{"id":60456,"date":"2025-05-28T09:51:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T13:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=60456"},"modified":"2025-05-28T09:51:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T13:51:41","slug":"morse-leftovers-from-the-patriots-open-ota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/05\/28\/morse-leftovers-from-the-patriots-open-ota\/","title":{"rendered":"MORSE: Leftovers from The Patriots Open OTA"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have seen several reports from the open OTA attended by the horde of local media.\u00a0 If Drake Maye sneezes, the local media will report which way his head was turned.<\/p>\n

Maye\u2019s Interceptions<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the 1st practice session where the media were present, and Maye didn\u2019t start off well.\u00a0 He threw 4 INTs of his first 9 passes.\u00a0 Let\u2019s put that in perspective.\u00a0 The initial INT was clearly Maye\u2019s fault as he overthrew UDFA TE CJ Dippre.\u00a0 Dell Pettus got the gift INT.\u00a0 On the next play there was some type of miscommunication on a pass to seemingly no one in the flat.\u00a0 Was this on Maye, rookie Kyle Williams or vet Pop Douglas?\u00a0 BTW, this was a great play by Christian Gonzalez, who made a diving catch and got up to take it to the house.\u00a0 Third INT should have been called Defensive Holding as Hunter Henry had his arm held and was only able to get one hand up.\u00a0 He tipped the ball and Craig Woodson made a diving catch.\u00a0 The final INT was a great play by Gonzo.\u00a0 Maye didn\u2019t recognize the Defense was in a zone and Gonzalez came off his man underneath and floated back deep.\u00a0 This was a type of INT that Ty Law would make on Peyton Manning.<\/p>\n

Greg Bedard reported that Drake Maye\u2019s hitch in his throwing motion has returned.\u00a0 One of the questions on the Coaching Staff is the hiring of Ashton Grant as the QB coach.\u00a0 He is one of the least experienced coaches on the staff, and he is working with a very young QB.\u00a0 This is something to monitor as the team moves into Training Camp.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez is a Shut-Down Corner<\/strong><\/p>\n

Practicing against Gonzalez will only help Maye\u2019s development.\u00a0 He was 2nd team All-Pro last year, and he will be just 23 years old (in June).\u00a0 Last season, he faced the iron of the league’s Wide Receivers.\u00a0 He has only played in 20 games!\u00a0 Also, the Patriots played the 2nd<\/sup> highest amount of man coverage in the league.\u00a0 Gonzo was on an island, and he shined for the Patriots last season.\u00a0 I will add that the Patriots had the worst pass rush in the league, and that meant that the DBs had to cover their WRs for a longer period of time.\u00a0 The QB had all day to pass, and eventually the WRs would work themselves open.\u00a0\u00a0 I expect a big year from Gonzalez, especially if the pass rush has improved, like it is projected to do.\u00a0 \u00a0 I can’t believe Gonzo was not named to the PFF top 25 under 25.\u00a0 His egregious omission completely dismisses any legitimacy PFF has on this list. PFF embarrassed themselves.\u00a0 I regularly use PFF ratings and rankings, but I am now questioning whether I should use these if PFF has made such a huge mistake.\u00a0 If they are relying strictly on numbers and not taking into consideration the amount of time the QB has to throw, the amount of time the Patriots were in Man Coverage, and the receivers that Gonzalez had to face each week, then their findings are not valid.<\/p>\n

Christian Barmore a Full Participant<\/strong><\/p>\n

Barmore, at his press conference, said the words every Patriots fan wanted to hear.\u00a0 He was cleared for Full Football Participation.\u00a0 A clean bill of health.\u00a0 I am happy for Barmore as a human being, never mind a football player.\u00a0 It has been reported that Barmore and Milt Williams have a very healthy competition of who can get into the facility 1st<\/sup>.\u00a0 They are competing in everything, including the weight room. \u00a0Barmore and Williams could be a devastating combination.\u00a0 Another observation from OTAs is that the speed of the practice was much higher than most \u201cVoluntary\u201d practices in past seasons.\u00a0 The intensity matched the intensity of Mike Vrabel.<\/p>\n

Onwenu Non-Participation a Concern <\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Onwenu was in attendance but was very limited.\u00a0 Greg Bedard pointed out that Onwenu was very out of shape and heavier than he was last year.\u00a0 This is very disconcerting.\u00a0 Onwenu signed a big free-agent contract with the Patriots, making him the highest-paid O-lineman in team history.\u00a0 \u00a0 However, his production last season didn\u2019t match the size of his contract. \u00a0His PFF Rating was 65.1 which is a true ranking of 38th<\/sup>.\u00a0 A true ranking takes out all players who started 5 or fewer games.\u00a0 Onwenu worked on the side with trainers, as did Morgan Moses.\u00a0 My hope is that he returns to the form he showed in 2021, where he was the 3rd<\/sup> ranked Guard by PFF behind only Joel Bitonio and Zack Martin.\u00a0 \u00a0I am getting vibes that Onwenu is not committed to football much like Trent Brown.\u00a0 Allowing himself to get out of shape in the off-season and using training camp to get in shape.\u00a0 However, Onwenu hasn\u2019t shown the talent that Brown had.\u00a0 Will Mike Vrabel make an example out of Onwenu to the other players?\u00a0 Is he the test case for Vrabel\u2019s discipline and team-first approach?<\/p>\n

Offensive Line Group \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The top O-line group was Will Campbell at LT, Cole Strange at LG, Garrett Bradbury at C, Mike Onwenu at RG and Morgan Moses at RT.\u00a0 \u00a0Jared Wislon was limited as were Morgan Moses and Mike Onwenu.\u00a0 They did not participate in 11 on 11 drills and were working on the sideline with the trainers. \u00a0Caeden Wallace worked at both Left Tackle and Right Tackle.\u00a0 Demontrey Jacobs worked at both tackles, as it appears there is an open competition for a swing tackle.\u00a0 Sidy Sow was absent from practice.\u00a0 Vederian Lowe was at practice along with WR Mack Hollins but sat out in street clothes.<\/p>\n

Craig Woodson May Be the Biggest Surprise <\/strong><\/p>\n

The most criticized draft pick the Patriots made was Safety Craig Woodson from California.\u00a0 Some say that Woodson was a reach at pick # 106, the 4th<\/sup> selection in Round 4.\u00a0 The Patriots had all night to decide who they wanted to draft at the start of Day 3, and they took Woodson.\u00a0 I noted leading up to the draft that Safety was need for this team. \u00a0This from Phil Perry of NBC Boston “Just reaching out to some people with the team after that finished up [rookie minicamp], the two names I got in terms of most-impressive players at Patriots rookie minicamp; Will Campbell, which you would expect, and Craig Woodson, fourth-round pick out of [California]. They love his football IQ, they love his movement skills.”\u00a0 Woodson had one of the interceptions off Maye on a diving play.\u00a0 According to Perry, Woodson didn\u2019t seem lost out there and in control of the secondary adjustments.\u00a0 I will add that both Kyle Dugger and Jabril Peppers sat out the 11 on 11 session.<\/p>\n

UDFA WR Impresses<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t know the name Efton Chism you better get up to speed on this guy.\u00a0 He did not get drafted because he had a 4.71 40.\u00a0 However, he has superior short area quickness by his 6.77 3-cone drill and 4.06 Short Shuttle. \u00a0He caught 3 of 4 passes thrown his way.\u00a0 He reminds people of a taller Julian Edelman.\u00a0 These are the notes about Chism by NFL Draft Buzz after the East-West Shrine game:<\/p>\n