FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots’ offense was uncharacteristically sloppy during Wednesday’s joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Heavy rains and wet practice fields caused numerous errors in the morning session. Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady had a stretch with three incompletions and a fumble, when the football slipped out of his hand as he was going to pump fake.
Brady still went 12-of-17 passing in 11-on-11 drills and 6 of 10 in 7-on-7s despite the less-than-ideal conditions. Backup signal-caller Ryan Mallett upped his participation from Tuesday, when he was limited in practice. Mallett went 3 of 6 in 11-on-11s and 3 of 3 in 7-on-7s. Rookie QB Jimmy Garoppolo went 1 of 2 in 7-on-7s and 2 of 4 in 11-on-11s.
Check out the rest of NESN.com’s practice observations:
— There was a brief shoving match during punt drills when Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner got overly aggressive with Eagles defensive back Roc Carmichael down the sidelines. Carmichael briefly locked up with Browner and Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan.
— Patriots defensive linemen Chandler Jones, Tommy Kelly and Zach Moore flashed in 1-on-1 pass-rushing drills. Rookie defensive tackle Dominique Easley participated in the 1-on-1 drills but not 11-on-11s.
— Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins had a nice pass breakup in 7-on-7s while covering Eagles running back Darren Sproles. Collins will be a valuable weapon in coverage this season.
— Patriots running back Roy Finch struggled to corral punts in Thursday night’s preseason loss to the Washington Redskins, but he’s still back there on returns in practice. He didn’t flub any catches in the special teams drills.
— Patriots coach Bill Belichick briefly spoke about how Kyle Arrington’s skill set makes him a potential fit at safety in a reserve role. Arrington saw some time at the position, and it will be interesting to see if he takes snaps there in Friday night’s game against the Eagles.
— Brady was vocal on the field after some nice catches by wide receivers Brandon LaFell and Julian Edelman. Brady ran up to hug Edelman after a touchdown catch in 11-on-11s.
— Eagles starting quarterback Nick Foles was 11-of-20 passing in 11-on-11, while backup Mark Sanchez went 5 of 6.
— Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler had a pass breakup in 11-on-11s over Foles. Browner also had a pass breakup, but he was flagged on the play.
— Patriots wide receivers Brian Tyms and Wilson Van Hooser and running back Brandon Bolden had drops during team drills.
— Check out the 1-on-1 drill results between Patriots receivers and Eagles defensive backs:
Eagles receiver Brad Smith beat Ryan on a throw from Foles
Patriots defensive back Travis Hawkins beat Eagles receiver Damaris Johnson on a throw from Sanchez
Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin beat Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis on a throw from Sanchez
Eagles receiver Arrelious Benn beat Butler on a throw from Foles
Eagles receiver Kadron Boone beat Patriots cornerback Jemea Thomas on a throw from Foles
Ryan beat Eagles receiver Jordan Matthews on a throw from Sanchez
Eagles receiver Jeff Maehl beat Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard on a throw from Sanchez
Eagles receiver B.J. Cunningham beat Browner on a throw from Foles
Ryan picked off Foles on a throw to Smith
Hawkins beat Johnson on a throw from Sanchez
Patriots cornerback Daxton Swanson beat Eagles receiver Will Murphy on a throw from Sanchez
Maclin beat Revis on a throw from Foles
Thomas beat Boone on a throw from Foles
Dennard beat Eagles receiver Josh Huff on a throw from Sanchez
Matthews beat Ryan on a throw from Sanchez
Eagles receiver Quron Pratt beat Butler on a throw from Foles
Browner beat Eagles receiver Ifeanyi Momah on a throw from Foles
Swanson beat Benn on a throw from Sanchez
Johnson beat Hawkins on a throw from Sanchez
Maehl beat Dennard on a throw from Eagles QB Matt Barkley
Ryan was flagged on a pass to Matthews from Barkley
Revis beat Murphy on a throw from Barkley
Thomas beat Maclin on a throw from Barkley
Browner beat Maehl on a throw from Barkley
Butler was flagged on a G.J. Kinne pass to Benn
Hawkins was flagged on a Kinne pass to Matthews
Dennard made a nice pass breakup over Huff on a throw from Kinne
Swanson beat Pratt on a throw from Barkley
Ryan beat Pratt on a throw from Barkley
— Here are the 1-on-1 results between Patriots receivers and Eagles defensive backs:
Patriots receiver Matthew Slater beat Eagles cornerback Bradley Fletcher on a pass from Brady
Eagles cornerback Curtis Marsh beat Patriots receiver Josh Boyce on a throw from Garoppolo
Patriots receiver Kenbrell Thompkins beat Eagles cornerback Cary Williams on a throw from Brady
LaFell beat Eagles cornerback Brandon Boykin on a throw from Garoppolo
Carmichael beat Slater on a pass from Brady
Tyms beat Eagles defensive back Davon Morgan on a pass from Garoppolo
Boyce beat Fletcher on a pass from Garoppolo
Marsh beat LaFell on a pass from Brady
Patriots receiver Derrick Johnson beat Eagles safety Keelan Johnson on a pass from Garoppolo
Carmichael beat Slater on a pass from Brady
Williams beat Tyms on a bad pass from Brady
Boyce beat Fletcher on a pass from Brady
LaFell beat Marsh on a pass from Brady
Thompkins beat Morgan on a pass from Brady
Carmichael beat Boyce on a pass from Garoppolo
Edelman beat Williams, who was flagged, on a pass from Brady
Van Hooser beat Johnson on a pass from Garoppolo
Slater beat Fletcher on a pass from Brady
Thompkins beat Boykin on a pass from Brady
Derrick Johnson beat Keelan Johnson on a pass from Garoppolo
Marsh beat Slater on a pass from Brady
Morgan beat Tyms on a pass from Garoppolo
Patriots receiver Danny Amendola beat Eagles safety Earl Wolff on a pass from Brady
Boyce beat Carmichael on a pass from Brady
Edelman beat Williams on a pass from Brady
Thompkins beat Boykin on a pass from Brady
Photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images
