Observations from Day 2 of Patriots training camp: Defense wins day -- but still had to do push-ups
FOXBORO -- The second day of Patriots training camp is in the books, as the team did more red zone work on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium on Thursday morning.
And with more red zone work comes more touchdowns. The offense ruled the day on Wednesday, but it seems like the defense caught up on Thursday. That didn't keep the D from having to do some pushups after the session, but the defense was a lot better than it was to kick off camp.
Here are some of the observations from Foxboro as the Patriots continue to lay the groundwork for the 2022 season:
Quarterbacks
Mac Jones had himself a fine day on Wednesday, but was a little more human on Thursday. He was perfect in 7 vs. 7 drills, but struggled at the end of the 11 vs. 11 session.
Parker continues to impress
But Jones' strong connection with newcomer DeVante Parker continued, as the two hooked up on another red zone touchdown during the 7 vs. 7 drills.
That's an interesting note about Jalen Mills too. If he is going to be the team's top corner, he's going to have to play extremely disciplined football. Apparently, playing with a couple of oven mitts on will help with that.
Defense was better -- but still had to do push-ups
The offense dominated on Wednesday. On Thursday, the defense responded with a much better practice session.
But the offense won the final session of the day, leading to more push-ups for the defense.
Ending the day on a sour note will probably have the defense really fired up to hit the field on Friday.
Big day for Bledsoe
It's been a while since a Bledsoe had a big day in Foxboro. But safety Joshuah Bledsoe -- a sixth-round pick in 2021 -- had his on Thursday with multiple plays in the secondary.
The Patriots are extremely deep at safety, but the secondary overall will take all the help it can get.
Patricia shared the walkie-talkie
It was a pretty big deal when Matt Patricia was radioing plays to the offense with a walkie-talkie on Wednesday. On Thursday, it was Joe Judge who had the walkie-talkie during 7 vs. 7s.
Patricia, however, handled the walkie-talkie duties the rest of the day, so it looks like he's got the inside track to handle the offensive play-calling this season.
Agholor's new gig?
Veteran receiver Nelson Agholor tried his hand at returning kickoffs on Thursday, something he hadn't done with the Patriots.
He hasn't returned kickoffs in a while, actually. He has five kickoff returns for his career, all of which came in 2016 while Agholor was on the Eagles.
With a pretty stacked depth chart at receiver, it appears the veteran is doing everything he can to stay involved -- and prove his worth to the team.
What's next?
The Patriots have two more sessions this week -- Friday and Saturday -- before they get a day off on Sunday. Then on Monday, they'll put on pads for the first time.
