10 Things We Learned Last Night
NFL. In no particular order, here are the 10 things we learned from the Patriots in last night’s preseason game, a 24-7 win over Carolina:
1. So much for the idea the Patriots’ offense was behind the defense. Over the first two games, the Patriots’ offense had registered touchdowns on just 4 of its 22 drives, causing some feeble-minded sportswriters to suggest the New England offense was “sputtering.” (What? Like I was the only one…) Last night, the offense cashed in with touchdowns on 3 of its first 7 drives, and the only reason it missed out on a fourth touchdown was because Ben Watson lost control of a pass in the end zone and the Patriots had to settle for a field goal. The No. 1 offense was on the field for 48 snaps last night, and they dominated a physical Carolina defense. Even without options like Kevin Faulk and Randy Moss, the Patriots drove the ball up and down the field with ease through the first 2 1/2 quarters. Tom Brady was outstanding, finishing the night 17-for-22 with 167 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions.
2. Laurence Maroney looks game-ready. The second-year running back, seeing his first on-field action of the preseason, was tested early and responded well. He got the ball on New England’s first seven plays from scrimmage, and ended up playing on 19 first-half snaps, finishing with 15 carries and 58 yards on the night. He was particularly impressive on New England’s 18-play, 90-yard drive that took 9:43 off the clock. On that drive, Maroney got the ball eight times, and absorbed his first real hit of the preseason on a collision with rookie linebacker Jon Beason. The running back popped up and got right back into it, a good sign for Patriots fans that may have been worried the offseason shoulder surgery Maroney underwent may have caused him to shy away from contact.
3. As bad as the New England offensive line looked last week against the Titans, it was that good last night against the Panthers. Against one of the better defensive fronts in the league, the Patriots offensive line kept Brady’s jersey clean all night, giving him all kinds of time. In pass protection, the quarterback was not sacked, and, as a result, had more than enough time to allow Brady to pick apart the Carolina defense. In run blocking, they did a similarly strong job, opening holes for Maroney, Sammy Morris (27 yards) and Heath Evans (58 yards) to pile up rushing yardage by the boatload (148 total team rushing yards).
4. The picture at wide receiver is starting to become clearer. Donte Stallworth (3 catches, 45 yards), Kelley Washington (3 catches for 30 yards) and Wes Welker (also 3 catches for 30 yards) got the start at wide receiver, and all of them performed well. None of them found the end zone, but Stallworth is clearly more comfortable with Brady than he was at the start of the preseason, and Welker also has a clear level of comfort with the Patriots’ offense. When he gets on the field, Moss will still be the No. 1 receiver, but the picture behind him is starting to come into a clearer focus with each passing day — and it’s looking more and more like that picture will not include either Jabar Gaffney or Reche Caldwell.
5. In the one major position battle left on offense — right tackle — it appears that Nick Kaczur has the lead in the clubhouse. The big Canadian got the start, and played well against the Panthers’ front four, going 48 snaps (2 1/2 quarters) with the New England starting offense and taking care of his business in fine fashion. (His only blemish was a first half false start penalty.) Ryan O’Callaghan finished up with the No. 2 offense, and even though he was the lead blocker on a third quarter touchdown plunge by Evans, it looks like he’ll start the season as a backup offensive lineman.
6. The special teamers had a strong night on the defensive side of the football. There were two missed field goals by kicker Stephen Gostkowski, but they were from 52 and 46 yards (both went wide left). On the plus side, the Patriots blocked a pair of field goal attempts, deflected another, and Gostkowski connected on all three of his extra point attempts.
7. New England’s No. 1 defense stayed on its toes all night. The starters — that is, the majority of New England’s starting defense — spent 19 snaps on the field in the first half and 13 snaps on the field in the second half, by our count. They held the Carolina offense in check (with the exception of one play — see below), and their most impressive stat was they held the Panthers without a successful third-down conversion until the third quarter. Backups were rotated in a regular basis by the end of the first half, with defensive backs James Sanders, Mike Richardson and Tory James and defensive linemen Le Kevin Smith and Kareem Brown seeing time with the No. 1 defense on a play-by-play basis. The starters also got a curveball thrown their way in the second half, returning to the field for one play after sitting out one play. It was their last play of the night.
8. The Patriots worst play of the night came late in the second quarter when Panthers’ quarterback Jake Delhomme hooked up with wide receiver Keary Colbert on a 48-yard touchdown, Carolina’s lone score of the evening. The play was a breakdown on a number of levels, but the most egregious errors came in the secondary, where Sanders and Eugene Wilson both swung and missed on tackling attempts as Colbert blew through the secondary on the way to the score.
9. Among the fringe guys, Mike Richardson probably did himself the most favors with his play last night. There are precious few possible spots for young guys, but the corner out of Notre Dame saw some time with the starting defensive unit as a nickel back, and came up with a nice pass defense on Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith in the second quarter, forcing Carolina to punt on the next play. Richardson was on the field for the Delhomme-to-Colbert touchdown, but aside from that, he had a good night. Another backup who saw extended time again with the starters was Le Kevin Smith, who started in place of Ty Warren at end and again submitted another strong effort for the second straight week. Linebackers Oscar Lua (interception) and Justin Rogers (sack) also submitted strong efforts.
10. The Patriots are starting to prepare for the possibility of the return of Asante Samuel. The domino effect that would occur with the return of the holdout corner has begun: cornerback Ellis Hobbs, who was a kick returner the last two seasons, was back as a kick returner on one kickoff at the end of the first half, his first return work this preseason. If Samuel was out, it seems unlikely that Hobbs would be leaned on heavily as anything other than a cornerback — the Patriots couldn’t afford to risk one of the best corners (a position that has been thinned by injury to Chad Scott) in special teams play. If they do have Samuel in the lineup, it might allow them to use Hobbs on special teams. I know that Bill Belichick asks starters to play a lot on special teams, but with the state of the cornerback situation without Samuel, it seems highly unlikely they’d risk losing a corner with Hobbs’ ability anywhere else on the field.
