Patriots Open OTA 2: No Turnovers, but Shaky Day for Drake Maye

Attendance

Absent/Did Not Participate: CB Carlton Davis III, WR Stefon Diggs, WR Mack Hollins, TE Austin Hooper, OL Caedan Wallace

Limited: RG Mike Onwenu, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, S Kyle Dugger, LB Jahlani Tavai, WR Ja’Lynn Polk, IOL Jared Wilson, LT Vederian Lowe, S Marcus Epps, NT Jaquelin Roy, DL Wilfried Pene

Mike Vrabel’s Top Quotes of Note

On if the Patriots have looked into the recent video Stefon Diggs: “Well, it’s something that we’re aware of. Obviously, we want to make great decisions on and off the field. We’re hoping that with our time here on the field today, that when we don’t have a script and we’re on the call periods, that we’re making great decisions. The message will be the same for all our players, that we’re trying to make great decisions. Any conversations that I’ve had with Stefon will remain between him, I and the club.”

On if he cares about Drake Maye’s four interceptions during last week’s open practice: “Well, I care. I care about every player’s performance and that we continue to improve. There has been great improvement. Everybody’s going to have a bad day. There’s a lot of reasons that go into it. We’re not going to analyze every single practice and have explanations for things that came up. The command, the operation, all those things have continued to improve. I don’t know who asked me about what I thought would be a successful day. Sure enough, I told you those things weren’t going to happen. Hopefully the operation, the communication today, and the execution has got to be better. We only have so many of these opportunities. I’m hopeful that in front of us, the media, that we have a better day.”

On Rhamondre Stevenson’s return: “Well, it’s great to have everybody here. I want to support him through this process the best that we can. That’s probably a little bit more difficult. He doesn’t know us as well. His communication, I appreciated. It’s great to have him back. We’ll work him along and make sure that he’s ready to get out there. I don’t know how much you’ll see him in some of the live team action. I don’t think that’s fair to him to just throw him back out there. There’s certainly a return-to-play like a lot of players will have over the course of the year.”

On striking the right balance with the practice pace: “Yeah, I think that’s the biggest coach speak in the spring is you’re talking out of both sides of your mouth. It’s like, compete, but stay up. Compete, but the receiver has the right to the football. We can’t go through the back of them. I think that the energy is there. I think the urgency is there. I like to see guys running off the field, coming out on the field, to take the field, to be ready to go, breaking the huddle, lining up, having an urgency to which we practice, and I think all those things, hopefully, will lead to better execution.”

On how defenders are communicating early on: “Good. I think that when we split the squads up, I hear both fields talking and communicating. There’s going to be times – hopefully, a lot of times at our home games – where the defense is going to have to signal, hand signal, eye contact, nonverbal communication because it’s loud, we’ve created a great environment by the way that we’re playing, and our fans are embracing that. So, I think that that’s always important, and obviously, offensively, when we go on the road, we’re going to have to have different silent counts and be on the same page in a loud environment.”

No Turnovers, but a Shaky Day for Drake Maye

New England’s second open practice was another inconsistent outing for the passing attack.

Drake Maye committed zero turnovers after a four-pick performance last Tuesday, but he had a number of errant throws. Maye threw behind Kendrick Bourne on a short pass, missed high on crossers to Hunter Henry and DeMario Douglas, respectively. The top unit also fumbled a snap late in practice. Maye had to deal with some tight pockets, but they were throws you’d like to see him make.

Maye’s misses were ugly, but he wasn’t all bad. He continues to be automatic on sail routes to Henry, including an impressive anticipatory throw. Tight end CJ Dippre also dropped a well-placed backshoulder ball down the seam, and Maye consistently found his outlets when plays broke down.

Top backup Joshua Dobbs had far more eye-catching completions, including a go ball to Kyle Williams, seams to Dippre and Jaheim Bell, and downfield completions to Javon Baker and Efton Chism. Dobbs’ lone interception came on a bobbled ball to John Jiles, but he also should’ve been picked by Craig Woodson on a high throw to Chism and had a similar miss later in practice.

Growing pains are par for the course with a new offense, especially a young group like New England’s. Like last week, Maye and company could come out firing in their next session, and they’re facing a defense full of veterans. That said, it would be nice to see the offense put up more of a fight during next Monday’s open practice.

Notebook

With Carlton Davis out, Marcus Jones was the main man opposite Christian Gonzalez with Alex Austin serving as the top nickel corner.
Guard Tyrese Robinson spent a lot of time between Will Campbell and Garrett Bradbury. Layden Robinson’s stock appears to have dropped despite a solid end to his rookie season.
Joshua Farmer and Milton Williams batted passes. Farmer’s appeared to be on his first rep of team drills.
Javon Baker had a productive practice, making a contested catch on a dig route, finding space against zone coverage, and adjusting to a go ball from Ben Wooldridge purposely thrown behind him (though he might’ve been flagged for a push-off). But Baker also had some drops during warm-ups, and during a late team period, he was reprimanded by Mike Vrabel for celebrating after a play instead of promptly returning to the huddle. Mack Hollins offered some words of wisdom once Baker returned to the sideline, and Vrabel found Baker after practice to continue the conversation in a calmer one-on-one moment.
Woodson has a knack for being around the ball, and he provided smothering coverage on an impressive seam ball to Bell. He was in the mix with Jaylinn Hawkins and Jabrill Peppers, who returned to the lineup after not participating last week.
Chism continues to look like one of the team’s most consistent receivers. Efficient, reliable, and doesn’t make glaring mistakes.
UDFA RB Lan Larison saw a lot of targets in a checkdown-heavy session.
Parker Romo bouned back in the kicker competition, making all four of his attempts. Rookie Andres Borregales went 3/4 with a wide miss.