Sunday's Patriots Practice Was More Of The Same.

So the Patriots returned after their first day off of practice. I wouldn't call it significant yet. And before I get into what was said today, let me remind everyone of what was said about the first three days of camp.

Here's my summary from last week:

Mac is the starter. Montgomery and Douglass appear to be all three quarterbacks favorite targets. Seperation is still an issue for the pass catchers. And the guys that are supposed to be good at catching the ball while covered (contested catch guys) are struggling to do so. The right tackle is inflating defensive stats and the secondary looks elite against this group of pass catchers. Special teams hasn't been the focus yet and the team needs to start hitting asap.

Okay, now on to camp for Sunday July 30th.

The offense looks as good as a McDaniels offense. The offense looks good when not practicing in the red zone. Pass catcher seperation was an issue again, along with pass blocking.

The quarterbacks looked better. Zappe finally looked like he was at least an nfl backup quarterback for the first time in camp.

Running backs were heavily checked down to against the pass rush. Harris and Hurd had a good day with Montgomery out.

JuJu had a good day. Bourne had another bad day. Damaris Douglas continues to look like a starter. Thorton finally had a good day. 

Gesicki had a good day. Sokol and Lumpkin are in a competition for TE three. Frisker got a lot of red zone work. 

The offensive line is still bad. Murray and McDermott still starting. Onwenu is still out and Reiff was with the second string.

Front seven dominanted the offensive line. Mapu moved back to linebacker and was solid. Tavaii is looking like a star.

Jack Jones finally got to start and had a good day. Mills made plays at free safety. And the secondary continues to shine, however the second unit was a little closer matched to the pass catchers without Jack Jones.

Berringer won the first punting competition.

Ryland is winning on kickoffs, kicker competition still too close to call but Ryland has the stronger leg. Bryant got more work as a returner.

Quick notes: former Patriot superbowl hero Sony Michel retired. And N'Keal Harry met with the Buffalo Bills. Harry could be an emergency signing if the Patriots get an injury.

Summary:

After four days of camp the sports media could basically say or write the following: "Patriots defense looks elite against their offense, which like their special teams, is still a work in progress." However, if that's all they wrote, nobody would tune in and they need clicks and views to make money.