Brady and the Patriots offense had trouble moving the ball against the Saints.
Tom BradyFOXBOROUGH – The New England Patriots didn’t execute at a high level during Tuesday’s joint practice with the New Orleans Saints, but the session was deemed a success by all involved.
“You go two weeks straight against your teammates. It’s always great to get a new look,” Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said of the practice that drew 14,830 fans. “It was very competitive out there today and I believe we got so much out of it.”
This typically is the point of training camp when intensity lags and players begin wear down under the daily schedule of practices and meetings. The Patriots’ level of frustration was put on display last week when three separate fights broke over the span of three days.
But there was nothing even close to dust-up during Tuesday’s practice. Players were warned to be on their best behavior, and both sides said they felt rejuvenated from the increased tempo and intensity that came from playing a new opponent.
For New England, though, that didn’t equate to a great practice. After looking sharp during 7-on-7 drills, where quarterback Tom Brady completed 12 of 15 passes, the wheels quickly fell off for the New England offense during full-team drills.
Brady had trouble hitting his marks, at one point recording four consecutive incompletions, and finished the day 7-for-16 with two touchdowns and an interception.
Meanwhile, Saints quarterback Drew Brees had no issue moving the ball against the Patriots secondary, completing 15 of 21 passes. Safety Steve Gregory recorded New England’s only interception.
“You can definitely go in and make some corrections,” Gronkowski said, though members from both sides were overall pleased to have the opportunity to compete against a different team.
“For us, it’s great to kind of break up the monotony of training camp, practicing against yourself, and come up and have the opportunity to scrimmage against someone else,” Brees said. “There’s not a team that has won more games than the New England Patriots in the last decade.
“To have the chance to come up here, watch the way they work, compete against new personnel and new scheme – it’s good for both sides.”
The Patriots and Saints held joint practices prior to the 2010 season with great success, leading Patriots coach Bill Belichick to proclaim that they were the most productive practices he’s coached in his career.
New England will also hold joint sessions with the Buccaneers prior to their Aug. 24 preseason game in Tampa Bay.
The start of Tuesday’s practice was pushed back from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. to accommodate members of the Saints and Patriots coaching staff that flew to Pennsylvania to attend Garrett Reid’s funeral. Reid, the son of Eagles coach Andy Reid, was found dead in a dorm room at the Eagles’ training camp at Lehigh University Sunday morning.
The group was late arriving to practice and came out onto the field about 45 minutes into the session, just after the teams broke into 7-on-7 drills.
Belichick spent the rest of the practice standing on the field behind his offense and defense, directing orders.
“We know how to handle business. We came in, got right to work,” defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said of Belichick’s late arrival. “We got a team of guys that can step in. Coaches, coordinators, then a team of guys that step right in and get to work.”
The Patriots and Saints will practice together again Wednesday at 10 a.m. They will then play a preseason game Thursday night.