Was at practice today!! (Took full advantage of a 2 hour gap with no meetings). I’ve always found Training Camp to be the best kept “secret” of the NFL. Free parking, free attendance, great atmosphere, up close to the players, nice weather, etc.
I’m one of the last people I would trust on here to scout but I agree with all the observations from the reporters. A few notes:
- I spent my time watching the offense, so can't say much about the defense. Also there was no real tackling today so take everything with a pretty big grain of salt.
- Patricia and Judge spent all of practice that I saw with the offense, looked to my amateur eyes like Patricia was holding the play sheet and calling plays when Mac was in and Judge was having small group convos and watching individual players. Belichick was standing with Patricia for a while when he looked to be calling plays.
- Was standing relatively near the big fight and watched it happen. Looked like Wilkerson got hit on the Panthers sideline, someone over there started jawing at him, and he turned around and said something back, and suddenly the fight broke out. Bourne and a lot of Pats were in the mix right away, and eventually the other side of the field (Pats D and Panthers O) jogged over to keep the peace.
- Mac seemed to make quick decisions and just seemed in control, if that makes sense? Hit a couple slants and made them look easy. Also threw a few nice medium range outs through traffic. He never looked confused or frustrated in the huddle, anytime he came over to the sideline there were handshakes and fist bumps. I noticed a few times when Hoyer was in Mac wandered over by himself and watched the play from 20-30 yards behind Hoyer. Hardly scientific but I liked what I saw.
- DeVante Parker made a few lovely catches, Mac clearly looked for him downfield. He just... looks like an NFL WR? Like on a deep 50/50 ball he just adjusted, got leverage, went up and "high pointed" the ball beautifully. He also had great form on his post-catch "spin the ball on the ground" celebration.
- None of the RBs did much of note while I was watching, but a number of times Mac and Hoyer both seemed to have designed throws to RBs in the flat. Maybe a bigger part of the offense this year will be trying to get the ball to the RBs out wide? (I know the Pats like throwing balls to RBs generally, so maybe not a ton to see here)
- Trent Brown is just so big, and no one on the Panthers ever seemed to really challenge him.
