The Patriots practiced in the bubble to escape the rain during their eighth day of training camp. New England kept the pads on for a fourth straight session, with red zone and the ground game being the top areas of focus. The top two offenses dropped back just over a dozen times each, but these were primarily quick-game throws, play-action fakes, and screens.
Here’s a look at New England’s attendance and what I noticed on a bad weather practice in Foxborough.
Attendance
Absent: CB Carlton Davis III, G Caedan Wallace
Did Not Participate: WR Kyle Williams
Physically Unable to Perform: ED Harold Landry III, TE CJ Dippre
Non-Football Injury: ST Brenden Schooler
Injured Reserve: WR Jeremiah Webb, WR Jimmy Kibble, TE Julian Hill
Tweet of the Day
Notebook
- Gabe Jacas‘ ramp-up continued today after taking a handful of reps in 11-on-11, primarily lining up on the second defense’s left edge. Jacas also continued to receive individual coaching on punt protection technique from head coach Mike Vrabel and vice president of football operations and strategy John “Stretch” Streicher, and he beat Lorenz Metz with speed during his only 1-on-1 rep. Outside linebackers coach Mike Smith also got Jacas back for blowing him up during an individual period on Saturday, pretending to give the rookie instruction before bringing him down on a pad and throwing some playful punches.
- The first-team run game is still a work in progress, but it took a step forward despite slippery conditions in the bubble, getting good push for solid gains and opening a few sizable holes. The run of the day went to Rhamondre Stevenson, who took an outside zone carry behind Morgan Moses and Eli Raridon to the house. The defense ultimately came out on top, notably going 2-0 in third-and-short situations with sirens blasting to simulate crowd noise, but the ground attack was noticeably more competitive.
- Romeo Doubs flashed for the second practice in a row, highlighted by a touchdown over Christian Gonzalez in the back of the end zone during 7-on-7s. Charles Woods did get the better of Doubs on a red zone blitz, jumping a slant target from Drake Maye.
- A.J. Brown dislocated his thumb after getting two-hand jammed by Gonzalez during red zone 1-on-1s, with Brown pulling up immediately and Gonzalez picking off the fade throw. Brown was still heavily involved and caught multiple slants during team drills, but Gonzalez continued to pester the receiver by blowing up a tunnel screen late in practice.
- Rookies Karon Prunty and Channing Canada had competitive practices, making plays on the ball and earning reps with the top defense. Prunty had a late break-up on a drop-in-the-bucket from Maye to Brown in the corner of the end zone, and he had a simultaneous catch with Nick DeGennaro on a shot from Behren Morton. Canada deflected a red zone slant to Kayshon Boutte after Boutte caught a fade on him the play before. Canada also denied a slant to Mack Hollins the next period.
- Hollins had a mostly productive day as the second offense’s most targeted receiver. There were a couple of lowlights, most notably dropping a touchdown from Maye with Prunty in coverage, but he caught multiple crossers off play action, and he got away from Kindle Vildor on a comeback and again later on a red zone corner.
- Chad Muma stood out twice today, making a diving attempt to break up an underneath throw to Rhamondre Stevenson during 7-on-7s and helping blow up a run during 11-on-11s.
- DeMario Douglas and Marcus Jones split reps in 1-on-1 red zone work. Douglas tracked down a perfectly-placed corner target for an early score, but Jones used hard inside leverage to smother Douglas on an in-breaker to close the period.