Practice #12. Hard to believe that training camp is winding down. It has gone by quick.,

Weather: Mix of Sun and clouds , 75 degrees

Four takeaways from Mayo’s pre-practice media scrum. 

Q: What went into the decision to part ways with JuJu Smith-Schuster?

JM: Yeah, it was a decision between Eliot [Wolf] and myself, really to give the younger guys an opportunity to go out there and get more reps and show what they can do.

Q: Now that you’ve had some time to watch it and everything else, what did you take from that first preseason game into this week?

JM: Yeah, the first game was really — at least for me, obviously you want to go out there and coach the game, but also just see operationally how everything was working. Whether it’s the communication from the booth downstairs or from coach to coach, those were definitely things that I just wanted to see for myself. A couple of things to iron out there. From a football perspective, I thought those guys went out there and played hard. They flew around. Once again, it doesn’t matter who is out there, it’s about the quality of the reps and this week we’ll have starters playing a lot more.

Q: How do you anticipate the energy, the intensity, the work changes this week as you get closer to the regular season?

JM: Yeah, this week — well, first of all, in practice, we’re going to be wearing the same color. I think it’s good to have joint practices that break up the monotony of training camp. But hopefully, you continue to see the team gel together and guys taking a step forward.

Q: Thinking about your first game as a head coach for you, when you went back through it, maybe with Evan [Rothstein], or however you do it game-management-wise, what did you learn?

JM: It was great. Look, it was the first time I had four channels on my headset, right? And so Evan and I have a dedicated line and we talk through things during the game that will come up during the regular season. We didn’t necessarily approach those situations that way. But, it was good. The communication was good between the special teams coaches, the offense and defense. So, it was good.

Observations: 

1. Full pads after having Friday and Saturday off. 

2. We had referees for the first time at camp. They will be here all week as the Eagles come to town for joint practice on Tuesday. 

3. Drake Maye was on point throwing the ball. He looked more comfortable and his timing and anticipation were better. He did throw an interception on a tipped ball in the red zone. Maye is also developing more of a rapport with his fellow rookie receivers. Especially Ja’Lynn Polk. 

4. Pop Douglas was in a regular practice jersey for the first time all camp and made plays in all phases of practice. He was arguably the best player on the field today.

5. Ground game struggled. Front seven did a great job of maintaining gaps and filling. Linebackers had one of their best practices of camp.  

6. Tight ends continue to have a solid camp both in group and team periods. Mitchell Wilcox and La’Michael Pettway in particular were solid. They did well against the safeties in one on one’s.
   

7. Speaking of tight ends, Hunter Henry sat out team portions.

8. Kayshon Boutte got more reps with the top two groups and he picked up where he left off on Thursday. He is confident and said after practice that expects to make the team. 

9. Mayo had to bring the team after one of the situational team periods started. He wasn’t happy with the execution. 

10. Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith were both in attendance today and were keen observers during the team periods.

Kicking update: 

Chad Ryland was 2-of-4. He missed from 48 and 52.

Joey Slye was 4-of-5 today, which included a run-on 53-yarder. He missed from 48.

Patriots finished practice with a kicking competition. It was a good, competitive period to finish practice with.