NASHVILLE -- The Patriots and Titans wrapped up their two joint practices before Saturday's game Thursday morning with another productive session in the Tennessee heat. The session went for well over two hours and a lot was accomplished for both teams.
One thing that stood out was the injuries are starting to pile up at wide receiver, as with so many players out Tom Brady was working a lot with Jakobi Meyers, Dontrelle Inman, Braxton Berrios and Gunner Olszewski.
Absent: Matt LaCosse, Stephen Anderson, Maurice Harris, Cameron Meredith (PUP), Yodney Cajuste (NFI)
Present, but not participating: Demaryius Thomas, Julian Edelman
Red non-contact jersey: Patrick Chung
Returned: Jamie Collins
Here are some quick observations.
-- While Phillip Dorsett and N'Keal Harry were present, they didn't do much of anything and departed the field after stretching. Harry was injured against the Lions, while Dorsett got banged up Wednesday and had his thumb heavily wrapped. Thomas and Edelman worked out before the session with a lot of agility drills. Thomas looked good as he works his way back from an Achilles injury suffered last December.
-- As expected with the heat, tempers flared at one point. Stephon Gilmore and Titans rookie receiver A.J. Brown exchanged words and a few shoves after one play. Terrence Brooks came over and added a few more before order was quickly restored. The McCourty twins, Mike Vrabel and multiple others went over to diffuse the situation. Nothing else came after that, which was a sign of the respect the two teams have for one another.
-- Chipiness also occurred in some linemen 1-on-1 drills with Michael Bennett appearing to get separated from a Titans defender.
-- Isaiah Wynn participated a little more than he did on Wednesday and held up fine. The second-year player has some nastiness to his game. It's also worth noting the heat got to backup tackle Dan Skipper. He missed some time in the middle of the session and then at the end walked off with a trainer.
-- Brady had one of his best practices of the summer. Even though Meyers, Inman, Berrios and Olszewski made up his wide outs, he carved up the Titans defense in 11-on-11 work. Olszewski was perhaps the most impressive as even though he was with the first team, he held his own and did not look out of place. It was an example of Brady making his wide receivers better, but one wonders if he will be able to do that come the regular season. He needs his go-to guys back.
-- Of those receivers in 11-on-11 work, Berrios stood out the most.
-- Jarrett Stidham had a tough go in 11-on-11 work. The rookie had a number of misfires and didn't seem too confident in the pocket.
-- The Patriots defense continued their strong play with another day of shutting down the Titans offense. They made it tough on the Titans quarterbacks where they just had no where to go with the ball. There were a number of plays where the ball was just thrown out of bounds.
-- Duke Dawson had his best day of the summer.
-- Adam Butler looked to injure his foot midway through the session and did not return.
-- Brady caught up with Matt Cassel and Eric Decker after the practice.
Related
