Good morning. Here is your Patriots news, 8-10, and NFL notes this week. The Patriots wrapped up the week against the Washington Commanders with a joint practice on Wednesday and the first preseason game on Friday evening.
Before the game on Friday, the Patriots had another ceremony honoring Tom Brady,unveiling a 12-foot statue, sitting atop a five-foot pedestal. The six-sided pedestal represents all of the New England states, as well as the Super Bowls Brady was part of while in a Patriots uniform.
Robert Kraft, in his comments, said that the numbers 12-17-6 were the keys to the construction of the statue: 12, Brady’s number, and the height of the statue. 17, the combined height of the statue and pedestal, for the number of division titles the Patriots had with Brady at quarterback, and finally, six, the sides of the pedestal, which are for the New England states and the Super Bowls won by Brady and the Patriots during his tenure.
Quick Hitters For the Patriots and NFL News:
**Drake Maye:**Maye had an excellent Wednesday practice against Washington, but then was only so/so in the game Friday night.
His turnover on a fumble on the first Patriots’ drive was ugly and uncalled for. Only bad things happen on plays like that, and they did. Coach Vrabel was steamed and rightfully so. You can’t have plays like that.
“We’re going to need better from him. I think he knows that. That’s obvious. It wasn’t there. We just have to be able to find a way to get rid of the football or take a sack, punt, and play defense. But to the defense’s credit, they forced a field goal,” Vrabel said.
Maye rebounded and led a nice drive for a touchdown, with him taking it in from five yards out. It was a nice run, with excellent blocking up front. No one was open, so Maye took off and cut to his left for an easy score.
**Hawk-Eye Technology:**The Hall of Fame game gave us the first look at Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology as the primary method of measuring the line to gain for first downs.
I was hoping to see more of it in action on Friday night, but I’m sure we’ll see more of its use in the coming weeks.
Anfernee Jennings: The Patriots’ edge rusher, who has been an outstanding edge setter in his Patriots tenure, played late into the game on Friday night.
Jennings was a great fit, in the Bill Belichick style of defense but isn’t so great a fit in Mike Vrabel and Terrell Williams defense. Which is why him playing late into the fourth quarter isn’t a great sign for him.
I’ve always been a big supporter of Jennings since he was drafted from Alabama. But he could be on the trading block or subject to release, if some of the younger edge players continue to develop.
Patriots No Huddle Podcast: Derek, Mike, and I discussed training camp and the joint practices with theWashington Commanders. Derek and I later recorded a quick post-game podcast of the first preseason game. You can find our podcasts on YouTube,Apple, orSpotify. Please take a look and leave us a review.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position.
This will be displayed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
Observations of the Patriots’ Win Over Washington
Energy and Physicality, if there were just two things to take away from the Patriots’ win over the Commanders, it was energy and physicality. The Patriots played Friday Night’s game against Washington with the energy of a team that was itching to get on the field for the first time in 2025.
And the physicality was there in spades. This team, as head coach Mike Vrabel has said he wants many times, played very physical, and much more so than Washington did on this night. The Commanders couldn’t match it.
Patriots ball carriers all night long, finished their carries with physical hits that punished would-be tacklers. It was a theme all night long.
While no one is booking tickets to the Super Bowl over the first preseason game, there is a genuine optimism that after two terrible years, the team’s direction is trending upward. And that was evident during the joint practice with Washington as well as the game on Friday night.
Some other observations from the game include:
TreVeyon Henderson Is The Real Deal —
When Henderson was drafted, his explosiveness was his biggest asset. And throughout training camp, we’ve been seeing more of that. Well, in his first NFL preseason game, Henderson brought the Gillette Stadium crowd to their feet.
Running up the left side, he was sprung with a couple of key blocks from Brendan Schooler and Jack Gibbens, once he hit the 20-yard line, he cut back to the right side and was gone. Kicking in the afterburners, he blew past the final Washington tacklers and went 100 yards for a touchdown.
I don’t think there was a better way to start the game than for Henderson to electrify the crowd. He is the kind of explosive player that the Patriots have needed but haven’t had for several years.
He only carried once for 18 yards and caught three passes for 12 more. That was a heckuva way to start off his Patriots career.
Will Campbell And Jared Wilson Debut At Gillette —
The Patriots started the game with three rookies in the starting Offensive Line. Campbell at left tackle, Wilson at left guard, and Marcus Bryant at right tackle.
During the first series, they failed to identify the Commanders setting him up for a stunt around the edge. Campbell took the bait inside and was responsible for the sack on Maye, although the fumble was on Maye. A rookie mistake.
But in the running game, the duo, especially Campbell, were impressive. Campbell is very athletic for a big man of his size with quick, smooth footwork and plays with a nasty streak, we haven’t seen since Logan Mankins.
He had other snaps in pass protection that he looked very good in, and in the running game, check his highlights fromBrian Baldingerfrom NFL Network.
Seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant started at right tackle and flipped over to the right side. He and Demontrey Jacobs are battling for the swing tackle role and both had good starts to the preseason. Bryant showed he can hold up at either side, something that bodes well for sticking on the roster.
Kyle Williams Showed What He Can Do —
Williams had an impressive game for a guy who didn’t make a catch. But several weren’t his fault. He had beaten his man down the right sideline for what may have been a long touchdown… if the ball had been placed correctly.
Josh Dobbs underthrew Williams, causing him to slow down and allow the cornerback to close and knock the ball away. That was a missed opportunity for a long touchdown pass. In the red zone, Williams, known for his ability to separate at the line of scrimmage, had beaten his man on a quick crosser in the end zone.
However, Dobbs was late with the throw, and then it was far behind him, which would have been an easy touchdown. He beat Washington corner Bobby Price on another deep route, which should have been a pass interference penalty that went uncalled, despite him being pulled down before the ball arrived.
DJ James, Alex Austin, Continues To Make Plays —
With injuries to starting corners Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III, several young cornerbacks are getting an opportunity for increased reps. And James and Austin are making the most of their opportunities.
James jumped a route andpicked off a pass, which showed great awareness. He has continued to come on this summer and has worked himself very much into the conversation to make the team and earn reps.
“I think it’s always exciting to see players that take advantage of opportunities,” Vrabel said in his postgame presser.
”Since D.J. was one of the players that was here for the rookie minicamp, he’s continued to improve. I think he’s taken advantage of that. So I’m always for players that get better, take coaching. It’s on them, obviously, to improve. That’s all to D.J.’s credit.
“So, I’m excited for him that he can put in the work and start to see it translate onto the field.”
Austin continues to impress as the starting corner in Gonzalez’s absence. He had a great pass breakup in the endzone, knocking the ball out of K.J. Osborne’s hands. He added a nice run stuff.
While he entered the season as an uncertain player to make the roster, he’s rapidly moving towards being a lock.
Efton Chism And Lan Larrison Don’t Hurt Their Chances For the 53 —
The Patriots’ two UDFAs both accounted well for themselves in the game. Coach Vrabel singled out Chism for his play strength. He had several nice plays, including a 4th and 1 for a12-yard touchdown, where the ball was slightly deflected and he made an adjustment on it, slipped a tackle, and leaped into the end zone.
He also had a nice 20-yard screen reception, ran with physicality, and at one point, instead of running out of bounds, he lowered his shoulder and delivered a big hit right in front of the Patriots’ bench. He has a knack for getting open and catching the ball.
Larrison had a nice game and ended up with 44 combined yards rushing and receiving, including a touchdown. He too ran hard and didn’t hurt his chances of making the roster as a fourth running back.
Rookie QB Ben Wooldridge settled down and played well after a shaky start, going 9-for-12 for 132 yards and a touchdown. It was nice to see the UDFA rookie play well, as he doesn’t get a lot of reps in practice.
Jordan Polk had an interception on a tipped pass, which was a nice heads-up play. Elijah Ponder had some flashes on the edge.
It was a very good night for Mike Vrabel’s team. There were a lot of positives to try to build momentum off of. There were some bad plays that will be teaching points today, when the team returns to practice. And then they are off to Minnesota, where they will conduct joint practices against the Vikings followed by the second preseason game.
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“I mean, I think the way that the game kind of unfolded with the kickoff, going for a touchdown. Defensive turnover. I felt like we had some opportunities. Maybe the ball was batted.
“I thought we had C.J. [Dippre] for a touchdown there. He was open. Then just the protection, I guess, on the third down. Wasn’t like we had a whole lot of opportunities early. We were able to kind of convert and score running the football. Drake scrambled, right?
“Again, I’m all for him using his ability to run when it’s there. You saw him slide. You saw him be able to run in the end zone. Maybe just kind of how the game unfolded early. We hit some passes late. I think Ben settled down. I was excited to see him settle down, hit some passes.
‘John Jiles, who busts his tail to block and play special teams, had a huge catch there. Felt everybody played, which I’m excited for. We talked about there were some players that didn’t get to play or practice on Wednesday, they were going to get an opportunity on Friday night. I was happy to see them take advantage of it and proud that they could be excited about it..
Vrabel on how the passing game can improve.
Yeah, I mean, you just got to continue to work at it every day, every week. Learn from it, learn from the tape. That’s the biggest thing I’ve seen these guys, they want to get better. They’re asking questions. A lot of football talk around in the locker room.
“I think that’s just something you like seeing. These guys, like I said, we want to win. It starts with the head coach, the intensity. You see the guys up front. First offensive line group, wasn’t even me, I was tossing it, handing it off, watching them set the tone early up front. That kind of gets me excited, gets me pumped up.
“You see guys talking trash till the whistle. That’s what you want around the locker room. You want those guys. It’s easy for me to get excited playing with guys like that beside me.
Drake Maye on the optimism driving the offense and what is behind it.
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“Somebody asked me what success looks like, and I said, ‘Yeah, you can judge it by wins and losses during the season, but success for me in the offseason is going to be that the players believe in what we’re doing, and they believe in the message, they believe in the teaching, and they believe in the connections that we’re making.’” — Mike Vrabel
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About Steve Balestrieri
A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)
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Tags: Alex Austin D.J. James Drake Maye Efton Chism Jared Wilson Kyle Williams New England Patriots Patriots Tom Brady TreVeyon Henderson Will Campbell
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