NFL Preseason: New England Patriots Observations From Game One
Preseason football is considered by many to be unimportant or boring. Thursday night's game between the Patriots and the Saints had a different feel, though.
The Patriots 27-24 win seemed to hold some meaning for the Patriots, whom many have said are falling from the ranks of the elite.
The final outcome of the game isn't what intrigues most people in the preseason. The true excitement, for me at least, comes from watching New England's younger guys in action. I was anxious to see all the youth that the Patriots have brought in.
Of course, several other things caught my eye.
New England's Pass Protection
1 of 10
I mentioned in my preview slide show yesterday that the Patriots had a hard time blocking the Saints' pass rush in practice. These woes continued into the game on Thursday night, but didn't appear to impact the Patriots offense as much as I had anticipated.
The pressure hurried one Brady throw, and a defensive linemen was able to bat one down, but Brady, as he's become legendary for, was able to use his patented pocket clock to get the ball out just in time, time, and time again.
What really made a difference was the play action. BenJarvus Green-Ellis was the featured ball-carrier for New England, and his effective runs opened up the play action for Tom Brady which resulted in a couple of great throws for big gains.
New England Defensive Backs Vs. New Orleans Receivers
2 of 10
One of the announcers pointed out that New Orleans is a team that most like to go up against in the preseason because they have big offensive linemen and wide receivers. The Patriots didn't look hopeless, but weren't spectacular against the Saints receivers.
They played solid coverage for the most part, minus a few lapses in concentration.
The Saints quarterbacks went a combined 22-for-33 for 216 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. Allowing a 66 percent completions rate is a bit much to give up, but the Patriots did it in sound manner, without giving up the plentiful big plays they gave up last year.
New England's Pass Rush
3 of 10
It was almost as if Marques Murrell was simply waiting until the game started to make a statement about New England's allegedly thin outside linebacking group.
On 3rd-and-9 on the Saints first set of downs in the game, Murrell planted a sack on Drew Brees that probably sent a shockwave through New England's collective spine.
Does one sack mean New England has found the answer to their pass rush woes? Not necessarily, but New England's pass rushers were consistently getting close to the quarterback. Mike Wright, Tully Banta-Cain, and Gerard Warren were all seen around the quarterback at various times throughout the game.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Young Players Stepping Up Quick
4 of 10
Patrick Chung had a few nice plays in the first quarter, including a big hit on Lance Moore on third down that stopped him just shy of the marker. He had seven tackles, all of which came in the first half of play.
Dan Connolly played well as the starter at left guard, even finishing Laurence Maroney's touchdown run with a fine block on Sedrick Ellis to keep the hole open.
One of the bigger stories, though, has been the development of Devin McCourty. He played solid coverage on just about anyone he faced, including Marques Colston, showing the versatility to really excel at the NFL level. His two kick returns of over 50 yards apiece were very impressive, as well, and he may have earned himself a bid at that job with those two plays alone.
Red Zone Woes a Thing of the Past?
5 of 10
The Patriots had the most red zone possessions of any team in the league, but they were ranked 13th in the league in touchdown percentage inside the red zone.
The Patriots running game offered a quick remedy for that, turning three of New England's four red zone possessions into touchdowns behind Green-Ellis and Maroney. The two ran with the type of authority I haven't seen in New England's backfield since the Corey Dillon days.
Granted, this is game one of the preseason. This doesn't necessarily mean a thing (the Lions went 4-0 in the preseason before going 0-16). Still, it's a promising sign of things to come.
Brandon Spikes Is the Front-Runner at Inside Linebacker
6 of 10
Brandon Spikes seems to have become the early front-runner for the No. 2 job at inside linebacker next to Jerod Mayo. That may change when Gary Guyton is healthy enough to play again, but Spikes was always around the ball, tallying five assists to go with his three solo tackles.
For now at least, Belichick appears supremely confident in Spikes' instincts. He was always around the ball, racking up five assists to go with three solo tackles.
Not only that, but Spikes was able to keep up with New Orleans tight ends when asked to do so. He had an impressive stop on Jeremy Shockey as he held the big tight end to a short gain after allowing the catch.
Is Darius Butler Still the No. 2 Cornerback?
7 of 10
It always pains me to single someone out for a poor performance, but Darius Butler seems to have a bit more work to do than many thought. He had an illegal contact penalty on fourth down that would have given the Patriots good field position, but instead resulted in a first down for the Saints.
Not only did he fail to register a stat, but he also gave up a few catches, and gave up the outside on a touchdown run against Reggie Bush. Granted, Bush is one of the quickest athletes in the game, but Butler barely put up a fight.
How Do The Patriots Measure Up?
8 of 10
It's the preseason. Was either team going full-tilt? Probably not.
Still, Jerod Mayo referred to this game as a measuring stick, and my gut tells me most of New England's locker room felt the same way. That being said, did New England measure up to the defending Super Bowl Champions?
Absolutely.
As always, it wasn't perfect, but it was the lively, passionate football I got used to seeing from the Patriots in the early part of the decade. That became a thing of the past last year.
Notables
9 of 10
It's wise for Belichick to keep Welker out at this juncture, just to prevent a freak accident. With that, Edelman looked like Welker's clone on Thursday night. He was all over the place, creating yards after the catch with similar jukes, stutter-steps and stiff-arms, making magic nearly every time he touched the ball. He finished with six catches for 90 yards, and had a couple of nice punt returns.
Aaron Hernandez had been getting a ton of looks from Tom Brady in practice, but didn't catch his first ball until Bryan Hoyer came into the game. It was a screen play on second down down that Hernandez took six yards for another first down. There was a string of three straight passes from Hoyer in Hernandez's direction, one of which was a drop and the other was a bad throw.
He finished with three receptions for 26 yards.
Patriots Starting Rosters
10 of 10
QB: Tom Brady
HB: Laurence Maroney, BenJarvus Green-Ellis
WR: Randy Moss, Julian Edelman
TE: Rob Gronkowski
O-line: Matt Light, Dan Connolly, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Sebastian Vollmer
D-line: Mike Wright, Vince Wilfork, Gerard Warren
OLB: Tully Banta-Cain, Marques Murrell
ILB: Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes
CB: Devin McCourty, Darius Butler
FS: Brandon Meriweather
SS: Patrick Chung
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")