Patriots News 8/2: Daily Team Notebook
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Some Patriots News on this Tuesday:
– The New England Patriots donned pads for the first time this training camp on Monday and while the intensity turned up, the success Mac Jones and the offense had in the early going was certainly dialed back. Jones had previously had a tough run on Saturday after getting picked off twice and some of that frustration carried over into Monday after he threw another pick. He finished 5-of-8 during team drills, with Jones again looking fairly frustrated as things started getting a little more competitive in the secondary. As a result, this will potentially be a big week for the normally consistent QB to hopefully start stringing some better performances together.
– Jones’ arm has looked strong so far in camp, with the second-year QB firing off a couple of long bombs, including a 50-yard throw down the left sideline to DeVante Parker, who beat Malcolm Butler on the play for a would-be touchdown on Monday. Those two have seemed to have been matched up against each other on quite a few plays and so far, it feels like Parker has gotten the better of the exchange each time.
– One note left off from yesterday was the fact second-year linebacker Cameron McGrone has made some noise early on, which included a nice showing on Saturday, with McGrone reportedly recording what would have been a sack during his session with the second team. McGrone was involved again in the rotation on Monday and has looked more and more comfortable as he continues to work his way back after the ACL tear he suffered last year..
– In the secondary, the club has seen various players step up and make plays. Butler, Terrance Mitchell, and Jalen Mills have each been among names who have recorded pass break-ups early on, with Justin Bethel, also getting into the action. Joshua Bledsoe has been another name that has stood out in the early going, as he’s taken advantage of his opportunities and he’s been fairly disruptive.
– With the pads now on, rookie first-round pick Cole Strange got his first real match-ups against both Christian Barmore as well as veteran Henry Anderson, and he certainly had a tough time after getting beaten by both players. He spent some time after that talking with head coach Bill Belichick, who likely talked to him about technique and various other things that he probably saw during those match-ups.
– Belichick talked about Strange during his press conference Monday morning, saying that like everyone else, he’s still got a long way to go. “Cole’s worked really hard, he’s one of the first guys in the building every day and last to leave,” said Belichick. “He’s done a good job on his assignments, shown a lot of maturity in different situations that we’ve put him in. But, it’s a long way to go, and obviously he has talent, but it comes down to production and consistency, and we’ll find out over a period of time how that is. Love working with him, though. He’s a good worker.”
– Meanwhile, speaking of the offensive line, it’s been Trent Brown manning the left tackle spot so far during camp, with Isaiah Wynn working at right tackle. That’s been the trend to this point and barring any changes it could be what we’ll see heading into the season. To this point, Brown appears to be moving well and he seems healthy, which as we’ve seen if he can get through the entire season definitely gives Jones solid protection on that side.
– For Wynn, this is an interesting transition for him and he didn’t seem overly excited about the idea back in the spring. However, he’s reportedly done a good job and has even dealt with some competitive moments against Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings, who have been active during the early part of camp.
– Linebacker-wise, so far, the group has seemingly been led by Ja’Whaun Bentley and Raekwon McMillan, with the duo working together inside. From there, reports have also had Mack Wilson, Jennings and Uche, along with Ronnie Perkins and McGrone each seeing snaps. Harvey Langi and Jalani Tavai have also seen time, but this should be a week where we hopefully start to see some guys begin to separate themselves when the team plays its first preseason game just over one week from now against the NY Giants on August 11 at 7:00 pm ET at Gillette Stadium.
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