Patriots training camp notebook: Into the red zone on Day 6 – 98.5 The Sports Hub

For the second day in a row, head coach Mike Vrabel raised the intensity at New England Patriots training camp. After focusing mostly on the run on Monday in the first day of pads, there was more of a mix in play calls for this second padded practice.

The other been change on Tuesday was the area of the field the team focused on. While for the majority of camp the team has worked in between the 20s, this practice was conducted almost entirely in the red zone.

For the first part of practice the defense dominated. In particular the secondary was tight in coverage, recording multiple PBUs. There were also some sloppy plays from the offense which we’ll get to.

In the second half of practice, the offense did a better job of responding. We’ll start with that back-and-forth as we begin today’s notebook…

Just in terms of throwing the ball, Drake Maye went 3-of-8 in the first red zone period. Some of that was due to a few overthrows, which have been an issue for Maye on and off during this camp. That also includes a drop by rookie Kyle Williams.

Maye and Williams bounced back and closed that period strong though. Working in the high red zone Williams beat cornerback Alex Austin clean off the line, and Maye dropped one to him in stride on a fade route for a touchdown.

That late touchdown seemed to spark the offense for the rest of that period and into the next period. Still working in the red zone Maye connected regularly, often showcasing chemistry when it came to the timing and placement of the throws. He connected with both Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte in the back of the end zone on high-point throws, with each coming down with a toe-tap catch.

The catch of the day though came with the second unit on the field. Joshua Dobbs (who had what seemed to be his best day of camp so far) threw a fade to Javon Baker in the front corner of the end zone, leaving the ball up for Baker to make a play. Baker climbed the ladder to get over cornerback Marcellas Dial, caught the ball over his head, and still came down with both feet in bounds.

There was one other highlight play for the offense, which came from a running back. Working in high red zone in 11-on-11 rookie TreVeyon Henderson got a toss to the right side, and it looked like the defense had him contained. However he accelerated quickly and was able to get a seam outside, creating a solid gain where it looked like there’d be no play. If there was live tackling he likely would have scored or been caught just short of the goal line.

It was another back-and-forth in the run game for the Patriots on Tuesday. The overall performance might have been closer than yesterday, but it still felt like the offense had a slight advantage.

In the pass game, there were two would-be sacks of Maye. One came when Keion White beat Will Campbell, and the other seemed to be an issue of communication as Khyiris Tonga – coming off of a dominant performance in one-on-ones – shot clean through the gap between center Garrett Bradbury and guard Cole Strange untouched. It was a solid day otherwise for Strange, who had a block to set up another run by moving Milton Williams.

There was also another fumbled quarterback-center exchange, with the ball hitting the ground with Bradbury working with Maye. That’s Bradbury’s first fumbled snap of the summer and the third for Maye, with one yesterday and another last week with rookie Jared Wilson.

Wilson had clean snaps on Tuesday, and had a strong day overall. In particular, the way his athleticism can be a factor in the run game has really stood out.

It didn’t help that the offensive line was dealing with moving pieces throughout practice. In total, three players up front left the session early.

The first player to leave was starting right tackle Morgan Moses. Moses, who has been limited at times so far this summer, walked off relatively early in practice before the start of 11-on-11s and did not return. He was replaced by Demontrey Jacobs, who has been his backup throughout camp.

Midway through practice backup tackle Yasir Durant came up gingerly during an 11-on-11 period. He limped back to the athletic training area, and also did not return to practice.

Then during the final 11-on-11 period and one of the final plays during the day, Garrett Bradbury got caught on the bottom of a pile when the defensive line collapsed the offensive line on a run play. Bradbury was slow to get up, and made his way over to the sideline where he was flexing and stretching his leg with a member of the training staff. With it being so late in practice he did not leave the field, but stood off to the side while the rest of the team did their conditioning runs to close out practice.

For a Patriots team that already has questions about the depth of its offensive line, losing three players in one day certainly is a story. It will be worth tracking the rest of this week to see who does and doesn’t get back quickly.

The best player through the first two padded practices has arguably been pass rusher K’Lavon Chaisson. After a standout day on Monday he had two more sacks on Tuesday.

On one of them, he beat Yasir Durant clean around the outside and quickly got to Joshua Dobbs. On the other he used an inside-out move to get into the backfield, arriving at Dobbs at the same time as Jaquelin Roy. He also had one play with the top unit where he beat Jacobs, but was on the backside of a screen play with the ball getting out quick.

Chaisson’s progress will continue to be something to monitor. While the Patriots’ interior rush looks to be set with Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, the edge situation is a bit more fluid. Right now, Chaisson looks like a player positioning himself or a significant role.

Behind the pass rush the secondary was able to knock down a few passes on Tuesday. That was especially true early in practice.

Among those with PBUs was Jabrill Peppers, who was able to hang with Demario Douglas trying to get open on the goal line. Peppers overall has looked solid in coverage early in camp. Others with pass breakups included linebacker Christian Elliss, and cornerbacks Isaiah Bolden, D.J. James, and Miles Battle.

The Patriots field goals drills appear to have a new setup. In the past they would do eight total kicks, with each kicker getting four reps. The past two days that has changed – yesterday Parker Romo got six attempts on his own with none for rookie Andy Borregales. That flipped on Tuesday with Borregales getting all six kicks. Like Romo on Monday, Borregales hit all six, working in the same range from 30 to just over 50 yards.

There was also one team punt period. Bryce Baringer’s hangtimes were…

The Patriots were without their top two cornerbacks for this practice, with Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis both out. Gonzalez missed the practice after suffering an apparent leg injury yesterday, although he did briefly join the team on the field at the end of practice dressed in street clothes and with a sleeve on his left leg. For Davis, this is his fourth missed practice in six days, after opening camp on NFI only to be removed before the first practice. With both out, Marcellas Dial and D.J. James have been getting more time with the top unit.

Also absent for the Patriots was linebacker Jahlani Tavai – who has missed multiple practices now after suffering an injury last week – and rookies Joshua Farmer and Brock Lampe. There was a new No. 46 out at practice with the defense, likely recently-signed linebacker R.J. Moten.

Also at practice was tight end Austin Hooper, indicating he’s been removed from the PUP list. That leaves tackle Vederian Lowe and wide receiver Mack Hollins as the lone players left on PUP.

The Patriots will be back on the practice fields on Wednesday. It will be their third practice in a five-day span, including Friday’s in-stadium practice.