New England Patriots Training Camp: Observations from Day 8

Find out what you missed from the New England Patriots’ training camp scrimmage on Day 8.

The New England Patriots hit the field Friday morning for their eighth day of training camp. Several rookie defenders stood out, turning heads in a friendly scrimmage prior to next week’s joint practices with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Here’s what we learned from Day 8 of Patriots training camp:

After an easier paced practice on Thursday, the Patriots split into two groups for an “inter-squad scrimmage”, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. CSN New England’s Phil Perry quoted head coach Bill Belichick saying:

"“[The] scrimmage means a good situational day today for the team”."

NESN’s Zack Cox provided rosters for the two groups:

The Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels noted the teams consist of the “first team offense [and] second team defense vs second team offense [and] first team defense”.

Daniels also reported that, like Day 7, offensive tackle Nate Solder and wide receivers Matthew Slater and Cody Hollister were missing from practice. Players “not participating” included safety Duron Harmon, tight end James O’Shaughnessy, defensive back David Jones, running backs Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead, along with wide receivers Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola, and Malcolm Mitchell.

Zack Cox pointed out that wide receiver Brandin Cooks “made an incredible catch over Stephon Gilmore.” The Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe added that “[the] drive stalled when coaches made [a] bad call on [a] Brady-Allen [touchdown]”.

According to Zack Cox, the only wide receivers participating were Cooks, Devin Lucien, and K.J. Maye for Team White, plus Austin Carr and Tony Washington for Team Blue. He added, Team Blue’s thin group of pass catchers caused running back and college wide receiver D.J. Foster to “[play] some wideout”.

Jeff Howe reported that quarterback Tom Brady connected with wide receiver Devin Lucien for a “50-yard [touchdown].” Howe noted, “[cornerback] Jonathan Jones was late to cover his zone.”

Also according to Jeff Howe, “in three series”, defensive end Kony Ealy forced “two possession-changing plays”.

NESN’s Doug Kyed provided quarterback results for the first half:

On defense, a handful of players stood out during the scrimmage.

MassLive’s Kevin Duffy pointed out that defensive end Trey Flowers “consistently brought pressure on Brady.” Mark Daniels noted that fellow Arkansas alum Deatrich Wise “[had] been a monster” collecting “two sacks” including “what should’ve been a strip sack of [Jacoby] Brissett.”

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According to Doug Kyed, undrafted rookie defensive backs D.J. Killings, Kenny Moore, and Jason Thompson wreaked havoc on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Zack Cox added, saying the trio combined for “six pass breakups”.

Wide receiver Devin Lucien hauled in his second touchdown pass of the day, “this one from Brissett”, according to Zack Cox. Cox also noted that kicker Stephen Gostowski “missed a 47ish-yard field goal wide right.”

Mark Daniels reported, “in the second half”, offensive guard Joe Thuney “moved to center.” Shortly after, Daniels added that “Thuney [left] practice”.

“Forty minutes after practice,” Zack Cox shared this video of rookie defensive ends putting in extra work. According to Cox, “Trey Flowers was working with them after practice.”:

Related Story: Patriots Training Camp: Observations from Day 7

Quarterback results from Day 8 are below, courtesy of Doug Kyed:

Mark Daniels confirmed that the White Team, led by Brady and Brissett, took the victory:

The Patriots return tomorrow morning for their final training camp session before beginning joint practices with the Jaguars on Monday.