Fists were flying at the New England Patriots’ first joint training camp practice with the Carolina Panthers. It hung a dark cloud over a day when some really good football was being played.
Following last Thursday’s loss in the preseason opener against the New York Giants, Tuesday’s practice was the first time we got a look at the Patriots’ starters competing against an actual opponent. With that in mind, there’s no surprise things were going to get a little chippy on the field.
There has been talk of an impending offensive train wreck season for the Patriots with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge splitting the play-calling duties. So the team was obviously eager to prove that wouldn’t be the case.
Meanwhile, the Panthers have some proving of their own to do in their visit to Foxborough this week. Here are five takeaways from the first joint practice.
Fight! Patriots and Panthers players come to blows
Things got heated in the first practice with multiple players being kicked out on Tuesday for fighting.
It all started with a sideline tackle on Patriots receiver Kristian Wilkerson, before other players from both sides got involved and a full melee broke out.
Three Patriots players, including Wilkerson, Kendrick Bourne and James Ferentz were kicked out of practice for the incident, while the Panthers lost defensive back Kenny Robinson and defensive tackle Phil Hoskins.
Another fight broke out a few minutes later between Patriots center James Ferentz and Panthers DT Phil Hoskins. They’ve both been ejected, as well. https://t.co/MDbpTRK7Hs
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 16, 2022
Coach Bill Belichick needed an impromptu team huddle to try and put out the flames early. Granted, joint practices are always going to be competitive, but this isn’t the sort of tone either team wants to be setting this week.
Too many self-inflicted wounds on offense
The Patriots offense is clearly going through growing pains without Josh McDaniels wearing the headset. So the last thing they need right now is a slew of turnovers.
Such was the case on the practice field on Tuesday with the team coughing the ball up at every turn.
#Patriots offense can't hold onto the ball. Panthers punching out everything in 7-on-7s.
Devin Asiasi fumbled, Jakobi Meyers lost the ball as he stepped out of bounds and Jonnu Smith and Matt Sokol had catches immediately knocked free.
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) August 16, 2022
It’s going to be a long season if the team plays hot potato with the football on offense, on top of everything else they’re currently working through at the moment. Turnovers can put even more stress on the defense, and that’s clearly something the Patriots can’t afford to be doing.
We’ll see if they can clean things up on Wednesday.
Defense stands at the forefront of a dominant showing
The Patriots defense was dominant on Tuesday.
They were physical up front in shutting down most runs, and the defensive backfield held up strong with cornerback Jalen Mills continuing to show up with multiple pass break-ups.
Jalen Mills is balling. He broke up his third pass today, a slant through traffic for D.J. Moore in the tight red zone.
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) August 16, 2022
It’s also worth noting the Panthers’ receiver corps are incredibly talented with players like Robbie Anderson and D.J. Moore on the roster. So these were competitive drills with Mills and company clearly getting the best of many of the reps.
The Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan counted eight would-be sacks at the first practice for a Patriots defense that was all over the Panthers offense from start to finish.
Tyquan Thornton continues to pop at receiver
Patriots rookie receiver Tyquan Thornton continued to garner attention at practice by turning Panthers defensive back—and former Baylor teammate—Kalon Barnes into Thanos dust.
It isn’t often that the Patriots find a receiver with the ability to blow past single coverage, but they might have struck gold with the No. 50 overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft.
It’s still important to temper expectations for Thornton as he continues to learn how to play the receiver position with all of the nuances attached at the next level. But if Tuesday’s practice is any indication, Thornton has the potential to be a real difference-maker on offense.
Tyquan Thornton absolutely turnstiles Kalon Barnes on a corner route then lays out to make a clean diving catch of a throw from Mac Jones during 1 on 1s.
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) August 16, 2022
No offensive train wreck, yet
The biggest storyline coming into Tuesday’s practice was the offense potentially driving off a cliff for the Patriots. If there were legitimate problems, a real scrimmage against another team would put those issues on full display for the world to see.
There was no train wreck on day one.
At Patriots-Panthers joint practice, defenses were the better unit for both teams today.
BUT the Patriots offense looks like an improving work in progress. This practice should help ease the panic that's happening around New England. The offense looked better.
— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) August 16, 2022
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones feasted on routes underneath before opening things up a bit more downfield later. Things are obviously still fluid for a unit instilling new schemes into the system, following the departure of long-time offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
And considering what we’ve seen from the Patriots defense, it’s time to start giving them some credit as well for some of the offensive struggles.
