Early impressions

[patfanken]

I'm glad they didn't look that good, though its hard to gauge a game where almost a third of the players won't be there in 3 weeks.

I liked the fact that Brady threw a few bad balls. It would have been freakish if he didn't look a little rusty coming out for his first action in a year.

If they had given Julian Edelman #83 instead of #11, I doubt anyone would have known that Welker missed the game. It kind of makes me wonder if ANY slot WR in THAT offense, with THAT QB couldn't grab 100 balls a season.

Stilll waiting for Joey Galloway to do something that makes me go WOW....or even go Nice.

I know people will talk about Baker's 2 TD passes, but what impressed me most was a running play where Thomas made a decent block screening the contain man, but Baker blew his man 5 yds off the ball. If there was a Jet fan watching that game, he's probably doing his best Bob Lobel impression and saying, "Why can't the Jets get guys like that".

The OL did a good job of keep Brady clean,

My biggest disappointment was when the Pats failed twice on 3rd and one.

Yes Martha, that was a 4-3. BB in his presser mentioned that they used it most of the time. They wanted to see some things in live action. To me it looked like they got decent pressure with it, but the run defense wasn't as strong.

Pierre was was setting the edge well from what I was, and TBC had a few nice rushes.

Is it just me or does Derrick Burgess look small...ish.

Seymour looks like a man among boys. I think he is going to have a monster season...if he stays healthy.

Vince showed he can get up field from the 4-3 DT, except he whiffed on McNab on one rush.

The thing I liked about Ron Brace, was that on one play I saw him double teamed and pancaked. The very next play he blew up the play and made the initial hit.

Eugene Chung showed me more in this one game, than he showed me in the 7 practices I went to.

Brandon Merriweather is ready to take it to the next level. James Sanders is not.

This looks to be a banner crop of rookies. Volmer looked like he can be an impact LT down the road, and will certainly get some time this year. Pryor, who I didn't even know was practicing, made a nice sack, and started the game. Butler had a pick and was very competitive out there. Chung is going to be a force on STs. He made a key block on Edelman's TD return, as well as his block. I mentioned Brace, and of course Edelman. That's 6 guys right there. Did Orenberger play?

Will someone explain to me how Wilhite was picked in the 4th round while Weatley was picked in the 2nd. Clearly you couldn't tell by their relative performances.

Andrew Walter was....underwhelming. I'm not sure how much of that was his fault. They didn't let him pass much, and the running game sucked. Did Fred Taylor get any touches, I don't recall him getting the ball?

I saw a couple of comments here that Blasted Moroney. Well I didn't see anything that he did poorly. Nothing that made me go OOOOHHH either, but I guess he's going to be the board punching bag no matter what he does.

I get the feeling that Alex Smith is losing in the TE battle.

KO coverage looked good. Punt coverage sucked

Funny how a good play like the punt return for a TD, can skew stats. Because of it Philly had a huge time of possession edge in the first half.

I think we'll see Brady play less in game 2

Does anyone know WHY Welker was out?

Jay Feely is NOT a bad QB, which makes me wonder why the Eagles took on Vick. Don't they have their QB of the future in Kevin Kolb, and Feely as #3 is better than a lot of team's #2. Where does Vick fit in? I'd rather have Feely than Walter.

McNab can't complain about not having any WRs anymore. It looks like the Eages have some good ones now.

I can't help but think that the PI on Moss should have been a noncall. Yeah Assante might have been a bit early, but not enough to make it a 40 yd penalty. I think the same goes for the one on Butler. First of all the pass was uncatchable. Secondly he ran into him inadvertently. MAYBE you could make an illegal contact call, but PI. Once again the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

The Pats tackling wasn't good overall, though Merriweather made some very good form tackles. I think BB will make note of that.

Well that's what I saw. What did you think?

 

[condon84]

Thanks for the thoughts. I didn't see the game, but this gives me a pretty good visual of what happened out there tonight. Anyone else care to chime in?

 

[Deus Irae]

If they had given Julian Edelman #83 instead of #11, I doubt anyone would have known that Welker missed the game. It kind of makes me wonder if ANY slot WR in THAT offense, with THAT QB couldn't grab 100 balls a season.

From the time I first played football, I've always felt that the 'waterbug' player can be a bigger hassle to deal with than a burner going down the outside.

Yes Martha, that was a 4-3. BB in his presser mentioned that they used it most of the time. They wanted to see some things in live action. To me it looked like they got decent pressure with it, but the run defense wasn't as strong.

I'm not a fan of the 4-3, and it's got a long way to go before I get convinced.

Brandon Merriweather is ready to take it to the next level. James Sanders is not.

We saw this differently.

I saw a couple of comments here that Blasted Moroney. Well I didn't see anything that he did poorly. Nothing that made me go OOOOHHH either, but I guess he's going to be the board punching bag no matter what he does.

I look at the people analyzing Maroney as a good way to know who's opinion is worth following. Those who blindly post about "dancing" go on the "not to count on" list.

Jay Feely is NOT a bad QB, which makes me wonder why the Eagles took on Vick. Don't they have their QB of the future in Kevin Kolb, and Feely as #3 is better than a lot of team's #2. Where does Vick fit in? I'd rather have Feely than Walter.

Kolb is injured, and Vick can be used for a few plays per game to really shake things up.

I can't help but think that the PI on Moss should have been a noncall. Yeah Assante might have been a bit early, but not enough to make it a 40 yd penalty. I think the same goes for the one on Butler. First of all the pass was uncatchable. Secondly he ran into him inadvertently. MAYBE you could make an illegal contact call, but PI. Once again the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

It seemed to me that Samuel took advantage of knowing Moss' habits and just got called on it anyway. Moss either has to stop with the 'fooling' of the DBs, or he's at least got to know which DBs that will work on.

 

[Patstopia]

Just to keep things in perspective, it was game 1 of a preseason game. That being said;

Brady and Moss looked very good!!!

Totally agree about Edelman, great way to begin for him.

The game really slowed down once Walters was put in. I wouldn't mind Feeley being picked up if they drop him for Vick. We could do worse. I really wish O'Connell could have got some playing time in for a comparison.

Wilhite looked good, Wheatley looked ok most of the time, but the mistakes he made were glaring. Still he's better than what we ended the season with last year.

The Pats defense alway seem to come out on the losing side on broken plays. But at least there werent alot of 3rd and longs converted.

A good preseason game ends with no serious injuries. So I guess this was a good preseason game.

 

[patriot lifer]

i saw the samuel PI play on nfl.com and they showed it from a different angle. it did look like a good call afterall. he wasn't looking back for the ball, and he clearly grabbed Moss' arm. Asante was probably beat on the play and it was more of a matter of whether he wanted the PI or a reception caught on his coverage. I think his ego decided a PI penalty is better. you can check out the video here (you'll have to wait for it to come around in the highlights):
NFL Game Center: Post Game - New England Patriots at Philadelphia Eagles - 2009 Preseason Week 1

 

[BelichickFan]

I can't help but think that the PI on Moss should have been a noncall. Yeah Assante might have been a bit early, but not enough to make it a 40 yd penalty. I think the same goes for the one on Butler. First of all the pass was uncatchable. Secondly he ran into him inadvertently. MAYBE you could make an illegal contact call, but PI. Once again the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

Moss would have caught it if Samuel hadn't yanked his inside arm away.

This was my first time seeing Edelman. Wow. He looked shorter than his listed 6'0" but talk about a Welker twin. I think we'll be seeing Moss, Welker, Edelman out there together as the season moves on.

 

[JFK]

If they had given Julian Edelman #83 instead of #11, I doubt anyone would have known that Welker missed the game. It kind of makes me wonder if ANY slot WR in THAT offense, with THAT QB couldn't grab 100 balls a season.

Yes Martha, that was a 4-3. BB in his presser mentioned that they used it most of the time. They wanted to see some things in live action. To me it looked like they got decent pressure with it, but the run defense wasn't as strong.

Is it just me or does Derrick Burgess look small...ish.

Brandon Merriweather is ready to take it to the next level. James Sanders is not.

Will someone explain to me how Wilhite was picked in the 4th round while Weatley was picked in the 2nd. Clearly you couldn't tell by their relative performances.

I saw a couple of comments here that Blasted Moroney. Well I didn't see anything that he did poorly. Nothing that made me go OOOOHHH either, but I guess he's going to be the board punching bag no matter what he does.

I get the feeling that Alex Smith is losing in the TE battle.

It is now almost evident that Brady and Moss make Welker look better even though he is a great player.

With screens and RB redirections, our 4 DL suffer.

I thought Burg was 260+ pounds. looks smaller than that. May be heavy boned.

Meriweather is the MAN!! He blitz very well.

Wilhite played better but Wheatley is essentially a rookie.

It seems there is no hole when Maroney runs but there are holes when other run. I just have to blame Maroney because I doubt the OL decides not to block for him.

Smith was almost invisible to me. Hope we don't let Watson go.

 

[shmessy]

Samuel chopped Moss' arm. It was pretty clear from the replay. Even the Eagles play-by play guy (they were HORRIBLE, btw) admitted to it after the replay.

 

[patfanken]

Yes it was a little more obvious when you see the replay

 

[jsull87]

maroney gets a bad wrap on this board. He looked fine when i was watching him and the one time i saw him "dance" its because there was a defender in the way.

 

[reflexblue]

Samuel chopped Moss' arm. It was pretty clear from the replay. Even the Eagles play-by play guy (they were HORRIBLE, btw) admitted to it after the replay.

I watched the live feed on the Eagles channel. After listening to these guys (Herm Edwards and Hugh Douglas) people should be thankful with who ever does the Pats pre season. These guys were was unbearable to listen to.

 

[BelichickFan]

I watched the live feed on the Eagles channel. After listening to these guys (Herm Edwards and Hugh Douglas) people should be thankful with who ever does the Pats pre season. These guys were was unbearable to listen to.

It was amazingly bad. A Patriot gets 6 yards and Herm says "good tackle". We get 10 yards and he says "just keep the ball in front of you".

It was definitely a laugh or cry scenario.

 

[PatsFanJess]

I watched the live feed on the Eagles channel. After listening to these guys (Herm Edwards and Hugh Douglas) people should be thankful with who ever does the Pats pre season. These guys were was unbearable to listen to.

They were awful. They convinced themselves that BB was playing to "get back" at Reid and the Eagles for beating them last preseason in NE. LOL. At least I got a good laugh. I'm sure that's EXACTLY what BB was concerned about tonight...

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Eugene Chung showed me more in this one game, than he showed me in the 7 practices I went to.

:wha:
:banned:

 

[BelichickFan]

They were awful. They convinced themselves that BB was playing to "get back" at Reid and the Eagles for beating them last preseason in NE. LOL. At least I got a good laugh. I'm sure that's EXACTLY what BB was concerned about tonight...

Right, they thought that's why Brady played the whole half - or maybe it was because he had played less than a quarter in a (calendar) year and a half ???

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I can't help but think that the PI on Moss should have been a noncall. Yeah Assante might have been a bit early, but not enough to make it a 40 yd penalty.

Maybe, but it was close enough to when the ball reached them, AND it was pretty darn blatant (IIRC, the replays showed Samuel pushing down on Moss' arm).

 

[sarge]

The thing I liked about Ron Brace, was that on one play I saw him double teamed and pancaked. The very next play he blew up the play and made the initial hit.

I just watched the first half on the NFL network. There was one play where the eagles made good yardage. But on that play I saw the runner almost chased down by this bohemoth wearing number 92. Now, he didn't catch him until he made a lot of yards. But considering the size difference, 92 had no business even being in the camera shot. I actually had to leave the room to go to my computer to look up and find out it was Ron Brace. Really shocked me to see that kind of speed from him.

I saw a couple of comments here that Blasted Moroney. Well I didn't see anything that he did poorly. Nothing that made me go OOOOHHH either, but I guess he's going to be the board punching bag no matter what he does.

Maroney has no nose for the whole! That's what he did poorly. On a couple plays the cutback lane was wide open and he missed it. Faulk wouldn't have. Morris wouldn't have.

He has no burst. Unless it's a monster whole, he isn't going to hit it.

He runs lateral to much. There was one play we only needed like a yard or two. Now he got the yard, but he took chances and kept running lateral when he could have dropped his head and got the first without taking any chances.

He doesn't have any of the instincts that we saw with Dillon, or that we see now with Sammy Morris.

I haven't given up on him. But he has to learn how to hit the whole. And after three years, I'm not convinced he will learn that.

He has the physical tools to be a monster. The problem is in his desicion making IMO

 

[JD10367]

It seems there is no hole when Maroney runs but there are holes when other run. I just have to blame Maroney because I doubt the OL decides not to block for him.

As I said about Watson, great players make an impact, not-so-great players get a lot of excuses made for them. I'm as tired of the excuses for Maroney as I am for Watson. Journeyman Sammy Morris looked better (and not just tonight, but into last season). "Who dat?" Benjarvus Green-Ellis looked better (and not just tonight, but into last season). Lamont Jordan, we hardly knew ye... he looked better. But it's never Maroney's fault.

Maroney's YPC might be decent, but it's not just that number, it's how you get it. Personally, I don't want 2, 0, -2, 1, and then maybe 30. I want consistency, first-down conversions, and N-S downhill running. He just doesn't LOOK good, and I'm tired of seeing the Pats have to work their offense out of 2nd-and-13 because Maroney did nothing on the first run; it's always the same, it seems... 1st-and-10, hand it to Maroney for no gain or a loss, 2nd-and-long, have to complete a great pass for almost 1st-down yardage, 3rd-and-short, use the short pass as a running game to get a new set of downs, 1st-and-10, hand it to Maroney again and watch him get stuffed. I mean, jeez, when he actually cuts into the line and gets 5, I want to cheer. Other ballcarriers manage to stumble forward for 5 but, as you point out, when Maroney gets the ball the holes suddenly vanish?

 

[Deus Irae]

As I said about Watson, great players make an impact, not-so-great players get a lot of excuses made for them. I'm as tired of the excuses for Maroney as I am for Watson. Journeyman Sammy Morris looked better (and not just tonight, but into last season). "Who dat?" Benjarvus Green-Ellis looked better (and not just tonight, but into last season). Lamont Jordan, we hardly knew ye... he looked better. But it's never Maroney's fault.

Maroney's YPC might be decent, but it's not just that number, it's how you get it. Personally, I don't want 2, 0, -2, 1, and then maybe 30. I want consistency, first-down conversions, and N-S downhill running. He just doesn't LOOK good, and I'm tired of seeing the Pats have to work their offense out of 2nd-and-13 because Maroney did nothing on the first run; it's always the same, it seems... 1st-and-10, hand it to Maroney for no gain or a loss, 2nd-and-long, have to complete a great pass for almost 1st-down yardage, 3rd-and-short, use the short pass as a running game to get a new set of downs, 1st-and-10, hand it to Maroney again and watch him get stuffed. I mean, jeez, when he actually cuts into the line and gets 5, I want to cheer. Other ballcarriers manage to stumble forward for 5 but, as you point out, when Maroney gets the ball the holes suddenly vanish?

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Football analysis and NFL stats for the Moneyball era - Authors of Football Outsiders Almanac 2009

 

[eagle eye]

Edelman as I expected is our best rookie and I'm not berating others, the guy is going to be a superstar.
Chris Baker looked good, so did Thomas.
Chung looked very good.
Myron Pryor is one scary dude, needs work but he has so much power its just frightening.
I loved that moment after Brady didn't find Moss but found Sheldon Brown instead and he slammed his helmet off the ground. Thats our guy as competitive as ever even in a preseason game.
OL looked good and protected Brady well.
I don't know about the 4 man front, we have the big guys for it and its probably just practice or even just a deterrent to teams that might try and use the wildcat against us but I'm a 3-4 guy, no harm getting plenty of practice with it though.