Patriots training camp Day 3: Plenty of energy throughout Friday's practice
FOXBORO -- To borrow a phrase from another local team, the energy shifted a bit for the Patriots at Friday's training camp session. It was thrown into overdrive on a number of occasions.
And it wasn't all sunshine and lollipops either. There was some missed communication and some dropped passes, which are the things you want to get out of the way in training camp.
Here are some of the observations from an energetic and physical practice in Foxboro:
Mac Day
Another solid day from Mac, who was nearly perfect in 7 vs. 7s before he was a little less perfect in 11 vs. 11s.
He did throw his first interception of camp, with Jalen Mills coming down with the pick.
Rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe also threw a few passes to the defense on Friday.
Jonnu Smith Turns In Play Of The Day
If anyone needs to have a big year it's Jonnu Smith. It sounds like he's off to a solid start in camp, and he turned in a highlight touchdown grab on Friday.
Montgomery Checks In
With James White still on the mend from hip surgery, the Patriots have a big hole to fill on the offense. Ty Montgomery is one of the favorites to get run as the team's pass-catching back, and he had a nice touchdown on Friday.
Returning Punts
Kyle Dugger, Tre Nixon and Marcus Jones all practiced punt returns on Friday. The rookie Jones made a mistake, and he had to pay for it.
Fun And Games
The day ended with Bill Belichick having a little fun with his players by way of a punt return competition. Two players went head to head and had to see how many punts they could field while still holding the balls which they had already caught.
It started with Nixon and Jones, which ended in a tie when both fielded five punts. Then a pair of linemen got involved, with rookie Cole Strange beating out defensive lineman DaMarcus Mitchell.
Gotta have a little Friday fun at training camp. It's the rules.
Walkie-Talkie Mania
The debate over who will be calling offensive plays rose to a new level this week when Matt Patricia was seen with a walkie-talkie. Joe Judge had the walkie-talkie briefly on Thursday before it ended back in Patricia's hands.
On Friday, Bill Belichick threw out another curveball.
Peppers (who is on PUP) didn't have control over the walkie-talkie for very long, so don't throw him into the OC mix just yet.
What's Next?
The Patriots will practice again on Saturday before getting a day off on Sunday. They'll be back to practice on Monday, when the team will put on pads for the first time in camp.
