10 Things We Learned Last Night

In no particular order, here are 10 things we learned about the Patriots in last night’s preseason game, a 19-14 loss to the New York Giants:

1. Regardless of the win-loss record, the Patriots finished the preseason with an almost perfect mark in the most important category. Other than linebacker/safety Tank Williams, who was hurt in the preseason opener and lost for the season, the Patriots appear to have skated through the four-game preseason slate without suffering a serious injury. (The jury is still out on wide receiver Wes Welker, who suffered a rib injury against the Eagles in Week 3 and did not play last night against the Giants.) Stars like Osi Umenyiora, Jason Taylor, Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, Shawne Merriman, Maurice Jones-Drew and Derek Anderson all suffered injuries of varying severity this preseason, and some will be on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time.

2. Kevin O’Connell is probably not your No. 2 quarterback right now, but he’s given the Patriots a heck of a problem to worry about this weekend. Based on his effort in the preseason, it would now almost be impossible to sneak O'Connell through to the practice squad. Granted, most of his time came against third- and fourth-stringers, but he acquitted himself well each time he entered the game, and engineered a pair of touchdown drives (he finished the preseason with four touchdown drives, more than any of the other two quarterbacks). He was impressive on his 16-yard touchdown pass to Chad Jackson, where he checked off at the line. “Kevin did a nice job on that,” coach Bill Belichick told reporters after the game. “He got us into a good play. Most importantly he made a good throw and Chad ran a good route. He stacked the corner, and Kevin threw it up there and gave him a chance to get it.” He finishes the preseason 15-for-32 for 140 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

3. Chad Jackson is never dull. After simply falling down in the end zone on a touchdown pass attempt from Matt Gutierrez before the end of the first half (a play that resulted in an interception by New York defensive back R.W. McQuarters), he made a sweet catch in the back left-hand corner of the end zone on a pass from O’Connell in the second half. “I thought he made several good plays out there. When the ball is in his hands he does a good job with it,” Belichick said. Jackson finished with two catches for a team-high 32 yards, and completed the preseason with seven catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns. He’s had his share of downs this preseason — dropping balls, miscommunicating with quarterbacks and bad routes among them — but his tantalizing talent and the fact that the numbers are in his favor at the receiver position may be enough to keep him around when the cuts come down over the weekend.

4. It’s still murky, but the cornerback position is starting to shake out a bit. It appears Ellis Hobbs III is locked in at the right corner spot. But Fernando Bryant, who got the start last night at left corner, struggled at times and was flattened by Darcy Johnson on the Giants’ opening score. (Bryant ended up starting three preseason games at left corner. In the preseason opener against the Ravens, but was beaten badly on a pair of passes and quickly yanked.) With Jason Webster out of the picture (for now) after being cut earlier this week, that would leave a combination of Terrence Wheatley (who has one start at left cornerback himself), Jonathan Wilhite, Lewis Sanders and Jeff Shoate at the other corner. There’s also always Ty Law, who, as of early Friday morning, remains unsigned.

5. Right now, Billy Yates should get the call to start at right guard. Yates started last night, making it three starts at right guard over the course of the four-game preseason. If Russ Hochstein is unable to go — and the utilityman has been hobbled by injury lately — Yates appears to have the inside track on the starting job when the Patriots line up on Opening Day. (At least until Stephen Neal comes off the PUP six weeks into the season.) Overall, the offensive line was bolstered by the return of starting left tackle Matt Light. Light’s return was not a minute too soon — backup left tackle Wesley Britt was beaten for one of top sacks on Matt Gutierrez. In addition, Britt was whistled for a holding call, the third time in four preseason games he’s been flagged for that infraction.

6. Barring a WWE-style reveal of Junior Seau the night before Opening Day, Jerod Mayo will start at inside linebacker for the Patriots on Sept. 7. The rookie did nothing to dissuade the fact that he will join a small class of rookies who will open their first season as a starter. (The last rookie to draw an Opening Day start under Bill Belichick was left guard Logan Mankins in 2005.) As a part of New England’s No. 1 defense, he finished last night with 3 tackles, including one for a loss.

7. Mayo should be one of at least five rookies who make the roster or the practice squad. Mayo, O’Connell, Matthew Slater, Terrence Wheatley and Shawn Crable appear to be locks to make either the final 53 or the practice squad, and could be joined by at least two more rookies. Also bolstering his case last night in the second half was undrafted free agent linebacker Gary Guyton, who finished with a team-high 10 tackles, including one for a loss. One rookie who didn’t help his chances last night was Jonathan Stupar — last night, he was whistled twice for offensive pass interference. One was declined, but that makes three offensive pass interference calls against him in four preseason games, a dubious feat at any time of year.

8. If last night came down to a battle between Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan for that fourth running back slot, Jordan may now have a slight edge. Belichick has expressed on several occasions that the Patriots wouldn’t hesitate to carry five running backs. But if there are questions about the state of the offensive line, they may keep an extra tight end as a blocker, forsaking that extra running back. If that’s the case, Jordan’s performance in the preseason might give him a slight edge. The former Raider rushed six times for 27 yards last night, and ended the preseason as New England’s top back, yardage-wise (25 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown). Morris had a rough night, dropping a pass and ending the preseason with 12 rushes for 39 yards.

9. Chris Hanson is a quick study. After getting chewed out last week for his poor directional punting against the Eagles, the punter was one of the best things about the Patriots last night. In six attempts, he ended with a 47.5 average, the best part of New England’s special teams unit, and finished the four-game preseason with a 45.2 average. (He punted 20 times in the preseason. To give you a perspective on New England’s offense last season, it took him nine regular-season games to hit that mark last year.)

10. Did we learn any big picture stuff about the Patriots this preseason? Not really. As my colleague Bruce Allen pointed out in a column for this site earlier this week, we really don’t know a whole lot about these Patriots right now. Through the first four games of the preseason, there were a few telling indications here and there — the offensive line certainly appeared more stable last night with the appearance of Matt Light, the defense struggled at times and we’re pretty sure right now that Matt Cassel will not be the No. 2 quarterback when the Patriots open the season on Sept. 7 against the Chiefs. But big picture stuff, the kind of thing that’ll give you a real indication of where things are going? Nope, not really. Bill Belichick is famous for playing the preseason close to the vest, and did just that this preseason, showing almost nothing of substance. That will come a week from Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

Christopher Price has covered the Patriots for Boston Metro since 2001. His book, “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower” is current available from St. Martin’s Press in paperback. He can be reached at christopher.price@metro.us.