The Patriots will welcome the Philadelphia Eagles to town for a joint practice session on Tuesday, and much of Monday's 90-minute workout was spent getting the team prepared. Jerod Mayo had the players dressed in helmets and shells and worked on various situations throughout the morning.
The offense was put in a variety of scenarios such as coming off the goal line, down and distance as well as some red zone reps. As has most often been the case this summer, the defense made life difficult on both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye, but the goal seemed to be more preparing for the Eagles and facing another team than anything else.
"It gives us a chance to execute our offense against another team and continue our growth," Brissett said after practice. "We're building on our foundation that we laid in the spring, and we've been able to put a lot of stuff in. Now we just have to stack some days together."
The defensive coaches were made available prior to practice and many of them agreed with Brissett in terms of needing to work against an opponent.
"Hopefully we will come out and dominate, work on our fundamentals and techniques and really gel as a team," defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington said. "We're looking to just compete as a team and see our guys in matchups against other players. It will be a chance to see who will be able to help us this season."
The Eagles pose some interesting problems when it comes to matchups. Jalen Hurts has a handful of dangerous targets to work with such as A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert as well as newcomer Saquan Barkley working out of the backfield.
On the flip side, the Patriots reworked offensive line – which continues to feature Vederian Lowe, Sidy Sow, David Andrews, Mike Onwenu and Chuks Okorafor – will have its hands full with Philly's mammoth defensive front. Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter represent a formidable duo in the middle while Bryce Huff and Josh Sweat can pressure off the edge.
It should provide a solid litmus test for the Patriots to judge their progress at this early stage of the preseason.
"It feels like a game day to me," Brissett admitted.
Beyond the prep work for the Eagles, here are one man's observations from Day 13 of training camp.
*The public portion of camp is quickly coming to a close and still no changes to the team's PUP list. Kendrick Bourne (knee), Sione Takitaki and Cole Strange (knee) have yet to be activated. Christian Barmore (blood clots), Marte Mapu, Marcus Jones and John Morgan all missed practice once again while Shaun Wade and Hunter Henry were added to the absentee list. Henry did little on Sunday and wasn't spotted on Monday.
*Jonathan Jones and Marcus Jones were both dressed but didn't practice as they continue to work through injuries. Neither played in the preseason opener and have been spectators for much of the past week.
*The officials continue to be an active part of camp, and with the Eagles in town for a joint practice that will be the case on Tuesday as well. Field judge Dyrol Prioleau was in perfect position to rule Jalen Reagor in bounds for a red zone touchdown off a nice Maye throw to the back of the end zone.
*Jabrill Peppers was dripping in red during practice, wearing red shorts, high red socks and red cleats. He was quite vocal during the practice, offering some encouragement to corner Mikey Victor after the rookie surrendered a touchdown pass to Ja'Lynn Polk on a quick out off a sprint to the right from Maye.
*There were representatives from the CFL on hand as coaches from British Columbia and Winnipeg watched practice. CFL personnel often spend portions of the summer scouring NFL camps looking for talent.
*Outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins spoke about Dont'a Hightower before practice and had a lot of praise for the first-year inside linebackers coach. "This guy has been around greatness," Wilkins said. "He played for Nick Saban and Bill Belichick and he's obviously enjoyed a lot of success. He's going to be a head coach in the NFL one day. This is a superstar in the league that we're all lucky to be around every day."
*During a special teams drill on the right practice field, the quarterbacks spent time on the opposite side throwing passes as they were being hit by equipment personnel swinging pads in their direction.
*Bryce Baringer punted from deep in his own end on Monday, which gave the returners plenty of opportunities to field the kicks. K.J. Osborn, David Wallis, DeMario Douglas, Polk and Reagor all took reps as the punt returner. The rookie Wallis muffed the last kick of the drill for the only mishap with ball-handling.
*The timing never appeared right for the offense on Monday as even screen passes weren't always completed. Oshane Ximines knocked one away early in one 11-on-11 period, and both Brissett and Maye had trouble connecting on quick outs and other timing routes. The defense was quite stingy throughout the day.
*One of the constant themes of camp has been the lack of execution when it comes to the overall operation offensively. That was the case again as a couple of false start penalties short-circuited the attack. The defense also was involved with the sloppiness as the unit was caught with 10 men on the field twice and Mayo sent the entire group for laps both times.
*Cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino spoke glowingly about the depth at his position before practice and some of that was on display. With Marcus Jones, Jonathan Jones and Wade all out of the lineup, players like Victor and Azizi Hearn got some opportunities. Hearn did a great job defending a deep ball intended for JaQuae Jackson late in practice. Victor did a nice job knocking away a fade in the end zone intended for Javon Baker as well. Some of the lesser-known corners are showing some progress as camp continues.
*Linebacker Joe Giles-Harris came up with a pass deflection on a Joe Milton slant, allowing Dell Pettus to come up with the interception late in practice.
*In addition to Brissett, DeMario Douglas, Marco Wilson, Ja'Lynn Polk, Javon Baker and Joey Slye were among those who spoke with the media after practice.
*The public portion of training camp ends on Tuesday with a joint practice with the Eagles scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in Foxborough. Gates are set to open for fans at 9:30 a.m.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
