On the final day of public access to training camp this summer, the Patriots hosted their second preseason opponent for a two-hour joint practice session at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday.
It was truly a beautiful day in Foxborough for the final official camp session, and the fan attendance was outstanding to watch the Patriots practice against the Eagles. As always, joint practices are a huge learning experience for everyone. Most importantly, they're an opportunity for the coaches and players to see their teams against another opponent.
For the scribes and other practice observers, it's a measuring stick to see where the Patriots stack up against a quality opponent. Philadelphia is considered to be among 3-5 teams who are favored to win Super Bowl 59. They have a Pro Bowl quarterback, two star receivers, and are built rock-solid in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
Realistically, one would expect inconsistencies for a Patriots offense that's still a work in progress against the Eagles defense. In particular, Philly's defensive front presented a formidable challenge for a Pats offensive line. If you thought the Patriots offense would make it look easy, you weren't being realistic – the Eagles should've had the upper hand.
On Tuesday, the matchups favoring the Eagles on paper played out exactly how we would've predicted. Starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett and third-overall pick Drake Maye were under pressure in the pocket. Brissett had some clean pockets working with the top O-Line, but the downfield opportunities were limited. Maye, on the other hand, started a perfect 9-for-9 but scuffled in the late team periods, with three sacks in a four-play span on an unsuccessful two-minute drill.
Understandably, Patriots fans are probably reading this thinking, "Here we go again," for the offense. And we won't try to sugarcoat it. However, the biggest gripe here is the issues they had with the things they can control. It's one thing for a rebuilding roster to struggle against an NFC contender, but the offense was also called for nine penalties by the refs on hand, had two bad snaps, and had a botched exchange on a run play.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo spoke before practice about a "sloppy" Monday session, where the operation needed to improve, while also mentioning the offense needs to play faster.
"That was the first truly sloppy practice, in my opinion. I think the guys knew that," Mayo said about Monday's practice. "They took to the coaching, but once again, the pre-snap things, the things you can control, we have to clean that stuff up before we get to Week 1."
Although we'll give them some time to iron things out, the Patriots offense struggled with the things they can control again on Tuesday, and they can't afford to allow sloppiness to become a habit. Hopefully, the coaches can nip the miscues in the bud over the next few weeks.
Here are more specific notes on Brissett, Maye, and the offense from the Patriots competitive joint practice with the Eagles on Tuesday:
Rookie QB Drake Maye Fizzles Out After Strong Start to Practice
As mentioned, Maye started practice a perfect 9-for-9 in 7-on-7s and full-team drills. The third-overall pick connected downfield twice with fourth-round rookie WR Javon Baker, including a pretty deep ball on a go route early in the session.
However, things started to get shaky when the offense moved into the red zone for more 11-on-11 work. In the red-zone sequence, Maye couldn't connect with WR Ja'Lynn Polk on a slot fade, had a screen blown up in the backfield, and then Baker couldn't keep his feet in bounds running the back of the end zone after Maye avoided some pressure.
When the offense moved back into the middle of the field, there was more pressure and penalties on the Patriots. Maye's two-minute drill went like this: sack by Nolan Smith, a team sack, incomplete on a covered comebacker to Boutte, and a sack by LB Nakobe Dean on fourth down. Maye took responsibility for the shaky hurry-up offense, but it was a team-wide failure.
"I have to get the ball out on early downs. Can't take sacks in two-minute. Whether I'm feeling something from the backside or whatever, I got to get the ball out. Other than that, just have to find completions. Try to do something. Try to get us moving," Maye said.
My read on Maye's practice performance was that it's difficult to gauge the progress in his development in this environment. There are probably instances where he needs to get the ball out quicker, but he's not in a position to succeed for a few reasons. Mainly, the Pats second-string offensive line has made life difficult on the third-overall pick throughout camp.
It's also worth noting that Maye isn't playing off-script in practice. On the one hand, it makes sense that the Patriots coaching staff wants Maye to learn how to play within the offense's structure. He has to learn to play on time, with rhythm, and from the pocket because that's what all great NFL QBs do on Sundays.
For example, Bills QB Josh Allen came into the NFL as a raw talent who could make plays off-script with his physical tools. However, Allen struggled early in his career playing in structure, so the offense was inconsistent, with more lows than highs. Allen eventually became a better in-structure passer, and that's when he went to another level.
Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt's staff is trying to take the same approach with Maye. On Tuesday, Maye discussed how practice differs from games when it comes to out-of-structure playmaking:
"With the red jersey on, it's hard to simulate that, kind of emulate my college game. That comes from feel and being in the pocket in a game," Maye told Patriots.com after practice. "That comes with game reps. People think it's a sack out here, but I scramble outside the pocket and make a play. That's more of a game thing, and in practice, try to play within [structure]."
From this perspective, they're not asking him to be something he's not. They're trying to round out Maye's game from the pocket like the Bills did with Allen to make him a more consistent quarterback. Sometimes, they'll need him to put on the cape and be Superman. But his long-term success hinges on whether or not Maye can also function as Clark Kent.
The catch is that, while Maye's Clark Kent side seems to be progressing, the supporting cast around him is making it hard for the rookie to string positive plays together. New England is risking some frustration creeping in, while, again, it's difficult from the outside looking in to evaluate Maye properly when the results aren't always positive.
Hopefully, head coach Jerod Mayo will keep his word that Maye will play more in Thursday night's second preseason game against the Eagles.
Starting QB Jacoby Brissett and Top Offense Struggle to Find Consistency
As for Brissett and the top offense, the results were also mixed, with the veteran quarterback finishing practice 12-of-24 with two interceptions in full-team drills.
Brissett dealt with pressure issues of his own, mainly coming off the left side and on the interior, where top guards Mike Onwenu and Sidy Sow had difficult matchups inside. However, there were more opportunities to push the ball downfield from clean pockets. Unfortunately, the results weren't always there for various reasons.
Mainly, Brissett struggled at times with his downfield accuracy. He had two good connections with TE Austin Hooper, the most effective Pats pass-catcher, but missed some other open throws. On a positive note, Brissett worked a backside dig route by Hooper in the red zone portion, coming off his initial read to find Hooper in the back of the end zone for six. He also hit the tight end on a wheel route for a chunk gain.
The misses mostly came on generally accurate throws, but the ball placement wasn't quite good enough. For example, Brissett threw behind an open Tyquan Thornton on a deep in-breaker, allowing Eagles CB Darius Slay to get a hand in for a pass breakup. He then missed connecting on a deep throw to Hooper, a pass that the QB overthrew. Brissett also threw to the inside shoulder on a deep out to WR Jalen Reagor that Reagor caught, but the ball placement allowed the defender into the picture and forced Reagor to adjust (similar to Boutte's catch from Zappe vs. Carolina).
Brissett's two-minute drill was more successful than Maye's, excluding one sack. Brissett worked the middle of the field to find Pop Douglas twice and connected on the previously mentioned Reagor throw to get the offense into the red zone. However, the drive stalled with four straight incompletions. It was fine, but overall, it was too clunky to get the better of a good defense.
Brissett is the most comfortable quarterback in the Patriots offense and is mostly sharp with his reads. He knows where to go with the ball, but Brissett's accuracy can be inconsistent.
Other Quick-Hit Notes on the Patriots Offense From Joint Practice vs. Eagles
- The Patriots top two quarterbacks got almost all of the reps, with Joe Milton and Bailey Zappe taking part in a brief opportunity period to end practice. They'll get reps on Thursday night.
- It was disappointing to see the Patriots interior offensive line struggle with the Eagles DTs. Yes, Philly's interior rushers are legit. But that needs to be a strength of this offensive line. Onwenu will be fine, but left guard is something that bears watching. Sidy Sow has been entrenched as the starter there since day one, but rookie fourth-rounder Layden Robinson could push for time.
- The OT situation is what it is. All four of their top tackles had their issues on Tuesday, with Bryce Huff and Nolan Smith in the backfield often. Based on my live viewing, Chuks Okorafor was the most effective of the bunch. Rookie Caedan Wallace had a nice win in 1-on-1s when he put Brandon Graham into the ground, but the whole backup O-Line struggled in team.
-The two-on-two drills, in which the OL and DL worked two-man combinations, were a struggle for the Patriots offensive line.
- The running game struggled early in the session, with numerous stuffs on outside zone and trap schemes. But, after huddling with the coaches in between periods, the Pats opened some rushing lanes. Rhamondre Stevenson got into space on a toss play, while Antonio Gibson shook free on a pin-pull scheme. It was far from perfect, but there was progress.
- Although it's difficult to say without reviewing the practice film, it didn't feel like there was much separation from the top receivers in 11-on-11s. Douglas came alive in Brissett's two-minute drill, and Hooper was open throughout practice but nothing much else to write home about.
- The highlight from the wide receiver group came early in practice when Polk beat Eagles CB Shon Stephens on a go route in one-on-ones. Maye at QB. Polk also ran a nasty in-breaker during the drill, but, as we always say, receivers should get open in 1-on-1 drills.
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
