglas at receiver. After two snaps, Brown and Doubs came on.
• Second team offensive line was LT Caleb Lomu, LG Mehki Butler (replaced by JonDarius Morgan later), Jacob Rizy, James Hudson and Marcus Bryant. On third team, Darrian Dalcourt switched from C to LG today, and Joe Michalski went from LG to C.
• Andy Borregales missed his first attempt from 33 yards but was perfect after that from 42, 46, 51, 54 and 53 yards in 1-minute with a running clock.
• There was one kerfuffle: Jalen Carter took exception to something Alijah Vera-Tucker did on FG block. Of course, Mike Vrabel had to jump in the middle of them.
SCHEDULE
Thursday: 10:15-12:15 - joint practice with Eagles (last day of public training camp)
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 7 p.m., Eagles at Patriots
Sunday: OFF