Even in the no-pads, ebbing and flowing competition level of training camp practices, interceptions are generally a bad thing.
There is, after all, nothing more important to an offense and a quarterback according to what Bill Belichick has told us often over the years than taking care of the football.
Wednesday morning on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium neither presumed Patriots starting quarterback Cam Newton nor upstart first-round rookie Mac Jones nor journeyman backup Brian Hoyer did a good enough job in that area.
In fact, at various points in the session – one that took place in helmets and shorts a day after the first padded practice of camp – all three quarterbacks threw either interceptions or passes worth of interception on consecutive throws.
It was certainly less than ideal, even if you spin the narrative to focus on the energetic, aggressive play on the other side of the ball for J.C. Jackson and a slew of other New England defenders.
The reality is that the entire population of Patriot Nation is focused on the practice field performances of the quarterbacks these days, of the competition between Newton and Jones that Belichick said could lead to a “hard decision.” And neither the former MVP nor the No. 15 overall pick has been playing at a consistently high level.
Newton threw an early interception in 11-on-11 work when safety Adrian Colbert easily undercut the pass intended for Hunter Henry.
Later, Jackson blanketed and outfought Jonnu Smith for a pick in 7-on-7. The very next snap Jackson was all over Jakobi Meyers for a pass defense that easily could have been an interception.
This comes in the midst of what has been a very solid start to training camp for Newton, who on the whole has been the best quarterback on the field over the first week-plus.
Jones’ problems in an otherwise decent day came during an extended segment of reps in 11-on-11, when he took 16 straight snaps split between two different units of teammates. He threw a ball behind Smith that deflected off the tight end’s hands for an easy, opportunistic interception for Devin McCourty. It wasn’t a horrible throw, but it was indeed behind his target. The next snap saw Jones throw high off the hands of a crossing Tre Nixon for a deflected interception for D’Angelo Ross.
Jones had plenty of short, accurate, timely throws on the day and even a nice deep connection to Gunner Olszewski. But the stretch of ugly throws was less than ideal, even for a young player.
Hoyer, who’d come on after Newton instead of Jones in an early 11-on-11 drill, threw his interception when Jonathan Jones stepped in front of a pass intended for Devin Ross, who seemed to come up limping after the play. The very next snap, Hoyer tried to find Olszewski but Jones again broke up his throw which could have easily been another turnover.
None of this is to say that the quarterbacks didn’t make nice throws on the day, which saw a lesser tempo without shoulder pads. They did. But too many passes ended up in the hands of blue defenders across the board. Throws, that Belichick likes to say the quarterbacks would probably “like to have back.”
Beyond all the interceptions thrown by the quarterbacks in the ongoing up-and-down competition, here are one man’s observations from the grassy hill at the end of the Patriots training camp practice fields:
--Those players not on the field for the seventh workout included Jarrett Stidham, Stephon Gilmore, Dalton Keene, Chase Winovich, Akeem Spence, Cameron McGrone, Terez Hall, Ted Karras, Devin Asiasi and Byron Cowart.
Spence was a new addition to the absentee group after failing to finish Tuesday’s session.
--Henry Anderson returned to the practice field.
--Kyle Van Noy remains in a red, non-contact jersey that doesn’t really seem to limit the way he practices.
--Former Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli was on the field for the morning session. The former Chiefs GM most recently has been working in the media.
--Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin, a native of Wolfboro, N.H., was on the field throughout the workout. Corbin spent a long time early in practice in a one-on-one conversation with Belichick.
--The crew of officials was once again on the field for the workout, throwing flags as they deemed necessary. Not surprisingly those flags were often questioned by the side of the ball pegged with the infraction.
--Brandon Bolden spent a lot of time in early practice drills working on kickoff return work. The veteran and youngster J.J. Taylor seem to be the top options for that job early in camp. Both could also be competing for a backup running back roster spot.
--One of the unique technological advancements noted at camp is a camera on a pole that’s used get a downward view of the action, one closer to the field than the traditional eye-in-the-sky cameras. The pole camera is often right behind the offensive side of the play.
--While media rules forbid reporting of specifics, it’s clear during every practice session that finding ways to get Smith the ball is a priority of the new-look, rebuilt offense in New England.
--With Karras continuing to miss time with what looked like a left knee/leg injury early in camp, veteran Marcus Martin seems to have emerged as the next backup interior offensive line option.
--While Henry has had some quiet days on the practice field, Wednesday was not one of them. He was targeted early and often throughout the session, especially by Newton.
--N’Keal Harry had another solid day catching the ball, stringing together maybe the most impressive practice sessions of his career over the last couple days. Getting a lot of reps with Jones, Harry has been more consistently getting open and making the catch. He beat Joejuan Williams for one early reception. Later Harry had a nice reception on a crossing route from Jones. Harry also spent some practice time working on special teams, both as a scout kickoff coverage option and as a blocker on the kickoff return team.
If he embraces that part of the game, it will only help his long term NFL value. Regardless of his offseason trade request via his agent, Harry has shown up, worked hard and produced early in camp as part of a seemingly very wide open wide receiver depth chart in New England.
--The decent-sized crowd in the bleachers alongside the field sang “Happy Birthday” to Kendrick Bourne.
--Maybe having learned his trade working in the past under now-Giants coach Joe Judge who unleashed endless expletives on his Giants after a practice field brawl yesterday, Patriots special teams coach Cam Achord is prone to using words that aren’t allowed in print even if reporters were permitted to quote action from the field. He unleashed a bit of that on Bourne when the receiver was absent from the field on a kickoff return rep.
--While Martin has picked up where Karras left off on rotational backup reps on the interior line, Justin Herron and Korey Cunningham seem to continue to be the top reserve options at tackle.
--Jones sticks pretty close to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ side when he’s not taking part in reps. The rookie appears to be trying to absorb whatever he can in his mental reps and pick up any knowledge from his coach whenever he can.
--Late in practice there was a PAT/FG block drill. Rather than one of the two kickers handling the kicks and possibly risking injury, Patriots director of player operations Chris Mattes did the kicking. He hit the ball well but that’s probably not surprising given an athletic background as a lacrosse player at Rutgers who was in training camp with the Premier Lacrosse League during its inaugural season.
--Practice ended with extended conditioning work on the hill on the far corner of the field. The cardio included players running forwards, backwards and shuffling sideways up the hill. Not all players took part in the hill work. Bolden, David Andrews, Trent Brown, Damien Harris and Kristian Wilkerson ran sprints on the regular practice field. Meanwhile, Nick Folk and Cody Davis did ab/core work at the end of the practice fields.
--After the Patriots defensive assistants met with the media via Zoom earlier in the day, New England’s offensive assistants held in-person press conferences at the conclusion of practice. Wide receivers coach and franchise legend Troy Brown looked like he’s in better shape today, and more muscular, than during his playing days. He attributed his impressive physique to Peloton.
--Mac Jones remained on the field for extra work after practice, including some time spent with Smith.