The Eagles came to Foxborough with a roster filled with Super Bowl-caliber talent. The Patriots are in the first year of the Jerod Mayo regime and trying to get back to that level. There were times when that disparity was apparent, but it did little to stop both sides from competing well throughout the morning.
For the Patriots, that led to an uneven day as the offense struggled mightily. However, the competitiveness of the defense was arguably the most encouraging aspect of the day for the hosts, especially when it came to the physicality of the big guys up front.
Philadelphia boasts a talented offensive line, and a deep crop of skill position players that most teams would covet. But after a rocky start it was the Patriots front seven that controlled the line of scrimmage, consistently stuffing the run while generating more than its share of pressure on Jalen Hurts.
"They're stout and very strong," Eagles perennial Pro Bowl tackle Lane Johnson said after practice. "[Jabrill] Peppers smacked a couple of guys to get things going early. They do a good job moving guys around and they take advantage of matchups. If you're not real sound with your technique they're going to take advantage."
When it came to stopping the run, Davon Godchaux & Co. were in midseason form. Saquan Barkley did not get much room to roam, particularly when the ball was situated in the red zone.
Things weren't as productive when it came to the secondary. Hurts generally found his receivers open and made the connection more often than not. A.J. Brown may have been the best player on the field for either side, and he made life tough on whoever was assigned to him, catching an array of slants, outs as well as deeper routes.
DeVonta Smith also was a going concern, freeing himself on a number of occasions on deep over routes. He caught one for a would-be touchdown and would have had another if not for an underthrown ball from Hurts that wound up hitting a trailing Alex Austin in the back of the helmet.
However, the front seven stepped up in this regard as well. After a tough opening sequence, the pass rush turned it up and forced Hurts to move off his spot consistently during the next set of plays. That helped a shorthanded group of corners that featured Christian Gonzalez, Marco Wilson, Austin and a number of rookies as Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones and Shaun Wade all missed the team work.
Once the progression worked toward the red zone, the Patriots front began to dominate. And as practice closed with a two-minute drill, the pressure again prevented Hurts from doing too much damage, although he was easily able to complete a fourth-down pass to Brown, who didn't appear to have anyone close enough to prevent a touchdown but the whistle blew the play dead anyway.
It wasn't a perfect day for the defense as Brown and Smith caught too many passes without much trouble, and Barkley easily beat a blitz and grabbed a long touchdown throw from Hurts as well. But the front seven matched the physicality and competitiveness that was on display and acquitted itself quite well.
Beyond the defense, here are one man's observations from Day 14 of Patriots training camp, a joint practice session with the Philadelphia Eagles.
*No changes to the Patriots attendance list as Kendrick Bourne (knee), Sione Takitaki (right leg) and Cole Strange (knee) remain on PUP. Christian Barmore (blood clots), Marte Mapu and Hunter Henry were among those not taking part in the joint practice. Mayo said he did not expect Henry's absence to be long term. Marcus Jones, Jonathan Jones and Shaun Wade all were in uniform but did not take part in any competitive reps. Barmore made his first appearance since being diagnosed early in camp, spending time catching up with his teammates during practice.
*The Patriots made some roster moves ahead of Philly's arrival, signing rookie free agent running back Deshaun Fenwick and releasing defensive end John Morgan. Morgan was released with an injury designation and will revert to IR after clearing waivers. Fenwick spent the early part of camp with the Patriots before being released August 2.
*The Patriots wore blue while the Eagles were in white. As has been the case most days in camp, Michael Jordan and Sidy Sow were the first two Patriots on the field. Old not-so-friend Lane Johnson was among the first Eagles to make an appearance.
*The teams warmed up on separate fields with some walkthroughs and conditioning. Both the Patriots and Eagles ran through plays with the offense not wearing helmets. At the opposite end of the field the defense wore helmets during the same period. The Patriots opened with the same offensive line they've used for more than a week with Vederian Lowe, Sow, David Andrews, Mike Onwenu and Chuks Okorafor from left to right.
*Mayo was asked about his mindset heading into the joint practice. He explained his reasoning for only wanting one session due to the propensity for the second practice to become chippy. He had a stern message for any of his players when it came to fighting.
"You don't fight in a real game," he said. "If you fight in a real game, you get fined; you get kicked out. It's the same thing here. My message to the players, if you get in a fight out here, if you're a starter, you're going to play the whole preseason game. If you're not a starter, you won't play at all. That's kind of my mindset with that."
*In that regard the session was at times emotionally charged but none of the "altercations" seemed to rise to the level of an actual fight. The closest came during a special teams period when a member of the Patriots kickoff coverage team (it appeared to be Raekwon McMillan) did a nice job of knocking an Eagles blocker into the returner causing a fumble. JaMycal Hasty raced in with the scoop-and-score touchdown. The Eagles felt the play was overly physical and after some jawing between the teams an ensuing rep wound up in front of Philly's bench. Some pushing and shoving took place and there were some swings, but no players were removed from practice.
*Just after 11 a.m. the teams went to work with some 1-on-1 reps. The physicality was even on display during this period as Peppers was flagged for holding for being overly aggressive against Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert. Rookie Ja'Lynn Polk did a nice job of getting inside corner Shon Stephens for a nice pick up. Another rookie, David Wallis, beat Tyler Hall deep for a touchdown. On the flip side, Brown easily got position on Gonzalez on a slant for a nice gain. As expected, the 1-on-1s in the passing game were dominated by the offenses on both sides.
*The teams transitioned to 7-on-7s about 10 minutes later. DeVonta Smith came away with the biggest play of that period, catching a long touchdown from Hurts. Javon Baker caught a fade down the right sideline from Drake Maye, beating Philly's Josh Jobe easily.
*From that point on it was all 11-on-11s, broken up only for a couple of special teams periods. Offensively the Patriots simply committed too many penalties. Unofficially I had the offense flagged nine times with at least six coming pre-snap. There were also issues with ball handling, both on fumbled snaps and one on a failed jet sweep handoff that wound up on the ground. Both Jacoby Brissett and Maye were involved in the ragged play.
*The Patriots kick return unit also was guilty of penalties as at least three drew flags for illegal blocks/holding. DeMario Douglas flashed on one such return, bouncing to the left but as he appeared to find daylight a pair of flags came flying.
*Three more 11-on-11 periods followed the kick return work, and the offensive problems persisted. Pass protection and penalties were the dominant theme. Austin Hooper was one of the few bright spots as he consistently managed to get open. But even his day wasn't without issues as he dropped a sure touchdown in the end zone and had the ricochet bounce into the hands of an Eagles linebacker for a pick. He later was unable to get his feet in bounds on a sideline throw that would have been a decent pick up.
*The teams got some two-minute work in to close practice and Maye's four plays were particularly frustrating. He was sacked on the first two plays, then was unable to connect with a well-covered Kayshon Boutte on an out just outside the right numbers. On fourth down he was sacked again, ending a difficult series for the rookie.
*Andrews, Godchaux, Hooper, Maye, Peppers and Stevenson were among those who spoke to the media after practice.
*The joint practice marked the end of the public portion of training camp for the Patriots. The teams will meet in Week 2 of the preseason on Thursday night inside Gillette Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.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
