Final Preseason Game Thread (9/3) - NE vs. NYG

[Soul_Survivor88]

Rough =/= losses. Probably just a couple "ugly wins"

I know there are limits to what teams can accomplish early in the season. But I would hope that Belichick's standards are higher than that!!

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Meh. It justifies us staying up late "for a meaningless game" only to be beat by the Gnats again. Now we will be tired tomorrow and...... not winning?

Don't worry. We'll have our way with them in the regular season.... just wait and watch

 

[IcyPatriot]

Highlight of the night was watching Steve Burton line up some MILF's and GILF'S outside of the new lounge.

Loved when they censored his holding up the Big **** Berman ruling.

 

[PatriotSpy]

Meh. It justifies us staying up late "for a meaningless game" only to be beat by the Gnats again. Now we will be tired tomorrow and...... not winning?

Drink some Red Bull and will yourself through the day. Be "Mentally Tough" man, c'mon.

 

[FrodoBagginz]

Let the Giants have this preseason win. We will face them again this season and beat them when it counts.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Michael Giardi ‏@MikeGiardi now3 seconds ago
Belichick made sure his guys didn't talk about Brady. The answers were laughable. They didn't know Brady was even cleared. #hilarious

Belichick is already in midseason mode

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Just as I expected. Belichick has these guys focused

Mike Petraglia ‏@Trags 44m44 minutes ago
All Patriots players and Belichick decline comment about Brady.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

In the meantime, I wonder what this means for the coaches who called the plays tonight
Doug Kyed ‏@DougKyedNESN 13m13 minutes ago
Belichick said Brian Daboll called plays on offense and Patrick Graham called plays on defense. True split squad game for the Patriots.

 

[Oswlek]

Unsurprisingly, there is no post-game thread, so I'll add a few comments here.

* Was it me or did Richards hit the bench earlier than expected? I would have sworn I saw Tavon out there late but no Richards.

* Speaking of Tavon, I thought he played pretty well. Being out there with the scrubs isn't promising, but I would otherwise say he earned a spot.

* Rufus would have been a lock to make any NE roster in the past decade.... except this one. He's clearly an NFL caliber edge player, so I hope the team finds a way to keep him.

* Dobson's hands are frustrating, but he is substantially more athletic than he was as a rookie. I think the team rolls the dice on his physical skills and keeps him around for another year.

* Harper is an NFL prospect.

* That was James White's best game as an NFL player. The blocking was definitely better, but he made some decisive cuts and even plowed through contact at times. Interesting that he go so much work and Lewis didn't take a snap (I think).

* Lindley is a bad quarterback. Chris Martin should stick to music.

* Obviously Wendell at C was part contingency plan, but if Jackson took his spot, shouldn't he get some reps at LG if that is the intention? Or RG if Jackson hasn't taken his job yet? Ryan only playing center indicates to me that his hold on a spot isn't as strong as I thought it was.

* I'm sure it is impacted by joining a new system, but Wayne looks slower than I expected out there.

Not a game thought, but I'm really disappointed in EEI. Virtually every show, every day gets ~90 minutes and 3+ links posted to their on demand page, yet the D&H get less than 20 minutes posted from the day the suspension is overturned? WTF? Whose bright idea was that?

 

[Sicilian]

In the meantime, I wonder what this means for the coaches who called the plays tonight
Doug Kyed ‏@DougKyedNESN 13m13 minutes ago
Belichick said Brian Daboll called plays on offense and Patrick Graham called plays on defense. True split squad game for the Patriots.

Probably giving them some practice on the procedural side of it, in case there are games that McDaniels or Patricia are unavailable for some reason.

 

[Kontradiction]

Can anyone give me a quick rundown on the game and players who stood out - good and bad? I enjoyed Oswlek's but anyone else care to chime in so I don't have to read every page of the thread? I chose to watch the UNC/SC and TCU/Minnesota games last night instead.

 

[Concussion Protocol]

Can anyone give me a quick rundown on the game and players who stood out - good and bad? I enjoyed Oswlek's but anyone else care to chime in so I don't have to read every page of the thread? I chose to watch the UNC/SC and TCU/Minnesota games last night instead.

Man, it was brutal to watch. I watched through 3 quarters and gleaned very little. Logan Ryan played a lot, and Bradley Fletcher didn't play at all. That shows where those 2 guys stand. Aaron Dobson seemed to run good routes, but still looks like he has either poor hands or poor confidence in said hands. I thought that was one of his strengths back at Marshall, but maybe not? Rufus and Trey did well getting after the QB. Lindley is awful, and I'm disappointed BB chose not to get Garoppolo reps when his next action might not come for another 11 months.

 

[Sicilian]

Can anyone give me a quick rundown on the game and players who stood out - good and bad? I enjoyed Oswlek's but anyone else care to chime in so I don't have to read every page of the thread? I chose to watch the UNC/SC and TCU/Minnesota games last night instead.

I was splitting attention between Pats/Giants and a computer game, so I didn't see everything, but I'll chime in on what stood out to me:

- Dobson looked quick, athletic, and smart with his routes, which is a great sign. He still has issues though with double catches and bobbles (though no flat out drops that I can remember), so it's hard to feel real confident in him at this point. Still, improvement, and I expect he makes the team.

- Wayne looks a little sluggish, but showed some nice hands on a couple catches. Not sure if his game speed is due to age or if he's thinking too much while he learns the system. He wasn't helped out by Lindley's inaccuracy either, so his line looks bad (2/10).

- Harper provided a spark on offense late in the 4th quarter. Probably against future grocery baggers, but something about him looks... polished. I dunno, probably a Bam Childress effect, but I like the kid, hope we can sneak him to the PS.

- Trey Flowers was all over the place (in a good way). Looks like a gamer, made an impact in the pass rush and run defense, and even knocked down a pass at the line. Real excited about what he can bring to the rotation.

- McClain had a rough night. Gave up some catches and had some stupid penalties. But he seems to tackle well, which I know BB likes even in corners. Still, overall a disappointing night for him.

Everything else just felt like backups against backups, and I couldn't draw a lot of conclusions from it. No big injuries though, which is the most important thing.

 

[Brewskies]

I guess they are saving Brady's appearance for opening night. Not even a side line appearance. I didn't watch after opening however. I might have missed him

 

[Kontradiction]

Man, it was brutal to watch. I watched through 3 quarters and gleaned very little. Logan Ryan played a lot, and Bradley Fletcher didn't play at all. That shows where those 2 guys stand. Aaron Dobson seemed to run good routes, but still looks like he has either poor hands or poor confidence in said hands. I thought that was one of his strengths back at Marshall, but maybe not? Rufus and Trey did well getting after the QB. Lindley is awful, and I'm disappointed BB chose not to get Garoppolo reps when his next action might not come for another 11 months.

Ryan needs to be moved to safety like yesterday. Like McCourty, he thrives when he can keep his head turned toward the ball and can use his ball skills. Those two would give us two safeties with a ton of range and would at least solidify that position against the pass while helping clean things up for the CB's. It could get ugly if they have to take on the run, though and I fear that we don't have enough depth at CB to make that happen.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

I know Blount is not playing game 1, but should we read something in (1) playing late in another game and (2) playing now ?

Hopefully it's just to keep the rust off him with his 1 game suspension.. he played great last night and we need that physical back in the stable


I think Cadet could be the odd man out, James White looked good and Dion Lewis in previous games looked good.. cadet hasn't even made the field so while he may be the most talented one of the 3, he hasn't been able to get onto the field to prove it

Lot of tough decisions coming up for Bill

 

[Sicilian]

Ryan needs to be moved to safety like yesterday. Like McCourty, he thrives when he can keep his head turned toward the ball and can use his ball skills. Those two would give us two safeties with a ton of range and would at least solidify that position against the pass while helping clean things up for the CB's. It could get ugly if they have to take on the run, though and I fear that we don't have enough depth at CB to make that happen.

I kind of agree, but I'm not sure his transition to safety would be a guaranteed success either. At the very least, not enough so that he would beat out Harmon or Richards (who looks promising in the very early going). It may just end up being that he's too limited at both positions to stick long term. What about playing the slot if McClain doesn't make it? That would require less vertical coverage and more side to side. Could he succeed there you think or would he face the same problems?

 

[Kontradiction]

I kind of agree, but I'm not sure his transition to safety would be a guaranteed success either. At the very least, not enough so that he would beat out Harmon or Richards (who looks promising in the very early going). It may just end up being that he's too limited at both positions to stick long term. What about playing the slot if McClain doesn't make it? That would require less vertical coverage and more side to side. Could he succeed there you think or would he face the same problems?

I think he would face the same issues. OC's would just have their slot receivers run more vertical routes. It would help him somewhat but he'd still be a liability. But, if he played as much as everyone says he did, it's not a good sign for his spot on the team by any stretch.

 

[Oswlek]

- Trey Flowers was all over the place (in a good way). Looks like a gamer, made an impact in the pass rush and run defense, and even knocked down a pass at the line. Real excited about what he can bring to the rotation.

Thanks for the reminder. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but Flowers has impressed me so much that I'm starting to wonder how necessary Chandler Jones is to keep beyond his option. With Grissom and (hopefully) Rufus on board as well, that is a lot of young talent and DE is an expensive position.

 

[captain stone]

Unsurprisingly, there is no post-game thread, so I'll add a few comments here.

* Was it me or did Richards hit the bench earlier than expected? I would have sworn I saw Tavon out there late but no Richards.

* Speaking of Tavon, I thought he played pretty well. Being out there with the scrubs isn't promising, but I would otherwise say he earned a spot.

* Rufus would have been a lock to make any NE roster in the past decade.... except this one. He's clearly an NFL caliber edge player, so I hope the team finds a way to keep him.

* Dobson's hands are frustrating, but he is substantially more athletic than he was as a rookie. I think the team rolls the dice on his physical skills and keeps him around for another year.

* Harper is an NFL prospect.

* That was James White's best game as an NFL player. The blocking was definitely better, but he made some decisive cuts and even plowed through contact at times. Interesting that he go so much work and Lewis didn't take a snap (I think).

* Lindley is a bad quarterback. Chris Martin should stick to music.

* Obviously Wendell at C was part contingency plan, but if Jackson took his spot, shouldn't he get some reps at LG if that is the intention? Or RG if Jackson hasn't taken his job yet? Ryan only playing center indicates to me that his hold on a spot isn't as strong as I thought it was.

* I'm sure it is impacted by joining a new system, but Wayne looks slower than I expected out there.

Not a game thought, but I'm really disappointed in EEI. Virtually every show, every day gets ~90 minutes and 3+ links posted to their on demand page, yet the D&H get less than 20 minutes posted from the day the suspension is overturned? WTF? Whose bright idea was that?

I'm DVRing the game on the NYFLN at 4pm, but from what I saw whenever RedZone would go to Foxborough, I agree with your takes on Rufus, Dropson, Harper, White, Wayne and especially Lindley
& Martin. Those last 2 should never have been allowed near a TC of the NEP. Complete, utter wastes of everybody's time.
I'll try to pay extra attention to TFWilson & Wendell, who if he played only Center might indeed be in
more trouble than I feel he should be.

Edit after viewing the game: Wendell played Center not because of any bubble status, but because he might have to be the Opening Night Center if Stork, who has played Zero snaps in the pre-season, if still not good to go.