Patriots-Eagles Joint Practice Takeaways: Shorter Session Tuesday Could Mean Starters Play A Lot Thursday Night
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots and the Eagles held another joint practice session in Philadelphia on Tuesday, and things ramped up quite a bit ahead of Thursday night's preseason tilt.
Both teams put in lot of work in the red zone, and they had to do it in a hurry, as Tuesday's practice was a much shorter session than the one that the two teams engaged in on Monday. That could indicate that the starters on both teams are set to get a lot of work Thursday night.
With the red area the focus on Tuesday, there are plenty of takeaways from the session. Of course, the focus in New England is on the two guys throwing the football, and by all accounts, both Cam Newton and Mac Jones had solid days on the field.
Good Day For QBs
Newton and Jones both made the most of their reps inside the 20.
And it sounds like they still like each other, despite that competition to be New England's starter.
Cam's Check Downs Were Not Appreciated
Philadelphia safety K'Von Wallace was not a fan of Cam Newton checking down on back to back plays. And he let the quarterback know it.
If you don't like something, maybe do something about it rather than talking smack.
Jones Bounces Back After Bad Pick
The rookie telegraphed a pass to Devin Asiasi in 7-on-7s, which was easily picked off by a Philly linebacker, but he bounced back nicely the rest of that session.
Nice to hear that Jones is correcting the mistakes that he makes in these joint sessions.
Interior Talk
The Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan passed along some 1-on-1 pass rush notes, and as expected, Mike Onwenu is still "Big Mike" on the Patriots offensive line.
It's also nice to hear that Uche is playing well against his Philadelphia counterparts. The linebacker is primed for a big jump in Year 2, and should be in line for a lengthy appearance Thursday night.
Notable Absences
There were a handful for the Patriots players missing on Tuesday, as the team grows thinner and thinner at tight end by every day.
Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith were both present but did not practice. Matt LaCosse was also out after getting his bell rung on Monday. Now we can add Troy Fumagalli to the injured list, as he didn't participate on Tuesday. That left New England with just Devin Asiasi and fullback Jakob Johnson at tight end.
Also absent on Tuesday: DE Myles Bryant, DT Lawrence Guy, LB Anfernee Jennings, CB Jonathan Jones and WR Tre Nixon, per Evan Lazar of CLNS Media.
Tune in to Thursday's Patriots-Eagles preseason game on WBZ-TV and streaming on CBSBoston.com (Boston area only). Pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. with Patriots GameDay, kickoff is set for shortly after 7:30 p.m., and stay tuned for full postgame coverage after the game on Patriots 5th Quarter!
