FOXBOROUGH — Practice No. 22 is in the books (the final session of camp); 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
Team appeared to start some Seattle prep: There weren't any Seahawks numbers on the scout team, but with the reserves working off cards against the starting offense and defense, it looked like the Patriots started dipping their toes into the water of Seattle prep. This was pretty close to an in-season practice, with very few competitive periods and only one that matched up the starters. The Patriots seemed to work in certain personnel packages (heavy offense) and scheme themes (deceptive plays) for entire periods.
Greg Van Roten gets thrown into a blender: The Patriots are obviously trying to acclimate the new veteran offensive lineman, as he would constantly rotate between center (some poor shotgun snaps), right guard and left guard, often on back-to-back plays.
"Yeah, I think it's just we're trying to bolster our depth, and that's like the value that I bring," Van Roten said after practice. "So I've been playing right guard for the last like seven years. A little bit of center mixed in there. So just for me to kind of get used to the other positions is going to be helpful for me to kind of get back up to speed. Because everyone thinks it's super easy to just flip your hips and switch positions, but it's not. Thankfully, I've had experience starting games the NFL at all three inside, so just a matter of kind of getting back into the groove."
It's also been helpful that Van Roten is playing, at times, next to former linemates Alijah Vera-Tucker and Morgan Moses.
"It's huge, just because you don't have to make up so much time because we've had plenty of games together and years together, so we have our ways of communicating, and just kind of knowing ... I know how Morgan's going to set. I know how (Vera-Tucker) is going to set because we've had countless practices and games together," Van Roten said.
Getting thin at running back now, too: After