FOXBOROUGH — While Wednesday’s Patriots practice was held in shorts and shells, there was plenty of action, especially in the passing game with a lot of 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
For the third straight day, the reps were split relatively evenly between quarterbacks Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer, but it was not a great day overall for the trio.
The defense dominated (more on that later) as the quarterbacks were picked off a few times in team drills and struggled to get into any kind of rhythm.
In terms of attendance, undrafted rookie wide receiver Jeff Thomas, defensive tackle Beau Allen, rookie linebacker Anfernee Jennings, running backs Sony Michel and Lamar Miller (both on PUP), and defensive lineman Tashawn Bower all were not spotted once again. N’Keal Harry and Derek Rivers were also missing.
After being limited Tuesday, Julian Edelman was a full participant, while Will Hastings was limited for a third day in a row.
Here are some observations from the session.
— It was an interesting day for Newton as there were some positives, but also some negatives. Starting with the negatives, he was picked off in 7-on-7 work by rookie linebacker Cassh Maluia and then in 11-on-11 work by Kyle Dugger. He also missed a few open receivers. But, there were some positives as he connected perfectly with Gunner Olszewski on a come-back route with Stephon Gilmore in coverage. It’s also notable that he was the victim of a couple of drops for a second straight day, which hurt his stats. He still looks like a player who just joined the team roughly a month ago, but certainly appears to be working hard to learn the system and develop chemistry with his new teammates. After each set of reps in team drills he usually goes over them quickly with either QB coach Jedd Fisch or offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
— For the first time in the three days the media has been present, Newton took off and ran with the ball on a few plays. Again, it’s hard to know how the plays would have turned out in a game considering he’s wearing a red, non-contact jersey, but it is notable plays like that are happening.
— After a down day Tuesday, Stidham was probably the best QB on the field Wednesday, but that isn’t saying much. He showed off his confidence once again and made the throw of the day when he connected with Damiere Byrd for a 30ish-yard touchdown with Jason McCourty very close in coverage. One of Stidham’s two interceptions came on an under-thrown deep ball that JC Jackson could have made a fair catch on. This type of throw has been an issue for him the last couple days. It is worth noting Stidham had a close call on a potential second interception, as it was hard to see if Dugger actually came down with the ball in the end zone.
— While the QB reps were evenly split overall, there was one 11-on-11 period where Newton and Stidham alternated every play for several plays when typically a quarterback gets three or four in a row. We’re not sure if that even means anything, but worth passing along.
— Hoyer had a similar day to the past few. He made some good throws and he made some bad throws, but the important thing Wednesday was his bad throws did not result in interceptions like the other two. The veteran continues to show a good grasp of the offense and is a great player to have as the third quarterback.
— Dugger, the Patriots’ first overall pick out of Division II Lenoir-Rhyne, was the star of the day on defense. He was all over the field making one interception of Newton and another one of Stidham that is up for debate, while also getting his hands on several other throws. Although it’s only been three days of training camp, he’s been very impressive and could be in line for a big role as the defense looks to find a replacement for Patrick Chung.
— At the beginning of practice, McDaniels spent some time with the tight ends. This was similar to Monday when he spent the early part of the session with the offensive line. Without the quarterbacks coach title, he’s able to move around to the entire offense.
— While Edelman was a full participant, he did have two drops on the day. But, having him on the field was a good thing for the quarterbacks. It’s still unclear why he was limited on Tuesday.
— Linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley is going to play a major role on the defense this season, especially with Dont’a Hightower opting out. He’s been guiding the defense and even spent a decent amount of 1-on-1 time with Bill Belichick.
— Rookie running back J.J. Taylor made a very impressive catch by the goal line. Taylor, who stands just 5-foot-6, jumped as high as he could and made the catch with linebacker Terez Hall all over him.
— Olszewski stood out with his catch from Newton with Gilmore in coverage. It’s also worth noting he could have a bigger role on special teams this season, which would certainly help his chances of making the roster. With the loss of Brandon Bolden, the Patriots could be looking to add to their core special teams players.
— Overall, it wasn’t the best day for the wide receivers. There were several dropped passes that didn’t do the quarterbacks any favors. It’s also not a good sign that Harry missed the session, which was held in just shells.
— Devin Asiasi, Edelman, James White and Damien Harris and Mohamed Sanu were part of a group that worked with the quarterbacks to the side during special teams drills.
— Undrafted rookie tight end Jake Burt had a good day, making several nice plays in 7-on-7 work. With the lack of depth at the position, a good couple of weeks could make him a player to potentially sneak onto the roster.
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