The Patriots will get the first look at their rebuilt team on Friday against the Commanders as they open the preseason slate following Wednesday’s joint practice against Washington.
While there’s no way to tell just how much of a success the practice with the Commanders was, all observers agreed that it was a much better showing than the Patriots put forth at this point last year against the Eagles, in which New England was steamrolled and outclassed.
The Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl, of course. The Patriots went 4-13. The signs were there.
But the Patriots went toe-to-toe with the Commanders, who were in the NFC Championship Game vs. the Eagles a year ago, and that should be taken as the first sign that the hype around the Patriots this summer might have some actual substance to it.
Patriots Will Play Everyone Who’s Healthy
Now the question becomes, how much of the Patriots’ rebuilt team will we see on the field on Friday night in the opener? And will that include quarterback Drake Maye?
Coach Mike Vrabel was not specific about how much Maye and the starters will play, but he was asked about his intentions with Maye and said everyone will be on the field.
As Vrabel said: “We’re focused on today and they’ll get a lot of reps today, different situations and again, I would say most everybody that’s healthy should expect to play in the game. How long they’ll play, I don’t know, but we have to prepare to play in football games and prepare to win football games. So, that’s the mentality that we’re going to take.”
Patriots Benefit From Joint Practices
Vrabel was certainly active on Wednesday, as he wound up separating players during a scuffle and finding himself at the bottom of a scrum. When Vrabel got up, he was bleeding from his cheek.
When all was said and done, Vrabel said he appreciated the intensity of joint practices, and revealed that the reason the Patriots did not have two practices against the Commanders was that Washington chose not to.
“I think that they may not be live, but I think that there’s still great tempo, there’s great speed, the competitiveness, but I mean, the games are important,” Vrabel said. “The games that go out there and operate and see the penalties and the speed of it and the timing of it, the time with the two-minute and all those different things and tackling and being able to get guys to the ground, being able to break tackles, play and cut blocks and all those things that we don’t see in practice.”
Drake Maye Efficient on Wednesday
As for Maye, he was thrilled to get some live-ammunition run on Wednesday and said he is eager to get more on Friday–no matter how long he is actually out there.
Different reporters offered different counts on Maye’s passing, but MassLive’s Mark Daniels had him at 15-for-21 against Washington, with three drops by receivers (others say it was two). Maye threw an interception on a tipped ball in the end zone from linebacker Bobby Wagner.
“I think preseason’s a time to go out there and get the jitters,” he said. “In real life, when I’m live, it’s different for me being able to get tackled and get hit. So, it’s good to go out there and kind of feel like live bullets are flying around and kind of not have that the first snap of the season.”
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