The Patriots were in pads for the 10th time in 17 training camp practices on Monday, and it would be understandable if the players started to feel some monotony. Perhaps with that in mind, Mike Vrabel decided to spice things up a bit midway through the workout, and the results injected a dose of energy into the proceedings.
After the team warmup and positional drills, Vrabel had the entire team gather before calling out individual players to compete against each other. Some combinations featured a gunner against a vise guy, or a running back facing a linebacker in blitz pickup. Tackles took on pass rushers as well, and all the matchups featured young players, many of whom will be potentially vying for roster spots.
The action seemed to pick up the tempo as "wins" elicited strong reactions from the offense and defense. Undrafted rookie linebacker Riley Wilson drew one of the loudest responses when he got the better of running back Lan Larison on a blitz.
One matchup featured the Patriots top two current draft picks – tackle Caleb Lomu and edge rusher Gabe Jacas – with Lomu earning the edge with solid pass protection.
"It was dope," defensive tackle Cory Durden said of the unconventional period of practice. "The coaches gave a lot of young guys got an opportunity in front of the whole team. It was a great opportunity and the energy was high. It was fun seeing the energy when a defensive guy won."
The changeup set the stage for a pretty productive final hour of practice, especially for Drake Maye and the passing game. Vrabel worked on some situations in the 11-on-11 periods, starting with first-down plays for the first set before moving to third downs.
It was during that second set of plays when Maye heated up. A.J. Brown ran past Charles Woods on a go route and had 5 yards on the nearest defender by the time he hauled in Maye's perfect spiral for a would-be touchdown. Later he connected with Romeo Doubs on a pair of well-executed out routes that easily picked up first downs.
But Maye saved his best work for the last segment – the two-minute drill. He opened that period with a terrific rollout before finding Brown on a deep crosser near the right sideline to move the chains. Short completions to Doubs and DeMario Douglas set up third-and-short, and Maye hit Kayshon Boutte for the first down before spiking it to stop the clock with 37 seconds left.
Perhaps the most positive sign came on the next play – a well-read blitz from the defense that resulted in a nifty toss to Rhamondre Stevenson, who picked up a big chunk to set up the offense well within field goal range. Andy Borregales then ended practice with a 40-yard field goal.
It was an energetic end to what could have been just another day of work in Foxborough.
Aside from Maye's hot stretch, here are one man's observations from Day 17 of training camp.
-- The Patriots welcomed one significant player back to practice on Monday as Christian Barmore was back in uniform. Barmore did not take part in any 11-on-11 work, but he did do individual and team drills as well as 1-on-1 reps and some combination pass rushes with fellow defensive tackle Milton Williams. Before practice, Vrabel said Barmore might do a little more on the field and that was the case.
-- On the flip side, still no Christian Gonzalez as the corner continues to be in "return to play" mode, as Vrabel called it. Gonzalez hasn't been seen since Aug. 10, missing the last three practices as well as the Colts preseason game. In addition to Gonzalez, wide receivers Riley Dixon and Kobe Prentice, linebackers Chad Muma and Xavier Holmes and offensive lineman Ben Brown were not spotted at practice. Harold Landry (PUP) and Brenden Schooler (NFI) continue to be out of the lineup as well.
-- Borregales again attempted his field goals toward the "skinny posts" including the one he made to end practice. Earlier he was not as accurate, missing wide left twice in five attempts ranging from 37-52 yards, although all the attempts likely would have been good with regulation uprights.
-- Hassan Haskins, the running back who was signed just ahead of the Colts game late last week, was taking reps as part of the punt team. Haskins has extensive special teams experience, including as a kick returner.
-- With Muma out of the lineup and Christian Elliss still working back to full strength, rookie Namdi Obizaor took some reps alongside Robert Spillane at linebacker. K.J. Britt also saw time in the same role next to Spillane.
-- Things weren't quite as smooth for the second offense as Tommy DeVito continued his struggles from the Colts game. He missed a deep attempt intended for Boutte, then awkwardly threw one away under heavy duress on a failed screen before misfiring on an out to Doubs to close a series. He did find Mack Hollins on a deep out on a later set of plays but finished that series with a pair of incompletions intended for Efton Chism and Boutte.
-- Durden talked about some work he did during the offseason with standout defensive tackles Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark of Dallas. He explained that he and Maxx Crosby share the same agent, and the Raiders star pass rusher set up the workouts in Las Vegas. He credited that work for helping him with some of his techniques, particularly being stout against the run.
-- In addition to Durden, JaMychal Hasty, Morgan Moses, Elijah Ponder, Jacob Rizy and Boutte spent time chatting with the media after practice.
-- Training camp continues in Foxborough on Tuesday with the Patriots set to conduct a walkthrough from 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. The walkthrough will be closed to the public. The last two workouts that will be open to fans will take place on Wednesday and Thursday as the Patriots welcome the Philadelphia Eagles for a pair of joint practices set to run from 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. As always, please check with Patriots.com for the latest schedule updates.
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