Official Patriots vs Eagles Post Pre-Season Game Thread

[Demosthenes]

Many didn't think it possible but, Tim Tebow looks better with the Patriots than he ever did with the Jets. That's why he gets a C grade in my book. I think you're confusing the "grade" with how good he played. That's not what the grade was for, as I said many times. Context, not isolation, grasshopper. In isolation his play on the field leaves a lot to be desired.

Regardless of that, I don't really care how good or bad Tebow looked tonight statistically. What I care about is what type of improvements he's making with his mechanics, footwork, accuracy, pocket presence and command of the offense. Based on his 2012 game tape he looks much better now than he did then. That's a good thing isn't?

Oz, some people apparently don't understand the "development" part of being a development project

Tebow did some things tonight that were much improved. Some people might scoff at this, but he actually showed some touch and good form on three short dump off passes in the middle of the field. Strange as it may seem, those are things that have given him trouble in the past. That early pass down the seam to Sudfeld was actually a very nice pass. Just a touch to long, to be sure. Brady would have dropped it right in there. But it had good velocity. It had good timing. It had a good spin.

Here's a vid that has those passes in it.

Ryan Mallett hurt, Tim Tebow uneven in Patriots' win - NFL.com

 

[tonyto3690]

Reports are Fells has looked like the best TE on the roster in TC (even though the hype was all for Sudfield). His play tonight definitely matched that. Looks healthy.

Thompkins is ahead of Dobson Boyce and Edelman in the depth chart.

Not sure if it was the OL or Eagles ineptitude, but first team was opening gaping holes.

Blount looked way better than expected. Again, not sure how much was the Eagles

Vereen is a legit weapon as a pass catcher. That TD catch would have been impressive for any WR, let alone a RB.

Tebow and Mallett have some upside but both are sooo unpolished.

I liked the pistol looks we gave Tebow

Gregory is still awful

Cole is still awful

WR as a whole looks better than I expected.

 

[Deus Irae]

Talent evaluation is not yours.

History shows otherwise but, again, you jumped in while completely misunderstanding my post. Now, you can keep being snarky, or you can realize that it's possible to have a thread that isn't ruined by the anti-Tebow zealots ruining it.

 

[FourierSeries]

History shows otherwise but, again, you jumped in while completely misunderstanding my post. Now, you can keep being snarky, or you can realize that it's possible to have a thread that isn't ruined by the anti-Tebow zealots ruining it.

I hate the Tebow threads more than anyone. However, Tebow played a significant amount of time tonight and this thread is for discussing the game. I don't think it is inappropriate to discuss his performance - which happened to be horrendous.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I'll toss out some takes, just a couple of players at a time. It'll be easier for the screaming to remain on point that way....

O-line: except for the RG, it was very solid early on. It seemed to tail off a bit, but I was happy to see what was going at the start.

Brady: Brady. 'nuff said, I think.

Ridley: Needs to get into better 'game' shape

Ben Vereen: I was surprised to find out he was on the roster tonight. He played well, though, so I'm looking forward to watching his relative play

Thompkins: Made the catches for Brady, but I wasn't seeing any great separation. A lot of that was route-related, though, so I thought it was a good start for him.

Dobson: He's got a long way to go. Whether it's because he's hit a bit of a plateau (he's been the weakest of the 3 rookies in recent practices, according to reports), or because he's just been over hyped is something to follow moving forward.

Fells: Looked like he should have, at least when I was focused on him.

It seemed that the Philly pass rush pressure came over the RG position too.

 

[mgteich]

I think that you greatly exagerrate. Collins looked like a rookie playing his first preseason game. Yes, I think that he is behind Fletcher as a coverage linebacker at this point. Collins seems likely to contribute this year.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one unimpressed by Collins. Maybe it's because of the hype, but he didn't live anywhere near up to expectations. He got bullied against 3rd stringers trying to set the edge and seemed out of place in pass coverage. Hopefully it's meaningless in the short and long-term, because an ILB that can cover is still a huge need. IMHO, Fletcher looked best in that role tonight. Collins sucked. Hell, Spikes looked better in coverage from what I was able to see.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Who is this ben vereen of whom you speak?? Lol

Good to hear the 1st team o looked good. Now for some fine tuning. Still worried more about the d. They will need to pull more weight this year.

 

[ausbacker]

It isn't Tebow "crap". It's my evaluation on Tebow's play tonight. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Tebow looked exactly the same tonight as he has for his entire NFL career; inconsistent.

 

[TriplecHamp]

 

[Ozymandias]

First off, I don't think he's gotten better with the Patriots. But let's assume you're right for a second, "grasshopper".

This isn't the "everyone gets a trophy league". This is the NFL. So, if your 3rd string QB goes from being abysmal to horrendous, that doesn't earn him a spot on the roster. Heck, I bet I could "improve" as the Pats 3rd string QB but does that mean I'm a qualified NFL 3rd string QB?

As I mentioned earlier, I'm huge fan of Tebow as a person and a christian but as a QB (even a 3rd string QB) he is bad....very bad.

In case you're missing the point that's not what I graded him on tonight. I expected him to be worse than he played, so he exceeded my expectations. Why wouldn't I grade someone fairly for that? I'm not understanding why this concept confuses you.

You drink a lot don't you? can we go lower then a F? That was horrible.
His brain does not process information at anywhere near the speed required in the nfl and that can not be fixed.

In the limited time he's been with the Patriots I think he's improved compared to how he looked at this time last year, I'd say he's markedly better. I graded him on that, not on his stats like everyone else. I wanted to see where he's a better QB in his mechanics, footwork and accuracy. So far he's showing improvements.

 

[Joker]

yes ..we have HIM...I could really give a shyt about all the rest of the drama...the Brady stays upright we go to the playoffs again...let's argue, I'm ready

 

[RI Patriots fan]

In case you're missing the point that's not what I graded him on tonight. I expected him to be worse than he played, so he exceeded my expectations. Why wouldn't I grade someone fairly for that? I'm not understanding why this concept confuses you.


In the limited time he's been with the Patriots I think he's improved compared to how he looked at this time last year, I'd say he's markedly better. I graded him on that, not on his stats like everyone else. I wanted to see where he's a better QB in his mechanics, footwork and accuracy. So far he's showing improvements.

So what were your expectations for him tonight? To put on his jersey so that his name was facing the correct way?

Again, just because someone "improves" doesn't mean that they will have the talent to be an NFL QB.
I wish him the best in life but I'd much rather have someone else get that spot on the roster.

 

[PatriotSeven]

Tebow already looked better in his first preseason game here than he did all year with the Jets. Still have no freaking idea why he's here but glad to have him. Will work out great for him in the long run.

Looked more like he did under McDaniels with the Donkeys. Tebow must be kissing his freaking lucky stars because he couldn't possibly be in a better place right now.

BTW, just why the hell is he here anyway? Do we know yet? Doing him a favor or what? I'm happy about it, but I wonder what the thinking behind it is.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

POSITIVES
-------------
1) Brady and the OL (except RG) are ready to start the season.
2) There were no injuries, except perhaps to Mallett.
3) Thompkins and Fells did their job as starters (that's quite good news actually)
4) Sudfeld looked OK, which is fine for an UDFA.
5) Blount made the team; comparing him with Bolden is just plain silly.
6) Vereen made a fine reception and is OK as a runner.
7) Fletcher is back and should contribute.
8) We will be very happy with Kelly instead of Love.
9) Benard probably moved a step forward toward a roster spot.
10) We seem to have an OK swing OT in Svitek (although he played RG in this game).

NEGATIVES
I usually don't bother with negatives so early. All it means is that someone isn't for prime time ready yet. For example, Edelman clearly needs more reps to be at game speed (at returner).

I agree with your report and your "negatives" comment is spot on. A salient comment that applies to all but most especially to the rookies. They are only months removed from college, only have several weeks of practice time against NFL talent, and this is their first NFL game experience (an experience that doesn't necessarily ask them to operate completely in a way they will be asked to in September). I am not saying their performance in yesterday's game means zero because every opportunity to perform holds some sort of value. However, when considering the factors mentioned, yesterday holds smallish value when predicting what contributions they will make in September, in December, in the upcoming Super Bowl victory , or the 2014 season. "Have patience. <Most> things are difficult before they are easy".

 

[Joker]

Dobson dropped an easy catch inside the 10 from Mallett. In the regular season, Brady comes right back to Dobson on a play like that. Dobson drops that next pass too, and yuo can just about stick him in a pine box for the rest of th season. THAT is why any reps ,any chances to MAKE PLAYS are important at this level. Dobson sure LOOKS like a fine pick but there's a long, long way to go before any of us will know what the Pats THINK they've got.

 

[JMC00]

Hahaha....

 

[Claremonster]

nice butt on the chick?

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

First off, I don't think he's gotten better with the Patriots. But let's assume you're right for a second, "grasshopper".

This isn't the "everyone gets a trophy league". This is the NFL. So, if your 3rd string QB goes from being abysmal to horrendous, that doesn't earn him a spot on the roster. Heck, I bet I could "improve" as the Pats 3rd string QB but does that mean I'm a qualified NFL 3rd string QB?

As I mentioned earlier, I'm huge fan of Tebow as a person and a christian but as a QB (even a 3rd string QB) he is bad....very bad.

I know TT made a big media splash in the past as well as his signing with the Patriots. This, among other things, will create heightened interest/comments. Yet perspective says that TT is a third string QB with no chance to win the starter's job, smallish chance to win the backup QB's job, and is likely to see virtually zero game time at QB in 2013 except against mostly third stringers in Preseason games. This is not to say you shouldn't comment (obviously comment as you want), it's to say a discussion based on whether the third string QB who will very likely never play a meaningful snap at QB probably doesn't deserve a breakdown of why he deserves a D- instead of a C.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Hahaha....

Amazing how a Pro QB can keep his eyes/vision focused like a laser yet his peripheral vision remains sharp as a knife.

 

[doesntmatter1]

Im not gonna comment on the obvious things throughout the game. I thought dane fletcher looked pretty good and I thought michael buchannon flashed quite a bit. Buchannon got upfield alot and he seemed to set a hard edge. Until bequete at the end of the game, I felt like buchannon was a one man show on the left side and if the qb had held onto the ball a little longer he could have easily had at least three sacks.

Collins was okay. I liked his hustle and can see the potential but that sack whiff was pretty horrible.

I wasn't overly impressed by marcus benard. The reserve dts including forston were not what I hoped for. The undersized francis and cunningham may hold up better inside than the guys that played tonight.

Lastly, I am going easy on the tackling out there since it is the first game. None of the safeties were tested enough to my liking.