After a pair of joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings, the New England Patriots remained in the win column in Week 2 of the preseason.
Naturally, most of our attention this week was on that game and the practices leading up to it. As a result, our weekly wrap-up also has a heavy focus on the trip to the Midwest.
With that said, welcome to the latest edition of our _Sunday Patriots Notes_.
The Minnesota defense did everything in their power to make life difficult for Drake Maye during a pair of joint practices. Particularly on Thursday, the Vikings heated up the pressure and covered well in the secondary.
Still, the 22-year-old handled things well which left some inside the building praising his mental toughness — with Mike Vrabel also complementing him for [handling the “s—tstorm”](/new-england-patriots-training-camp/106663/patriots-offense-silver-linings-vikings-joint-practices) — as Maye connected on a handful of explosive plays on the practice fields.
“I was really excited about the way he handled those practices this week,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said on WBZ during the preseason game. “Practice by nature is always difficult because you put yourself in a scenario where you run the same thing over and over again. That’s not really how a football game goes. There were a lot of long yardage situations that he had to handle. A lot of 2-minute drills. A lot of difficult low-red zone situations that he was a part of. I think we saw a lot of growth from him.”
Perhaps the most promising sign for Maye over two days of work: no turnovers.
“He did a great job taking care of the football, had great poise,” McDaniels added. “And there’s not going to be a more difficult defense to have to deal with before the ball is snapped – and then combine that with how good they are after the ball is snapped. Really excited about where he’s going, where he’s headed. I love the way he works. Love the way he approaches every day. Patriot Nation should be excited, too.”
As work translated to the game field on Saturday, it was another slow start for Maye’s unit, however. The quarterback had a high completion to Mack Hollins before overshooting Pop Douglas on a pass that was then nearly intercepted.
Maye was also flagged for a delay of game penatly which he took the blame for postgame.
“I want to win,” Maye said Saturday. “I missed Pop high. He was wide open sitting in a zone out there. There’s a couple plays we should have back, but I thought the guys up front blocked well. It’s preseason, but these guys are still trying to tackle us and stop us. We’re trying to go down and score.”
Returning for a second series, Maye rebounded well as he did in the preseason opener. A nine-play drive ended with a touchdown on the ground, as Maye completed two-of-three passes including a 20-yard gain to Mack Hollins as he rolled out to his right along the sideline.
The drive was a strong ending to an overall strong week from Maye, which might also mark the last time he takes the field until the Patriots regular season opener in three week.
“The Vikings, what they put in last year, and the regular season they have and the talent they have back, it’s great for us to go up for two days of practice and then come out here and finish off a preseason game,” Maye said postgame. “I thought it was good work. Good for us to see different stuff, see different defenses, see different talent. Coach Flores does some good stuff on defense, so it’s good for us to see the stuff he does and learn from it and carry it into the regular season.”
Thursday’s practice in Minnesota was a rough one for offensive tackle Will Campbell. Matched up against Pro Bowl edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, the veteran beat the rookie clean on three instances in a span of 11 pass plays.
Campbell then ended his day with a false start in an end-of-game situation.
Despite the struggles, Campbell’s teammates — even those who are going against him this summer — believe he is having a strong camp.
“Will’s been doing a great job, for sure. There’s this weird motive that’s kind of going around that Will’s having an up and down camp, but Will’s doing a great job,” Chaisson said. “It’s tough when you get to go against someone every single day. Whether you know their moves or not, it’s still somebody willing to go against you every single day and give you a battle. That’s what we need as a team. We’re making each other better, for sure.”
While Campbell did not have to deal with Greenard or the rest of Minnesota’s starting pass rushers on Saturday, it was a more positive performance from the rookie. He had strong blocks on a pair of runs, including the touchdown, and appeared to be clean in pass protection through two drives.
The short memory has also stood out to his teammates.
“You make one mistake one day, don’t come back and make the same mistake the next day, find something else to make a mistake on that we can get better every day about,” veteran Morgan Moses shared. “I think Will’s done a great job at that. It was just, getting better every day, asking questions and that’s what you want as a young guy.”
Taking the field on Wednesday in an end-of-game situation, Drake Maye needed just two plays to find the end zone. After a screen pass to TreVeyon Henderson, Maye found one of those big plays when he looked back to his back on a wheel route down the left sideline and hit him in stride. The explosive Henderson went untouched into the end zone for a 70-yard score.
On the WBZ preseason broadcast, Devin McCourty shared that Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his team was “blown away” by how good Henderson was. The rookie has been perhaps New England’s best offensive weapon this summer and went on to find the end zone on the ground in Saturday’s preseason game.
It has seemed like a quiet portion of the summer for rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams. But, Mike Vrabel made sure to note unprompted that the receiver has been getting open. That was the case in the preseason opener when Williams failed to haul in any of his four targets but was creating separation throughout the night.
“No different than Kyle Williams. Kyle Williams is working extremely hard. Ball hasn’t really found him. He’s been open. There’s been separation,” Vrabel responded to a question about Stefon Diggs.
In preseason game No. 2, the football began to find Williams as he hauled in four catches. Unfortunately, the last one resulted in a big hit that ended his night early. Williams shared with reporters at his locker post game that he felt good, but his status will be one to watch on the practice fields Monday.
With Williams’ injury, Efton Chism III’s big preseason game, and Javon Baker’s relatively quiet night in Minnesota, what the Patriots wide receiver room looks like after cutdown day remains a top question mark.
It appears the five locks remain with Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, and Williams, while Chism has played into a surefire lock as the sixth receiver. Decision time will then be centered on Baker and potentially Kendrick Bourne if he can return from injury and if the team decides to keep seven at the position.
Of note: two of Mike Vrabel’s final three initial 53-man rosters in Tennessee featured seven wide receivers (2021, 2023).
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels gave Efton Chism III film cutups of old Danny Amendola targets this summer. So, when Amnedola attended a recent training camp practice, the two-time Super Bowl Champion made sure to go up to Chism to deliver a quick message: “Keep up the good work.”
“I mean, he’s been out here almost every day. I’m excited of where he’s at and we’ll see when Week 1 comes… We can’t predict the future about Week 1. I just know he’s going to be out there today, and he works hard and he cares, which are two important things,” Mike Vrabel said Thursday about Stefon Diggs’ status moving forward.
The Patriots kicker competition has appeared to remain close between Andy Borregales and Parker Romo, although it was noticeable to see Borregales handle all six attempts in joint practices and two field goals in preseason action compared to Romo’s one.
With the two remaining largely neck-and-neck, their performance handling the new kickoff will likely become part of the equation — which Romo was flagged for on Saturday with a ball landing short of the landing zone.
The more you can do, the better,” special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said. “Able to put the ball in different areas, different directions, kind of like a punter, right? A punter has a hook ball. He’s got a banana ball, right, left spiral end over end plus 50.
“So I think those kickers, as we’re seeing in year 2 now, if you have more bag of tricks for yourself and you can kind of still kick field goals consistently right there, that creates more value for yourself. So that’s always an important thing right there.”
The Patriots will hold two more practice sessions at Gillette Stadium before flying to New Jersey on Wednesday for their final preseason game of the season against the New York Giants.
The full schedule for this week looks as follows:
* Sunday, Aug. 17: Day off
* Monday, Aug. 18: Practice in Foxborough, MA (3:15 p.m. ET)
* Tuesday: Aug. 19: Practice in Foxborough, MA (10:15 a.m. ET)
* Wednesday, Aug. 20: Walkthrough and Travel day
* Thursday, Aug. 21: Preseason Week 3 Patriots at Giants (8 p.m. ET)
* Friday, Aug. 22: TBD
* Saturday, Aug. 23: TBD
* Sunday, Aug. 24: TBD
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