Patriots scrimmage highlights Drake Maye and offense
After closing training camp to the public for the previous two days, the New England Patriots rewarded fans patience with the second annual Blue-White Scrimmage on Friday, Aug. 7.We split the coaching staff up, [and] we had a draft, head coach Mike Vrabel explained before practice. [Assistant head coach] Terrell Williams will be the head coach on the white team. The blue team will be led by [running backs coach] Tony Dews. The offensive coordinators for the game will be [wide receivers coach] Todd Downing and [quarterbacks coach] Ashton Grant, and then calling defense is going to be [defensive secondary coach] Scott Booker and [cornerbacks coach] Justin Hamilton. "And then we split [special teams coordinator] Jeremy Springer and [assistant special teams coach] Tom Quinn up. So, Stretch [Vice President of Football Operations and Strategy John Streicher] and I will be the officials, if there's any issues there. But we held a draft, and excited about just getting out there, playing, competing and putting them in the same situations that we've been here working through camp.Quarterback Drake Maye led the white team, and quarterbacks Tommy DeVito and Behran Morton split reps with the white team.DeVitos blue team got first possession and drove down the field to set up a field goal attempt for kicker Andy Borregales to take an early lead, but the kick was wide right and kept the scrimmage scoreless for now.DeVito went two-for-four on the drive with cornerback Kindle Vidor forcing both incompletions with pass breakups.Mayes first drive with the white team didnt go much better, finishing one-for-four, and turned the ball over on downs. Mayes only completion was to receiver Kayshon Boutte with cornerback Christian Gonzalez in coverage.The blue team rebounded perfectly on their next drive. After starting two-for-four, DeVito completed four straight passes to three different receivers, DeMario Douglas and A.J. Brown and tight end Hunter Henry, ending the drive with a touchdown to Douglas. Borregales made the extra point, as DeVito and the blue team took a 7-0 lead.Though Brown and Maye werent on the same team for the scrimmage, Brown highlighted that duo is continuing to work on its connection.Were really still building [that connection], but we got a lot more work to do, Brown said. Were just trying to put our best foot forward each and every day. Tommy and I got going a little bit today, so I was joking with him.Unlike the blue team, Maye and the white team were unable to bounce back, going three-and-out and giving the ball back to the blue team.Morton got his first snaps of the day on the following drive, and it almost ended as quickly as it started. On the first play, it looked like Morton was going to get strip-sacked but got the ball out quickly for an incompletion.On the very next play, what could only be described as madness ensued. Morton threw to newly signed receiver Tejhuan Palmer along the left sideline; Palmer was unable to haul in the pass, and the ball popped up into the air. In what felt like an instant, running back Myles Montgomery took off down the sideline with the ball before being stopped, setting the team up inside the five-yard line. Montgomery was somehow close and fast enough to grab the bobbled ball out of the air in a play that had fans and media alike let out a collective Whoa.Morton and the blue team were unable to capitalize on the insanity and were forced to settle for a field goal for a 10-0 lead.Maye and the white team responded with a touchdown to receiver Romeo Doubs with safety Craig Woodson in coverage, as Maye completed four of his six passes on the drive. Unfortunately, as the white team started to gain momentum, Borregales missed the extra point and kept the score at 10-6.The blue team responded with a field goal of their own on the following drive, being set up by a flea flicker from running back Rhamondre Stevenson to DeVito, who hit receiver Mack Hollins in stride and turned upfield to put them in the red zone.Following a turnover on downs by the white team, the scrimmage was changed to focus on red zone work.DeVito and the blue team needed just two plays on their first drive to score, connecting with Douglas once again for a touchdown. Maye one-upped them by throwing to running back TreVeyon Henderson for a touchdown on the first play.For the final minutes of practice, Vrabel had both teams work on one-minute drills. The teams were tasked with going the length of the field in one minute and six seconds to either score or set Borregales up for a game-winning kick.DeVito and the blue team got the job done in just one play. DeVito hit Douglas perfectly in stride on a deep ball, putting them in the red zone. DeVito then milked the clock until there was one second left, and Borregales hit the field goal for a successful drive.Maye and the white team werent able to do it as quickly, but with Maye going 4-for-6 on his pass attempts, they got Borregales close enough, and he hit the long field goal to end the drive and practice in success. The biggest play of the drive was Maye connecting with Williams for a gain of at least 15 yards with 18 seconds left.Patriots injury updateDoubs returned to the field after missing the previous two practices due to a personal thing, according to Vrabel. Left tackle Will Campbell didnt participate, but Vrabel expects him to be ready for Mondays practice. Cornerback Carlton Davis III is not expected to practice next week or play in the teams preseason game against the Colts, according to Vrabel.Next week's scheduleThe team is off for the weekend before returning on Monday, Aug. 10 for a practice closed to the public. Fans can return to the practice fields on Tuesday, Aug. 11 when the Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts for the first joint practice of the summer.This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Patriots scrimmage highlights Drake Maye and offense
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