FOXBOROUGH — Prior to Saturday morning’s practice, Jerod Mayo issued a challenge to his defense.
Though the Patriots boasted a Top 10 unit last season and the defense is supposed to be way ahead of a green offense at this point, Jacoby Brissett and company had gotten the better of them in Thursday and Friday’s practices.
“I challenged the defense on that,” Mayo said before Saturday’s session. “The offense the last couple of days, they’ve done well whether it’s running the ball, the play-action game, pushing the ball down the field, I think those guys are doing a good job.”
The defense answered the bell, and Saturday’s practice was the most back-and-forth of the summer. Here are seven takeaways from an entertaining session on the backfields at Gillette Stadium:
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1. Brissett’s savvy separates
At this stage of camp, Jacoby Brissett’s command of the two-minute offense is one of the things that’s really separating him from rookie Drake Maye.
In the final 11-on-11 period, Brissett (13-for-19) was given the ball with less than a minute on the clock. He hit K.J. Osborn for a 35-yard completion — more on him in a moment — and exercised excellent clock management from there. Brissett delivered a strike Hunter Henry on the sideline to stop the clock, and knowing how much time was left, rolled the dice and hit Pop Douglas with his next pass in the open field. With the clock winding, Brissett got his group lined up, the ball was snapped just before time expired, and the quarterback hit Henry again for a touchdown at the buzzer.
“That’s situational football,” Henry said. “Those are huge situations in games… you have to be able to execute in those situations and today we were able to do that.”
Maye (7-for-17) followed with a scattershot two-minute drill with the second team. His first pass was thrown away, then he overthrew Javon Baker on second down. Maye had JuJu Smith-Schuster on third down, but the wideout fell down, and his fourth down pass was batted at the line of scrimmage.
Disclaimer: Maye didn’t struggle as badly as 7-for-17 indicates. He was victimized by a couple drops and delivered a solid 7-on-7 red zone period, finding Ja’Lynn Polk and Baker for touchdown receptions. But at this point, Brissett is well ahead of him.
2. Henry’s steadiness impresses
The two-minute drill wasn’t the only area that Henry was impactful, as the tight end also delivered a ridiculous one-handed catch from Brissett in an earlier 11-on-11 drill. With Kyle Dugger in coverage, Henry leaped up 30 yards downfield, spun to adjust to the ball from Brissett, and snared it with one hand.
“It’s never the plan (to catch passes one-handed), but sometimes it just happens,” Henry laughed.
The veteran finished with four catches in team drills — all from Brissett — and looks reliable as ever in his ninth training camp.
3. Defense makes some plays
The back-and-forth between the offense and defense was as even as it had been all summer, and Brissett was picked off twice.
The first interception came on a go ball to Jalen Reagor in 11-on-11 shortly after Henry’s acrobatic catch. Azizi Hearn had great coverage on Reagor and batted the pass into the arms of safety Jaylinn Hawkins, who secured it in the end zone. The second pick came in a red zone 7-on-7 drill, as Brissett miscommunicated with Austin Hooper, who stopped running his route. Alex Austin was the beneficiary — and may have gotten away with a grab — as Brissett’s pass went right to him in the end zone.
Beyond that, Matthew Judon and Keion White both registered sacks against the first offense in a red zone 11-on-11 period that saw Brissett’s group stonewalled. Undrafted rookie safety Dell Pettus also enjoyed a strong day of camp, breaking up a pass intended for Henry in 11-on-11 and absolutely popping JaMycal Hasty on a sideline run. Pettus ensured the back wouldn’t pick up any extra yardage before being sent out of bounds.
It was a really competitive practice.
4. Osborn has a day
K.J. Osborn bounced back from an early drop to deliver his best practice with the Patriots.
The 27-year-old wideout caught a team-high five passes in competitive periods, and his 35-yard grab in the two-minute drill was instrumental in sending the offense out on a high note. Osborn also caught a touchdown from Brissett in 7-on-7 red zone drills and looks like a roster lock.
5. Smith-Schuster really struggles
On the flip side, Smith-Schuster doesn’t look like a lock at all. During a split 11-on-11 period, the highly-paid veteran went to the field with Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton quarterbacking, not with Brissett and Maye. In a red zone 11-on-11, he dropped a catchable pass from Milton in the end zone, and falling down in Maye’s two-minute drill played a major role in derailing things. He really needs to step his game up.
6. A dozen absences
As camp ramps up, injuries are mounting.
The Patriots were missing 12 players on Saturday: Tyquan Thornton, Marte Mapu, Sione Takitaki (PUP), Josh Bledsoe, Marcus Jones, Jake Andrews (PUP), Cole Strange (PUP), Calvin Anderson, Chuks Okorafor, Kendrick Bourne (PUP), Jaheim Bell and Christian Barmore.
Thornton’s absence is particularly discouraging, as the wideout had been putting a nice camp together, but as always, needs to stay healthy. With Okorafor out, Caedan Wallace slotted in at right tackle with the first team and Vederian Lowe stayed on the left side.
7. Strong showing from Slye
Joey Slye enjoyed a terrific day in the kicking competition. During an 11-on-11 period where Maye’s offense stalled at the 40-yard line, Slye trotted on and nailed a 57-yard field goal. He finished the day 5-for-5 on kicks, while Chad Ryland missed one and went 3-for-4.
