FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – After taking Friday off, the New England Patriots returned to the practice field on Saturday, following Thursday's 13-13 tie with the Indianapolis Colts in the preseason opener.
The team is looking to take whatever lessons they can from the game and use them in their preparation for Week 2. And with that, they turned the page to the scheduled preseason game and two scheduled joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles next week.
Here were the biggest takeaways from Day 15 of training camp practice:
1. Romeo Doubs continues to impressRomeo Doubs has been coming alive during these past few practices and had some highlight-reel plays on Saturday, hauling in multiple touchdowns, including contested catches over the defense. Specifically, he had an impressive grab over Charles Woods during Drake Maye's one-minute drive for the touchdown, after Kayshon Boutte's massive gain moved the chains and put them in the red zone.
”Just new offense, new year, figuring out the player, getting to know him," Vrabel said before practice. "Really, a lot of positive things, I think, trending in the right direction.“
2. Dre'Mont Jones leaves earlyEdge rusher Dre'Mont Jones left practice early, being spotted walking off with a member of the training staff. With him out, it was rookie Gabe Jacas who slotted in, playing opposite Elijah Ponder. He shined, having several run stuffs during the team periods.
3. Carlton Davis struggled against receiversWith Christian Gonzalez sidelined, it was Carlton Davis and Charles Woods who served as the starting cornerbacks, but they struggled to stop the receiver group. Davis gave up a few touchdowns in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 red zone reps, followed by being beaten by Kayshon Boutte during the one-minute drill to end practice, which ultimately set up a touchdown on the next play.
As for Woods, while he was back out there, he was in a red non-contact jersey. He also got beat a few times, often by Romeo Doubs.
4. Andy Borregales bounces backAfter his struggles during the team's first preseason game, where he missed three field goals, Andy Borregales came into practice ready to prove himself, and he did just that. The kicker was reunited with longsnapper Julian Ashby, who missed the first preseason game due to injury, and ended practice by making all six of his attempts, working on the skinny field goal posts.
5. QB statsDrake Maye: 1-for-5 in 7s, 10-for-16 in 11s
Tommy DeVito: 4-for-4 in 7s, 6-for-13 in 11s
Behren Morton: 2-for-3 in 11s
6. AttendanceAbsent: CB Christian Gonzalez, WR Kobe Prentice, DB Eric Butler, LB Chad Muma, LS Niko Lalos, OLB Xavier Holmes, OL Andrew Rupcich, OL Ben Brown, WR Kyle Dixon, DL Christian Barmore
Injured: OLB Dre’Mont Jones
Returning: LS Julian Ashby, CB Charles Woods (red non-contact jersey)
Limited: LB Christian Elliss
PUP/NFI: ED Harold Landry III, S Brenden Schooler
Head coach Mike Vrabel reiterated that Christian Gonzalez's absence is due to a slight injury he sustained rather than it being contract-related. As for Ben Brown and Andrew Rupcich, they were both missing after suffering injuries in Thursday's preseason game, with Brown expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the preseason. With that, the Patriots signed two new offensive linemen: Darrian Dalcourt (No. 61) and Joe Michalski (No. 60).
7. Other notes- Marcus Bryant, Mehki Butler, Jacob Rizy, James Hudson, and Caleb Lomu all repped in the second offensive line unit with Brown and Rupcich out. It was Rizy who took over at center.
- Patriots were down two of their top linebackers with Christian Ellisslimited and Chad Mumaout, so it was KJ Brittwho slotted in with the starters.
- Kindle Vildor and Karon Prunty both recorded pass breakups during the team periods.
The Patriots will hold a closed walkthrough practice on Sunday, Aug. 16, with just the media in attendance. They will be back out on Monday and Tuesday to prepare for joint practices with the Eagles on Wednesday and Thursday.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: 7 takeaways from Day 15 of Patriots training camp
Leave a Comment