FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots held their annual in-stadium practice on Friday night, in which Mike Vrabel set up an entertaining scrimmage between a blue team and a white team.
The Patriots head coach wanted to create a game-like situation for this practice inside Gillette Stadium, which was reserved for season-ticket holders and Foxborough residents.
To accomplish this, Vrabel picked inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr to be the head coach of the blue squad and tight ends coach Thomas Brown to coach the white team. Ahead of the 6 p.m. start, Vrabel flipped a coin and had the two coaches draft their teams.
Although the results weren’t revealed, it appeared that Kuhr won since Drake Maye was on his team. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels also coached Maye’s team. Defensive coordinator Terrell Williams coached with Brown on the white side.
“Try to approach it as close to a game as we can,” Vrabel said. “Special teams – we’ll be punting the football. Punt return – we’ll have returners back there and a couple full field covers. We’ll have plus-50. We’ll have some different kicking situations.
“We have officials, so there’s things I need to try to create, and may extend drives with phantom illegal contact or roughing-the-passer that probably, hopefully didn’t happen in tonight’s practice. I’ve already told the team those are things that may happen, so that we can continue to get whatever we need to get done, and get some red zone, and some end-of-game 2-minute, and really just have fun.”
The three captains for the Blue Team were Maye, linebacker Christian Elliss, and safety Jaylinn Hawkins. The three captains for the White Team were tight end Hunter Henry, safety Jabrill Peppers, and safety/special teamer Brenden Schooler.
By conventional scoring, the White Team won 17-13. By Vrabel’s rules, which gave points for big gains, third-down conversions, efficiency, tackles for loss, takeaways, and third-down stops, the White Team defeated the Blue Team, 47-38.
“It’s almost like that game-day feeling where you come out here, you’re flying around,” Schooler said. “You kind of have the pre-game jitters. To have these fans out here means a lot to us.”
Here’s what went down:
Maye, Blue Team struggle on offense
The Patriots in-stadium practice ended up being one of the tougher days for Maye. The Patriots quarterback finished the night going 9-of-18 with one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss.
The Blue Team offense started strong with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams. This was a trick play as Maye threw the ball to Rhamondre Stevenson, who threw it back to the quarterback. The double-pass fooled the defense, and Maye hit the rookie receiver for the score.
The next two drives by the Blue Team were disastrous, as turnovers were the issue for Maye’s unit.
The quarterback threw his first interception of training camp when his pass, intended for Stefon Diggs, was tipped by rookie cornerback Kobee Minor and caught by linebacker Robert Spillane.
“We called man-to-man defense,” Spillane said. “I ended up being a low-hole help player. Made a great play – our corner on the ball tipped it up and I was able to get underneath it and scoop it.”
It didn’t get better for the Blue Team. Stevenson fumbled on the first snap of the next series when the ball was punched out by Brandon Crossley and recovered by Spillane.
Maye’s unit, which featured a mix of starters and backups, struggled to pass protect. The quarterback threw four incomplete passes in a row – three were thrown away, and Efton Chism III dropped another.
Trailing, the Blue Team had one more drive left when Maye was intercepted for the second time. It came on his third attempt of the 2-minute drill, when Alex Austin jumped a pass intended for Williams. The cornerback could’ve scored but slid before the end zone to drain the clock for the White Team’s win.
On defense, Hawkins stepped up with an outstanding performance. The veteran free safety had two interceptions on Friday night. Hawkins intercepted DeMario Douglas on a trick play where the receiver tried to connect with Javon Baker.
Later, he intercepted Ben Wooldridge on a pass attempt to Lan Larison.
Spillane leads White Team
Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs did a good job of answering Maye’s opening touchdown with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte. The receiver beat Marcellus Dial on the route for the highlight play.
The White Team also got a touchdown from undrafted rookie running back Lan Larison, who broke loose for a 5-yard score.
Spillane was the defensive MVP for this squad. The veteran linebacker intercepted Maye for the first time in training camp and then recovered a fumble on the next drive. The veteran linebacker is already taking a leadership role for the Patriots, and on Friday, looked like an impact player.
“Being around the ball is very important to me,” Spillane said. “Those are big-time plays, but it doesn’t happen alone. You need your teammates. On the pick, our corner made a big play on the ball. Fumble recovery, somebody else popped it out, and I was able to scoop it out.”
Kicking competition
The Patriots’ kicking competition is in full swing. On Friday night, both kickers continued their hot streak.
On the Blue Team, Andy Borregales hit all four kick attempts inside Gillette Stadium. The rookie hit two 42-yard field goals, a 53-yard field goal, and an extra point. Parker Romo was also perfect, connecting on three kicks. The veteran hit a 33-yard field goal and two extra points for the White Team.
“It’s important for everyone to get in here and see how the atmosphere changes,” Schooler said. “On the practice field, there’s a lot of open space. When you come in here, it’s different, more enclosed. The track of the ball is a little different. I’m sure for the kickers it’s a little bit different when they get their line and try to see where the wind is blowing.”
Bourne and Wallace injured
Although this scrimmage didn’t allow tackling, the Patriots didn’t come out unscathed.
Kendrick Bourne suffered an apparent lower-body injury in the first 30 minutes of Friday’s practice.
The injury occurred when Bourne caught a first-down pass from Maye during the Blue Team’s fourth drive. The veteran receiver, however, landed awkwardly and had a noticeable limp when he got to his feet.
Bourne came off the field, and it appeared as though the Patriots’ medical staff was looking at his left foot. The receiver eventually left for the locker room and didn’t return to the scrimmage.
Caedan Wallace also suffered an injury on Friday. The second-year player was starting at left guard for the Blue Team, but departed for the locker room after spending some time in the blue medical tent.
Attendance
The Patriots didn’t have perfect attendance for Friday night’s blue-white scrimmage.
The defense was without three starters, cornerback Christian Gonzalez, cornerback Carlton Davis, and defensive lineman Keion White. The offense was without center Garrett Bradbury, wide receiver Mack Hollins, and running back Antonio Gibson.
Also absent on Friday were linebacker Jahlani Tavai, guard Sidy Sow, defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, and tackle Vederian Lowe (PUP list).
The only surprise on this list was White, who’s been a full participant in training camp.
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