Drake Maye went to the podium after another encouraging practice and explained how his center offered him some advice a few weeks back.
"One the best things David Andrews told me was that it's never too good and it's never too bad," the rookie said when asked about the performance of the offense. On another steamy day in Foxborough, Maye and Jacoby Brissett once again turned in promising efforts for an offense that is starting to develop some rhythm.
That pair took virtually every rep in a practice that stretched just beyond two hours, one of the longest thus far in camp. Bailey Zappe didn't take a single rep and rookie Joe Milton grabbed no more than a handful late. Otherwise, it was all Brissett and Maye, and while the results weren't perfect there were more signs of life.
"I thought today was a step in the right direction," Brissett said.
Most of those strides began to take place roughly halfway through the practice. It started with 7-on-7s from the high red zone, which featured some quality throws from both quarterbacks. Brissett found DeMario Douglas, K.J. Osborn and Jalen Reagor for touchdowns in a five-play stretch, and Maye followed with TDs to Kayshon Boutte and La'Michael Pettway after nearly having a third to Javon Baker, but the rookie was unable to get his second foot in bounds under the goal posts.
That success carried into the next series of 11-on-11 plays. Following some work on the running game, which admittedly wasn't very productive, Brissett hit Douglas on a crosser for a nice gain and Maye did the same to Baker after hitting Reagor on a hook route.
Brissett then directed a long two-minute drill that despite its ultimate success would best be described as arduous. The 12-play touchdown drive featured one false start penalty and at least a couple of occasions where the group needed some time to get on the same page. Some near-misses – one to Hunter Henry and another to Boutte – slowed things down further but eventually Brissett found Douglas all alone on a post for the touchdown.
"Obviously the two-minute was a big emphasis today," Brissett said. "We hope not to have to go [12] plays in that situation but it was a long practice, and guys were making plays at the end. I think we needed to make a change at center at one point at the end, but we got the job done so it was a good drive."
It was an example of what Andrews described to his rookie quarterback – some good plays and ultimately a great result shouldn't necessarily overshadow the work that is still to be done.
Beyond another solid day for the offense, here are one man's observations from Day 8 of training camp.
*Matthew Judon donned pads for the first time in camp and took part fully in the workout. Judon was not in pads on Monday and had discussions with Mayo and then Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh before leaving the field for good. He then was reportedly not at the facility on Tuesday, which marked the second time the Patriots were in pads this summer. Mayo said he had a good conversation with Judon, and the veteran pass rusher was back on the field as a full participant Thursday. His presence in full pads on Friday was a positive step.
*Once again, no changes to the PUP list. Kendrick Bourne (knee) looks like he's getting closer but still has yet to be activated. Same for Cole Strange (knee), Sione Takitaki and Jake Andrews. Christian Barmore (blood clots), Marte Mapu, Marcus Jones, Joshuah Bledsoe and Jaheim Bell all remain out as well. Mapu continued his pattern of arriving about 30 minutes into practice and watching from the back of the secondary while Bell was present but did not take part in practice.
*Rookie running back Deshaun Fenwick was released and replaced by safety A.J. Thomas. He worked with safeties coach Brian Belichick after practice. The 24-year-old Thomas spent the spring with Birmingham of the UFL, seeing action in 12 games and finishing with 23 tackles and 3 interceptions. The 6-2, 215-pounder out of Western Michigan originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Chicago in 2022. He began his rookie year on the practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster and seeing action in five games. Thomas started the 2023 season on the Bears practice squad and was elevated for one game before being released in late October.
*Shaun Wade and Douglas (hand) continue to don red, non-contact jerseys. Wade left Thursday's practice about 30 minutes early but was back on the field in full pads and took part in the workout. Douglas began in his normal white jersey but switched to red after stretching. He appears to be ramping up his level of competition each day and took plenty of reps against the defense even with full pads on.
*The Patriots announced the signing of Kellen Diesch, an offensive lineman who played at Texas A&M and Arizona State. The 6-7, 300-pound Diesch was originally an undrafted free agent with Miami in 2022 and also had stints with Chicago, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. With Wheatley out of action, perhaps Diesch can add some depth at the tackle position. Diesch wore No. 72, replacing Tyrone Wheatley, who was released.
*Former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was on hand for practice and spent a long time chatting with Austin Hooper after the workout. They were teammates together in Atlanta. Former Patriots personnel director Scott Pioli and running back James White also took in practice.
*It appeared as if Calvin Anderson suffered an injury midway through practice as he was tended to by members of the medical staff. He had his left cleat removed and walked to the rehab area but returned later in practice and worked at right tackle. He opened practice with the second group but after returning from his scare he replaced Chuks Okorafor with the first group. Vederian Lowe remained the left tackle with the unit.
*With Marcus Jones out of the lineup, Azizi Hearn and Marco Wilson took reps alongside Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones with the first unit. Alex Austin also was involved with various personnel groups, and overall the secondary struggled throughout the day.
*The kickers closed out practice for a second straight day and Chad Ryland once again was a perfect 4-for-4 while Joey Slye missed his third of four attempts. The field goals ranged from roughly 33 to 48 yards in length.
*In addition to Brissett and Maye, Zappe and Milton, safety Jabrill Peppers also spoke with the media after practice. Peppers was back in pads but did little more than sprints after missing the last couple of practices.
*The Patriots are expected to be in pads once again on Saturday with practice set to begin at 11 a.m. The workout is open to the public with gates scheduled 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
