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Boston, MA
What we learned in Patriots’ 14-13 preseason loss to the Eagles
FOXBORO — If the Patriots’ quarterback battle heats up in the final month of training camp, mark Thursday’s 14-13 loss to the Eagles as the starting point of the true competition.
Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye impressed and led his team on two scoring drives in his first considerable playing time of training camp.
Here’s what we learned as the Patriots fell to 1-1 in the preseason.
1. QB competition got interesting
Patriots veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett didn’t do anything to help himself, playing three drives to start Thursday’s game. The Patriots went three-and-out on his first series. Then he led the offense down the field on an eight-play, 31-yard drive before throwing an interception on a target to tight end Austin Hooper, who was too well-covered by Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox for the pick.
Brissett finished just 3-of-7 for 17 yards with the interception.
Then Maye brought some excitement. His first drive ended with a 51-yard field goal from kicker Joey Slye. Maye’s best pass was a 12-yard completion to rookie wide receiver Javon Baker on third down after a 6-yard scramble to make the first-down conversion manageable. The drive stalled when Maye threw a deep ball down the left sideline out of bounds to Baker.
Maye scored on a 4-yard run to cap off his second drive. He kept the ball on a zone-read to scamper to his right for a score. Maye hit rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk for a 5-yard gain. Polk should have been stopped for no gain, but he made two Eagles defenders miss to pick up extra yardage. Running back Kevin Harris ripped off a 14-yard run with solid blocking from the entire offensive line. Maye also hit running back JaMycal Hasty on a 23-yard catch and run.
Maye went three-and-out on his third drive, which came in the third quarter. He delivered a perfect deep ball to Baker, but the rookie wideout couldn’t hold on as he fell to the ground on the diving attempt.
Maye took a sack to cap off his fourth and final drive. Harris chipped Eagles pass rusher Nolan Smith, but left tackle Vederian Lowe still couldn’t get in his way before the sack. Maye showed good decision making, throwing away two passes on the drive. The Patriots picked up 15 yards on a defensive pass interference penalty on the series, and Maye’s lone completion went for no gain to Polk.
Maye finished 6-of-11 for 47 yards with four rushes for 15 yards with a touchdown.
So, what does this mean for the QB competition? We’ll see. But Maye hasn’t received a single first-team rep in training camp. Now that he’s proven himself in a game, perhaps that changes and the starting battle actually begins to take shape with a few weeks left until the regular season.
2. OL remains unchanged
The Patriots started Lowe at left tackle, Sidy Sow at left guard, David Andrews at center, Mike Onwenu at right guard and Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle, which means there were no adjustments after a rough showing during a joint practice with the Eagles on Tuesday.
Maye did not receive an entire backup offensive line when he entered the game, however. First, Nick Leverett replaced Andrews at center. Then on his second drive, rookie Layden Robinson came in at right guard, and rookie Caedan Wallace came in at right tackle. For Maye’s fourth drive, Michael Jordan replaced Sow at left guard.
Overall, the offensive line performed OK outside of Lowe, who let up the sack, a pressure on an incompletion from Brissett and was flagged for a false start. It must be taken into account that they were not blocking the Eagles’ top defensive line.
3. Pressure without Judon
Let’s use that same caveat: The Patriots’ defense was not playing against the Eagles’ top offensive line, but they were causing fits for Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett.
After trading Matthew Judon to the Falcons for a 2025 third-round pick on Wednesday night, defensive ends Keion White and Deatrich Wise, cornerback Isaiah Bolden and outside linebacker Josh Uche all had first-half sacks.
White, Wise and Uche will all be key in replacing Judon on the edge this season.
Defensive tackles Jeremiah Pharms and Trysten Hill, outside linebacker Oshane Ximines and safety Joshuah Bledsoe also brought pressure in the first half.
Ximines sacked Eagles QB Will Grier in the fourth quarter, as well.
4. Kicker competition
Incumbent kicker Chad Ryland still hasn’t gotten a shot at a field goal in the preseason, while Slye, his competition, is 3-of-3. Slye handled one kickoff and made field goals of 51 and 46 yards.
Ryland was 1-of-1 on an extra-point attempt. He handled two kickoffs.
The competition has been tight throughout the summer.
Up
QB Drake Maye
Was he perfect? No. Did he give the Patriots a spark? Absolutely. Maye only received six offensive snaps in Week 1 of the preseason. He showed flashes of why he was the third overall pick on Thursday night with his arm and his legs.
LB Raekwon McMillan
McMillan, coming off of his second season-ending injury in three years, looked like a classic Patriots linebacker. He was a force in the run game with eight tackles with a tackle for loss. He also assisted on another tackle for loss and contributed a special teams tackle.
DE Keion White
White is the top player who needs to step up in Judon’s absence. He sacked Pickett and brought pressure on another 3-yard desperation scramble from the backup QB.
Down
LT Vederian Lowe
Lowe is the current top left tackle. We’ll see how much longer that lasts after Thursday night, when he let up a sack, a QB hit and was flagged for a false start. Third-string offensive lineman Atonio Mafi also struggled, allowing two sacks.
CB Marcellas Dial
Dial was a favorite target of Eagles quarterbacks. The rookie, who’s battling for a roster spot, appeared to let up seven catches for 87 yards. He also allowed a two-point conversion.
WR Javon Baker
The level of difficulty was high on the pass from Maye, but Baker should have hauled in the rookie QB’s deep shot. Baker also ran a route almost completely out of bounds.
Originally Published:
Books
Mass General nurse-turned-author Karen Winn brings Beacon Hill to life in her latest book. Add this to your beach bag.
Massachusetts General Hospital nurse-turned-author Karen Winn often writes in the Boston Athenaeum, watching tours pass by.
One day, in 2023, she joined one. And the seed for her next novel was planted.
“We passed by an oil portrait of Thomas Handasyd Perkins, a major benefactor to the Athenaeum in the 1800s. The docent alluded to this dark history as to how he’d amassed a large portion of his fortune in the opium trade,” she tells me.
“The tour group moved on — but I was stuck there thinking. I went home and fell down this rabbit-hole of research and learned, to my surprise, just how many of the Boston Brahman families made their fortune in the opium trade. It was fascinating.”
I went down a similar rabbit-hole. The Boston Brahmin opium fortunes are well-documented, including a past Harvard Art Museum exhibit, articles, books and website info including, speaking of Perkins, the Perkins School for the Blind.
Winn, who lives on Beacon Hill and was in a secret society (I asked) added bits and pieces from her own life into the novel-creating mixing bowl: What if there was a secret society built on old opium money in Beacon Hill, and a Mass General nurse was somehow involved?
“The Society” was born.
If you’re looking for a Boston-set page-turner — an “alternate universe Beacon Hill,” as Winn puts it — to kick off your summer reading, add this suspense to your beach bag.
Nutshell: The Knox, standing proudly on Mount Vernon Street in Beacon Hill, houses meetings of a secret society. Some in Boston believe it’s an elite social club — others believe it hides something sinister.
When Boston antique dealer Vivian Lawrence sees her family fortune vanish, she turns to a family legend that ties her to the Knox, seeking a way into the exclusive secret society.
Taylor Adams, a 20-something Mass General ER nurse who recently moved to Boston, becomes almost obsessed with old-moneyed Vivian, “a creature of wealth,” after Vivian lands in the ER one night. When Vivian disappears from Mass General without a trace, Taylor’s search for answers pulls her into the Knox and its dark history…
What interested me — before I knew anything of Winn’s backstory— was that it felt like it was written by someone who just moved to Boston and was in awe of the city.
Living here, we might think of Rachel Dratch and Jimmy Fallon and Denise and Sully in those old “Boston Teen” SNL sketches, or Casey Affleck as the “King of Dunkin” as summing us up, at least in terms of how outsiders see us.
But Taylor, the Mass General nurse, almost fetishizes Boston, and old-moneyed New Englanders she imagines walking down every street.
Example: when old-Boston-money Vivian lands in the ER: Taylor “swallows, a flurry of excitement building in her chest… she envisioned that the city would be teeming with these ladies… That she would get to move among their world, learn from them, drink in their fanciness… letting that old New England generational wealth rub off on her until she glimmered with something of its gold dust…It is Boston, after all: the city of cobblestones and beauty, of Harvard and MIT, of sophistication and history.”
Winn, who grew up in New Jersey, moved to Boston 20 years ago after meeting her Boston-native husband Gil at UPenn. They now live in the Beacon Hill area with their two kids and 100-pound (yup) Bernedoodle.
After two decades here, she’s still “in awe.”
“I grew up in a 5,000-person town in New Jersey. When I came to Boston, I was struck by this beautiful city. Beacon Hill is one of the most historic and charming neighborhoods,” she tells me. “Living here, one might almost be inured to it, but I have this awe. I’m always struck by the cobblestone streets and the gaslit lamps.”
Winn even started a TikTok account for @theknoxsociety, documenting life on Beacon Hill.
This is Winn’s second novel, after 2022’s “Our Little World.” But “I’m not an overnight success by any shape or form,” she says with a laugh.
“I was a nurse and a nurse practitioner, but always loved writing and wrote on the side,” says Winn, who left Mass General in 2010. “It’s a typical writer’s story: I had hundreds of rejections for short stories.”
One of those rejections — from JFK Jr.’s “George Magazine” in 2000 — actually landed her in Newsweek recently.
I called Winn to talk opium, strange graveyard tour, a terrifying house fire, TikTok, and more.
Taylor arrives in Boston with a burning curiosity about the city. “What is Boston? Who are these people?” questions swimming in her head.
“Absolutely. When I came to Boston, I was so struck by this beautiful city. In my head, I could very clearly see the Knox building: The front is on Mount Vernon Street, and the back, I imagined to look like Branch Street. Branch isn’t the back of Mount Vernon, so I gave it a fictional name.”
I love that level of detail, though. No one outside Boston — or maybe even Beacon Hill— would ever know: oh, Branch Street isn’t in back of Mount Vernon. You have other specific references, like dining at 1928.
“I almost wish I’d been a little craftier [with adding more]. For instance, at one point I had Taylor get her knives sharpened at Blackstone’s. And it was just too much detail, so I pared it down. But sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, I wish I kept that!’ [laughs]”
[laughs] That’s how it goes.
I don’t think I realized the effect each reference would have. There are book clubs now that tour Beacon Hill and go to spots mentioned. A few toured the Boston Atheneum, or dined at 1928. I didn’t realize how much people would connect to the sense of place. It feels like it’s been embraced by people in Boston, which is so fun.
Now 1928 has a cocktail named for your book. What are more specific inspirations that went into the novel?
“For the Knox, I took inspiration from The Somerset Club and The ‘Quin — the beautiful room with fireplaces and ornate details.
“And I was in a secret society in college: Tabard Society at UPenn.”
Wow, what was that like?
“I can’t tell you. [laughs]”
[laughs] Fair enough.
“But I loved that experience. When I was rushing [or trying to get in] you’d find out if you were invited by getting handwritten notes slipped under your door. I tapped into that with The Knox sending notes.”
You said your husband went with you on midnight strolls through Boston?
“Yes! I dragged him to some graveyard tours. We did one that —it was funny, because I’m not sure how I found it, but it definitely, like, wasn’t very legit.”
[laughs] OK.
“It was just us and this guy — we weren’t allowed inside any of the cemeteries. We’d watch the tours go on the inside, and the three of us would be standing on the outside. [laughs]”
[laughs] Amazing.
“My husband’s like, ‘Where did you find this guy?’ I don’t know.”
[laughs] This feels like a “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode.
“It was quite an experience [laughs] And then, of course, I had to go back. We had to go back and do an official tour.
“And I toured the Nichols House Museum in Beacon Hill, which was neat to see another historic building and learn about family that lived there. I toured the Forbes House Museum in Milton. Forbes family was one of the Brahman families, they made their fortune in the opium trade.
“Also we had lived, at one point in the South End, and actually had a house fire. We were home at the time. Luckily, we were fine. But our house was a total loss.”
Oh my god.
“We each grabbed a kid and ran out at the door. It was pretty traumatic. Five minutes later, we would not have been able to go out that door. So, I tapped into that when I wrote the fire scene.”
Wow. That’s terrifying.
“As a writer, you store all these things up, and then go into your basket of experiences, and you get to use them.”
You also created a TikTok for the Knox. What sparked that, and how long will you keep that going?
“I’m having fun with it. I had no expectations when I started. I wasn’t big on TikTok. But having the account for the Knox itself allowed more creative freedom because I wasn’t putting myself out there — I was putting the Knox out there. So I’ve enjoyed creating these videos. Especially since the next novel is brewing in my head.”
What are you working on now?
“My next book focuses on a minor character mentioned in “The Society” — the bookstore owner, Nicholas. I was telling you earlier about those rejections — I actually wrote a short story about him years ago that was never published. It’s been living on my computer and in my head for all these years. I’m ready to tell the story. It will be another very Boston book.”
Catch Karen Winn on July 29 at Quincy’s Next Chapter Books & More.
Lauren Daley is a freelance culture writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1. Read more stories on Facebook here.
Boston, MA
Carjacking suspect killed by Boston officer had lengthy record with more than 17 criminal cases, court filings show – The Boston Globe
O’Malley shot and killed a suspect in a carjacking in March. The swift decision to prosecute has prompted outrage by the police union and law enforcement officials.
O’Malley, 33, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter for the death of Stephenson King, 39, who was shot March 11 while he allegedly tried to flee a traffic stop in a stolen car. Prosecutors determined that O’Malley had no justification for shooting at a moving vehicle.
“It is disappointing that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is choosing to second-guess an officer whose only goal was to protect the public,” O’Malley’s lawyer, David Yannetti, said in an email to the Globe. “We will continue to vigorously defend this officer and this case.”
“The main issue in this case will be who the aggressor really was and whether Officer O’Malley acted in lawful defense,” Yannetti wrote in court filings.
On Wednesday, Yannetti filed several defense motions in the Roxbury division of Boston Municipal Court, in an effort to illustrate “King’s mayhem and reign of terror,” spanning nearly two decades and resulting in more than 17 criminal cases across Massachusetts, court records show.
Over the years, King has been charged with strangulation, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carjacking, breaking and entering, gun charges, and resisting arrest, according to court filings.
At the time of his death, King was free on bail for at least three separate felony cases, and had active warrants for his arrest, court records said.
O’Malley is seeking King’s mental health, criminal, and court records from all of his past cases, recordings from police body-worn and dash cameras, the medical examiner’s file on King, along with statements taken from O’Malley and witnesses at the scene of the shooting.
O’Malley told investigators that when he shot King he feared for his own life and for the life of another office on the scene, believing his colleague was about to be run over.
Police had pursued King after he allegedly committed a carjacking outside a pizza restaurant in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood. About 15 minutes later, officers stopped the stolen car less than a mile away, at Linwood Square in Roxbury.
The driver ignored “multiple verbal commands” as officers approached and tried to drive away, police said.
King opened the car window, but did not turn the vehicle off. O’Malley drew his Taser and shouted, “Bro, I’m going to [expletive] shoot you,” the police report said.
That’s when King backed into the cruiser behind him, then maneuvered the vehicle forward and back “in an attempt to escape the police,” according to the report.
As King started to drive forward again, O’Malley fired three shots through the driver’s window, striking King, the report said.
King’s family has contended that he was experiencing a mental health crisis in the hours leading up to the deadly encounter.
In court filings, O’Malley’s lawyer, Yannetti, said King gave “O’Malley no choice that night.”
“Any suggestion that this shooting was precipitated by simply a ‘mental health crisis’ completely misses the point,” Yannetti wrote. “When facing an extremely dangerous threat, there is no time for a police officer to hold a counseling session on the street or to sit down to discuss the feelings of a menace who is intent on using a motor vehicle as a deadly weapon.”
“If a man is going to assault and carjack an innocent woman then threaten the lives and safety of the public and a police officer, that man needs to be stopped — whether he is in his right mind or not,” according to O’Malley’s motion.
O”Malley’s next court date, a probable-cause hearing, is scheduled for May 21.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.
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