FOXBOROUGH – The focus was back on football Tuesday morning.

In what was truly the first hot, muggy, gotta-get-through it day for training camp, there was no sideshow, no negotiations for everyone to see, no fights or scrums, just football.

It was the second day of pads for the players and while we still (somewhat surprisingly) haven’t seen any goal line work, we got a little bit of red zone action along with another period of 1-on-1’s. There’s some things to be encouraged by early on and others that are still very much a concern with the first preseason game a week from Thursday.

As always, here’s everything I saw up on the hill…

-Once again, it’s Michael Jordan out first for the players around 10:35. Sidy Sow joined him. Jacoby Brissett was the first QB out by a good 5-10 minutes before any of the others.

-Devin McCourty was on hand watching practice. Marcus Cannon was the alumni player signing autographs for fans on the other side of the hill.

-Matt Judon was not at practice and according to Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston he wasn’t at the facility. Judon posted a picture later in the day to his Instagram account of him playing the new EA Sports College Football Game. David Andrews was not in attendance for a second straight day. Jabrill Peppers came up limping early on Monday and did not practice. Marte Mapu was there but did not participate again, same for Davon Godchaux.

-Love seeing Mapu stay engaged mentally. He was in the defensive backfield for every single 7-on-7 and team rep, mimicking signals and calls. Peppers came out later in the practice with a sleeve on his left leg and briefly joined him doing the same thing, barking out calls a few times.

-Pretty big, vocal crowd again. It’ll never be what it once was, but it’s been decent.

-Pretty lengthy positional/indy period again. I had it from 11:10-11:45ish. Joe Milton pulled out the back flip again after finishing his set of reps in the net accuracy/footwork drill. Crowd eats it up and frankly, so did we. For the first time, I think every single media member actually caught the flip while recording.

-Got 1-v-1’s to start the day. QB’s rotated fields. Everything I was able to jot down during the 15-minute period…
*Out to Polk from Maye.
*David Wallis burns Wade on an out from Maye.
*Christian Gonzalez locks up Jalen Reagor on a slant.
*JuJu catches a slant in front of Alex Austin from Maye.
*Zappe slant to Tyquan Thornton against LB Mikey Victor.
*Brissett looks for Javon Baker deep on a post, broken up by Isaiah Bolden.
*Austin blankets Kawaan Baker over the middle.
*Brissett hits KJ Osborn on an out against Marcellas Dial Jr.
*Nice ball from Zappe deep to Reagor against Victor.
*JuJu short hitch from Zappe.
*Zappe overthrows Baker deep.
*Zappe hits slant to Baker.
*Zappe misses JaQuae Jackson deep against Azizi Hearn.
*Brissett out to Thornton.
*Polk comeback from Brissett.
Nice over-the-shoulder throw from Brissett to Baker against Wade.
*Gonzalez locks down Osborn on a crosser.
*Really tight coverage from Dial Jr. against JuJu on a ball from Brissett.
*Joe Milton hits Reagor on a slant against (I think) Jaylinn Hawkins.
*Drop by Wallis on a good throw from Maye.
*Thornton with a drop deep against Marco Wilson on a ball from Brissett.
*Joe Milton misses Baker deep over the middle.

-First team period a little before noon. Brissett had just one completion to Mitchel Wilcox this series. Handed off to Stevenson twice and Kevin Harris once. Really encouraging couple of days for the O-line when it comes to the running game. As I wrote in another piece on the site, the Stevenson-Harris 1-2 punch may be an underrated dynamic for this offense. Brissett also had Polk wide open for a TD on a post but missed him for an incompletion to JuJu deep down the sideline. Josh Bledsoe also had a PBU against Henry over the middle on a ball that was behind him.

-Maye found Wilcox on a roll out to his right and had a check down to JaMycal Hasty. Harris had one nice run this ‘drive,’ but the defense had at least three run stuffs, including a blow up in the backfield for Joe Giles-Harris and Keion White. White was a beast throughout the day, dominating a couple 1-on-1’s (happened to glance over and see his reps) and making plays in team periods. Whether Matt Judon is here or not, he should be a big factor this season. Guy’s friggin huge.

-On to some 7-v-7 in the red zone. After two incompletions for Brissett, Polk flashed once again, leaping up to grab a touchdown over (I believe) Alex Austin, drawing a roar from the crowd. Pop Douglas immediately went over to him to celebrate. Maye hit quick throws to Stevenson and Douglas and had a slant to JuJu, but couldn’t get in the end zone.

-Zappe took reps before Milton here, but it feels like it’s just sort of altering from day-to-day. Milton has gotten more reps overall and frankly, might be the second best QB not he depth chart right now.

-Robyn Glaser popped up again and RKK strolled in around 12:15 to check things out.

-Team period in the red zone. Brissett hit Wilcox on a slant for a TD, was sacked (didn’t catch who it was) and Bledsoe also had a PBU on a slant against one of the tight ends. Maye handed off, was pressured by White and threw the ball away through the back right corner and Stevenson was stuffed on a run by (I think) Ja’Whaun Bentley.

-Milton had a TD to Polk during his reps here, with Polk going with the layup/ball flip over the goal line. Kid’s their No. 1 receiver right now and it’s not even close. Milton then found JuJu for a TD too. He really is having a pretty good camp given the lack of expectations.

-Little bit of open field angle work for a few minutes followed by a few minutes for kickoff work. Pop, Reagor and Marcus Jones all back.

-It felt like the music was at its loudest for the next team period. Short completion to Hooper for Brissett, and a later completion to Osborn but that’s about it. A few run stuffs for the defense and a couple nice runs for Stevenson and Harris. Good pressure from LB Steele Chambers at one point too, forcing an incompletion. The pass protection is still a problem, but the run game is solid.

-With Maye in, Christian Ellis popped Wilcox over the middle forcing an incompletion. Antonio Mafi did Maye no favors at this point with some really bad snaps. Marco Wilson had a fumble recovery when Harris put it on the ground and he had a PBU on the sideline against Baker. Between this period and a ‘reset’ on an extended period, Maye ended up taking 11 consecutive reps. The offense eventually did a lap (not sure if it was for mistakes or for ‘losing’ the period’ and they also did push ups after the second portion which was in fact for losing the period.

-In the final few minutes of practice each quarterback came on for a snap, working on a hard count. Brissett threw an out to Polk and Maye handed off to Harris. After each snap, Chad Ryland and Joey Slye each kicked and made a 35-ish yard field goal.

-Instead of the hill, conditioning was sprints for the final five minutes or so right around 1:00.

-Had the pleasure of catching up with former UNH head coach and legend Sean McDonnell, who was in the Friends and Family tent taking in practice. He’s as passionate as ever about the game and was telling John and I that his son is actually a financial advisor for Drake Maye and Christian Gonzalez. Maye came over to him, shook his hand and was all smiles chatting with him. He’s fired up to see what Santos can do with the Wildcats and what Dan Curran can do at Holy Cross.

The team is off on Wednesday before going three straight days. Thursday, Friday and Saturday’s practices are open to the public again with gates opening at 10:00 and practice starting at 11:00.