FOXBORO — A head coach at the bottom of a pile.
Two rising star quarterbacks.
Clutch defense in the final seconds.
The Patriots’ joint practice with the Commanders featured a little bit of everything Wednesday. Both teams went head-to-head over two hours on the practice fields outside Gillette Stadium, where in the end Drake Maye, Mike Vrabel and Co. seemed to gain an upper hand despite a late interception
Backup cornerback Alex Austin kncoked away Jayden Daniels’ final throw, an end-zone toss on fourth-down that ended a period started at the 25-yard line with 45 seconds left. Before then, the Pats defense tallied several sacks, and their quarterbacks carved up a lackluster Commanders secondary.
For all of the Herald’s offensive takeaways Wednesday, click here.
For all of the defensive takeaways and an attendance report, follow along.
Attendance
Absent: WR Kendrick Bourne, OL Caedan Wallace
Non-participant: CB Christian Gonzalez, OLB K’Lavon Chaisson, LB Jahlani Tavai
Limited: WR Stefon Diggs, CB Carlton Davis, OT Morgan Moses
Notes: Diggs arrived late, missing opening individual drills and stretching. He participated in later team periods, both 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s. Moses and Davis sat out drills after initial stretching. Gonzalez, Chaisson and Tavai all walked the field in street clothes.
Bourne continues to miss time with a left foot injury. He is not expected to practice this week. Like Bourne, Wallace has also been out since last Friday’s in-stadium scrimmage.
Patriots joint practice offensive takeaways: QBs shine vs. Commanders
Studs
CB Kobee Minor
Mr. Irrelevant, the last pick in April’s draft, enjoyed his best practice of the summer with a pair of pass breakups, including one late in an abbreviated 2-minute drill for the Commanders offense.
DB Marcus Jones
The diminutive cornerback held his own outside and at his normal spoit at nickeback. Jones also tallied a sack.
Duds
S Kyle Dugger
The Patriots’ longtime strong safety allowed several catches in team periods, consistently a step behind intended receivers. Dugger, again, repped with both the first and second-team defenses.
DL Keion White
White was a relative non-factor in team periods and had a rough showing in 1-on-1 pass rush.
Defensive notes
Top personnel during team periods: defensive linemen Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Keion White, Jeremiah Pharms Jr., Khyris Tonga and Joshua Farmer; linebackers Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss, Jack Gibbens, Marte Mapu, Harold Landry, Anfernee Jennings and Truman Jones; defensive backs Alex Austin, Marcus Jones, DJ James, Kobee Minor, Miles Battle, Jabrill Peppers, Kyle Dugger, Jaylinn Hawkins, Craig Woodson and Marcus Epps.
Interceptions: N/A
Pass breakups: CB Kobee Minor 2, LB Robert Spillane, CB Alex Austin, S Craig Woodson
Would-be sacks: OLB Harold Landry, OLB Anfernee Jennings, OLB Elijah Ponder, CB Marcus Jones
Defensive linemen
- Christian Barmore set the bar for this group, tallying multiple pressures in team periods and big wins during 1-on-1 pass rush.
- Khyris Tonga, the team’s No. 3 defensive tackle and a training camp star, went unbeaten during individual pass rush. Tonga almost lifted one Commanders O-lineman off the ground in that drill and rotated in with the starters.
- Fellow defensive tackle Milton Williams also put a Commanders lineman on skates during individual pass rush drills, but was less disruptive in 11-on-11s.
- Not a great day for Keion White, who lost the edge on a few run plays and badly in 1-on-1 pass rush.
- Backup defensive tackles Joshua Farmer and Jeremiah Pharms Jr. each had moments in team drills: Farmer with a run stuff and instant recognition of a screen pass, while Pharms Jr. had one pressure.
- Second-year defensive tackle Isaiah Iton enjoyed an up-and-down day, jumping offsides during individual and team drills, notching a run stuff and monster win in 1-on-1 pass rush.
Linebackers
- Let’s start on the edge, where the Patriots got out-leveraged time and again by the Commanders’ starting offense on perimeter runs. White and Harold Landry both let running backs loose for long gains.
- Backup outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings, an elite run defender, continued to take snaps in place of K’Lavon Chaisson, who missed his third straight practice. Jennings earned his would-be sack by not giving up on an extended play.
- Inside linebacker Robert Spillane made one of the few notable plays, jumping into a passing lane to bat Jayden Daniels throw into the air midway through an early team drill.
Defensive backs
- How about these young corners? Alex Austin ended Jayden Daniels’ last period, knocking away an end-zone pass on fourth-and-six to force a would-be turnover on downs.
- Austin took reps at outside cornerback with the top defense and nickelback with the second-team unit, as Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis sat out another day of team drills.
- Marcus Jones and second-year corner DJ James formed the originally starting tandem outside in 11-on-11s. Jones, the team’s starting nickelback, kicked inside when the defense fielded three cornerbacks.
- The Patriots’ safeties all struggled in 1-on-1 coverage, something the new coaching staff will ask more of them than previous regimes. No one had a tougher day in this department than Kyle Dugger, who repped with the top two defenses.
- Dugger, Jabrill Peppers — who periodically manned the slot — and Jaylin Hawkins started team periods, with rookie Craig Woodson rotating in. Hawkins allowed multiple catches.
- Hawkins and Marcus Jones formed a nice double-team on an incompletion in the final period against Washington’s starting offense; displaying the type of chemistry the Patriots will need if this defense is to reach its full potential.
Special teams
- Rookie kicker Andy Borregales gained ground in the kicking competition, going 4-of-4 on field goal attempts beteen 33 and 52 yards. Parker Romo, meanwhile, missed from 30 yards and hit his other three attempts.
- Before Wednesday, Neither kicker had missed a field goal attempt in almost two weeks. Romo remains just ahead of Borregales in
- TreVeyon Henderson took the first kickoff return rep. He’s been in the mix throughout camp with other running backs and receivers.
- Backup inside linebackers Jack Gibbens and Marte Mapu started on punt team. Gibbens projects to be a roster lock, while Mapu faces an uphill climb to the 53-man roster.
- The Patriots’ backup kickoff teams had trouble corralling Commanders returners. Something to watch for Friday night.
Extra points
- Several ex-Patriots players were in attendance Wednesday: Devin and Jason McCourty, Danny Amendola and Patrick Chung among them.
- Jon Bon Jovi walked into practice with team owner Robert Kraft. Bon Jovi has been a longtime and frequent visitor to Patriots training camp practices.
- Celtics star Jayson Tatum was in attendance and without his walking boot.
- The Patriots will hold a walk-through on Thursday. They play their first preseason game of the summer Friday at 7:30 p.m. against the Commanders. Tom Brady’s statue will be unveiled with the GOAT in attendance at 6 p.m. on Friday.
- The Patriots will hold their next training camp practice Sunday at 10:15 a.m. It will be the last practice open to the public. Fan admission and parking are free.
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