Patriots News 8/3: Daily Team Notebook
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Some Patriots News on this Wednesday:
– Rookie wide receiver Tyquan Thornton put on quite a show on Tuesday, with the receiver hauling in several impressive catches during practice as he continues to get comfortable in New England’s offense. One of his most impressive receptions came against veteran Jalen Mills, who was in good position but Mac Jones dropped in a beautifully thrown ball just over Thornton’s shoulder, with the receiver pulling it in perfectly despite Mills being right on top of him. After the play, which would have been a touchdown, Mills just stopped and clapped his hands in appreciation for what was a pretty incredible reception.
– Looking at additional video, Thornton has already evolved in the nearly two months he’s been here. He looks like he’s bulked up a bit and he’s been competitive in several of the drills we’ve seen, looking less like a skinny rookie and more like a bigger version of the player we saw highlights of during his time at Baylor. While his speed is obviously a big asset, his overall movements, ball tracking, and how he catches the football are all a lot of the little things that are beginning to stand out and he’s definitely starting to look the part of a potential playmaker for this offense.
– Another player who has been garnering attention is tight end Devin Asiasi, who has had a strong start to training camp. He’s looked more comfortable than he has in a while and caught several passes during the reps he got with the offense, which is a good sign as New England could still use quality depth behind Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. Bill Belichick said on Tuesday he’s been pleased with what he’s seen from the third-year tight end. “Physically, looks good. Mentally, the experience that he’s gained and confidence he’s gained – you can see that,” said Belichick. “We’ll see how it goes as we get into competitive situations and a little more padded practices, we’ll see how all that comes together. He’s tracking well.”
– Jones continued to struggle a bit on Tuesday, with reports having him finishing a perfect 8-of-8 during 7-on-7s but just 6-of-11 during 11-on-11s. He’s looked a little frustrated as of late, with Jones admitting that when things go poorly in practice, he equates it with losing a game and he takes it personally. “I care a lot about football and we all do. It’s very competitive and when we lose ‘the day,’ to me that’s like a shot in the heart, you know, it’s like we lost the game,” said Jones on Tuesday. “So, there’s a lot more than that because it’s practice you want to learn but at the end of the day we’re out here competing and the goal is, to have more good plays than the other team and in that case, that’s the defense right now.”
– Jones also admitted that a lot of what they’re doing is still new in some cases, so the goal is to figure out what is working well and then make the corrections as needed after taking a look at things on film. “Every problem has a solution and some of the plays that we’re running, we’re going out there and seeing what it looks like first, and then trying to figure it out,” explained Jones. “So that’s the biggest thing, is just getting the plays on the screen and watching them, ‘alright here’s the problem, this guy’s unblocked, how do we block him?’ It’s really not rocket science but our job is to execute what they tell us and go through my reads and go through my run looks and we’re going to continue to grow in that area. It’s just every play is a different play whether it’s a run or pass and the communication on each play is different. So it takes reps, it takes watching film and doing all that.”
– Like Thornton, veteran wideout Nelson Agholor was also impressive on Tuesday, making his own highlight catch against Joejuan Williams. On the play, Williams seemed to have good coverage but Agholor pulled the football in with one hand as he twisted his body just enough and held Williams off with his other hand to give him the space to make the reception. He then took it in for the touchdown and flipped the football into the air in front of the crowd.
– Henry Anderson has seen a fair amount of reps due to Deatrich Wise Jr. being sidelined and he broke up a pass coming off the edge during the 11-on-11 portion of practice on Tuesday. After missing last year with a torn pectoral muscle, he appears to be off to a good start, which is good news for a team that is trying to rebuild its defense following a disappointing finish in 2021.
– Second-year defensive lineman Christian Barmore is off to a strong start, with reports seeing him dominate most people he’s faced here during the early part of camp. Barmore had a notable moment on Tuesday where he was matched up with a massive Michael Onwenu, who is listed at 350-pounds on the team’s website, and knocked him down, as well as steamrolling Yasir Durant. Barmore remains a key player on New England’s defense and he’s looking more and more like he could be headed for a solid sophomore season.
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