FOXBOROUGH — Takeaways from the Patriots’ training camp practice Tuesday, a two-hour session in full pads:
1. It wasn’t always pretty, but at least it was a normal day: Practice finished on a sloppy note. A false start by rookie Ja’Lynn Polk sent the entire offense running a penalty lap. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye went 1 for 6 in an ugly red zone/two-minute drill. Running back Kevin Harris fumbled a handoff that the defense returned for a touchdown. And Maye had to restart a play after the Patriots lined up incorrectly.
But those are relatively minor quibbles after the disaster that was Monday. The Patriots had a normal, drama-free day, which they needed in the worst way.
Matthew Judon was nowhere to be seen following his on-field outburst Monday. Davon Godchaux, also protesting his contract by not wearing pads at practice, participated in some drills and didn’t make a scene.
The offensive performance wasn’t great, but it was cleaner. The Patriots made it 1:40 into practice before committing a mistake. There were no fights, either.
The Patriots put in a solid day, perhaps creating some momentum heading into Wednesday’s off day. They need to start stacking good days together.
2. Drake Maye continues to underwhelm while Joe Milton impresses. I wrote after last Thursday’s practice that Milton is the “wow” quarterback at camp — the guy with the best size, best athleticism, and biggest arm. Now I’ll take it a step further: Milton outplayed Maye over the first six practices of camp. You can’t tell which player is the No. 3 overall pick (Maye) and which is the sixth-round flier (Milton).
Maye is running second on the depth chart and getting a ton of work, but he hasn’t made many noteworthy throws. He was the only quarterback not to throw a touchdown pass in a red zone drill Tuesday, while Milton, in limited reps, threw touchdowns on consecutive plays, one on a drag to Polk and another on an RPO slant to JuJu Smith-Schuster.
In the red zone/two-minute situation, Maye had an ugly, off-platform throw that went way wide of Smith-Schuster, a hospital ball to tight end Mitchell Wilcox that got him sandwiched between two defenders, and an incomplete corner fade to Javon Baker in the end zone that had the entire offense doing pushups.
Meanwhile, Milton wows the crowd every day with his tantalizing arm and standing backflips. After Maye struggled in the red zone, Milton promptly came in and completed a nice pass to Kawaan Baker on the sideline.
3. Is left tackle getting settled? Back on July 24, I asked, “Is the left tackle experiment already over for Caedan Wallace?” What I meant to write was, “Is Caedan Wallace about to settle in to the left tackle spot?”
Because after playing on the right side the first two days of camp, Wallace has played only left tackle with the starting offense the last four days. It’s hard to tell if Wallace is holding his own, but the Patriots would prove a lot of naysayers wrong if Wallace, who played only right tackle at Penn State, can develop into a starting left tackle.
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.