- 6 days ago
Concluding the Patriots second training camp practice, Alex Barth and Scott Zolak sat down and reacted to the team's performance. While discussing the details of the practice, the guys explained how the team was prioritizing getting work done on short passing concepts.
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00:00Welcome into today's Patriots training camp practice report brought to you by Safety Insurance.
00:04Alex Barth alongside Scott Zolak here above the practice fields at Gillette Stadium after the Patriots wrapped up their second training camp practice of the summer.
00:13The focus today, we saw more team drills, a lot of first down work, and that seemed to fit Drake May well.
00:19Started 10 for 10, completing 14 of his 15 passes.
00:22Not a lot of pushing the ball down the field, though.
00:24It was a lot of, I don't want to say checkdowns because he took some stuff that was like shorter and over the middle.
00:28But taking a profit, right, that sort of thing, taking what the defense gave him.
00:33And with the context, as Andrew Callahan reported, of it being a first down practice, staying ahead of schedule, which is so important in that Josh McDaniels offense.
00:41We want to see Drake May throw the ball deep.
00:42His chemistry with the receivers deep is going to be something we'll watch throughout the summer.
00:46But I think today you saw, you know, one of the questions for him coming into this year, he needs to be decisive in the pocket without being rushed in wild.
00:54And I think you saw today him demonstrating that he can do that.
00:57Yeah, and I think for them, too, and for his health and well-being, you want him to take what's given in front of him instead of running.
01:03Now, if they are building it from the ground up, and this is Josh's offense, there's no sense coming out here running a ton of digs, deep posts, things.
01:10You start with the short game.
01:11Those are drive starter type plays.
01:14You know, you go out there in a two-minute drill.
01:15First thing you're thinking is, I've got to draw, and I've got to check down.
01:18Just to get it out of my hands, they're called drive starters.
01:20That's what we used to call them all the time.
01:21So, it's to get the guy in rhythm, get the offense in rhythm, and I think you add to it, maybe have a little more play action tomorrow, a little more digs with the tight ends, maybe a couple vertical outs.
01:31And we'll see where it goes from there.
01:32But this is a learning time right now, and it's about let's get everybody involved, let's spread it.
01:37You mentioned it yesterday.
01:38No two guys caught more than two balls.
01:40Similar vibe today.
01:41Nobody had more than three.
01:42It was digs and Stevenson had the most of three.
01:44I think Pop had two.
01:45So, it wasn't that they were covering them today.
01:47It was just an intentional offense of trying to get productivity done offense day.
01:51How important is a day like this, not just for Drake May, but for Josh in installing the offense?
01:56Well, you want to see timing, too, right?
01:58Because if he's going to call your screens, he needs to know which lineman I'm going to be able to do this with.
02:02If I've got a guard in there that doesn't move well, I'm not going to call a draw, or I'm not going to call a slip screen where he's got to get out on the perimeter.
02:10So, timing is of the essence.
02:11It's predicated on the whole passing game with that.
02:14It's about getting 11 guys on the same page, and they're just grading everybody.
02:17So, let's get everybody reps, get them in there, because as these days go by, reps become limited.
02:23Yeah.
02:23Because you start zeroing in on your ones and twos, and more specifically your ones.
02:26Then you get to the joints, and it's basically all your ones taking reps.
02:29So, that's where you mentioned zeroing in.
02:31It actually kind of maybe opened things up a little bit more on the offensive line today.
02:34So, just to reset from yesterday, center was where we saw the rotation.
02:38It was Garrett Bradbury starting off, but he rotated in front of Drake May with rookie Jared Wilson.
02:43And then Cole Strange, where we thought there'd be the competition at left guard.
02:47Yeah.
02:47It was just Cole Strange.
02:48Today, Jared Wilson continued to rep at center.
02:51He did have a bad snap.
02:52We should mention that.
02:53Continued to rep at center.
02:54But he also repped at left guard next to Bradbury with Strange sitting.
02:58So, it seems like Jared Wilson maybe is competing for two spots, and maybe the competition, we'll see how he does when the pads come on.
03:05Obviously, that's so important, right?
03:06He has to be evaluated.
03:07He has to win the starting spot.
03:09But if they look at it and they say, okay, Jared Wilson is one of our five best linemen.
03:13We need him on the field.
03:15Maybe the conversation becomes, and it's just one day, but maybe we get to the point where it shifts to, it's actually Garrett Bradbury at center, Cole Strange at left guard.
03:23Who's better in their spot that you can't take off the field for Jared Wilson?
03:26Well, it's the flexibility of that eighth, ninth, potentially, lineman that they will keep.
03:31Yeah.
03:31You've got to be able to play more than just one position.
03:33You've got to be versatile.
03:34And I think the guard center guys, those are the ones that make football teams at the end of the day.
03:39I remember sitting in meetings last year with Bayou and they said, we just don't have a center.
03:42There was no depth at the center position last year.
03:45Talking about it after Andrews went down.
03:47Remember, they had to go get Ben Brown on a Thursday.
03:49Yeah.
03:50Bring him in, and he was starting at center that week because that's better than anything that you had.
03:54They didn't have a lot of good quality centers here last year.
03:56And hopefully this is going to turn because I know Mike Reese is worried about the center position.
04:00Everything starts there.
04:01The calls start with that guy.
04:03He's a guy that sets all the protections before the ball snap.
04:06No, seeing Jared Wilson out there now, he was limited in the spring.
04:09He was dealing with an injury.
04:10He didn't practice.
04:11He didn't do any team drills.
04:12So we didn't know what to expect coming into the summer, where his progress would be.
04:16Seeing him out there to me is encouraging.
04:17That's a guy I think has a real chance to start week one.
04:20I like him.
04:21But also, like you said, if it's not him, Garrett Bradbury kind of stepped back last year in Minnesota.
04:28Ben Brown's still here, but he feels like more of a spot starter.
04:31And then after them, do they try Cole Strange there again?
04:34Like a lot kind of clicks into place, I feel like, if Jared Wilson can win that job.
04:40Yeah, and I think, you know, playing Cole Strange at center at the end of last year, if that didn't look great or if it looked really, really good, you're probably not bringing in veteran centers.
04:47You know, I'll probably draft at a center.
04:49Right.
04:49I think Strange is a guard.
04:51I don't see him at center.
04:53I think he's struggled there at times.
04:55And he just needs to pick a position.
04:57He needs to learn it and run with it.
04:59If you're going to give him any chance to only make the team, but to play for this football team.
05:03Would you make them rotating in Morgan Moses and DeMontre Jacobs?
05:06Do you think that's just workload management?
05:09Moses jumped, and I think he was offside at early part of the drill yesterday.
05:12Then he started to get the substitutions right away.
05:14It feels like Moses, we see a lot of tackles around the league do this, right?
05:17That thing where, like, we see defensive linemen jump the snap count, right?
05:21He's trying to jump the snap count.
05:22I noticed that a few times today.
05:24Was he early?
05:25It was very close, but that would get called once or twice in a game to keep him honest.
05:29Remember last preseason, how much they were looking for that?
05:32Oh, that was the Washington game, right?
05:34Washington, I was going nuts.
05:35Ball four starts and five snaps.
05:36Oh, it was brutal.
05:37Yeah.
05:38Hey, we warned the sideline not to line up in the neutral zone.
05:42Was that Chooks or Verdari?
05:43I think it was Chooks that kept jumping.
05:44That was Chooks.
05:44Yep, Chooks and Verdari.
05:46So hopefully that gets avoided this year.
05:47On the wide receivers, again, it was pretty spread out.
05:50Pop Douglas had the catch of the day.
05:51Nice little fadeaway, pulling the ball away from Marcellus-Dial.
05:54Stephon Diggs still very, very busy.
05:57A little bit of a step back for Kyle Williams.
05:59He had a drop today.
06:00And the other guy that stood out to me, Javon Baker got open a couple times.
06:03Now, they didn't result in catches.
06:05One, he kind of bobbled.
06:06It was knocked away by Alex Austin.
06:08The other was overthrown.
06:09It was deep down the field.
06:11It was overthrown by maybe five or ten yards by Josh Dobbs.
06:14But he got open for whatever that's worth.
06:16So I don't know if a particular receiver stood out to you.
06:17But, again, they're spreading the ball around.
06:21There's two guys that jump out to me.
06:22It's Diggs and it's Williams.
06:24And I just say that from a route running standpoint.
06:26The pumping of the feet, the power, the quickness, tight spaces if you're going to be those catch-and-run guys.
06:33And, yeah, you get Pop in there a little bit, too.
06:34I think Pop's having a decent camp so far.
06:37One more thing on the offense.
06:38I don't know if you noticed Ben Wildridge at all today, the third-string quarterback, the rookie.
06:41He's kind of slinging it.
06:43Is he?
06:43He had one deep ball where the receiver was open and he put it, should have put it on him, the receiver, turned the wrong shoulder.
06:51And then he had the next play, comes back, land Larrison over the middle in traffic.
06:54He dropped the arm down and kind of gave it to him, sidearm.
06:57That's good.
06:57He'll be slinging burgers in about two weeks.
06:59So slinging it one way or the other.
07:00I think he'll be on the practice squad.
07:02They're going to keep a third quarterback.
07:03I'm kidding.
07:03He went four for five.
07:04You need arms.
07:04You need arms.
07:05Yeah, they do.
07:07Defensively, no Christian Barmore today.
07:10That sounded like a load management thing.
07:13Doug Hyde reported it was not in relation to the setback.
07:16So they sat in their base defense.
07:18A lot of Kairos Tonga, a lot of Jeremiah Farms, who had a pass breakup working in on that front.
07:25And I think Keon White, too.
07:26Keon White through two days.
07:27Looks like they're going to have him up and they're going to have him trying to push that pocket, too.
07:30So opposite what they want to get done on the other side.
07:35This could be, I know we talked yesterday, this could be a big jump here for Keon.
07:38It could.
07:38One way or another.
07:39And they were in that base front, which he was involved in.
07:41It was also Jelani Tavai getting some run with that base defense.
07:44What do you make of him still being in the mix?
07:46I saw him down here signing autographs yesterday when I was doing variable.
07:49Looks to me like he dropped weight.
07:51It does.
07:51Looks like he got smaller.
07:52And it's just interesting because to have the offseason they had where they got rid of so many players who were leaders on the old team or were vocal on the old team.
08:01And obviously he had his comments last year that he's still in the mix.
08:04Makes me think they have a plan for him.
08:06Among all the guys they cut, that guy's still here.
08:08Interesting.
08:09It's interesting.
08:09And you've got guys like Pepper still here.
08:11Yeah.
08:11You know, Marte Mapu.
08:13That's a guy you can look at.
08:14And I know you think maybe there could be some surprising cuts out there.
08:17He could be one of those guys.
08:18Do you guys have a good view of the field goals from up here?
08:20No.
08:20We had a tough view on the hill.
08:21No, just terrible view.
08:22Terrible view from here.
08:23That goal post is blocked.
08:25You're right.
08:25Anyway, Andy Borgales was 304.
08:27John Parker, Romo was 404.
08:28Nice.
08:29Beringer was letting some punts go.
08:30It's a windy day.
08:31Good day to test them because it's going to be a hell of a lot worse than these type of conditions in Gillette.
08:35And you know, it's always like two o'clock, right?
08:37When we sit down and do the show.
08:38You said the wind wasn't as bad down there, huh?
08:39No, it was.
08:40It was.
08:41I mean, look at the flags on the goal.
08:42Yeah, we got bad information.
08:44And thank you.
08:44I don't know, right on the field, but for kicking, it was definitely a factor.
08:47Interns line and stuff.
08:48That's right.
08:48We'll have more of that tomorrow.
08:50We're going to wrap this one up.
08:51Again, we'll be doing this every day here.
08:53I'll be here every day.
08:54Zoe will be here every weekday.
08:55Patriots training camp.
08:56The Patriots training camp practice report brought to you by Safety Insurance.
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09:45Quick update for weather for tomorrow.
09:46Chance of rain here tomorrow.
09:48So it's supposed to start like right at 2.
09:50So it'll be interesting.
09:51Hopefully it's not blowing in here on us, but I think practice is going to be dry.
09:54So we'll talk to you again tomorrow.
09:55Hopefully from a dry perch above July Stadium.
09:58Thanks for tuning in for Scott Zollach.
09:59I'm Alex Barth.
10:00We'll talk to you tomorrow.
10:01We'll talk to you tomorrow.
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