First day of Patriots Padded practice in the books

The Patriots held camp in pads and there was a lot to talk about as the team tried to do everything on their own. One of the bad things about not having joint practices, there less coaches on the field. Things would also be easier if there was preseason games. 

The Patriots would sign three free agents. Two H-Back tight ends (fullbacks) Paul Butler, Alex Ellis, and a guard Ben Braden. All three are expected to be depth pieces. At the moment of writing, It was confirmed at least the two tight ends can find a spot on the practice squad.

JJ Taylor, Rex Burkhead and Damien Harris worked on their 11 on 11 rushing drills. Rex and Damien both looked good but there was no tackling, to really see what these backs have. The Patriots premiere running backs observed for the day as they're not allowed to participate.

During the 7 on 7 pass protection drills, David Andrews and Jermaine Eluemunor stood out on the offensive line, beating Butler and guy. The rest of the line, not so great as the protection still showed holes.

The quarterback continued to compete as McDaniels and new quarterbacks coach Jeff Fisch worked them. The Patriots quarterbacks were throwing on the run and rolling out in preparation for the more mobile offense.

The quarterbacks also got to work on their short passing game as the Patriots  defense worked on their simulated tackling and ball stripping drills. The pass catchers worked on their catch in traffic and ball security drills.

Patriots writer Paul Perillo wrote, "Taylor's athleticism has also been on display, however, as he made a terrific diving over-the-shoulder catch early on and consistently darts in and out of cuts as well."

The Patriots had JJ Taylor, Gunner Olszewski, and Isaiah Zuber fielding punts. Jake Bailey continued to boom punts down field and appears not to have missed a step. Taylor would fumble a return and got punished.

The Patriots worked on their 11 on 11 passing drills with no quarterback showing any signs of an early lead to the competition. Stidham made a nice deep throw to Byrd and looks improved compared to last year. Perillo noted that Stidham looks comfortable running the offense.

As for Newton, Perillo wrote "Newton was able to hit Edelman on an intermediate throw down the seam, but even that looked like a play Devin McCourty would probably have been able to prevent under live game conditions." Hoyer's name was barely mentioned.

The Patriots rookie kicker got some work in after Cardone, Slater , and himself were made to so running drills. Rohrwasser worked in his Kickoff game. The Patriots are trying to work on his accuracy on long field goals. Between 45 and 50 yards, he went 3 of 5. 60% is not going to cut it. 

This isn't college, the Patriots aren't going to be asking him to kick a lot from inside the goalline. He needs to improve on his accuracy. 

While the team is showing progress, the Patriots still have a lot of work a head of them. The Patriots will hit the field again on Tuesday morning at 10 am.