FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — On what would have been the day of their preseason finale, the New England Patriots held a game simulation walkthrough Friday afternoon inside Gillette Stadium.
It was the first time during training camp that the Patriots practiced on their game-day field. New England was scheduled to visit the New York Giants for its fourth exhibition game Friday night before the entire preseason was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.
“It’s all about mentally preparing ourselves when we’re out there on the practice field to get that game feeling that we had out there today,” third-year running back Sony Michel said.
The atmosphere mimicked what many NFL games might look like when the pandemic-altered regular season begins in less than two weeks.
No fans were present and only a handful of stadium employees and media members were scattered throughout the stadium. Music was blasted over the loudspeakers, and a recorded murmur of fans provided background noise.
“A little bit of crowd noise, some of the exchanges that we had – you know, going from first, second, third down to punt, to kickoff, different situations,” Michel said. “Kind of getting in that mood helps a lot.”
Players were divided into two groups, with offensive first-teamers wearing home blue jerseys while second- and third-stringers were in white. Defensive starters were split between the two.
Cam Newton appears more firmly in the lead for the starting quarterback job after taking all the snaps for the blue team. Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer split reps for the white team.
Newton completed 18 of 21 passes, including a 30-yard strike to Mohamed Sanu.
“Cam did a good job getting calls to us, making sure we could hear everything,” second-year wide receiver N’Keal Harry said. “It’s definitely different. It’s definitely not going to be like a regular game day without the fans.”
Rookie Justin Rohrwasser, kicking for the blue team, was 2 of 4 on field goals, while veteran Nick Folk made 2 of 3 attempts for the white team.
Stidham took the first series of snaps for the white team but went 0 for 4, and finished 9 of 13 for the day. Hoyer completed his first 12 passes before an incompletion to Gunner Olszewski on his final attempt during a two-minute drill.
“It was good just for us to be able to get out there and kind of simulate what it’s like to be in a game, especially for the rookies,” Harry said.
New England begins the season at home against Miami on Sept. 13, and hosts the Raiders on Sept. 27 after a visit to Seattle.
DOLPHINS: Cornerback Xavien Howard practiced for the first time since October, when he was sidelined by a left knee injury.
Howard had surgery in December and began training camp on the physically unable to perform list. He also was on the reserve-COVID-19 list for more than two weeks until Thursday.
Howard missed 15 games the past two seasons and has had at least one operation on each knee.
SAINTS: Gayle Benson, the owner of the Saints and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, tested positive for COVID-19 but has not been hospitalized and has continued to work from home, a spokesman said.
Benson, 73, took over as sole owner of both franchises when her husband, Tom Benson, died in March of 2018.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
