It was just a preseason game which equals
meaningless. Or does it?
Let’s agree there are few definitive
judgments we can make following the first preseason game. Let’s also agree, so
what?
Here’s one fan’s view of the Patriots
pointless 31-22 “win” over the Eagles…
The
Offensive Line is That Good
The Patriots return all five starters –
though right guard Dan Connolly has yet to put on pads – and Nate Solder, Logan
Mankins, Ryan Wendell, Will Svitek (signed as a swing tackle, filling in for
Marcus Cannon who was filling in for Connolly) and Sebastian Vollmer absolutely
blew up the Eagles defensive front on Steven
Ridley’s game opening 62-yard run. The Patriots
rushed for nearly 250 yards on the night. The offensive line is that good.
Caveat: The Eagles defense is not that good
(23rd
against the run in 2012).
LeGarrette
Blount Ain’t Dead Yet
I had been of the opinion that Brandon
Bolden’s special teams’ value would be enough to win him the one roster spot
that he and Blount were battling for in camp. I had wondered why the Belichick
bothered to trade even a 7th round pick for him (Jeff Demps was
never going to play for the Patriots so I’m not sure he counts). Friday night
changed my mind. Yes, Blount’s 51-yard TD run was one of those “no, no, no, yes,
yes, YES!” kind of plays as he gave ground, reversing his field from left to
right before cutting back to the left again. He clearly surprised everyone –
including Eagles’ defenders – with his speed and athleticism on that play.
Well, everyone but UDFA TE Zach Sudfeld who dug deep to stay out in front of
Blount and deliver the block that helped him tumble into the end zone. The
back-to-back 14-yard runs that set up his 1-yard TD run were perhaps even more reassuring.
Blount gave a credible Corey Dillon impression on that near TD run. The 250lb
sledge hammer showed power, speed and some shake in joining Ridley in the
100-yard club.
Caveat: See above.
The
Brady Bunch
So, what’s the over/under on when we see
the SI cover featuring the Patriots’ new receivers? Rookies Kenbrell Thompkins
and Aaron Dobson both made tough, contested catches. I would’ve liked to see
Josh Boyce lay out in an attempt to pull in the overthrown pass from Mallett;
for now we’ll have to wait to see Boyce’s speed translate into production.
Also, Danny Amendola (not a rookie but still a newbie) did not suffer a
season-ending injury.
Caveat: Dobson also had a drop as he made
the classic mistake of turning to look at the expanse of green grass and
potential yards after catch awaiting his stat line before actually securing the
football.
Gronkowski
Can Wait
Jake Ballard played without suffering a
setback, Sudfeld had a nice catch and run, Daniel Fells had three catches and
Hooman was effective blocking in the running game. Even without Gronk, New
England rolled with two and three TE formations under Friday night’s lights. It
certainly looked like the Pats will be fine if Gronkowski starts the season on
the PUP list.
Caveat: Don’t get me wrong; the Pats are
much better with Gronk than without him. I’d just like to see him healthy in
the playoffs for once.
Safety
Isn’t So Safe
Was Aqib Talib burned deep by DeSean
Jackson or by Steve Gregory? It sure looked to me like Talib expected help to
the inside. I suppose it was one play in the first preseason game but quite like
a post-hypnotic trigger, it had me doing the Justin Timberlake impression I am
rightly not famous for. (I sing way up high when the Patriots defense gives up
a big play. Just not very well.)
Caveat: Devin McCourty did not suit up.
Too
Much of the Same Old Same Old on Defense
Granted, Chip Kelly’s offense is going to
give even the best NFL offenses some problems but even granting that, New
England’s defense had me backing away from my
Top 10 Defense prediction and telling the arresting officers
that I’d never seen those guys before in my life. Okay, it wasn’t quite that
bad. There were flashes along the way – notably the forced fumble by the Tommy
Kelly and Chandler Jones combo, Marcus Benard had a sack and a tackle for loss,
rookie CB Logan Ryan was credited with two passes defended, Dane Fletcher looks
to be all the way back from injury – but the chatter in the Google Machine
following the game made repeated references to the defensive sins of 2012. Indeed,
New England’s defense struggled against the pass and on 3rd down, so
yeah, kind of 2012ish. Happily, it’s August 10th, not September 10th.
Caveat: Did I mention that Devin McCourty
didn’t play?
Tebow
Time
I’ve already predicted Tebow would be the
Patriots’ second leading rusher in 2013 and I will be happy if LeGarrette
Blount proves me wrong but Tim the Enchanter did have his moments rushing the
ball out of the Pistol last night. Unfortunately, he looked horrible throwing
the ball. I know I’ve mentioned the Vikings game of
2011 before (warning: small data sample) and I
know I’ve mentioned that Tebow was a 60%
passer in college (note to self: college – even the
SEC – isn’t the pros) but the double-clutch off play action with Sudfeld open
in the flat had me wondering, what’s happened to this guy? I’ve decided to
blame the Jets for completely fucking
Tebow up as a passer because, you know, I hate the Jets (and I said “completely”
to acknowledge the haters may have a point). Whatever the case, I begin to
wonder if Josh McDaniels and Brian Daboll can unfuck Tebow enough as a passer
to make him more than just a scout team QB running the read option in practice
for the first team defense.
Caveat: I could be completely wrong about
Tebow’s ceiling as a passer.
Special
Teams Weren’t So Special
It’s hardly reassuring to see Stephen
Gostkowski miss two makeable FGA. He was great on kickoffs but there will be
some games this season where those six points will be missed. The Pats didn’t
do much returning kicks despite the addition of Leon Washington and gave up a 69-yard punt return to some
guy I’d never heard of. Yeesh.
What
We Learned
Not too much that we didn’t know already
but what did you think you would get from the first preseason game? Regardless
of what’s at stake, it’s always fun to win but we all knew that, didn’t we? The
new receiving corps looked better than we had any right to expect but we knew Brady
would be Brady and he was. We knew the running game would be solid but I don’t
think we saw that LeGarrette Blount performance coming. The defensive
performance was disappointing but not disheartening; it may be that I had
unrealistic expectations for where they would be at this point. Or maybe Tom
Brady will need to put 30+ points on the board for the 2013 Patriots to win
games. We’ll find out soon enough.
If I’m going to describe last night’s
meaningless “win” in five words or less I guess I’d go with, more good than
bad.
I’ll take it.
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