The New England Patriots closed out their final week of joint practices with the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday.
With Friday’s preseason game next on the itinerary, it’s the perfect time to reflect on some of the key takeaways from the practices, which felt like the world’s largest rollercoaster at times for the Patriots.
The highs and lows were in abundance with the team still looking like they haven’t quite figured things out yet. That isn’t a great sign with the season-opener against the Miami Dolphins a little over two weeks away.
But it also isn’t this daunting, unsolvable issue hanging over the team, either. Enough happened during the practices, particularly on day two, to give fans hope that better days could be ahead for the Patriots.
Here are some leftover notes.
You can see the improvement
The Patriots had arguably one of their worst training camp practices to date against the Raiders on Tuesday. It was obviously a combination of the team still struggling to figure things out offensively, along with them just being shell-shocked by the Raiders’ talent.
After facing the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers in previous weeks, this was clearly a big step up in competition. They got dominated on the first day, but they managed to bounce back for an overall better performance on Wednesday.
If anything, that willingness and drive to persevere even through the struggles is a positive sign for any young NFL team. When they’re playing well, the Patriots are still a dark horse team with talent on the field to knock off anyone they catch slipping.
Jalen Mills isn't rattled
Patriots No. 1 cornerback Jalen Mills couldn’t even win a single defensive rep against Davante Adams at the first practice on Tuesday. It was a complete demolition job by the Raiders’ All-Pro receiver.
There are some players out there so special that it looks like they’re playing on easy mode sometimes. That’s exactly how it is for Adams on an NFL field.
But Mills deserves a lot of credit for not backing down. He didn’t lose his composure in one-on-ones and consistently worked for the next rep to be better.
And it was on Wednesday.
Jalen Mills @greengoblin with the pass breakup on Davante Adams. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/9OVP3UprGR
— Jim McBride (@globejimmcbride) August 24, 2022
He won both of his one-on-one reps against Adams in the practice, which hopefully helps him build more confidence heading into the Patriots’ preseason finale.
Jakobi Meyers still the Patriots' best receiver
If you were a believer in the Patriots offense not being able to excel with Jakobi Meyers as their best receiver, then you’re in for some serious disappointment ahead of the 2022 season.
Even with Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne in the offense for a second straight year, the team going out and signing DeVante Parker and the decision to use the No. 50 overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft on Tyquan Thornton, Meyers is still the Patriots’ best receiver.
His continued connection with quarterback Mac Jones is even deeper now than it was last season, and the Patriots are going to try to feast on it for as long as they possibly can.
Running game concerns lingering
From strictly a talent perspective, the Patriots have one of the best running back duos in the league. Damien Harris rushed for 929 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, and Rhamondre Stevenson followed that up with 606 rushing yards and five touchdowns as a rookie.
But once again, that was when McDaniels was on the sidelines calling the offensive plays. Things have been a bit different this week at practice with the duo struggling to find open running lanes against the Raiders.
The expectations are that things will eventually open up once the team settles into the new offense. New England has some solid talent along the offensive front, and both Harris and Stevenson are capable of starring at running back.
Harris went down with what looked like an injury in Wednesday’s practice, but it didn’t initially seem like anything serious. He was even spotted meeting with Raiders players after the practice was over.
But it’s still something to keep an eye on.
Damien Harris left practice today and never returned
Definitely something to keep an eye on as Rhamondre Stevenson would become a back end RB1 should Harris be forced to miss any time https://t.co/RJ1kFFoGjH
— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) August 24, 2022
Success in the clutch
No matter what happens throughout practice, the Patriots have consistently come through in the clutch during the two-minute drills at the end.
They ended an ugly practice on Tuesday with Mac Jones marching the ball downfield and delivering a touchdown throw to Kendrick Bourne to end the practice. And then the Patriots quarterback followed that up with another touchdown throw at the end of Wednesday’s practice to tight end Hunter Henry.
Things are obviously a bit shaky right now for the team offensively, but they’ve also shown a willingness to stick around and battle back in the end. That’s something every head coach loves to see from their football team in practice and games.
