The New England Patriots played a comically small amount of football during their practice session on Tuesday during the second organized team activities session that has been open to the media.
The Patriots conducted some conditioning and some systemic installation — but not much. The practice was abbreviated (roughly 70 minutes), with the team apparently easing back off the Holiday weekend.
There was a moment that stood above the rest, though I’d suggest taking it with a grain of salt from a session where coach Bill Belichick was dropping into coverage as a slot cornerback. So here it is…
In the early phases of the position drills, the practice took a slower pace than is typical for the Patriots. In practice, New England is typically mechanical, like an assembly line — without hiccups or wasted minutes. It’s most notable at joint practices when placed in direct comparison with other teams.
That automated pace wasn’t present on Tuesday, with offensive assistant Joe Judge and the passing offense taking more time than usual to get a drill set up. You don’t normally see that. Players and coaches often know what they’re doing — and that wasn’t the case here. These moments are where the coaching turnover and a young QB show themselves. Practice, at times, moved slower than in year’s past. And that’s probably, in part, because of the casual nature of this practice. But it was definitely a surprise.