More Observations From Crazy Patriots-Packers Joint Practice

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Too much happened during Thursday’s joint practice between the Patriots and Packers to fit into one “observations” story. Really, both days were a blur, with the two teams combining for nearly five hours of practice time this week.

Thursday’s session was especially eventful. There were punches, skirmishes, injuries and wild celebrations. There was one ejection, nonstop trash talk and, ultimately a decisive win for the Patriots — especially on offense.

You can view the stories linked below for more in-depth breakdowns of the key storylines that emerged from New England’s best overall practice of the summer.

We’ll spend the rest of this article briefly touching on the aforementioned storylines, but otherwise diving into some leftover takeaways and notes from Thursday’s action.

WEATHER
Warm (80-ish degrees) under partly cloudy skies with occasional wind gusts. There even was a heavy downpour for about five minutes.

ATTIRE
Full pads — and they needed them.

ATTENDANCE
New England was without 12 players, including offensive tackle Conor McDermott, who was a new addition to the absence list. The veteran tackle exited Wednesday’s practice due to an undisclosed injury.

Here’s the full list:

CB Jonathan Jones
OL Kody Russey
OT Calvin Anderson
OL Mike Onwenu
WR Ty Montgomery
ST Cody Davis
RB Pierre Strong
LB Ronnie Perkins
DE Trey Flowers
TE Mike Gesicki
G Cole Strange
OT Conor McDermott

Jones now hasn’t practiced since the day before the Aug. 4 in-stadium practice. Onwenu, Anderson and Davis haven’t practiced once this summer. Strange and Montgomery suffered leg injuries during the first week of camp and haven’t practiced since.

Patriots quarterbacks working on pocket footwork under the watchful eye of Bill O'Brien pic.twitter.com/Wy4s91aw0s

— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) August 17, 2023

INJURY REPORT
Receiver Tyquan Thornton suffered an upper-body injury while hauling in a 45-yard catch and didn’t return. Defensive end Keion White, who was all over the place Thursday, went down late in practice with a leg issue but watched the rest of practice while standing on the sideline. Rookie center Jake Andrews left after getting his leg rolled up on and didn’t return.

You can view the story at the top of the page for additional context on these injuries. However, of the three, we’re most concerned with Thornton’s. He just can’t stay healthy and also dealt with a broken collarbone last summer.

QB REPORT
Jones: 14-of-17, five sacks, zero interceptions.
Zappe: 18-of-27, three sacks, two interceptions.

Pressure was an issue at times, but the offensive line enjoyed a solid bounce-back day. Also, aside from his two interceptions, Zappe enjoyed a decent afternoon.

Jones was the story, though. This was one of the best practices of his career, and it ended with a rousing 50-yard touchdown pass to an in-stride DeVante Parker to close a two-minute drill. He was in his bag, as the kids say.

As for Malik Cunningham, the undrafted rookie saw zero QB reps a day after seeing four. Trace McSorley got some mop-up reps at the very end of practice after not seeing any the previous two sessions.

Matthew Judon on a chippy practice, Mac Jones and more pic.twitter.com/VrhW5kdLLh

— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) August 17, 2023

ASSORTED OBSERVATIONS
— White, Matthew Judon, Deatrich Wise, Jalen Mills, Anfernee Jennings and Christian Barmore were at the center of most of the skirmishes. Jennings got ejected from practice after leveling linebacker Keshawn Banks, who took a swing at White during a punt drill.

— White ripped off Isaiah McDuffie’s helmet during a special teams drill and chucked it, like 15 yards.

— Peppers talked trash all day. Most notably, he and star corner Jaire Alexander were barking at each other seconds before Jones hit Parker for the long touchdown. The two dapped up and shared a laugh after practice.

— Marcus Jones got into it with Malik Heath at one point and later got an interception on a tipped pass. One of his better recent practices.

— Rookie safety-linebacker Martue Mapu laid a huge hit on tight end Tucker Kraft and stood over him. Kraft had to leave practice.

— Kyle Dugger also got an interception.

— Mac Jones was the last player off the field.

— Receiver Demario Douglas caught nine of 11 targets for two touchdowns. He also talked a lot of trash for a rookie — and a small one, at that.

— Kayshon Boutte caught a pair of touchdowns, one of which prompted a huge end zone celebration.

Fun.

(📸: ⁦@PATRIOTSdotCOM⁩) pic.twitter.com/GNTToVeCI3

— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) August 18, 2023

— Ezekiel Elliott was a full participant a day after spending most of practice watching from the sideline. He got work with both quarterbacks and did his fair share of trash talk. Elliott also seemed to get a big kick out of Peppers’ antics.

— Christian Gonzalez showed great coverage in breaking up a pass intended for rookie receiver Dontayvion Wicks in the end zone.

— Jack Jones made a few great plays in pass coverage.

— Cunningham at one point lined up at receiver with Zappe at quarterback.

— Christian Watson gave Patriots DBs trouble both days. It was hard to tell who was at fault, though, as New England ran a lot of zone coverage.

— The Patriots’ defense stopped Jordan Love and the top Packers’ offense during their final two-minute drive. It was a statement moment.

— Zappe threw five straight TDs from inside the 5-yard line. Douglas spun the ball in the end zone after one of them, then a Packers player ran over and kicked it off the scoreboard.

— Judon and White both had sacks.

— Gonzalez, Jack Jones, Marcus Jones, Myle Bryant, Shaun Wade, Isaiah Bolden Shaun Wade and Jahlani Tavai all had pass breakups.

— Rookie punter Bryce Baringer continued to struggle. Corliss Waitman has outplayed him for over a week.

— No work for the field goal kickers.

— Top offensive line, from left to right: Trent Brown, Atonio Mafi, David Andrews, Riley Reiff, Sidy Sow.

THREE UP
QB Mac Jones
WR DeVante Parker
WR Demario Douglas

THREE DOWN
P Bryce Baringer
G Bill Murray
TE Matt Sokol

NEXT UP
The Patriots and Packers will take Friday off before meeting Saturday night for a preseason matchup at Lambeau Field. After that, the Patriots will travel to Nashville for another series of joint practices and a preseason game against the Tennesee Titans.