Eagan, MN -- The Patriots week in Minnesota with the Vikings was a tale of two practices for head coach Mike Vrabel's team.
The vibes were high for the Patriots after a great showing on day one. New England's defense mostly controlled practice against Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy, who was under pressure from the Pats defensive front led by Harold Landry and Milton Williams, while the coverage was also competitive in the back end. Offensively, QB Drake Maye and company exchanged haymakers with Vikings DC Brian Flores's exotic pressure defense, hitting big plays to WR Mack Hollins and RB TreVeyon Henderson, who capped off practice with a 65-yard touchdown catch.
However, the Vikings bounced back on day two, reminding everyone that Minnesota is coming off a 14-win season and a playoff berth a year ago. It was a good reminder that Rome wasn't built in a day for these Patriots. There's a positive feeling around the team with Vrabel's vision of effort and finish coming to fruition. Still, development isn't always linear, and some questions remain as Vrabel's staff retools this roster. To expect the Patriots in Vrabel's first year to "win" back-to-back days against a 14-win team was asking a lot, so it's not surprising that Minnesota punched back with a better performance on Thursday.
There's also a positive feeling coming off these two days about the Patriots starting quarterback, who kept his composure as Flores threw pressure and coverage rotations at him from all angles. When he had time, Maye delivered the ball with precision, while finding the pockets in the Vikings coverages with consistent pressure in his face. He also didn't have any catastrophic errors, with Vrabel making a great point about his quarterback before Thursday's practice.
"It's easy to go into a blender when you're seeing a bunch of this stuff and kind of scrambling and turning one less than favorable play into a real [expletive] storm," Vrabel said. "I didn't see that. I thought he was able to process. We didn't execute all the time, but I didn't see any panic from him. I thought he was able to communicate and get the things that he wanted, and then hit some plays because of it. When we blocked him, we were able to make some plays."
Although both sides of the ball were inconsistent in Thursday's practice, Maye avoiding going into Flores's blender over the two days was a good sign for the second-year quarterback's trajectory. Ultimately, Maye's ability to lead this squad with his play will decide this team's fate, making him and Vrabel the most important figures in the Patriots football operations.
Here are 10 leftover thoughts on the Patriots after taking in both joint practices in Minnesota.
- This is my eighth training camp covering the Patriots, and I've never been as excited about a skill player as I am watching RB TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson appears to be a special talent. His breakaway speed is electric, he attacks the ball in the air like a wide receiver, has enough contact balance and power to finish runs, and his skills in pass protection are legit. Although there are some exceptions, McDaniels has typically platooned his backs in specific roles (i.e., early-down back, pass-game back). Could a David Montgomery/Jahmyr Gibbs 50-50 split make sense for Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson? Henderson's dynamic play speed adds a dimension this offense hasn't had in years.
- During his pre-practice press conference on Thursday morning, Vrabel pointed to rookie WR Kyle Williams as a player whose tape this summer has been better than the production would suggest: "Kyle Williams is working extremely hard. Ball hasn't really found him. He's been open. There's been separation," Vrabel said. The ball found Williams more on day two in Minnesota, with the third-rounder catching a touchdown on an in-breaking route from Joshua Dobbs during red zone 11-on-11s. Although the ball hasn't found Williams, as Vrabel said, the speed and separation skills make for an optimistic outlook on the rookie. Hopefully, he gets more catchable targets soon to make his reps more impactful.
- Five wide receivers appear to be clubhouse leaders for roster spots: Stefon Diggs, Pop Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins and Williams. After that, Javon Baker and undrafted rookie Efton Chism III have separated into their own tier as roster candidates. Although he flashed as a receiver on day two, Baker's push is mostly coming from adding special teams to his repertoire, while Chism has become a favorite target for backup QB Joshua Dobbs. It'll be interesting to see if the Patriots keep both Baker and Chism on the initial roster. It's not unheard of to carry seven receivers. In fact, the Pats carried seven initially last season.
- A little more detail on the upward trajectory for WR Efton Chism III: Chism was the best receiver on the field for the Patriots second unit in Thursday's practice, catching a wheel route and corner route for touchdowns in red zone work. Chism fended off the Vikings defender on the corner route after creating enough separation to finish through contact at the catch point. His play strength is a notable trait for a 5-10, 193-pound receiver, while he also caught an underneath crosser in the open field later in practice. He has been Dobbs's favorite target in practice and is stacking days after breaking out in the second half of the preseason opener.
- LT Will Campbell had a tough matchup against Pro Bowl pass-rusher Jonathan Greenard this week, with the rookie getting some on-the-job training in Minnesota. Greenard logged three pressures in Thursday's practice working off Campbell's outside edge, while Vrabel pointed to an inside rush that beat Campbell in Wednesday's session. Overall, pass protection remains a work in progress for Campbell. The rookies had some expected growing pains in that regard.
- Without rookie LG Jared Wilson in the second practice, C/G Ben Brown elevated to left guard with the first-team offense, signaling that Brown currently is the top interior backup. I'm interested to see if the staff gives Mekhi Butler any looks at guard. He was solid in the preseason opener and stood out in 1-on-1s, with a standout win via a firm punch over Jonathan Harris.
- Another notable development along the offensive line was rookie OT Marcus Bryant and Vederian Lowe getting reps at both tackle spots with Dobbs. Bryant continues to compete for the top swing tackle role, while Lowe has fared much better on the left side than the right in the past. Do the Pats want a true swing tackle, or would they keep Lowe as the backup at left tackle and Bryant as the top backup at right tackle? Bryant faced Vikings edge rusher Bo Richter on both days in 1-on-1s, finishing 2-1-1 vs. Richter. Lowe went against Gabriel Murphy and finished 1-2-1.
- The fullback role is intriguing to monitor over the last few weeks of the preseason. The Pats signed undrafted rookie Brock Lampe to be their "main" fullback, per assistant coach Thomas Brown, but Lampe is now on season-ending injured reserve. The team is giving TE Jack Westover a chance to win the job, and Westover caught a touchdown pass up the seam from Dobbs in a 1-minute drill. His versatility to play fullback and traditional tight end could be enough to put him on the roster.
- Following an uneven performance in the preseason and on day one in Minnesota, Vrabel was asked about backup QB Joshua Dobbs on Thursday: "Josh [Joshua Dobbs] is the backup right now. Not that that couldn't change. Ben [Wooldridge]'s working hard, and we'll see. We're always trying to strengthen the roster each and every day, but Josh is in there. Josh just has to be more consistent. Had an unfortunate interception in two-minute drill and throwing it into robber, and ball placement has to be better, and just the timing and all these things that we work on." To Dobbs's credit, he bounced back to have arguably his best day of camp in the second session vs. the Vikings, with standout throws to Efton Chism and Javon Baker while acing his 1-minute drill with a touchdown pass up the seam to Westover. Wooldridge showed well in the preseason opener, but didn't receive any reps in the joint practices.
- My primary focus was on watching the Patriots offense in Minnesota. However, Mike Dussault has more in-depth analysis of the Pats defense here. One unknown on defense for Vrabel and DC Terrell Williams is how this staff plans to defend pass-catching tight ends. Safeties Jabrill Peppers, Kyle Dugger, Craig Woodson, and Marcus Jones, among others, got a crack at it in Minnesota. However, in both joint practices with Minnesota and Washington, tight ends Zach Ertz and T.J. Hockenson had success. It's less about the Brock Bowers types who will be a primary focus in the Pats game plan for their regular-season opener, and more about tight ends who are secondary options in the offense. When the Pats can't allocate extra resources to stopping them, who is covering the tight end 1-on-1? It's possible that a corner such as Alex Austin or even Carlton Davis could be the answer in certain matchups.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
