FOXBORO, MA \u2014 The Patriots held their fourth training camp practice in shorts and shells on the fields behind Gillette Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n
After an impressive third day for the offense, it was a sloppy day for Cam Newton and company, with both Newton and rookie Mac Jones failing to find a rhythm.<\/p>\n
As these things typically do, the Patriots’ offense is seesawing. In fact, my Sunday take is on how good the new-look offense is in the early going.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s still some truth to that, and Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor had their moments today, but the operation wasn\u2019t sharp overall.<\/p>\n
Defensively, I\u2019m waiting until the pads come on to make any real evaluations, as tackling is a major missing ingredient right now. Depth in the secondary is a concern still, though. The cover talent drops off considerably at cornerback after J.C. Jackson and Jon Jones.<\/p>\n
The one easy takeaway from the defense is that the front seven and starting secondary, especially once Stephon Gilmore returns, looks like the type of defense Bill Belichick wants.<\/p>\n
They have waves of versatility, experience to run different pressure packages, and top-end cover talent in the backend.<\/p>\n
Second-year linebacker Anfernee Jennings returned to practice after missing the first three sessions due to personal reasons. Offensive lineman Ted Karras wasn\u2019t present after an injury on day three, and the rest of the absences were the remaining PUP\/NFI guys.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s empty the notebook from day four of Patriots training camp:<\/p>\n
After speculation that Belichick\u2019s mind was changing on his starting quarterback last week, the Pats head coach backed Newton again on Saturday morning. Newton was the best QB on the field for the first four days of practice, so Belichick\u2019s stance isn\u2019t a surprise. Following two strong days, Newton wasn\u2019t as sharp with his accuracy on Saturday. He sailed a pass high over a very open Jakobi Meyers as Meyers ran a crosser, threw too far in front of N\u2019Keal Harry on a goal-line slant, and was 4-of-12 overall in competitive drills (not counting the one\u2019s versus twos early in practice). The Pats\u2019 starter did finish strong with a strike to Kristian Wilkerson in the corner of the end zone and a completion to Meyers on a slant with Jon Jones in coverage. Cam also connected with Kendrick Bourne in the corner of the end zone for a pretty TD. The process was fine from Newton, but the accuracy was inconsistent.<\/p>\n
During the first period of competitive team drills, Jones had arguably his worst stretch of camp to date. He went 0-of-4 with two passes batted down at the line and a wild throw in Meyers\u2019s direction. Then, the rookie bounced back in a closing red-zone period by going 4-of-4 (one play was likely a sack in a game). Jones\u2019s best throw came on an in-breaker to Wilkerson, where he looked to his left to move the coverage and then dotted it to Wilkerson back to his right. In the batch of four, the middle two throws were schemed plays or easier throws for the QB. But the pass to Wilkerson was nice, and he had a great bob-and-weave moment in the pocket to find Meyers on his final throw (probably a sack in a game). There\u2019s plenty of things to like about how Jones is practicing. His timing, touch, and pocket movement stand out daily. Still, Newton has gotten the better of him in the first week of camp.<\/p>\n
Amid ongoing trade speculation, it\u2019s fair to say that Harry is having a decent start to camp. Harry, a big target with the Pats mainly working in the red zone, has made plays. He went to the ground to snag a low back-shoulder toss on day one, beat Joejuan Williams to the spot on a slant on day two, and got the corner on a motion swing pass on day four. Harry looks a tad quicker and lighter than in years past but still has footwork issues at the top of his routes.<\/p>\n