Speed Kills – Tyquan Thornton Shines Despite Another Tough Day for the Patriots Offense | Day Ten Training Camp Observations

FOXBORO, Mass. – Saturday was an important day for Patriots nation, as long-time Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour was inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame.

After being selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, Seymour helped anchor the Patriots during three Super Bowl winning runs, was a first-team All-Pro three times, was was as seven-time Pro Bowler.

Despite having three extravagant Super Bowl rings, Seymour’s career moment may have been in 2004, when he recovered a fumble against the Bills and returned it 68 yards for his lone career touchdown.

Congrats to Richard, he certainly deserves the recognition.

After using Saturday to celebrate #93 – the Patriots returned to the practice field on Monday and it was … bad, to say the least. Here’s a look at what happened at today’s day ten of training camp:

First on the Field/Player Arrivals:

Terrance Mitchell was the first on the field, continuing his streak. Although I’m back for the first time since day four, I kept up with the beat and Mitchell continued to be the first guy out. The only exception being Friday’s in-stadium practice – which is an entirely different set-up anyway.

It was a rather modest reaction to quarterback Mac Jones’ entrance today at practice. The stands weren’t nearly as packed as they were a week ago. I’m not sure whether that was due to the hot weather or the lack of product the Patriots have brought to the field over the last week-plus.

Notes and Storylines:

Offense

Second-round pick Tyquan Thornton was just about the only positive from the offense during today’s practice. The speedster showed off his wheels in 1-on-1 drills, toasting both Malcolm Butler and Terrance Mitchell on consecutive reps.

The offense was incredibly stagnant during run-fits. They false started, were stuffed several times, and the defense had a multitude of PBU’s. During 11-on-11’s, the offensive line was absolutely brutal as well. Mac Jones had no time to do anything. They had zero vertical passing game – with Jones being sacked, dumping the ball off, or throwing incomplete passes several times.

Defense

The defense had all the juice today. During 1-on-1’s, 7-om-7’s, and 11-on-11’s, they had the offenses number and hardly let them get anywhere.

Joejuan Williams and Malcolm Butler each made solid plays today – although they honestly weren’t that difficult to make. It’s easy to defend off-target or under-thrown balls.

Rookie cornerbacks Marcus and Jack Jones also stood out. I laid into the defensive backfield a few weeks ago, so it’s good to see some youngsters showing their worth.

Player of the Day:

I’m not sure how I can call an offense player the player of the day after the practice we watched today, but Tyquan Thornton was exceptional today. He showed why the Pats drafted him in the second round of April’s draft.

The kid has game-changing speed – and although I’m throwing up in my mouth at the thought of watching this Patriots offense on Thursday night, I’m excited to see what they do with Thornton.

Media Availability:

After practice we spoke to David Andrews, Jack Jones, Matthew Judon, Pierre Strong, Josh Uche and Shaun Wade.

Andrews was asked about the changes and struggles that we’ve seen in this “new” offense over the first several weeks. “We’ll see. We’ll put it all together.” He said. “Nothing looks as good [in] the first couple weeks.”

Rookie running back Pierre Strong has missed parts of camp so far with an injury, but played in Friday’s in-stadium scrimmage and suited up again today. With the absence of James White, Strong was someone who was speculated to fill their pass-catching back role. Strong said that he “very seldom” played this posotion at South Dakota State. We’ll see if he can make the transition.

Wrap-Up and Takeaways:

After taking the weekend off, you would think the Patriots would be able to regroup and put a decent showing on the field. Well you would be wrong. Today was as ugly a practice as I’ve seen since I started covering the team two years ago. Some takeaways:

1. They need to do something about this offensive system – fast. The O-line was horrendous today, and things aren’t going to get any better until it’s fixed.
2. When your best player is 180-pound rookie wide receiver, then you’re in trouble.
3. The Pats defense flew around all day, which is an overall good sign. However, let’s take it with a grain of salt because of who they are playing against. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do against the Giants on Thursday.

The Patriots will practice again on Tuesday and Wednesday before welcoming the New York Giants to Gillette Stadium for their first preseason game of 2022. I’ll be here for tomorrow’s practice and on Thursday to cover the game, so be sure to stay tuned on Twitter and on CLNSMedia.com for updates before, during, and after Thursday’s matchup vs. the Giants.

Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @PatriotsCLNS for the latest up-to-date Patriots news!

Also be sure to check out our new sports betting Twitter account @CLNSBetting for all the latest odds and content from CLNS Media.

Use code CLNS50 for 50% off your first deposit at Betonline.ag.