MORSE: Patriots Joint Practices with Vikings Will Tell The Story
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This is a very important week for the New England Patriots. They have two joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings on the road. Saturday they will play their 2nd Pre-season game at 1:00 EST. The Vikings are going to be a much better litmus test of the Offense and Defense. The Defense under former Patriots coach Brian Flores is formidable.
Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston had this to say: “Unless they can get on to those base fundamentals and those rules that Josh McDaniels was talking about, and everybody gets on the same page over the course of the next 48 hours, I think it could look pretty ugly for the offense.”
The Offense did not start the week out very well. Sunday and Monday’s practice were very bad. In a hurry up situation the coaches put 1:30 on the clock and the ball spotted on their own 25-yard line for Drake Maye vs. the top defense. They needed just a field goal, Maye and the offense continued their summer struggles in the hurry-up situation. They had a delay of game penalty, and the left side of the line (Will Campbell and Jared Wilson) failed to pick up a stunt for a sack.
“That period at the end of practice today, I thought, was a good sign of how far they have to go. And now they’re going to have to go against one of, in my opinion, one of the brightest defensive minds the sport has to offer.”
The Vikings D-line (Jonathan Allen, Harrison Phillips and Javon Hargrove) will give the O-line all they can handle. The Linebackers are unknown but pack a punch as well (Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, Ivan Pace and Jonathan Greenard).
Van Ginkel is one of my favorite players and a player I thought the Patriots should have pursued last season in Free Agency. With some inside information, I know that Van Ginkel wanted to be back near Iowa where he grew up and Wisconsin where he played College ball. I don’t think that Van Ginkel would come play here no matter what the Patriots offer was. His wife Samantha, his High School sweetheart, wanted to move closer to Rock Valley Iowa where they both grew up and where they have family.
On Defense they will be facing Kevin O’Connell’s intricate offense with stars like WR Justin Jefferson, QB JJ McCarthy, RB Aaron Jones, and TE TJ Hockenson.
According Patriots.com “Watts, 23, played four years at Fort Hays State (DII) and was an All-America Second Team selection in 2024 by three separate organizations, including the D2CCA, Associated Press (AP), and Don Hansen Football Committee. The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder, finished the year with 1,303 rushing yards and 449 receiving yards for 1,752 all-purpose yards. He scored 17 touchdowns, including 13 rushing and four receiving. Watts spent the first two seasons at Fort Hayes State as a defensive back before switching to running back”. He probably has Special Teams ability since he was a Defensive Back.
NFL Draft Diamonds had this to say about Watts. He boasts a 405-pound max bench as well as a 345-pound power clean. Scouts love his overall make up and what he brings to the table as a prospect. At his Pro Day he ran a 4.51 40-yard dash but a slow 7.37 3-cone drill. In High School he was a power lifter and put up 26 reps for a Running Back, which is very high. The 26 reps would have been 3 more than the top player at the Combine. In an interview with NFL Draft Diamonds Watts stated that he likes to hit people.
Converted to running back in 2023 and started seven of 11 games…Led the team in rushing with 676 yards on 111 carries…Averaged 6.1 yards per carry and scored five touchdowns. In his 1st two seasons, he played on all four Special Teams units. His 1st season in 2020 was cancelled due to COVID. Watts said his playing weight is around 205-pounds. Watts likes to hit, lifted 225 lbs. 4 more times than Fullback Brock Lampe, can catch the ball, and runs a 4.51 40 which is .37 faster than Lampe. Just a thought!
Deneric Prince signed on Sunday, never made it on the field because of an injury. He was listed as released on the Patriots.com official transaction. If he is waived with an Injury Designation, and he clears waivers he will revert to IR. If he failed a physical, then he can be waived injured with a failed physical designation.
Garrett Bradbury warned the fans of this in an interview with Mie Reiss of ESPN. Reiss went on to talk about Offensive Line growing pains. Reiss wrote “Offensive line coach Doug Marrone said that rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson — the projected starters at left tackle and left guard — can expect to see more stunts after struggling to handle one in the preseason opener that contributed to a Drake Maye fumble”. “Marrone noted it’s on the coaches to better prepare them, before adding, “If something happens and they get you once, and you put stuff on tape and you’re exposed to it, you better make sure you work on it because you’re definitely going to see it again and people are going to test you on it.”
Warren Sharp, a respected analyst and someone that I lean on when I provide my weekly preview of the opposition teach week, posted a list of the most efficient QBs in Week 1 of the pre-season. Ben Wooldridge was listed as the #5 most efficient QB.
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I don’t think teams do much to game plan opponents in summer. That would go for both joint practices and the preseason game. Maybe they do a little in anticipation of the systems the opponent runs. Mostly, teams just work on their own game and welcome challenges the other team offers like Flores blitz packages. It’s good practice work. The Vikes won 14 games last year but they won 8 of 9 one score games and had some miracles in the mix. I did not follow them much but I’m not sure they were a top tier team in the… Read more »