The gloomy skies continued in Foxborough on Day 2 of Patriots training camp, and perhaps that contributed to a bit of a lackluster practice. The workout lasted an hour and 45 minutes and once again featured players in helmets and shorts as they continue the ramp up period to contact next week.
But unlike opening day, there weren't many memorable moments – particularly on offense. Jacoby Brissett remained in place as the starting quarterback, and despite hitting on a few crisp reps, the defense disrupted things more often than not.
Rookie Drake Maye followed Brissett but was equally under pressure, preventing the offense from establishing much of a rhythm. In a slight change from Wednesday, rookie Joe Milton followed Maye before Bailey Zappe wrapped up the 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 periods.
One of the few highlights on offense was Tyquan Thornton, who was quiet to start camp but was more noticeable on Thursday. Thornton caught passes from both Brissett and Maye, and was able to shake free on at least a couple of other occasions when the ball wasn't thrown his way.
Most of his work consisted of shorter routes but showed his ability to create space with his speed by backing off the coverage before breaking quickly to the outside. He also appeared to take responsibility for a miscommunication with Maye when he broke off his route as the ball sailed well downfield. Thornton immediately motioned to his quarterback as he nodded in an apparent attempt to accept blame for the incompletion.
If the first two days of camp are any indication, the receiver group will be wide open with opportunities for virtually all of the 12 currently on the roster to get reps.
For the most part, though, it was the defense controlling things. Jabrill Peppers showed terrific coverage on Hunter Henry on an attempted shot play from Brissett and knocked the ball away. Marcus Jones also made a strong play on a deep ball intended for Ja'Lynn Polk, getting his arm in as the ball arrived to prevent the connection.
Overall, it was a slower day for the offense as the team continues to work toward contact next week.
Beyond the strong play of the secondary, here are one man's observations from Day 2 of camp.
*There were no changes to the PUP list as Kendrick Bourne (knee), Cole Strange (knee), Jake Andrews and Sione Takitaki remained on the sideline. On a positive note, Antonio Gibson was back in uniform and removed from NFI. The veteran running back didn't do much in the practice and went to the lower rehab fields when positional drills began. Mayo indicated on Wednesday that Gibson wasn't expected to be out long term and it turns out it was just one day. Fellow running back Terrell Jennings has been in uniform both days but without his helmet and hasn't taken part in much thus far.
*After fully participating on opening day, Davon Godchaux was not spotted for the first hour of Thursday's practice. He walked out to the fields and joined his fellow defensive linemen at that point but did not have his helmet and mostly watched the rest of the way.
*Christian Barmore reportedly left the field with trainer Jim Whalen on Wednesday before practice ended, and on Thursday there was a tweet from MassLive indicating the defensive tackle is dealing with an illness. He was in uniform but appeared limited throughout the day.
*DeMario Douglas continued his slow start to camp as he appears to be dealing with some type of injury. While the offense works against the defense, Douglas typically runs sprints in the back of the end zone before joining his teammates without taking any reps. He's been in uniform but thus far hasn't done more than positional drills and conditioning work.
*There was another new apparatus sighted before practice. A member of the equipment personnel staff rolled a square structure with poles about five feet high and a tarp covering over the top. It was situated across the 30-yard line and had two orange pads lying parallel to each other underneath the tarp. The linebackers spent time in position drills keeping their pad level low while focusing on their footwork underneath the tarp.
*Danny Amendola was a guest on the field for practice.
*Early in practice there was some special teams work with returners operating alone while eight potential cover guys converged. Douglas, Polk, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Reagor and Marcus Jones caught punts while trying to evade the would-be tacklers without the benefit of blocking. It was interesting to how elusive the returners could be even without any help from teammates. Not surprisingly, Douglas and Jones excelled in that regard.
*Speaking of Jones, he spent the bulk of the two practices working out of the slot with fellow corners Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones on the outside. Jones hasn't really established himself as a regular on defense in his two seasons, although he appeared on the road to doing so a year ago when his season ended with a shoulder injury in Week 2. Jones has displayed tight coverage thus far on a number of occasions and looks to be on his way to a more permanent role on defense.
*Rookie Jaheim Bell showed some versatility on Thursday, lining up in the backfield, motioning out and moving to his normal tight end spot. He was targeted off one such play when he darted free across the field but couldn't corral Maye's pass. Later he grabbed a slant from Milton for what would have been a big play. Given his experience in the backfield in college, it's possible that Bell could provide some depth at what is a pretty thin position if the seventh-round pick shows some development this summer.
*Practice closed once again with conditioning runs on the hills behind the end zone.
*Sony Michel was the alumni guest of the day and addressed the crowd before practice.
*Gonzalez, Thornton, Polk, Kyle Dugger, Keion White, Chuks Okorafor and Calvin Anderson were among those who spoke the media after practice. Anderson spoke at length about his ordeal last year when he suffered from malaria and was limited throughout the offseason and missed the entire training camp. "It just feels good to be out here," he said. "I'm healthy, I'm big, I'm strong and I'm just hoping to show the coaches what I can do. It's definitely a different feeling. It's hard to take anything for granted. I'm excited just to be out here running the hill."
*Training camp continues on Friday with practice set to begin once again at 11 a.m. The workout is open to the public with gates set to open at 10 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
