FOXBORO — Tom Brady called Wednesday a “frustrating” practice for the Patriots offense, which was plagued by careless drops and generally dominated by the secondary.
He probably didn’t feel too much better about Thursday’s session.
At one point in team drills, a Shaq Mason false start was followed by a James Ferentz false start, and that was followed by a botched handoff between Brady and Sony Michel.
The Pats offense ran two laps for the series of miscues.
In goal line drills, the defense overpowered the offense yet again, stuffing Brandon Bolden and Damien Harris on three consecutive rushing attempts. Brady’s playaction pass to Ben Watson was the only touchdown pass of the period.
It wasn’t all bad for the offense, though. N’Keal Harry bounced back with a solid day, and undrafted rookie receiver Jakobi Meyers continues to shine.
Here’s what you should know from the Patriots’ seventh training camp practice:
ATTENDANCE
Absent: TE Lance Kendricks (first absence, left Wednesday’s practice early)
PUP: WR Demaryius Thomas, S Nate Ebner, CB Ken Webster
Non-football injury: WR Julian Edelman, OT Yodny Cajuste
Red non-contact jersey: S Patrick Chung
NOTES
**Running back Rex Burkhead did not participate in positional or team drills. Burkhead departed for the lower field early in practice.
**Running back Sony Michel saw an uptick in work for the second consecutive day. Michel earned the first carries in several 11-on-11 periods. After undergoing a minor knee procedure in the spring, Michel looks to be at or near full speed. He’s running with burst and agility in practice.
**So…the left tackle situation. Pretty much the same deal as always.
Isaiah Wynn took some left tackle reps during a drill with no defense on the field, but he did not participate in 1-on-1s or competitive 11-on-11 drills. It was pretty much all Dan Skipper next to left guard Joe Thuney during 11s. The Pats mixed in the 6-foot-7, 300-pound Cedrick Lang next to Thuney for one run-blocking drill.
HIGHLIGHTS/NOTABLE MOMENTS
**Rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham isn’t getting many reps, but he’s making the most of them. Stidham hooked up with fellow rookies Jakobi Meyers and N’Keal Harry for deep touchdowns down the right sideline on consecutive snaps during 11s.
Meyers made an athletic play, tipping the ball to himself as defenders Patrick Chung and Keion Crossen closed in. Neither defender could make a play on the ball after the initial tip, and Meyers secured it as he crossed the goal line.
The touchdown to Harry was an excellent throw by Stidham. The ball was placed where only Harry could get it. The 6-foot-4 rookie laid out to make the catch in the end zone.
Yes, Stidham has endured some rookie moments, but overall he’s started strong. His performance in preseason games will be very interesting to monitor.
**After dropping four passes on Wednesday, N’Keal Harry responded with a solid practice. He caught the deep ball from Stidham, as well as a deep ball from Brian Hoyer. Harry beat rookie cornerback Joejuan Williams and made a diving catch during 11-on-11 hurry-ups.
Harry still struggles to get separation at times, but we’ve seen plenty of contested catches from him this summer.
**The offense didn’t finish on a particularly high note, as tight ends Ben Watson and Matt LaCosse committed drops in the final period. The ball clanged off Watson’s facemask on a short throw from Brady.
Brady did hit Phillip Dorsett for a deep touchdown to close the period, however. Dorsett beat Jason McCourty in the corner of the end zone.
**The defensive front keeps standing out in goal line drills. On Thursday, Danny Shelton and Obi Melifonwu converged to stop Brandon Bolden short of the goal line. Damien Harris then ran into a wall of defenders — led by defensive end Shilique Calhoun and defensive tackle David Parry — on the next two reps.
**A few notes from 1-on-1 drills: Nice little battle between Joe Thuney and Michael Bennett. Thuney stoned Bennett on the first rep, but Bennett came back for a win the next time they faced one another.
Kyle Van Noy walked around Dan Skipper on one rep. Skipper has struggled in 1-on-1s the past few practices.
Interior linemen Ted Karras and James Ferentz stood out. Ferentz twice handled David Parry, while Karras stuffed Mike Pennel and Nick Thurman.
**The Pats wrapped up practice with a role reversal, as the defensive players tried to score on the offensive players from the goal line. Stephon Gilmore was the quarterback, and Elandon Roberts appeared to be the “offensive coordinator” (he paced around the field holding a playsheet). Gilmore hit Jonathan Jones with a quick shovel pass on the first snap, an easy touchdown for the defense. On the next rep, Gilmore’s fade route to Jamie Collins drew pass interference flags on Maurice Harris. The offense finally got a stop on the third and final rep when Gilmore threw the ball in the flat to Duron Harmon.
