Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots took the practice fields in Minnesota on Wednesday for the first of two joint practices with the Vikings. The two-hour session featured plenty of good work and competition, especially for Drake Maye and Co. against old friend Brian Flores and his defense.
Here is what went down on the practice fields at the TC Performance Center.
Attire: Full pads
Duration: ca. 120 minutes (1 p.m.-3:00 p.m. ET)
Conditions: Sunny, temperatures in the 80s
It was a sunny day out in Minnesota for the fully padded joint practice. As head coach Mike Vrabel shared prior to the session, the focus was on second-and-long situations following some 1-on-1 work across both rosters.
“Play second-and-long, which for us would be a get-back-on-track. We’re trying to get back half the yardage to get in third-and-manageable and then play out whatever third down scenario comes of that,” Vrabel explained.
“That’ll be a great opportunity for us to see if they blitz, if they play zone and what we need to do on both sides of the ball to try to keep them in third-and-long. Then offensively, we’ve got to try to get some yards back to help our third down offense. So, that’ll be something that probably will look a little different — 2nd-and-10 and then it’ll go to 3rd-and-2 or it’ll go to 3rd-and-10.”
Not participating: CB Christian Gonzalez, WR Ja’Lynn Polk, LB Marte Mapu, RB Terrell Jennings, CB D.J. James, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, LB Jahlani Tavai, WR Kendrick Bourne, TE Hunter Henry
Limited: DT Christian Barmore
The usual suspects sat out of New England’s first joint practice, although Mike Vrabel did leave the door open for Hunter Henry to return to the field on Thursday. The veteran tight end joined the likes of Christian Gonzalez, Marte Mapu, D.J. James, and Rhamondre Stevenson as rehabbing players in attendance working off to the side early in the day.
Christian Barmore did not partake in team drills as part of the team’s continued plan for his return from blood clots, while cornerback Carlton Davis briefly traded the field for an exercise bike before being back in action for full team work.
Under pressure: It was no secret New England’s offensive line was going to get tested by Brian Flores and the Vikings front. Early on, Minnesota found success getting after Drake Maye recording what appeared to be five to six would-be sacks in full-team work. That included Jonathan Greenard giving rookie Will Campbell some trouble along the left side — beating the tackle once to the inside — while Dallas Turner also blew by Campbell untouched for a “sack”.
Things did start settle down up front which led to completions for Maye, who impressed with his ability to deal with the Vikings’ pressure. Maye had a long touchdown to Mack Hollins on a coverage bust and a pair of completions to DeMario Douglas. The QB’s best throw of the day came off platform, rolling to his...
