The dog days of camp have arrived in Foxborough, and the Patriots showed some definite signs of wear and tear. Day 11 took place in stifling conditions with the humidity enveloping the practice fields, and with the players in full pads for the sixth time over the last eight days, some fatigue was bound to emerge.
The practice lacked some of the tempo seen earlier in camp, but not necessarily the intensity. Most of the juice on Thursday was provided by the defense, particularly the secondary, who took the time to celebrate wildly on more than a few occasions. That reached a fever pitch at the very end of the day when defensive backs picked off passes on the final three reps of the morning.
The first two of those were thrown by Drake Maye as the offense attempted to work down the field in a two-minute drill. Starting with 1:20 on the clock, Maye found Hunter Henry and Rhamondre Stevenson for modest gains before connecting with A.J. Brown on a comeback. Maye spiked the ball to stop the clock at :35 following the Brown completion and the drive looked promising.
But Marcus Jones showed solid instincts in diving under Kayshon Boutte to pick off Maye on the following snap. Mike Vrabel had the first group remain on the field for another play, which looked like it might have been a situation where the offense needed a touchdown from roughly 30 yards out. Maye tried to force one to Henry down the seam at the goal line and wasn't close as Kevin Byard made the pick. Byard led a group of blue-shirted defenders along the back of the end zone, celebrating by slapping a towel against the pad covering the goal post.
Once that reaction died down, Tommy DeVito and the second group entered the fray. His first play, which was affected by some pressure from Gabe Jacas, resulted in a pick by safety John Saunders. Now the defense was jumping wildly on its sideline and virtually the entire unit was celebrating the takeaways. Vrabel called the troops together at that point and ended the practice.
"Everybody is hurting at this point in camp," edge rusher Bradyn Swinson admitted after practice. "Everyone is fatigued, but this is the best time to make plays. It's not always going to be perfect during the season. You're not always going to be 100 percent, so this is a great time to work."
The conditions seemed to impact the day's events as Charles Woods and Christian Barmore both left practice. Woods was involved in a collision during red zone work with combination routes and walked away with trainer Jim Whalen. Whalen later had to run down Barmore after the defensive tackle slammed his helmet to the turf and walked toward the hills leading back to the New Balance Athletics Center. It was not apparent if either player suffered an injury, but each was limited.
Will Campbell also did not take part in the team work as he donned a brace on his left elbow and did some conditioning running on the left field. Marcus Bryant took his spot at left tackle on the opposite field for the entire set of 11-on-11 work. First-round pick Caleb Lomu remained at right tackle with the second group and later saw some left tackle snaps with Behren Morton and the third group. Lomu played almost exclusively on the left side at Utah and is learning the ropes on the right side during camp, which could explain that decision.
While the conditions sapped some of the energy from the team, they had no such effect on Christian Gonzalez and Brown. The two continued what has been a competitive camp, and each play they were involved in seemed to result in some words back and forth.
Gonzalez got the better of Brown for most of the day, and the corner wasn't afraid to let him know about it.
"It's good on good, No. 1 receiver against a No. 1 corner in this league and that's how it's going to go," Gonzalez said of the intensity. "There's no disrespect out there at all. It's great work for both of us.
"[The trash talk] comes out a little more in practice. I like to try to figure out how to attack each receiver. Some get angry when you don't say anything."
When asked if any of the gestures Gonzalez was making toward Brown served as reminders that he was still there, the corner had a simple answer: "He's not going to forget me."
The back and forth proved to be great drama on an otherwise tough day for the team to navigate.
Beyond the dog days of August, here are one man's observations from Day 11 of training camp.
-- The pre-camp lists are now down to two players: Harold Landry (PUP) and Brenden Schooler (NFI). Tight end C.J. Dippre (left wrist) was present at the team's walkthrough on Wednesday and was in uniform for Thursday's workout as well. He took part in individual and positional drills and then got some reps with the second group during 11-on-11s.
-- Carlton Davis remains out, marking the seventh straight practice he's missed since limping off the field during the July 28 session. Tight end Jack Westover missed his third straight practice while wide receiver Romeo Doubs was out for the second consecutive day. Doubs got up slow after sliding in an attempt to snag a low throw from Maye late in practice during a two-minute drill on Tuesday. Rookie receiver Cameron Dormer also was not spotted. Caedan Wallace, who missed the last two workouts, was back in uniform but was not part of any of the three offensive lines.
-- There was a nice moment before practice when Behren Morton jogged over to the friends and family area with quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant to greet his parents, James and Suni, who surprised him with a visit. After receiving a nice hug from his mom, Morton got a handshake and pat on the backside from James, who was his high school coach in Texas. Like any good coach would say, time to get back to work, son.
-- Rookie tight ends Tanner Arkin and Eli Raridon served as the hype men before stretching, even on a day when fans were not allowed to watch practice. Arkin was definitely more into his role than Raridon.
-- The punt team worked on downing kicks inside the 5-yard line with the gunners starting around the 20. Marcellas Dial, Brandon Crossley, Kindle Vildor, Kyle Williams, Kobee Minor and Woods worked as gunners, looking back to find Bryce Baringer's punts and doing their best to keep them out of the end zone.
-- The Patriots opened in what looked to be a base defense during the first 11-on-11 period and Chad Muma lined up as the third linebacker alongside Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss. Muma and veteran free agent addition K.J. Britt could be battling for that job as well as roles on special teams.
-- In addition to Gonzalez and Swinson, Criag Woodson, Leonard Taylor, Boutte and Bryant all took time to chat with the media after practice.
-- The Patriots will be back at it on Friday with another practice set to kick off at 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. in Foxborough. Gates are set to open at 9:15 a.m. as fans are welcome to attend. As always, please check with Patriots.com for the latest schedule throughout training camp.
