After a couple of steamy days watching the offense gain some momentum, the defense evidently had enough. While there was little change to the heat and humidity that have permeated the last few days of camp, the Patriots defense put a stop to the offense's recent uprising.
Prior to practice, Jerod Mayo cut off a question referencing his comments from earlier in camp when he suggested the defense is usually ahead of the offense at this time of year and admitted he challenged the troops a bit.
"I kind of spoke too soon," Mayo began. "The offense is honestly – I challenged the defense on that. The offense the last couple of days, they've done well whether it's running the ball, the play action game, pushing the ball down the field, I think those guys are doing a good job."
"They're playing with confidence right now. I'm talking about the offense, they're playing with confidence and getting more comfortable in the scheme. The defense just has to play better, play with better fundamentals, play with better pad level, play with better just overall awareness. I challenge those guys and we'll see how they respond today."
Not to suggest that the offense was unable to make any plays, but the guys wearing blue were back in control – especially during the full team periods. The day started with some runs with both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye under center. Whether it was Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, Kevin Harris or JaMycal Hasty running the ball the results were all minimal gains.
Six of those first eight plays were runs and none picked any significant yardage. Even the play-action throws mixed in resulted in a would-be sack for Daniel Ekuale and pressure from Deatrich Wise and Jeremiah Pharms that forced Maye to scramble.
The next couple of 11-on-11 series went in similar fashion, even when it turned more to a passing game. The defensive front created consistent pressure as the offense once again featured a reworked line as Chuks Okorafor sat out Saturday's practice. Caedan Wallace took his spot at right tackle while Vederian Lowe remained on the left side.
The offense then tried its luck with some tempo, trying to make its way down the field in a two-minute drill.
Brissett opened with a nice throw down the seam to Hunter Henry, but a Trysten Hill "sack" followed, negating a terrific catch by Henry on a back shoulder throw down the left sideline. Two plays later, Brissett was forced to try to squeeze one to Jalen Reagor in double coverage and the pass was deflected by Azizi Hearn and picked off by Jaylinn Hawkins in the end zone. Making matters worse for the offense, the play clock appeared to run out before the snap.
The guys in white did respond during a red zone period of 7-on-7s as both quarterbacks were sharp. Austin Hooper beat Hawkins for one catch, then likely would have drawn a holding or pass interference penalty from Alex Austin a couple plays later. Austin came away with a pick in the end zone but looked to grab Hooper prior to the ball arriving. Brissett then hit K.J. Osborn on a quick out for the touchdown with Osborn doing a great job of getting his eyes turned just in time to make the grab.
Maye was impressive on his series, hitting Osborn on a quick out, Ja'Lynn Polk on a crosser along the back line for a touchdown and Javon Baker on an out for another TD. His best throw may have come in between when he threw a bullet on a post to Mitchell Wilcox, but the tight end was unable to complete the catch as he landed in the end zone.
Practice ended with more situational football and more of the defense making life difficult on their counterparts. Brissett started well by hitting Osborn on a deep fade, but two plays later his short throw to DeMario Douglas went for a minimal gain and was stopped in bounds with less than 10 seconds to go. The next snap may have been after the buzzer, but Brissett lofted one into the end zone and Henry made a nice diving catch for the touchdown.
Maye and Joe Milton followed and both quarterbacks went four-and-out to close practice.
Beyond the bounce back for the defense, here are one man's observations from Day 9 of training camp.
*No changes to the PUP list as Kendrick Bourne (knee), Cole Strange (knee), Sione Takitaki and Jake Andrews all remain out. All four are typically visible on the field but have yet to do anything more than rehab work. Others not taking part in Saturday's practice included Christian Barmore (blood clots), Marte Mapu, Jaheim Bell, Joshuah Bledsoe, Marcus Jones, Calvin Anderson, Okorafor and Tyquan Thornton. Anderson was shaken up during Friday's practice but returned for more 11-on-11 work and appeared to dodge a bullet. He was seen wearing a sleeve on his lower left leg. Okorafor was on the field throughout practice but not in pads, while Thornton came out late without pads and watched the last half of the session. For Jones and Bledsoe it marked a second straight day out of uniform while the rookie Bell, who was seen with a sleeve on his right leg, has now missed five straight. Mapu's routine of arriving 30 minutes into practice and watching from behind the secondary continued as well.
*Shaun Wade and DeMario Douglas continue to wear the red, non-contact jerseys during practice but have taken part in most if not all of the competitive work in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s.
*Henry is enjoying a strong camp as the team's lead tight end and looks like he could be poised to make more big plays in Alex Van Pelt's offense than has been the case during his previous three seasons in New England. Cleveland featured a lot of play-action looks while trying to get tight end David Njoku involved, and Henry admitted it would be nice to be used in a similar fashion. "I hope so," he said with a smile. "It's a great offense and I've enjoyed diving into it. We've had a good week and have to continue it." Henry has made a number of catches down the field in camp, including one on Saturday with one hand.
*Antonio Gibson looks like he could be a valuable piece of the offense. He's shown a nice burst in the open field and soft hands out of the backfield as a receiver. He's been heavily involved both as a receiver and runner, catching lots of throws from Brissett and Maye.
*There have been some good 1-on-1 battles between Henry and Hooper against Kyle Dugger the past few days. Dugger's coverage in camp has been tight on a regular basis, although Hooper was able to get the better of him on one rep early in Friday's practice. Hawkins also did a nice job against Henry to prevent a connection, but overall both sides have enjoyed their share of success.
*There was a lot of special teams work in the practice, which stretched beyond two hours for the second time in three days. Kickoff coverage, punt coverage and punt returns all got some attention. Reagor, Douglas, Osborn, Gibson and Polk handled kicks at some point in the workout.
*The kickers once gain alternated late in practice, booting four field goals each from 28 to 43 yards out. Joey Slye was perfect on Saturday while Chad Rylan misfired from about 38 yards. Not much to separate the two at this stage in camp. Both have been pretty consistent, but not perfect.
*Douglas, Dugger, Ekaule, Henry, Layden Robinson and Oshane Ximines were among those who spoke with the media after practice.
*The players will enjoy their third day off of camp on Sunday but are expected to be back on the field for a workout at 11 a.m. on Monday. That practice will be open to the public with gates set to open at 10 a.m.
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