It's quite common for the defense to enjoy the better of play early on in camp and that has largely been the case thus far. Offenses typically take some time to fine tune their execution, and oftentimes that leads to some steady play from the guys wearing the blue shirts.
During Sunday's workout under perfect conditions in Foxborough, the Patriots defenders were flying. Christian Elliss shot through some traffic to stuff a screen attempt to Rhamondre Stevenson, Milton Williams batted down a Drake Maye pass at the line of scrimmage and several defensive backs came up with impressive plays to prevent completions.
Carlton Davis and Christian Gonzalez looked sharp in their coverage with the former making a terrific play to knock down a crossing route attempted for Romeo Doubs. Gonzalez was tight on A.J. Brown again (as was the case on Saturday), even on one play where the receiver made a quick catch for a modest gain due to the excellent coverage.
Craig Woodson turned in the first interception of Maye thus far when he caught a deflection off Brown's hand on a deep over route. Brown jumped and tried to reach the pass with one hand and caused the turnover by knocking the pass into the air, and the wideout and quarterback spent some time re-running the play against air off to the side shortly after.
It should be noted that Gonzalez once again took part fully in the 11-on-11 work after doing so to open camp on Saturday. There were some questions about his level of involvement as he works toward a contract extension with the team. Thus far it's been business as usual for the second team All-Pro.
Another factor that plays to the strengths of the defense is the lack of pads for the guys up front. That makes pass protection challenging, and at times the pressure seemed to disrupt the timing on some plays.
Safety Kevin Byard spoke after practice and admitted his side often has the better of play early on in camp, but he is more concerned about fitting into what has become one of the better teams in the league.
"We saw last year that this team already has great culture, so I don't have to worry about anything like that," Byard said. "So, I can just be myself. It's not like it was a losing team last year."
Beyond the strong start for the defense, here are one man's observations from Day 2 of camp.
- The Patriots officially announced the signing of second-round pick Gabe Jacas and the rookie was on hand in Foxborough working out on the lower rehab field. He did not take part in the practice, but his presence was a positive sign after the rookie missed the entire offseason program. There is no timetable for his return.
- There were no changes to the camp lists as Harold Landry and C.J. Dippre (left wrist) remain on PUP while Terrell Jennings and Brenden Schooler are on NFI. There were a couple of additions to the attendance list as fullback Reggie Gilliam and wide receiver Jeremiah Webb were not spotted during the workout.
- The Patriots made a pair of minor roster moves Saturday afternoon, claiming rookie wide receiver Kobe Prentice off waivers from Carolina and releasing first-year offensive lineman Sebastian Gutierrez. The 5-10, 184-pound Prentice played three seasons at Alabama before finishing his career at Baylor. He played in 38 career games and finished with 86 catches for 1,160 yards and 11 touchdowns.
- As the players wrapped up their pre-practice conditioning and were set to begin the workout, rookie offensive linemen Caleb Lomu and Dametrious Crownover ran a lap around the field on the right while pumping up the large crowd that was on hand. The fans seemed to enjoy the early jolt of energy from the rookies.
- The offensive line had some adjustments as Morgan Moses appeared to get one of his veteran days off. Moses was present for the start of practice, but when the team began 11-on-11 work, Lomu took his spot at right tackle while the veteran went to the lower field. When the offense needed a sixth offensive lineman, Lomu served in that capacity while Marcus Bryant subbed in at right tackle. Lomu took reps as the "jumbo tight end" on Saturday as well, and the fact that he continued in that role on Sunday despite replacing Moses indicates the coaching staff likely wants to get him get as many reps as possible with an eye toward the regular season.
- There was a slight change with the second group up front as well with Ben Brown and Andrew Rupcich switching positions. On Saturday Brown was at center while Rupcich played left guard. They swapped on Sunday while the remainder of the group featured Bryant at left tackle, Caedan Wallace at right guard and James Hudson at right tackle.
- Two days and two standout catches for Kayshon Boutte, both of which featured the wideout losing his helmet when he hit the ground. Boutte made a nice adjustment near the right sideline and made a diving catch in traffic.
- Obviously it is still very early in the process, but initial impressions of rookie Eli Raridon have been positive. The tight end out of Notre Dame was chosen in the third round and expected to learn from veterans Hunter Henry and Julian Hill, but Hill's season-ending knee injury may have changed that. Raridon could find himself as Henry's top backup, and he showed some athleticism in the early practices. On Saturday he easily got behind the coverage on a quick out-and-up down the seam, but Tommy DeVito's pass was overthrown preventing the connection. He was targeted by DeVito again on Sunday and made a nice grab near the left sideline. The true tests will come when the pads are on next week, but Raridon looks the part as a receiver.
- Speaking of tight ends, Tanner Arkin was a notable presence at times during 11-on-11 work. The undrafted rookie out of Illinois has tremendous size at 6-4, 262 and was known for his blocking prowess with the Illini. He took some reps with the regular offense, on one play splitting out wide to help block on a screen. Again, with depth behind Henry a concern there will be opportunities for someone to carve out a roster spot and perhaps a role in the offense.
- Evaluating the running game when the team isn't in pads is almost impossible, but there was one rep that caught the eye. Running back Miles Montgomery took a handoff and shot through a sizable hole off right tackle. While the play itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary, the undrafted rookie out of Central Florida showed a nice burst through the hole and down the sideline. As is the case at tight end, the need for depth in the running back room behind Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson is apparent. Montgomery flashed on the run on Sunday.
- DeVito made a nice connection with Kyle Williams on a deep out during 11-on-11 work. Williams beat rookie Karon Prunty on the play while creating quite a bit of separation and DeVito delivered an accurate throw for the nice gain.
- Andy Borregales got some field work in during practice and connected on all six of his attempts. The kicks ranged in distance from roughly 30-50 yards.
- Continuing the special teams theme, Marcus Jones, Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism and newcomer Kobe Prentice took reps catching punts from Bryce Baringer.
- Christian Barmore, Kevin Byard, Will Campbell, TreVeyon Henderson, Mack Hollins and Dre'Mont Jones were among those who chatted with the media after practice.
- Camp continues on Monday with a walkthrough practice in Foxborough that is scheduled to run from 10 am.-11:30 a.m. The workout is open to fans with gates opening at 9:15 a.m.
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
