{"id":62056,"date":"2025-08-16T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T10:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=62056"},"modified":"2025-08-15T23:49:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T03:49:07","slug":"morse-recap-of-patriots-joint-practices-and-preview-of-pre-season-game-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/08\/16\/morse-recap-of-patriots-joint-practices-and-preview-of-pre-season-game-2\/","title":{"rendered":"MORSE: Recap of Patriots Joint Practices and Preview of Pre-Season Game #2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recap from the Two-Day Joint Practices<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This was a tremendous opportunity for the Patriots to test themselves against a top-quality opponent.\u00a0 Minnesota is one of the favorites to make the playoffs and have a run at the Super Bowl.\u00a0 Their Defense is rated as the #2 in DVOA.\u00a0 Their pass rush led by Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel is fierce and a reflection of their Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores.\u00a0 The Offense under Kevin O\u2019Connell is innovative and as long as 2nd<\/sup> year QB JJ McCarthy can play within himself, they will go far.\u00a0 They have a good Offensive line (got rid of their one sieve \u2013 Garrett Bradbury) with the additions of Ryan Kelly and rookie Donovan Jackson.\u00a0 Christian Darrisaw is back at LT after missing the 2nd<\/sup> half of last season with an injury.\u00a0 They were the perfect opponent in Joint Practice.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, I think the Patriots shocked the Vikings by playing them to a draw! The Patriots’ pass rush, which we have seen shred our own Offensive Line in Training Camp practices, put it to the experienced Vikings Offensive line to the tune of 7 sacks.\u00a0 \u00a0The Pats’ Offensive line, starting two rookies on the left side, had problems with the Flores pass rush.\u00a0 \u00a0I must add that this part of practice emphasized 2nd<\/sup> and long situational play.\u00a0 In this scenario, running the ball is basically eliminated, and the pass rush can pin their ears back and just fly upfield.\u00a0 Flores used multiple faux fronts with LBs up on the line and DL dropping in coverage.\u00a0 They also ran stunts and twists to confuse the young lineman of the Pats.\u00a0 The Pats gave up 3 of their totals of 6 sacks in this period.\u00a0 This type of play is invaluable for the young line and the unit as a whole trying to develop chemistry with the 5-person unit.<\/p>\n

Although Drake Maye was under pressure, he completed several big plays.\u00a0 The highlight was a 2-minute drill in which Maye hit RB Tre\u2019Veyon Henderson on a blown coverage.\u00a0 He took it 75 yards to the house.\u00a0 In the workout, he also threw 3 more big plays in 11-on-11 competition.\u00a0 He went from getting smacked in the mouth during the 2nd<\/sup> and long situations to shredding the Vikings’ Defense in 11-on-11.<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/p>\n
Ben Brown stepped in at left guard this week.\u00a0 (PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The second joint practice was not nearly as good as the first for the Pats.\u00a0 It started badly for the Pats when rookie LG Jared Wilson pulled up after a one-on-one rep.\u00a0 he walked off under his own power and went back to the Locker Room.\u00a0 Ben Brown (not Cole Strange) replaced him at LG and struggled all day.\u00a0 This practice emphasized Red Zone play.\u00a0 In the Pre-season game versus Washington, the Patriots’ Defense gave up 5 scores in the Red Zone.\u00a0 The only real stop they made was after the Maye fumble, and they held the Commanders to a Field Goal attempt (which they missed).<\/p>\n

Minnesota dominated this practice on both sides of the ball.\u00a0 J.J. McCarthy couldn\u2019t be stopped in the Red Zone.\u00a0 He had tight end TJ Hockenson open at will.\u00a0 This is the second week the Pats Defense has not been able to cover a TE.\u00a0 On the other side, Drake Maye was under constant pressure, and Will Campbell had his worst practice, giving up 3 sacks, and then had a false start in a 1-minute drill.\u00a0 To Maye\u2019s credit, after back-to-back sacks and then a 5-yard false start on Campbell, Maye unloaded a 40-yard prayer to Kayshon Boutte (into double coverage) for a TD.<\/p>\n

The Defense (probably because of the emphasis on Red Zone play) didn\u2019t have the pass rush they showed the day before, registering only two (both by Christian Barmore, who didn\u2019t practice on Wednesday).<\/p>\n

The good news coming out of the two days of Practice is that Drake Maye, despite the high amount of pressure, didn\u2019t have any turnovers.\u00a0 Also, Josh Dobbs bounced back from a bad practice on Wednesday to have a very good practice on Thursday.\u00a0 Efton Chism, Kayshon Boutte, and Javon Baker had two good practice sessions.\u00a0 Chism in particular had 3 TDs over the two days.\u00a0 There is no way they are exposing Chism to waivers at cutdown day.\u00a0 It\u2019s also becoming clear that Boutte, who some thought might be traded before the draft, and Baker, who has stacked multiple good practices together, are all going to make the team.<\/p>\n

Pre-Season Game #2 Versus Vikings<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Minnesota will not be playing Justin Jefferson and J.J. McCarthy, according to head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n

The Patriots will probably not have Christian Gonzalez, Rhamondre Stevenson, Marte Mapu, Ja\u2019Lynn Polk, Kendrick Bourne, Jahlani Tavai, or Terrell Jennings, who didn\u2019t practice Thursday.\u00a0 Jabrill Peppers and DJ James were limited, and Jared Wilson left practice, and I don\u2019t expect him to play.<\/p>\n

Who Should Play and Who Should Sit<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I am in the camp that says you need to get the second year QB as many snaps in the Pre-Season as you can.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t start until the 5th<\/sup> game last year, he needs reps.\u00a0 The Offensive Line needs to play together and build chemistry.<\/p>\n

Now does Jared Wilson need to play if his is nicked up \u2013 NO! Any of those players that have injuries or have come back from injury (Diggs + Barmore) don\u2019t need to prove anything and should be held out.<\/p>\n

I would expect the starters to play for a half.\u00a0 Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston thinks it may be just a coupe of series because Maye threw 48 passes in the two joint practice.<\/p>\n

Players to Watch<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kyle Dugger<\/strong> \u2013 he has gone from a potential Captain to on the bubble to make the team.\u00a0\u00a0 I said before the season started that Dugger needs to be moved to Linebacker.\u00a0 His pass coverage skills are abysmal.\u00a0 He can\u2019t even cover a TE.\u00a0 He has lost his starting position and even with Jabrill Peppers out, he was still relegated to the second team defense.<\/p>\n

Will Campbell<\/strong> \u2013 He has been under a microscope since the day camp started.\u00a0 I am very concerned about Campbell\u2019s play.\u00a0 He has given up at least a sack or more in each practice or game.\u00a0 He is on a pace for 17+ sacks for the season.\u00a0 The worst player in the league gave up just 12 sacks.\u00a0 If Wilson is hurt for any length of time, I would consider moving Campbell inside to Guard and playing Lowe at Left Tackle. \u00a0I expect that Campbell\u2019s run blocking will continue to be spectacular.\u00a0 You can call it short arms, but I don\u2019t think that Campbell can play Left Tackle in this league.<\/p>\n

Vederian Lowe<\/strong> \u2013 is a fourth-year player, essentially a 3rd<\/sup> year player because he played only one game for Minnesota in 2022. \u00a0He was traded to the Patriots in 2023 and played 11 games.\u00a0 Last season he gave up just 5 sacks in 14 games.\u00a0 His big problem was 13 penalties called on him.\u00a0 Lowe is just 26 and this is his prime.\u00a0 Pats suffered through his growing pains, and I think they need to re-install him in the lineup.\u00a0 I would also add that the present Offensive Line coaching staff has greatly improved over the coaching that Lowe had over the last two seasons.\u00a0 Lowe\u2019s ratings from PFF last year was 54.0 Overall, 66.9 Pass Blocking and 45.8 Run Blocking.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0His pass blocking True Grade was 56th<\/sup>.\u00a0 Only 4 rookies had better Pas Blocking grades.\u00a0 Joe Alt and Roger Rosengarten played Right Tackle.\u00a0 Troy Fautanu and JC Latham had better pass blocking grades than Lowe.\u00a0 He should be playing with the 2nd<\/sup> unit as he switched out with Marcus Bryant there.\u00a0 He appears to be ahead of Demontrey Jacobs.<\/p>\n

Pass Rush<\/strong> – Was Thursday’s practice a fluke?\u00a0 Have the Patriots really improved the pass rush?\u00a0 K\u2019Lavon Chaisson didn\u2019t play in the Washington game where the team only had two sacks.\u00a0 Elijah Ponder has had his moments in practice and he has been playing ahead of Anfernee Jennings.\u00a0 Truman Jones won an off-season practice award and served as a Captain last week against Washington.\u00a0 Harold Landry has had a good camp and I would like to see if the pressure from the inside is handing him clean up sacks or does he still have the juice to make the sacks on his own.\u00a0 Interior lineman such as Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Jeremiah Pharns and Isaiah Iton have been pushing the pocket.<\/p>\n

Keion White<\/strong> \u2013 Has he hit the wall after beating up on rookie Will Campbell at the beginning of camp.\u00a0 He has done little in the two joint practices.\u00a0 He had 5 sacks in the 1st<\/sup> two games of last year and didn\u2019t have another sack the rest of the way.\u00a0 I believe all of his sacks were from the DT position over a guard.\u00a0 White is also a below average run stopper and doesn\u2019t hold the edge.\u00a0 He also loved to rush up field and abandon his rush lane, allowing the QB to escape the pocket and extend plays or scramble for 1st down.<\/p>\n

Red Zone Defense <\/strong>\u00a0– As noted above, the Red Zone Defense is awful.\u00a0 No one can cover TE.\u00a0 Marcus Jones is a liability in confined spaces and can be easily overwhelmed by receivers.\u00a0 Even Efton Chism has beaten Jones in the corner of the End Zone.\u00a0 Jones had great coverage.\u00a0 He just got bodied off the ball.<\/p>\n

Kicker Competition <\/strong>\u2013 This has been a terrific competition.\u00a0 The battle has been very close, with both players having just one bad day (Monday\u2019s practice).\u00a0 Andy Borregales got all the kicks in Wednesday\u2019s practice had hit 4 of 5 including a 51-yarder.\u00a0 His only miss was from 54 yards.\u00a0 Curiously, John Parker-Romo didn\u2019t kick at all on Wednesday, and neither kicked on Thursday.\u00a0 I thought that Parker-Romo\u2019s kickoff were better than Borregales.\u00a0 Let’s see what happens on Saturday.<\/p>\n

GAME TIME \u00a0<\/strong>Game is being played on Saturday at 1:00.\u00a0 The game will be broadcast on WBZ-4 and on the radio on 98.5 The Sports Hub<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was a tremendous opportunity for the Patriots to test themselves against a top-quality opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":61995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMORSE: Recap of Patriots Joint Practices and Preview of Pre-Season Game #2<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This was a tremendous opportunity for the Patriots to test themselves against a top-quality opponent.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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