FOXBOROUGH - Practice No. 20 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:
SIX THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Christian Gonzalez makes is long awaited return. After missing as many practices as he had participated in, the cornerback came back as a full-go for Monday’s session. It wasn’t the most competitive practice, but when it was, Gonzalez was not only out there but had a pair of pass breakups in one-on-ones, dropping an interception in the back corner of the end zone (Drake Maye) while shadowing A.J. Brown, then locking up Pop Douglas. If the ankle/foot was a real issue, today’s showing should put that in the rearview. Now about that contract…
Mike Vrabel puts the genie back in the bottle. After his sharp commentary on the depth of the roster following Saturday night’s preseason game, Vrabel was asked if there was a message being sent (ownership? front office?). His response: “No, I got asked that this morning. We’re all on the same page. There is no front office. There is no back office. There is the Patriots. There is me, there is Eliot [Wolf], there is Ryan [Cowden], there is Stretch [John Streicher]. I told you those are the people that we rely on to make decisions. So, there is no message.
“And it just was Mike [Reiss] asked me, I think, about the starters playing, and I mean, we lost a couple guys that aren’t going to be with us, so you can only play that for so long. You can only do that for so long, and we’re going to need to prepare the football team, be smart and make sure that we’re as ready to go as we possibly can. And the depth was about building the depth. It is about taking the guys that we have, building them and then identifying if there’s other people that we can add to the roster. We’ll continually try to do that.”
The field was a problem. After that FieldTurf fiasco earlier this summer, you had to figure we’d moved past talking about fake grass or real grass (unless someone gets arrested for grass?). Not so fast, my friends. The Patriots practiced on the lower grass field, directly off the New Balance Athletics Center, for the first time since mandatory mini-camp, and man, oh, man, it didn’t go well. Players started slipping in individual drills and never stopped. In fact, TreVeyon Henderson slipped while making a cut during 11-on-11s, and after trying to walk off some discomfort, found himself with trainer Jim Whalen. They examined his right foot/ankle area, and after briefly testing it, Henderson disappeared into the facility and did not return.
New punter alert. Matt Haack got the call, replacing the injured Bryce Baringer. Haack didn’t get out to practice until it was halfway through, but immediately found himself taking snaps and then holding for Andy Borregales. Baringer came up lame Saturday night.
“It happened in the game, yes. I mean – I would not make him go out and kick while he was injured, if that is what you are asking,” Vrabel spat at a reporter’s question. “But yeah, it was something that occurred during the game, which is why the quarterback had to punt.”
By the way, the whole notion that Behren Morton has assured himself a spot on the team because he can be the emergency punter is flawed because he would likely be the 3rd QB - aka the emergency QB - and is not available to come unless the active QBs are injured or ejected.
New guard as well. The Pats signed former BC lineman Jack Conley, who previously played here. He played tackle collegiately but also experimented inside. With Marcus Bryant out, and Lorenz Metz working off to the side today, the team has concerns about having enough bodies available for the preseason finale.
Greg Van Roten finds himself in the mix. The 36-year-old interior offensive lineman actually got some run with the first team at center and both guard spots, while also working as the second-team right guard. Meanwhile, James Hudson found himself back at tackle because of the injuries (and maybe because his work at guard hasn’t been good).
TAKING ATTENDANCE
Physically unable to perform list: DE Harold Landry (we saw him running before practice started)
Non-football injury list: S Brendan Schooler
Red non-contact jerseys: QBs and CB Channing Canada
Returned to practice: Gonzalez, Henderson (before later leaving), Eli Raridon, Kevin Byard
Out: C/G Ben Brown, DE Xavier Holmes, DT Cory Durden, OT Marcus Bryant, P Bryce Baringer, LB Khalil Jacobs, RB Lan Larison, RB Jam Miller, OL Mehki Butler, WR Kobe Prentice, CB Kenneth Harris, OT Lorenz Metz, S Craig Woodson
New injuries: Henderson
DRESS CODE
Full pads
LENGTH OF PRACTICE
1:50 hours under sunny skies
QB STATS
Drake Maye: 11 of 13, 3 TD
Tommy DeVito: 3 of 9, INT, Sack
Behren Morton: No team reps
IMPACT PLAYS IN TEAM PERIODS
Fumbles: None.
Drops: None.
Interceptions: John Saunders Jr.
Run stuffs allowed: Caleb Lomu 2x, Jacob Rizy/Greg Van Roten, Alijah Vera-Tucker.
Run stuffs: Jeremiah Pharms, Leonard Taylor, Eric Gregory, Gabe Jacas
Pressures/sacks allowed: Team (1x - thought it was Hudson’s responsibility, but I’m not 100% certain).
Sacks: Dell Pettus
Interceptions: John Saunders Jr.
Bad Snap: Jacob Rizy
7-ON-7s
(Maye)
- Romeo Doubs on a post (Gonzalez)
- Doubs on a quick out vs zone (Gonzalez)
- Quick out to Hunter Henry.
- Henry sits vs a zone for a short completion.
- Kayshon Boutte beats Carlton Davis to the post.
- Stevenson in the right flat.
- Raridon hauls in a TD over Mike Brown.
- Incomplete. High and through the back of the end zone.
(DeVito)
- Karon Prunty with a PBU on a corner route to Mack Hollins.
- Boutte wins on a quick out vs. Saunders.
- Doubs gets past K.J. Britt on a crossing route.
- Glance route to Henry (Saunders)
TOP PLAYS
- Hunter Henry shrugging off linebacker Christian Elliss, who was all over him, to catch a touchdown for Maye.
- Saunders patiently reading the eyes of DeVito before stepping in front of an intermediate out thrown to Jack Westover.
- Stevenson hauling in a TD pass from Maye on a perfectly thrown wheel route to cap a red-zone trip/1-minute drill.
- Rolling right, Maye hitting Kayshon Boutte coming across the formation and dancing on the back end line for a score.
OFFENSIVE LINE 1-ON-1s
(DW - Decisive win, DL -Decisive loss)
- Will Campbell plays Dre’Mont Jones to a draw, with Jones getting to the outside shoulder but Campbell pushing him wide. QB would definitely move off his spot.
- Milton Williams uses pure power to beat Alijah Vera-Tucker.
- Jared Wilson stymies Leonard Taylor.
- Mike Onwenu rides Christian Barmore wide.
- Caleb Lomu leans on Elijah Ponder as he works an inside move. I’d give the edge to Ponder.
- Campbell dominated Gabe Jacas. Yikes.
- Vera-Tucker doesn’t let Barmore get more than a yard of push. Impressive rep.
- Taylor swims past Wilson for a decisive win.
- Onwenu and Williams fight to a stalemate.
- Lomu barely touches Bradyn Swinson.
- Jesse Luketa beats James Hudson after being stood up on the initial punch.
- Good rep by Darrian Delcourt against Taylor.
- Van Roten takes care of Isaiah Iton.
- Joe Michalski holds off Joshua Farmer (without holding him).
- Demetrious Crownover shoves Amari Gainer wide of the QB.
- Hudson does the same to Ponder.
- Dalcourt gets into Taylor, who slips (the turf again. They had already relocated the drill once).
- Van Roten uses power to beat a number I missed (Giardi fail).
- Crownover against using that length to keep Quintayvious Hutchins out of the QB’s area code.
- Hudson stymies Swinson’s spin move, moving well laterally.
- Jeremiah Pharms gets inside of Crownover for a clear win.
- Jacob Rizy stonewalls Iton.
- Conley barely survives against DT Casey Rogers, but wins.
- Jacas surges late to get past Lomu.
- Ponder shows some power in defeating Van Roten.
- Rizy puts Pharms on the ground. Footing is an issue there as well.
FOUR UP
Rhamondre Stevenson: He continued his strong camp by capping a hurry-up situation by creating a step on Robert Spillane (wheel route) and hauling in a perfectly thrown ball by Maye. “I’ve felt very comfortable catching the ball,” he told us afterward. He’s done it all summer (and all of last year as well. Forget about a 50-50 split with Henderson. 60-40/65-35 is more like it)
John Saunders Jr: Another interception in 11-on-11s. He’s caught the attention of his fellow DBs. Now, can he do it against a higher level of competition than he has faced in camp/preseason?
Christian Gonzalez: Two PBUs in one-on-ones, and looking none the worse for wear.
Marcus Jones: Vrabel left one second on the clock and had the offense with the ball on the 7-yard-line. Maye went to A.J. Brown, but Jones jumped on the receiver the moment he caught it, and the ball was marked down at the one. Ball game.
FOUR DOWN
Caleb Lomu: Rough look in one-on-ones. Not much movement behind him in the run game during team.
Christian Barmore: Two ugly losses in one-on-ones. He also jumped offside.
A.J. Brown: Not on the same page with Maye on a pair of red zone incompletions, the second of which could have been flagged for intentional grounding (he went out; Maye threw in).
Mike Brown: The veteran safety is fighting for a roster spot, but got beaten in the back corner of the end zone by Raridon for a score.
SCHEDULE
Tuesday: Afternoon practice
Wednesday: Travel to Cleveland
Thursday: Preseason Finale