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Two days prior to their first preseason game, the New England Patriots hosted the Indianapolis Colts for a joint practice on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
“Hopefully, we can continue to take some strides in what we believe or hope that our identity is going to be, the fundamentals that are critical, being able to do it against a different team, one that we haven't game planned against, one that we haven’t seen, one that we have a lot of respect for as a team and what they do,” head coach Mike Vrabel said.
“So, we can work together, we can compete, and we can also take care of each other. These are great opportunities for good reps, for individual reps, for team reps, red zone, situational work, good special teams work. So, I think it will be good for some of our young guys that haven’t seen some of those special teams drills and situations against another player.”
The teams’ first battle was a one-on-one drill between receivers and the secondary. On the first play of the drill, wide receiver A.J. Brown’s route running made Colts cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner slip and hit the ground, leaving him wide open for the completion. The packed crowd was delighted by the play, and all erupted in cheers.
The teams then transitioned to 11-on-11s, with the Colts offense and Patriots defense on the field farthest from fans, and the Patriots offense and Colts defense right in front of the fans.
A majority of quarterback Drake Maye’s reps in the first session were on run plays, but Maye did make some good passes, including to the newly extended tight end Hunter Henry, who made a nice catch over the field. Quarterback Tommy DeVito had the first big play of the day during his first reps of the drill, hitting wide receiver Kyle Williams on a deep ball despite double coverage from the Colts for a touchdown.
DeVito’s pass was slightly underthrown as Williams fought through contact to make the catch and stay upright for the touchdown. Williams’s ability to fight through contact was a welcome surprise given he’s officially listed as 5-11 and 190 pounds.
Maye had a few more good passes throughout the drill, with the most notable being a back-shoulder completion to wide receiver Romeo Doubs.
The Patriots’ defense also made some noise when linebacker Elijah Ponder leapt in the air at the line of scrimmage as Colts’ quarterback Daniel Jones was throwing and swatted the ball down.
After the period was over, the teams switched to red zone work in 7-on-7s. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson started the drill off with a bang as he adjusted mid-air to make a catch over a Colts’ defender for the touchdown.
A few plays later, Maye and Brown showed off their strengthening connection as Maye hit Brown in the back left corner of the end zone for the touchdown. The play was received with a crowd pop that sounded like it belonged in Gillette Stadium on a Sunday afternoon. Brown welcomed the cheers by celebrating with the fans.
DeVito and wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, whose strong connection has been one of the top surprises at camp so far, connected on a slant for a touchdown.
The teams then brought in the offensive and defensive lines for 11-on-11s in the red zone. The Patriots ran two straight run plays to open the drill before Maye hit Brown over the middle for a first down.
The Patriots then brought in DeVito after Maye unsuccessfully tried to score a touchdown. DeVito took two plays, both passes to wide receiver Mack Hollins, to lead the Patriots to the end zone.
Maye came back in a couple of plays later and delivered three touchdowns, including his best pass of the day. On Maye’s first touchdown throw, he had to throw off his back foot to avoid being sacked and somehow perfectly delivered a fade to Stevenson in the back of the end zone.
“It’s just going out there and kind of feeling what I see and trying to make some plays,” Maye said. “So, I think that’s one of the coolest things about joint practice. You get to see somebody else, and you don’t really scout on game plan really hard. So, it’s good for you to see and react and try to get your guys going.”
DeVito managed to one-up Maye’s pass by hitting rookie tight end Eli Raridon with a pass that seemingly went as fast as a bullet in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. A Colts defender seemed perfectly in place to intercept DeVito’s pass, but it went right through his hands. DeVito then replicated the pass on the next play, but this time to Henry, to end the drill.
Patriots’ Andy Borregales got a chance to work on his field goal accuracy and started a perfect five-for-five before missing wide on his final two kicks to finish five-for-seven.
Both teams’ starting and backup quarterbacks ended practice by trying to successfully run a two-minute drill.
A surprise missing participant from the joint practice was cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who seemingly got injured on the last play from scrimmage on Monday's practice. There didn't seem to be any concern from Vrabel as he didn't mention the injury when speaking with media prior to Tuesday's practice.
The next time the Patriots will take the practice field is Saturday, Aug. 15, with the next public practice scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19, when the Patriots hold the first of two joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Patriots hold first joint practice of the summer with the Colts
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“Hopefully, we can continue to take some strides in what we believe or hope that our identity is going to be, the fundamentals that are critical, being able to do it against a different team, one that we haven't game planned against, one that we haven’t seen, one that we have a lot of respect for as a team and what they do,” head coach Mike Vrabel said.
“So, we can work together, we can compete, and we can also take care of each other. These are great opportunities for good reps, for individual reps, for team reps, red zone, situational work, good special teams work. So, I think it will be good for some of our young guys that haven’t seen some of those special teams drills and situations against another player.”
The teams’ first battle was a one-on-one drill between receivers and the secondary. On the first play of the drill, wide receiver A.J. Brown’s route running made Colts cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner slip and hit the ground, leaving him wide open for the completion. The packed crowd was delighted by the play, and all erupted in cheers.
The teams then transitioned to 11-on-11s, with the Colts offense and Patriots defense on the field farthest from fans, and the Patriots offense and Colts defense right in front of the fans.
A majority of quarterback Drake Maye’s reps in the first session were on run plays, but Maye did make some good passes, including to the newly extended tight end Hunter Henry, who made a nice catch over the field. Quarterback Tommy DeVito had the first big play of the day during his first reps of the drill, hitting wide receiver Kyle Williams on a deep ball despite double coverage from the Colts for a touchdown.
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DeVito’s pass was slightly underthrown as Williams fought through contact to make the catch and stay upright for the touchdown. Williams’s ability to fight through contact was a welcome surprise given he’s officially listed as 5-11 and 190 pounds.
Maye had a few more good passes throughout the drill, with the most notable being a back-shoulder completion to wide receiver Romeo Doubs.
The Patriots’ defense also made some noise when linebacker Elijah Ponder leapt in the air at the line of scrimmage as Colts’ quarterback Daniel Jones was throwing and swatted the ball down.
You must be registered for see images attach
After the period was over, the teams switched to red zone work in 7-on-7s. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson started the drill off with a bang as he adjusted mid-air to make a catch over a Colts’ defender for the touchdown.
A few plays later, Maye and Brown showed off their strengthening connection as Maye hit Brown in the back left corner of the end zone for the touchdown. The play was received with a crowd pop that sounded like it belonged in Gillette Stadium on a Sunday afternoon. Brown welcomed the cheers by celebrating with the fans.
DeVito and wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, whose strong connection has been one of the top surprises at camp so far, connected on a slant for a touchdown.
The teams then brought in the offensive and defensive lines for 11-on-11s in the red zone. The Patriots ran two straight run plays to open the drill before Maye hit Brown over the middle for a first down.
The Patriots then brought in DeVito after Maye unsuccessfully tried to score a touchdown. DeVito took two plays, both passes to wide receiver Mack Hollins, to lead the Patriots to the end zone.
Maye came back in a couple of plays later and delivered three touchdowns, including his best pass of the day. On Maye’s first touchdown throw, he had to throw off his back foot to avoid being sacked and somehow perfectly delivered a fade to Stevenson in the back of the end zone.
“It’s just going out there and kind of feeling what I see and trying to make some plays,” Maye said. “So, I think that’s one of the coolest things about joint practice. You get to see somebody else, and you don’t really scout on game plan really hard. So, it’s good for you to see and react and try to get your guys going.”
DeVito managed to one-up Maye’s pass by hitting rookie tight end Eli Raridon with a pass that seemingly went as fast as a bullet in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. A Colts defender seemed perfectly in place to intercept DeVito’s pass, but it went right through his hands. DeVito then replicated the pass on the next play, but this time to Henry, to end the drill.
Patriots’ Andy Borregales got a chance to work on his field goal accuracy and started a perfect five-for-five before missing wide on his final two kicks to finish five-for-seven.
Both teams’ starting and backup quarterbacks ended practice by trying to successfully run a two-minute drill.
A surprise missing participant from the joint practice was cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who seemingly got injured on the last play from scrimmage on Monday's practice. There didn't seem to be any concern from Vrabel as he didn't mention the injury when speaking with media prior to Tuesday's practice.
The next time the Patriots will take the practice field is Saturday, Aug. 15, with the next public practice scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19, when the Patriots hold the first of two joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Patriots hold first joint practice of the summer with the Colts
Continue reading...
