It’s hardly a surprise that we know so little about Tom Brady’s “mishap.” I think we’re all generally aware of scissors but what do we really know about what happened before Thursday night’s preseason game? When I hear that he “sliced” his right thumb I want to know if the cut needed stitches. Was this dealt with using a standard sized band-aid? Players use scissors to pry jammed up turf from their cleats? Scissors? Tom Brady doesn’t have a body man to handle these plebian tasks? Where was rookie QB Jacoby Brissett? Shouldn’t he be cleaning Brady’s cleats?
I get the Patriots not saying anything. They never say anything. They didn’t say anything about Gronk, Jabaal Sheard or Shea McClellin’s recent absences. We didn’t know Shaq Mason had a broken hand until today and he’s been a no-show for a week. Okay. Nothing to see here. But this is Tom Edward Patrick Brady, Jr.! Where is the incredulous speculation and conspiracy theorizing from the local pigskin pundits and bobbleheads? Where is the keening and wailing of the good citizens of Patriots Nation?
I guess we’re all too busy reliving that 2-minute drill by Jimmy Garoppolo.
Nobody’s asking if Jimmy G’s Thursday night performance in a preseason game has Bill Belichick re-thinking his Week 5 starting QB (except in a passive-aggressive way I guess I just did) but it was decidedly reassuring for Weeks 1-4. And Garoppolo hasn’t been the only reason the regular season can’t get here soon enough. In the wake of the news that Dion Lewis will need a second surgery and will start the season on PUP (at least), it’s important to remind ourselves of the good things we have...
A.J. Derby - He’ll be playing behind Gronk and Martysaurus Rex but the redshirt freshman TE has caught just about everything thrown his way and while I think his blocking is underrated I really don’t care. I’ve been waiting three years in vain to see Aaron Dobson make the kind of catch Derby made on the sideline against the Bears. Derby showed he has hops, toughness, awareness and good hands as he came down with a jump ball between two defenders and somehow landed in bounds. (The TD catch was impressive, too.) The former college QB turned TE apparently spent his season on IR studying film as it seems he’s always on the same playbook page with his quarterbacks.
Trey Flowers - It appears Bill Belichick had one more reason why he decided to trade Chandler Jones. The jury is still out on Jonathan Cooper (though they’ve asked the judge for instructions on how an injury settlement affects his cap hit) but Trader Bill also got a draft pick he parlayed into Malcolm Mitchell and Joe Thuney and $4mm in cap space. He also knew what he had in Jabaal Sheard. And now we know, in Trey Flowers. Flowers will be able to spell Sheard, Rob Ninkovich and Chris Long (who definitely looks better than I’d hoped) and he can play inside in a “NASCAR” configuration.
Joe Thuney - The offensive line is starting to come together. We all assumed it would with Dante Scarnecchia returning to coach ‘em up but I don’t think any of us saw the second coming of Logan Mankins when New England drafted the kid from North Carolina State. Thuney has been winning 1-on-1 battles in camp and playing well in preseason action. The Mankins comp is too much too soon but is it really that crazy to imagine Thuney as a 10-year starter? With Nate Solder rounding back into form, the left side of the line now appears to be set for opening day. And that’s good news given today’s bad news on Sebastian Vollmer and Shaq Mason, the presumptive starters on the right side. Dante Scarnecchia’s famous chicken salad recipe is sure to be tested in 2016.
Kamu Grugier-Hill - Some guys are just always around the football. KGH is one of those guys. The story making the rounds this weekend is that Tom Brady consoled his former backup, Brian Hoyer after KGH picked him in a joint practice session with the Bears, letting him know the rookie from Eastern Illinois was a cold-blooded pigskin thief. Grugier-Hill will probably take most of his snaps as a core-four special teams player in 2016 but he also looks like a potential nickel linebacker and a credible backup to Patrick Chung and keeping Chung fresh is definitely a good thing.
LeGarrette Blount/Tyler Gaffney - Nothing could be more important to Jimmy G (and ultimately for Tom Brady) than a resurgence of the Patriots running game. It puts more pressure on defenses,opens up play action and runs clock, giving the defense a breather. Both Blount and Gaffney have had their get up off the couch and pump your fist moments in preseason action. Is it really so bad to have two big backs hammering defenses between the tackles? (Of course not!) I’m perplexed by the chronic undervaluation of Blount and the notion amongst gridiron cognoscenti that New England’s starting running back for the 2016 season isn’t currently on the roster. Bishop Sankey*? I know Bill Belichick has rejuvenated former Titans before but… Seriously? Granted, we have a small data sample when it comes to Gaffney but it’s all we’ve got (there’s no mean for Gaffney to regress to) and what we have looks pretty good. I’d love D.J. Foster to live up to the hype (who wouldn’t) but if the Patriots fly out to Arizona with Blount, Gaffney, Brandon Bolden and James White, I’ll be good with that.
*Okay, yes I’d rather have Bishop Sankey (or Knile Davis) than Donald Brown.
Cyrus Jones - I know we’ve been hearing about the muffs in practice but in preseason action he’s looked like the real deal returning punts. His interception last Thursday night demonstrated not only athleticism but a high pigskin IQ as well. Jones is supposed to be this good, of course. The Patriots first pick in the 2016 draft, the Nick Saban bloodlines. Playmakers make plays. Jones looks like a playmaker.
Martellus Bennett - I had an academic appreciation for Bennett’s numbers but watching his brief cameos in preseason has been a revelation. Smooth. Deceptively athletic. Suddenly open whenever it seems Jimmy G has run out of options. And he’s doing it without the players who were supposed to open things up for him - Gronk and Edelman - on the field so far. If anything, I get the impression Belichick and Josh McDaniels are doing their best to keep Bennett under wraps until the regular season starts.
Chris Hogan - It took a while for Hogan to get on the field but it was worth the wait. Finally, a few highlights where he isn’t wearing a Bills uniform! With Edelman’s injury scare and Amendola yet to take any contact, Hogan will undoubtedly be lining up for meaningful snaps during the regular season. It was good to see him on the field, making plays, looking every bit the bigger, faster Danny Amendola we were promised when Belichick signed him away from the Bills.
Malcolm Mitchell - Okay, the rookie wide receiver’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time (not that there’s ever a good time). He’s losing precious reps and the development that comes with it; critical for a rookie learning the New England offense and building trust with his quarterbacks. On the other hand, in his brief appearance against the Saints, he looked like he already gets it. That was also true about him getting back on the practice field so quickly, doing whatever he can while his dislocated elbow heals up.
Jimmy G - It isn’t that he was bad against the Saints, it’s that he was better against the Bears. That matters. The 2-minute drive matters. It may seem like a minor thing but his command of the huddle, getting the offense up on the line of scrimmage, no wasted timeouts or delay of game penalties but all of that matters, too. Without Gronk, Jules, Amendola and Lewis and with Marcus Cannon at right tackle, Garoppolo is moving the chains and putting up points.
As noted above; a tough Sunday but I’m keeping good thoughts.
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