FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots were back out on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium on Wednesday for the fifth of nine Organized Team Activities.
This was the second one open to the media and while there’s no pads and not a full roster – although, only Caedan Wallace, Stefon Diggs, Carlton Davis III and Austin Hooper were absent – there was still a few things that stood out over the course of two hours.
Let’s get right to it…
-Robert Kraft was in attendance for about 40 minutes or so. At one point later in the day, he was on the phone on the sideline and eventually walked onto the field the Pats were working on during an offensive walkthrough and chatted with Vrabel in the backfield for 2-3 minuted before heading back down the steps and into Gillette Stadium.
-Kicker Parker Romo, defensive tackle Wilfried Pene and fellow DT Isaiah Iton were the first guys on the field about 15 minutes before other players started heading up the stairs.
-Former BC tackle Jack Conley and No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell walked up side-by-side chatting before hitting the field.
-The team went through about 40 minutes of indy period with close coaching from the respective coaches at their positions. Once the receivers, tight ends and backs joined the quarterbacks we got a nice look at some deep posts. Javon Baker had a pretty ugly drop on a dime placed right in his hands.
-The first team period was walkthrough speed before finally getting a ‘real’ series going…it’s also interesting that both times the media have been on hand, Ja’Lynn Polk has done individual work on a separate field with an assistant instead of team stuff.
-Drake Maye was better than the first time we saw him as he didn’t throw any picks on Wednesday, but he’s also learning another new offense and there’s a clear development process going on within the Josh McDaniels system. His first drive went scramble, short completion to Antonio Gibson, a blown up screen by Christian Elliss, a short run for Gibson, a short hitch to Kyle Williams (he’s going to step in and be the real deal immediately) and a short completion to Kendrick Bourne before another short run by Bourne.
-New draftee from Florida State Joshua Farmer and big free agent splash Milton Williams both had very good days. Farmer in particular was outstanding, whether it was getting in the backfield quickly and making quarterbacks move or batting at least two (maybe three?) balls down at the line of scrimmage.
-Former Harvard star and now second-year Patriot Truman Jones ran with the ‘second team’ and I counted at least three or four times where he got off the edge clean and into the backfield for would-be sacks or run at least pressures. On the other side, Conley had a good day pass protecting again at right tackle, picking up blitzes and stunts when needed. Any QB he was in with never got pressured from his side.
-Jaheim Bell and CJ Dippre both had nice grabs up the seam on throws by Joshua Dobbs on one drive, going up to get the ball in traffic. Dobbs actually had a few nice plays on the day aside from those two completions, including a ball to Williams down field. He was picked off once on a tipped ball with Miles Battle coming down with it and scooting down the sideline until Dobbs pushed him out near the five yard line.
-The two most interesting parts of the day happened on back-to-back drives. The first came with Dobbs in. After a little slant and run for Antonio Gibson, Cole Strange and (I believe) Truman Jones got into a little bit of a scuffle that took a couple teammates to break up. It was nothing crazy, but showed the intensity and sense of urgency the Patriots are working with early on. The second came with Ben Wooldridge under center. Baker made a leaping grab deep down the left sideline that clearly would have been OPI. He flexed towards the sideline and DB’s while his offensive teammates quickly got back in the huddle. Vrabel then proceeded to colorfully tell him to hurry up and get back down the field and in the huddle. The second came.
-Effton Chsim’s speed and route running ability stood out again a couple times, especially on balls to the sidelines. He’s a candidate to make the team and I have no problem saying that already in almost-June.
-Keion White and Anfernee Jennings were also noticeable at times on Wednesday, whether it was coming off the edge for White or pass rushing/coverage for Jennings, who had at least two would-be sacks. Harold Landry continues to look good opposite of White too as he also found himself in the backfield quickly, particularly when matched up against Morgan Moses.
-Parker Romo and Andy Borregales went 3/4 each in a live kicking period, but none of them were all that good looking. The wind was blowing, but almost all of the eight kicks had a left tilt to them.
-Following practice, Vrabel walked off the field with Baker presumably talking to him about the new standard and what his expectations are. It was a very quiet, civilized conversation and a fantastic display of what we all saw during the first episode of Forged in Foxboro, where Vrabel tells guys they’re going to be along for the journey with them, not just barking orders.
The intensity and speed for a glorified walkthrough has been impressive for two days. The Diggs situation aside, it’s hard not to be encouraged about the Patriots simply looking like a real, functional football team for the first time in a while.
The next time the media sees an OTA will be for the final time on Monday. That’ll also be the day David Andrews officially retires in a ceremony at 3:30.