Football is officially back, folks.
The Patriots opened training camp on Wednesday in front of a packed crowd, giving fans their first look at a team shrouded with mystery at seemingly every level of its operation.
Wednesday's practice was in shirts and shorts; pads won't come on until next Monday. But the energy level on the first day of training camp was there, though the execution might have left something to be desired on both sides of the ball at points.
Still, Mac Jones and the offense had a productive day with Jones missing on just four of 22 throws in competitive periods, all of which focused on the low red zone (5-10 yards out from the end zone). And there's an early clubhouse leader for who his favorite receiving target might be, for those of you wondering about that sort of thing.
1. DeVante Parker: WR 1?
There was no doubt who the best Patriots receiver was on Day 1 of camp, and that's absolutely not a knock on the rest of the bunch -- several of whom had solid moments.
The red-zone emphasis of Wednesday's practice put Parker's size and skill on display as he repeatedly out-jumped and out-fought Patriots corners for footballs in the end zone.
First, the big receiver simply boxed the smaller Marcus Jones, who got a lot of slot cornerback reps on Day 1 with Jonathan Jones on the PUP list, out on a stop route in the front of the end zone. The diminutive corner simply couldn't get around Parker to play the ball.
Then, Parker evaded rookie Jack Jones, the star of spring practice, on a scramble drill and held on to Mac Jones' throw in front of the fan bleachers despite the young cornerback's frenzied attempts to rip the ball out. Parker then flexed and hyped up the crowd.
He also had another leaping touchdown grab that he appeared to wrench away from Terrance Mitchell as he fell to the ground.
Mac Jones spread the ball around to different targets, of course, delivering a nice fade route to a levitating Nelson Agholor for a touchdown against Malcolm Butler plus his usual connections with Kendrick Bourne and the running backs. But on this day, it was notable how much Parker has seemingly earned Jones' trust already.
They even tried to link up on an end-zone fade during one segment that was a bit underthrown and knocked down by Jalen Mills. Those connections will come with more reps. Still, the growing rapport is already there.
It's only one day of practice, but it doesn't look like it's taking Parker much time to become a factor in the offense. The impact of him being good would be enormous.
2. Matt Patricia looks like your play-caller.
Yes, Matt Patricia's name is on the website next to "Offensive Line Coach." Sure, he's said he would be working with the Patriots' offensive line.
But the practice field is telling a much different story right now.
Whereas Patricia did, in fact, hang out with the offensive line during individual drills and during 7-on-7s during spring practice and left all those segments to Joe Judge, who is ostensibly the quarterbacks coach, Patricia was conspicuously with the offense during 7-on-7s during Day 1 of training camp. That left Billy Yates, the assistant offensive line coach, running the offensive line drills.
Not only that, but Patricia was clearly radioing in the plays while Judge stood behind the huddle looking at the call sheet.
During full-team drills, the arrangement was the same: Patricia spoke the plays into Jones' ear while Judge watched, removed from the huddle and appearing not to speak in any way. When guidance was needed after plays, Mac Jones and the offensive players, including Rhamondre Stevenson at one point, went to either Bill Belichick or Patricia, not Judge. (Also, Evan Rothstein, who came over with Patricia from Detroit, spent a lot of time with Judge and the quarterbacks and looked to be actively coaching them at points. So Patricia's fingerprints are all over this offense.)
As with everything else, this is only Day 1. Perhaps tomorrow will show us something different. But as of now, the action on the field appears to be flying in the face of the titles Belichick put on paper.
Patricia is very obviously Belichick's right hand on the practice field, and the former Patriots defensive coordinator has already earned Belichick's trust as a play-caller in the past. So if that's the way this shakes out, don't be surprised.
3. The tackle switch appears permanent.
In another case of "We'll wait and see, but it looks like there's change afoot": Trent Brown looks like a lock to be the Patriots' starting left tackle while Isaiah Wynn shifts over to the right side. They've now had three straight practices with that arrangement, and the Patriots typically don't shuffle their offensive line around much when everyone's healthy.
Expect the offensive line to look thus when the season begins, from left to right: Brown, Cole Strange, David Andrews (when he's off the PUP list), Michael Onwenu, Wynn.
Brown, of course, started all 16 games at left tackle in 2018 when the Patriots won their latest Super Bowl. For a truly mountainous man, he moves quickly and doesn't appear to have lost a step on his pass sets. If he and Wynn can stay healthy, they should bookend this operation well.
The drop-off after them probably isn't something the Patriots want to see. Justin Herron, who's likely the top swing tackle, wasn't exactly impressive on Day 1 of camp, getting beaten on an inside-outside move and having to hold his man to prevent a sack on Brian Hoyer.
4. Ty Montgomery is your new James White.
Okay, let's be clear: no one can really replace what White brings to this team and to the offense when he's in uniform.
But with White on the PUP list, the Patriots have a void at the traditional pass-catching running back spot that needs to be filled.
Though both Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson caught a number of passes during Wednesday's practice, Montgomery looked the smoothest catching the ball out of the backfield.
The former Green Bay Packer and New Orleans Saint has been a hybrid running back-receiver for several seasons and signed with the Patriots this off-season as insurance in case White couldn't start the year. White's absence combined with his versatility and production so far have greatly increased his chances of making this team; neither Pierre Strong nor Kevin Harris logged snaps with the top-line offense over him.
5. Defense makes offense work for it.
As happened on the first day of mandatory minicamp, the Patriots' defense didn't take it easy on the offense Wednesday.
Even though the offense scored more often than not, which you should expect, the pass-rush and coverage frequently challenged the quarterbacks to hold onto the football longer than they wanted. Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer had to pull the ball down and roll out on scramble drills several times thanks to strong initial coverage.
Additionally, a couple of throws allowed to go through probably wouldn't have gotten off in a game setting. Jones had to roll left and hit Parker for a touchdown at one point, but he passed up a touchdown throw to Hunter Henry in the flat immediately and likely would've been sacked as a result. Hoyer also took what likely would've been a sack on a touchdown throw to Tyquan Thornton at one point.
Daniel Ekuale got pressure on a few snaps, and second-year edge rusher Ronnie Perkins had a few solid rushes as well. Joejuan Williams also nabbed the lone interception of the day by swiping a pass from Hoyer intended for Tre Nixon.
The defense might not have a strong a year as it did in 2021 with a stronger schedule ahead of it and questions at a number of position groups. But hopefully they can make up for that with effort and competitiveness.
Other notes:
-Thornton had two excellent diving touchdown catches in a row during red-zone team drills, both from Hoyer. One featured him beating Jack Jones, diving toward the sideline to snag a ball while keeping his feet down inbounds. He didn't get to show off his blazing speed much Wednesday, but arguably making plays like the two above might be more important to him earning playing time early on.
-Nixon, on the other hand, didn't do much in practice Wednesday after a strong spring. One quiet day of practice doesn't mean it was all a fluke, but it's also not ideal. One source at practice said the Patriots were "cautiously optimistic" about Nixon but want to see him perform well in pads after fading during padded practices last year.
-Bailey Zappe had one of the more impressive throws of the day, threading a fastball along the back line of the end zone to receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey.
-The offense ran a few more standard gap plays than they did in spring practice on Wednesday, but the emphasis on the outside zone running game remains prominent. In particular, the backs spent a lot of time looking for cutback lanes that frequently open up on outside zones, with Stevenson and Montgomery looking particularly adept at hitting them.