And on the second day, the defenses responded.
That was the biggest takeaway from Day 2 of joint practices between the Patriots and Eagles. After Wednesday's action saw both offenses control most of the 11-on-11 periods, Thursday was a much better day for the defenses – especially the Patriots.
Saquan Barkley found gaping holes to run through on Day 1, but things changed Thursday as the Patriots front seven was much stouter. Milton Williams, Cory Durden and Leonard Taylor consistently met Barkley near the line of scrimmage, and the easy 8-yard runs from Wednesday became 3-yard runs a day later.
The linebackers did a good job of filling as well, giving the Patriots defense plenty of layers to prevent a talented back like Barkley any opportunities to slip tackles and create yards after contact.
The coverage was better as well. On Wednesday most of the defense's success came when the guys up front got in Jalen Hurts' face and forced hurried, off-target throws. Thursday saw better coverage on the back end, led by Marcus Jones who picked off a pair of Hurts passes including one scintillating effort near the sideline in the red zone.
That's not to say the pass rush was completely lacking either. Williams and Durden both found their way to Hurts to stymie a couple of plays, and on a few other occasions the traffic around the quarterback affected some throws. On Wednesday the defense was caught in a blitz when Robert Spillane shot up the middle, only to watch helplessly as Hurts floated one to Will Shipley for a 50-plus yard gain. A similar situation unfolded Thursday, and this time Elijah Ponder dropped further into coverage and deflected the pass away. It was just one example of the improvement from one day to the next.
Overall, it was a solid bounce back for the defense after several periods of struggling on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, the same could be said for the Eagles defense, which also punched back after a tough day to start. Drake Maye had more pressure around him throughout the day, and the Eagles secondary was much tighter on A.J. Brown than was the case Wednesday.
Things started OK on offense with DeMario Douglas converting a third down in the red zone with a quick out, but things bogged down on ensuing possessions. Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson were bottled up in the run game once again and the Eagles also emerged from piles with the football on a couple of occasions. It was unclear if these were fumbles or simply the defender taking the ball away after plays had ended. Either way, it's never good to not finish the play with the ball.
Maye also closed one period with a poor throw to the outside toward Brown that was picked off near the pylon.
"I was just late with the football, late in the red zone. You can't be late in the red zone down there," Maye said of the goal line pick. "It's tight, and it's a concept that we probably need to get some more work on and just find some timing. So, you just can't be late down there."
There was some context to the goal line pick, although as Maye said it was not properly executed regardless. The offense was working on goal-to-go situations and faced a fourth down from the 4. With pressure around him, Maye tried to force a ball to the pylon to a covered Brown, and it's more than possible that had it been third down the quarterback wouldn't have made such a decision. But as he said, the throw was late and led to what likely would have been a 100-yard pick-six.
There were some bright spots, however. Romeo Doubs continues to emerge as a real threat for Maye, especially in the red zone. He grabbed a couple of touchdowns, showing his ability to both elude coverage and outfight it at times – especially in the end zone.
"He's done some great things," Maye said of Doubs. "The way he moves and kind of cuts off on some routes and can move his body side to side and can get by people is really impressive. It's really fun to watch. He's only going to continue getting better and better as he gets more comfortable in this offense. I'm looking forward to him, and he has made some great climb the ladder catches. Just keep giving him chances to climb the ladder, and he will come down with it.
"It's very comforting seeing that from a receiver. Going up and making a play up top, it's his ball or nobody's is what I'm trying to do, and it has been his ball more times than not."
Unlike Wednesday when the Patriots defense shut down Philly in the two-minute drill, Hurts got some revenge Thursday. Starting at the New England 25 with :45 left, Hurts hit Tanks Bigsby for a first down and followed that with a deep out to Dontayvion Wicks to put the ball at the 4. Two plays later, he found Hollywood Brown under the goal posts for a touchdown.
(Editor's note: In Wednesday's Blogservations we credited DeVonta Smith (No. 6) with a handful of grabs that actually were made by Brown (No. 0). Smith was in pads both days but did not take part in the 11-on-11 work for the Eagles).
The Patriots late series was not nearly as successful. Maye opened with a slant to Brown, but Riq Woolen was able to pry the ball loose from the receiver and outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt made a diving interception to end the drive abruptly. Maye returned after the Eagles touchdown and closed with the second touchdown to Doubs, but not before a couple more choppy incompletions that saw Maye under pressure. His two-point conversion attempt to Brown also fell incomplete.
"I think we had a lot of great work. I think the biggest thing is that is a good football team over there, and I think just not riding the rollercoaster," Maye said of the joint practices. "I feel like we had some good periods that we were attacking them and had some good plays. Then we had some periods where we got to continue the competitive stamina, and that is the thing about this game. It can't just be one play here, one play there. You got to string some plays together in a row, and I felt like we did that more yesterday than we did today.
"I know it's tough down there in the red zone, a lot of bodies in a short amount of space, but I feel like we could have done more in the red zone, and I think that is something for us to learn. It's one of our focuses this year to be better in the red zone, so we got some work to do."
Beyond the responses by the defenses, here are one man's observations from Day 20, the final day of public access to training camp.
-- There was one change to the list of players missing practice as Reggie Gilliam was not spotted. The fullback has been given periodic days off this summer and that was likely the case on Thursday. In addition, Harold Landry (PUP), Brenden Schooler (NFI), Ben Brown and Xavier Holmes continue to be out of the lineup.
-- Morgan Moses opened at his normal right tackle spot but rookie Caleb Lomu took his place for the third series and finished the day there. Lomu had some ups and downs, as did the remainder of the offensive line, but appeared to compete well against the Eagles starters.
-- Noted Patriots fan Kenny Chesney was on hand to watch practice and spent time chatting with Mike Vrabel and later Robert Kraft.
-- Newcomer Hassan Haskins continues to impress with his size and physicality. He opened some eyes in the preseason game against the Colts while covering a kick, and on Thursday he showed some toughness on a red zone run up the middle. Haskins could be the frontrunner for the third running back role due to his physicality and ability to play on special teams.
-- In addition to Maye, linebacker K.J. Britt, tackle Caleb Lomu, tight end Eli Raridon and cornerback Marcus Jones were among those who spent time chatting with the media.
-- Thursday's practice was the final session open to the public. The Patriots will conduct a walkthrough on Friday before hosting the Eagles for preseason game No. 2 Saturday night (7 p.m. kickoff). Thanks to everyone who took the time to follow along with Blogservations every day … always one of my favorite chores each summer.
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
