FOXBOROUGH — Practice No 5 is in the books; let’s run down all you need to know, including stats, 1-on-1s, play-by-play, lineup adjustments and observations:
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Carlton Davis out, Gabe Jacas getting closer, Harold Landry is not: The last time the team was on the practice field, Tuesday, starting left cornerback Carlton Davis exited early with a hamstring injury. Apparently it’s a little more serious than minor because he was not on the field on Thursday. He was replaced by Kindle Vildor.
Mike Vrabel said before practice that second-round pick Gabe Jacas is getting close to practicing. But he also added that Harold Landry is not as close as Jacas. The Patriots were already thin at edge before Landry and Jacas were sidelined. That led to a distinct lack of firepower on the edge in 1-on-1s, as Dre’Mont Jones is the only proven NFL talent (Elijah Ponder, a UDFA last year, is second).
Offensive line wins first day of 1-on-1s easily but struggles in team periods: The offensive line was an impressive 14-3-6 in the first padded session of 1-on-1 pass rush drills. Morgan Moses didn’t take part, but Will Campbell, Jared Wilson and Mike Onwenu were each 2-0, while Alijah Vera-Tucker was 1-1 (loss to Christian Barmore). Caleb Lomu went 1-0-1 in place of Moses at RT.
Things did not go as well for the first two offensive line units in the first team session in pads, as the interior line struggled. Drake Maye and Jared Wilson had a fumbled snap (second of camp) in the wet conditions that Rhamondre Stevenson picked up. This was the sequencing during a very run-focused period: Maye-stuff, scramble, stuff, completion, stuff, sack. DeVito: sack, sack, stuff, stuff, TD pass.
The good news is that the final team period, which was more balanced and had more passes, was more successful. Maye threw a short slant for a TD to AJ Brown, and DeVito had TD passes to Kyle Williams and Efton Chism, who both made leaping grabs. TreVeyon Henderson and Stevenson also had big runs.
Brown, Williams get more involved: The gumflappers who don’t bother to come to practice or really watch that closely have been making a big deal about the slow starts for A.J. Brown and Kyle Williams. Well, that was resolved today as Brown had four catches on five targets, including two short touchdowns. We will point out that Brown hasn’t done anything down the field in team periods; it’s all been of the short variety. Williams got some more snaps with Maye, and caught two touchdowns from Tommy DeVito. Romeo Doubs was just 1 of 1 on a quick RPO pass, and got blown up for a stuffed run.
(Adam Richins for BSJ)
Physically unable to perform list: DE Harold Landry, TE CJ Dippre, DE Gabe Jacas.
Non-football injury list: RB Terrell Jennings, S Brendan Schooler
Red non-contact jerseys: QBs.
Returned to practice: CB Charles Woods.
Full participants: None.
Out: CB Carlton Davis (hamstring), CB Brandon Crossley (unknown).
Limited: OT Morgan Moses.
New injuries: None.
Drake Maye: 6 of 7, 2 TDs, sack, fumble, scramble (2 of 3, TD, fumble; 1 of 1, scramble, sack; 3 of 3, TD)
Tommy DeVito: 4 of 6, 4 TDs (1 of 2, TD; 1 of 2, sack, TD; 2 of 2, 2 TDs)
Behren Morton: 2 of 2, 2 TDs, 2 scrambles (1 of 1, TD; 1 of 1, scramble TD; scramble)
Note: I do not have the number of reps that some other writers have because I do not count when the offense is “working off cards.” Those are plays when an assistant coach literally brings out a play on a card and shows it to one side of the ball. They are not running their own plays, so since there are so many x-factors — including the receiver running the right route, and blockers executing correctly — I do not count those reps.
(Adam Richins for BSJ)
IMPACT PLAYS IN TEAM PERIODS
Fumbles: Maye and Wilson snap.
Drops: None.
Pass breakups: None.
Interceptions: None.
Run stuffs (11): Dre’Mont Jones (Tanner Arkin), Dell Pettus, Robert Spillane (Mike Onwenu), Christian Elliss, Cory Durden (Wilson), Khalil Jacobs 2, Leonard Taylor (Ben Brown), Team 2, Amari Gainer (Jack Westover).
Pressures/sacks (4): Eric Gregory (Wilson), Milton Williams unblocked sack (Wilson/Vera-Tucker mix-up), Xavier Holmes sack (Marcus Bryant), Namdi Obiazor.
