The New England Patriots were without a few wide receivers for Thursday's joint practice with the Tennessee Titans, but that didn't make the competiton on a hot Nashville day any less fierce.
Julian Edelman, Maurice Harris and Cameron Meredith didn't practice, while Phillip Dorsett and N'Keal Harry were limited. As a result, there were more reps for wideouts Braxton Berrios, Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski and others.
Malcolm Butler, the Patriots' Super Bowl XLIX hero who signed with the Titans as a free agent following the 2017 season, came away impressed by the scrappy group of wideouts his Tennessee secondary went up against.
Despite not having ideal chemistry with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, these receivers still did a nice job in a few drills hauling in passes from the six-time Super Bowl champion. The video below shows a few good examples:
Without many veterans healthy and practicing, Brady has played the role of teacher/coach in an effort to get his wide receivers up to speed with the regular season less than a month away.
“I think the chemistry between a quarterback and a receiver, a quarterback and a tight end, is so important because it’s all anticipation," Brady told reporters after practice. "If you’re waiting for things to happen in the NFL, you’re too late.
New England Patriots
"You’ve got to just anticipate and expect them to be a certain way, and that’s the way they turn out. I have, obviously, a lot of experience, so I know where guys should be. So, I’m trying to tell them, ‘If you want the ball, this is where you’ve got to be,’ which is hopefully good learning for those guys, and it’s good teaching for me.”
The Patriots and Titans don't have any more joint practices this week, but they will clash one more time Saturday night for a Week 2 preseason game in Nashville.
Click for Tom E. Curran's observations from Thursday's practice>>>
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