FOXBOROUGH — After a day off for the players on Saturday, the Patriots returned to the practice field on Sunday morning.
It certainly wasn’t their crispest session of the summer, but a wide receiver popped, the kicking competition intensified, a key player left early, and a young cornerback delivered an eye-catching rep during 1-on-1 drills. Here are nine takeaways from a decaf Sunday session:
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1. Douglas a difference-maker
DeMario Douglas was out of his red non-contact uniform — for real this time — and made life far easier for both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye. The two quarterbacks looked Douglas’ way early and often with good reason.
The speedy slot receiver caught six passes in team drills, drew a pass interference call, and won both of his 1-on-1 reps decisively, beating Isaiah Bolden and Shaun Wade despite a jersey pull. Douglas boasts a quickness that nobody else on the roster has, and when he’s on the field, the offense is better for it.
2. Up-and-down day for Drake
Still working with the second-team offense, Maye’s day could be best encompassed by one 11-on-11 sequence.
First, the rookie threw a strike to tight end Mitchell Wilcox, which was dropped. On the next play, he didn’t have any time and was sacked by a blitzing Brenden Schooler. From there, Maye delivered his best throw of the day, hitting fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk on the run as he rolled to his right. Then he threw a screen pass to Antonio Gibson that would have gotten the running back smushed in a game situation, and Maye ended the sequence with a throwaway because the backup offensive line couldn’t hold up.
So there was some good in there — the Polk throw really was a beauty — and some bad, but a lot of this is being impacted by the players around Maye. The backup offensive line is struggling mightily and drops aren’t aiding Maye’s numbers (18-for-29).
3. Unexpected INT
Maye did throw an interception to one of the most surprising recipients of camp: 307-pound defensive tackle Armon Watts. In an 11-on-11 period, Maye’s pass was batted into the air at the line of scrimmage and it popped right into Watts’ arms. The rookie responded well, throwing a touchdown pass to La’Michael Pettway on the next play, but has some work to do with the batted passes.
4. Good showing from Brissett
Jacoby Brissett (15-for-22) continued his remarkably consistent summer. The veteran’s best play of the day came in the red zone, when he fled the pocket and hit K.J. Osborn for a diving touchdown in the back corner of the end zone.
“That was a play today that we put in the offense this morning,” Osborn said. “We called it speed-break quick and I was able to beat the corner and roll out. Jacoby’s first and second read wasn’t there, so I worked to the corner. Jacoby was able to use his feet to buy some extra time, put a ball out there where the DB couldn’t get it and I was able to make a play for him.”
5. Kicker competition intensifies
Jerod Mayo added an intriguing new wrinkle to the kicker competition on Sunday.
For the final period, the entire team formed a horseshoe around the kickers, yelling and trying to distract them as they went through their normal end-of-practice kicks. Joey Slye went 3-for-4 in the period and drilled a 50-plus yarder earlier in practice to close out a two-minute drill, so he was 4-for-5 on the day. Chad Ryland missed a pair of kicks at the end and went 2-for-4. Deatrich Wise seemed to enjoy the new period more than anybody, breaking out dance moves as his distraction tactic.
6. Key player leaves early
After a quick detour to the trainer’s shed, Hunter Henry left practice early. Tyquan Thornton rode an exercise bike during a tackling period as he continues to rehab a soft tissue injury, and Matthew Judon worked with a trainer briefly before returning as a full participant.
Sunday’s absences were Marte Mapu, Sione Takitaki (PUP), Marcus Jones, John Morgan, Cole Strange (PUP), Kendrick Bourne (PUP), and Christian Barmore.
7. Eye-catching rep
Marco Wilson delivered the rep of the day in cornerback vs. wide receiver 1-on-1s. Going up against Ja’Lynn Polk, Wilson jammed the rookie so violently that he could barely get off the line of scrimmage. It was such a good jam that the quarterback didn’t even try to throw a pass, they just chalked the rep up as a decisive win for Wilson. Polk bounced back nicely, beating Christian Gonzalez his next time up.
8. Offense line stays in place
Following the first preseason game, the Patriots rolled out the same offensive line combination. Left to right, it remains: Vederian Lowe, Sidy Sow, David Andrews, Mike Onwenu, and Chuks Okorafor. The Patriots coaching staff has liked what they’ve seen from Lowe on the blindside thus far, but know bigger challenges are on the horizon.
“This is one of the quietest offensive linemen I have ever been around, but this guy goes out there every single day and improves,” Mayo said. “He has great athleticism, great length, and I look forward to seeing him against better competition.”
9. Not a sharp practice
More than two weeks into training camp, this was one of the more lackadaisical practices of the summer. At one point, Mayo stopped an 11-on-11 drill and pulled the entire team together to give them a message. Just a few snaps later, Maye’s offense needed to rehuddle because something wasn’t right at the line of scrimmage. It was one of those days.
