Last night the Patriots hosted the Eagles for their second pre season game and fell short losing 17-27. Here are a bunch of things I noted from the game.
Due to the condensed schedule the Patriots decided to bench 26 players this pre season game. The Patriots will face the Bucs this Friday and the Giants on Wednesday so it was likely a wise decision to rest the starters heading into the next game on a short week.
Obviously the big story of the game is the injury Michael Vick sustained on the first drive after being flushed out by Pats D-tackle Kyle Love, Pats DE Jermaine Cunningham layed a huge blow to the midsection of Michael Vick who left the field and did not return for the remainder of the game. I for one have been very high on Cunningham since he was drafted. Cunningham seems to flash when given the opportunity and has struggled to see playing time to this point. Cunningham seemed to have bulked up this offseason and weighs in at a solid 260 at 6’3. Cunningham certainly looks the part and last night he played it. The Patriots tend to agree because it has been just announced on Patriots.com that they have released DE Jonathan Fanene who was projected to be a starter before the offseason started. Apparently the Patriots also like what they see out of Cunningham to this point.
The defense as a whole looked good even missing key players such as Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo, Rob Ninkovich, Kyle Arrington, and Devin McCourty. The defense last week held Drew Brees 1 for 4 last week and played well containing Philly towards the beginning of the game. The younger talent on the defense had a chance to show what it was made of and they showed a little of what they are capable of.
To start out the night it was second year Patriots backup QB Ryan Mallet leading the Patriots offense out on the field As Tom Brady, Wes Welker , Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez , and Brandon Lloyd were all out. The Patriots obviously already know what they have in QB Tom Brady so this was a terrific opportunity to really key in on the backup QB’s and get a look at what the Patriots have there. I found it very interesting that Mallet got the star over Hoyer but I liked it. This was a chance to throw Mallet into the fire against Philly’s first team defense and Mallet I thought stepped up to the task in my eyes. Mallet while not perfect by any means proved to be solid in his first start as Patriots QB going 10/20 with 105 yards and a touchdown. Mallet showed off his arm throwing lazers. One of which seemed to almost knock Dieon Branch over for a Patriots first down. Mallet also threw a beautiful deep ball that could not get reeled in, but it certainly shows that Mallet has the raw physical tools to make all the throws. The questions with Mallet are his accuracy. A lot of his shorter passes were off target and made you scratch your head. I think inconsistency would best describe Mallet but in his second season, he certainly has room to grow and improve his game.
Another highlight of the game was Dieon Branch who played 73/74 snaps last night. Dieon bailed Mallet out plenty last night and gave him a weapon he might not have had typically. Dieon looks to have a strong hold on the number 3 receiver slot after a strong showing as well. Dieon’s routes were crisp and as always, he seemed to be in position and came away with some plays.
Stephen Gostkowski showed he still is one of the leagues best kickers as he had two 50+ yard field goals. Fantasy owners keep him in mind when drafting as New England appears to have another dynamic offense this season that will be scoring many points-as will Gostkowski.
Special teams I thought looked anemic and sloppy. I really hope Jeff Demps can bring a spark to the return game. I think New England will be in trouble if we have any Danny Woodhead/Donte’ Stallworth/Brandon Bolden returning kicks. Speaking of Brandon Bolden ( who seems to be fighting for his life for a roster spot ) he had a pitiful game muffing a punt that lead to Philly’s first score of the night and had a very unimpressive night with 7 carries for 14 yards. Do the simple math folks and that’s a puny 2 yards per carry average. I liked Bolden coming out of training camp because he is a big physical back who has a different skill set than any of the other young backs on the roster yet he isn’t helping his cause by fumbling in practice, muffing punts, and rushing for 2 yards a carry. That slot can be taken by a more dynamic player like Jeff Demps.
Chandler Jones is going to have a phenomenal year. Mark it. The guy still has so much to learn and forces constant pressure. I am very impressed with him thus far.
On the other hand Jake Bequette has been very inconsistent. He shows he can get to the QB yet he got a costly roughing the passer penalty. The jury’s still out on him.
Another inconsistent position on the team is the tackle position. Solder is having some growing pains transitioning to left tackle. I think Solder will do fine because both last week and this week Saints and Eagles defenders gushed about Solders talents saying he will be “A player to be reckoned with” as Eagles Defensive End Daryll Tapp said after last night’s victory over the Pats. Looks like it will be a week to week growth with Solder so hopefully Tapp will be right. Cannon also appeared to be shaky giving up a sack. The Patriots better hope Sebastian Vollmer heals up for the season opener or the Pats could be in trouble with their young tackles.
Safety will be a position to really watch all season. Chung hasn’t played a full season since being drafted by New England in 2009 and is getting that injury prone tag to his name. Chung left the game in the first half with a shoulder injury and did not return. Chung, whose contract is up after this season needs to prove he is worth an extension and really needs to stay on the field this season for the Pats. Last year there was a revolving door at safety and we are only halfway through the pre season and both Patrick Chung and Tavon Wilson banged up- this may not bode well for the chemistry of the Patriots secondary.
Someone who may be able to step in and play some safety is special teamer and rookie safety Nate Ebner who had himself a good game and an interception closing out the first half of the game before halftime. Ebner was on of the top rugby players last season and is still new to football but if he can continue the transition with strides like this, Belichick may have stuck gold with Nate Ebner who for the record has had 4 interceptions in 4 days in practice leading up to-and during the game last night.
Bobby Carpenter. Who would have thought he would even be talked about to this point? –Certainly not me. Carpenter was a special team’s player for the Lions last season and he may be able to contribute on defense this offseason with Dane Fletcher going on IR. Although negated- Carpenter made a nice play and picked Philly’s backup Foles off and took it to the house for a pick 6. Plays like that may keep you around a bit longer.
Sterling Moore got me a bit nervous as I got 2011 nausea watching a 3rd down conversion of a 40 yard bomb let up to Philly star wide-out, DeSean Jackson- getting Philly in scoring position which led to a Clay Harbor Moore Baltimore
Will Allen needs to make the most of his opportunities. He had a gift INT which hit him square in the chest and he dropped it! At his age he should be able to come up with the plays as a veteran DB. It’s only a matter of weeks before he is dropped from New England . I don’t think he has much left to offer at this point in his career.
Well that’s all folks! Agree? Disagree? Have anything to add? Fill the comments section and let me hear it! If I left out anything I would be glad to post it up on the site!
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