FOXBOROUGH — On Friday night, the Patriots held their annual in-stadium practice for Foxborough residents and season ticket holders.
They were treated to a blue-white “scrimmage.” The scrimmage is in quotes because it was far from a real scrimmage. Players did not wear pads or shells and it was a glorified walkthrough to simulate what things will look like come gameday.
Here’s who was not spotted on the field: Stephon Gilmore, Chase Winovich, Jarrett Stidham, Terez Hall, Byron Cowart, Dalton Keene, Joshuah Bledsoe, Cameron McGrone, Devin Asiasi, Brandon Bolden, Adrian Colbert, Ted Karras, Akeem Spence, Raekwon McMillan, Devin Ross, D’Angelo Ross, Nick Folk, and Christian Barmore.
Bolden and Colbert are the new absences, while Cody Davis returned.
Here are some quick observations.
— There won’t be many of these since not much of substance actually happened. The team did this last year and it was essentially the same thing where it was roughly a run at a quarter speed and it was all about mental reps. The emphasis was on getting the play called and relayed to the rest of the unit, as well as making sure substitutions went smoothly.
— In terms of teams, Cam Newton, Jake Dolegala, Devin McCourty, Jakobi Meyers, N’Keal Harry and Nelson Agholor headlined Team White, while Mac Jones, Brian Hoyer, Jonnu Smith and JC Jackson led Team Blue.
— Newton was very engaged with the fans, which is something he was not able to do last year. The quarterback was in his element on the field being able to laugh and joke with the crowd.
— Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia were the only two coaches on the game field. This is somewhat interesting for Patricia, given his role as senior football advisor. This is an indication he will be involved with on-field matters, especially on gameday.
— The only real takeaway from what took place on the field was the kicking and with Folk sidelined, undrafted rookie Quinn Nordin got all of the work — and for both teams. The Michigan product went 9-for-9 on his kicks, including a 57-yard field goal. His big leg was evident, although it seems like Folk will be the starter barring injury. With that being said, the expanded practice squad rules carrying over to this year make him a logical player to keep around.
— Robert Kraft addressed the fans at “halftime” of the game.
-- The team will be off Saturday before returning to the practice field Sunday afternoon.
