A day after seeing his reps diminished and his emotions/body language (over?) analyzed by the media in attendance, the ongoing Patriots quarterback competition saw veteran Cam Newton bounce back with a bounce in his step on Wednesday.
As New England closed out its three-day mandatory veteran minicamp on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium, Newton brought a positive energy throughout the two-plus hour workout and put forth his best all-around practice session of the spring.
With seemingly an upbeat vibe from the moment he arrived on the field, Newton once again took the first quarterback reps in drills and segments of practice. He also took as many or more reps than any other passer, which wasn’t the case a day earlier when rookie Mac Jones saw his workload grow in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
Today, Newton was far more accurate, efficient and decisive than he’s been at other times this spring. His best throw of the day and maybe the spring came on an over-the-shoulder ball to James White down the right sideline, the pass dropped in perfectly past the tight coverage of Kyle Van Noy.
Newton, who “double-duh” noted a day earlier that he has a chip on his shoulder this spring certainly rebounded from a poor practice that had some – hand raised! – noting that Tuesday may have been the beginning of the journey toward Jones winning the starting job.
Meanwhile, Jones took a step back both in terms of reps and efficient execution. The No. 15 pick seemed to struggle with his protection calls, reads and ability to run the offense. At times he was forced by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to return to the huddle to run plays over.
Jones also didn’t throw the ball well when he reached that point in the process, including a particularly ugly interception to Adrian Colbert in a late-practice two-minute drill in which the young passer threw it right to the defensive back in the short middle of the field.
To be fair, observing from afar there is no way to tell what the defense threw at Jones or what situations he was put in throughout his reps. Maybe the coaching staff scripted up some more challenging work for the young leader after his impressive progressions of late. Or, maybe he just had one of those bad days that are part of the process for any rookie at any position on any team.
Regardless, Jones would probably admit he put some bad plays, bad calls, bad reads and bad throws in the bad version of the two buckets he talked about earlier this week.
As the quarterback competition goes in Foxborough, with the spring now in the books and training camp about six weeks away, it was a good day for Newton and one that Jones will simply have to learn from.
Beyond the ups and downs of the QB competition, here are one man’s observations from the sun-drenched grassy hill alongside the Patriots minicamp practice fields:
--The list of players absent from the practice field remained constant, led by Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore and his reported contract-related holdout. The rest of the list once again included TE/DE Rashod Berry, DE Chase Winovich, LB Terez Hall and DL Byron Cowart.
--The two tryout players remained on the field in Nos. 87 and 63 in white, not listed on the team roster. The No. 87 wide receiver is reportedly former practice squader Devin Ross. After a tough day on Tuesday, Ross also bounced back and made some nice catches on Wednesday.
No. 63 is reportedly offensive lineman R.J. Prince.
--TE Jonnu Smith once again was on the field but didn’t take part in any drills or really do much of anything other than serve as a ball-boy during some tight end drills for coach Nick Caley. Smith appeared to tweak his hamstring in his first Patriots practice of the spring on Monday. It certainly is disappointing for all involved for the big-money free agent addition to stay away from OTAs and then miss nearly all the reps of minicamp.
It will be interesting to see if he’s behind at all once training camp gets under way or if he’s more in the mold of a Randy Moss, who missed much of his first summer in Foxborough to a hamstring injury and then put up record-breaking numbers from Week 1 through the rest of the 2007 season. That’s rather a tough comparison for the fellow No. 81 to live up to!
--TE/FB Dalton Keene rode an exercise bike on the sidelines to get loose before practice. The second-year player continues to wear a full-length sleeve on his left leg and spent the early portion of the session down on the lower field customarily used by rehabbing/injured players. Keene did join his teammates for drills and team segments later in practice.
--WR Devin Smith also spent time on the lower field after stretching and did sprints by himself on the hill on the far side later in practice.
--Longtime Bill Belichick friend and advisor Ernie Adams was once again on the field for what was apparently his final day with the team prior to retirement. Adams announced his retirement after the draft this spring. Seen as a man of relative mystery, Adams had an unprecedented Zoom session with the media before practice and then was at the center of the team’s post-practice gathering at the end of the camp-closing and career-closing workout.
--Punt returners once again caught kicks while holding another ball in their hands during pre-practice work, a group that included Gunner Olszewski, Marvin Hall, J.J. Taylor and Tre Nixon.
--In nearly two decades observing practices and workouts, long snapper Wes Farnsworth and undrafted kicker Quinn Nordin provided a first on Wednesday. The duo had a measuring tape on the field early in practice and were using it to seemingly measure the distance between the line of scrimmage and the spot for the PAT/field goal. Nordin, who also discussed the difference in circumference between a college football and the NFL ball, appears to bring a new level of measured precision to the kicking game. If he’s that precise on his kicks, he could be a keeper.
--Early on in practice during position drills the wide receivers worked on getting off the line of scrimmage with assistant coach and franchise legend Troy Brown giving them a press look wearing pads on both his forearms.
--The receivers also did another drill where they caught a pass and then looked to turn up field while a ball-boy delivered a blow toward the ball with a pad on a stick that can best be described as Q-tip looking or like the joust portion of the old American Gladiators TV show.
--Though he was on the field in jersey and helmet, Nelson Agholor didn’t appear to do much during the session.
--One of Newton’s early expressions of positive energy was a running, leaping high-five with Olszewski while jogging over to join the wide receivers for some group drills.
---To be filed under Things You Don’t Often See, James White had a couple ugly drops in early drills with the quarterbacks. Let’s go ahead and blame it on the sun. Or a distracting bird.
--The Patriots obviously miss former director of player personnel Nick Caserio in a variety of ways given his unique contributions to the team over the years, both on and off the field. That was on display today when the four quarterbacks did a drill throwing to five eligible receivers on a group of pass routes. In the past in such situations the former college QB Caserio would throw to the extra receiver. Today, one guy would go without a pass coming his way on every rep in the drill. Caserio is of course now throwing on the practice field in Houston, where he became the Texans GM this winter.
--Rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson has drawn the ire of his coaches over the last couple days of minicamp. After getting chewed out a bit by position coach Ivan Fears on Tuesday, Stevenson was pulled from a rep by McDaniels after apparently not knowing where to line up/his responsibility. It’s still early, but those are the kinds of things that earn running back draft picks a red shirt season in New England, even if they have the ability to run the ball right out of the gates.
--The Patriots certainly have some new terminology this season, which has been heard often during the spring. It includes new names for certain personnel packages.
--The first offensive line group in team drills included, from left to right, Isaiah Wynn, Mike Onwenu, David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Trent Brown. Veteran returning backup Ted Karras then proceeded to make his way through all three interior spots on consecutive reps by jumping in for Onwenu, Andrews and then Mason. Veteran tackle backup Korey Cunningham took some reps in Wynn’s spot.
--Jones had a number of reps on the day, in group and team drills, in which he had to either run plays second time or return to the huddle before running it the first time. The young QB’s head seemed to be spinning a bit, even before he even got the chance to snap the ball.
--Former Patriots offensive lineman Billy Yates has been working in a coaching role with the team this spring. Yates, who spent the last three years on Matt Patricia’s staff with the Lions, appears to be working in a role with the defensive front as he builds his coaching resume.
--Showing that it happens for veterans, too, Sony Michel appeared to get called out by coaches for a mistake in pass protection.
--Newton was pretty much a completion machine in most 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 reps. Overall the execution and efficiency of the passing game was much better than a day earlier. Even with Jones’ confusion/communication issues at times, the offense had a better day.
--Jalen Mills brings versatility to the back end of the defense, which has been on display throughout the spring. But he also could be an option with some regularity on the outside if Stephon Gilmore doesn’t return to the mix come training camp and the regular season. Mills took a lot of outside reps at corner on Wednesday.
--Jones first throw in one 11-on-11 segment was batted at the line of scrimmage but still hauled in by Michel for a catch over the middle.
--Owner Robert Kraft walked onto the field midway through practice to watch some of the action, as he is wont to do.
--After the quarterbacks ran the two-minute drill the kickers got their chance at a few run-on field goal attempts from various distances. Nick Folk had a pretty ugly, short attempt on one of the kicks when he simply didn’t appear to hit the ball very well. He was much better on an ensuing attempt.
--The quarterbacks ran the two-minute drill with music blaring to put pressure on their communication skills, as might be the case in a tough road environment.
--Practice concluded with some additional field goal work.
--Players then let out noticeable yelps of pleasure when Belichick called the team together to end camp and acknowledge Adams’ long career and contributions to the Patriots.