- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 15,532
- Reaction score
- 27,568
Right from the start I have to admit I did not see the first half of the game, though I did listen to it on the radio. (....and I miss Gil Santos. Not that the other guy did a bad job but its hard not to hear a voice that we've associated with Pats football for over 30 years was a bit sad.)
1. LaGarrete Blount made a big impression. However that being said, I'd rather he emulate ASmith, than CJ Spiller. Let me try and make sense of that last remark. Antowain Smith was a super effective running back for the Pats for the first 2 superbowls. He was EFFECTIVE, not spectacular, or even noteworthy. IIRC he never had a 4.0 ypc season.
What he DID do was always move the ball down the field. He was great in SY and GL situations, and rarely had a negative yardage play. In those years the Pats OL was far from dominant, and Smith ALWAYS got what was there plus a yard or 2. He ALWAYS fell forward, and in the "move the chains" kind of offense the Pats have run for the last decade, that "skill" shouldn't be underestimated.
So while its damned exciting that our current 250 lb running back can reverse field and take it 50 yds for a TD and leap over tacklers and show an unexpect burst. What THIS team needs him to be is a guy they can count on to move the chains on SY and score on the GL.
I'm not saying he can't, or won't do those things here, but according to many Buc's fans, he didn't do them down there. No doubt he probably won a job tonight, and is a viable replacement if Ridley goes down. But he has an important potential role to play in this offense. Its a role he's fully capable of filling. I just hope he does. All that "other" stuff is just gravy.
2. Brady was great. The rookie and new receivers made it look like they'd been here for years.....yada yada, yada. The media will harp on this all week, and once again show us that they continue to have have a "keen sense of the obvious" The real story of tonight's scrimmage was our first peak at the dominance of the Pats first team OL (even with a 3rd string RG)
I was hoping this OL would be dominant this season, and I was happy to see some indications that my expectations have a good chance at being met. Solder is entering his prime and is likely to start a run of of Pro Bowl appearances that will last into the next decade.. Mankins had his first off season without rehabbing in 2 years and looked like the LG who deserved all that money. Wendell was a surprising success in his first year as a starter, and can only get better as he adds to his experiences. Volmer, like Mankins had his first offseason without a major medical problem in a couple of years and like Mankins is fully set to regain his title of the top RT in the league.
Now comes the only question of the OL and that's RG. But last night told us an important thing. We have 2 guys we KNOW that can be solid assets at the position, Svitek and Connolly, and one guy who has the potential to be awesome at the position. So either way the OL can only get better
When Connolly and Cannon come back the OL depth will dramatically improve. Not to mention how it will improve once Gronk returns to form. Then Dante will only have to find 2 guy from the rest to rise to the top and nail down a job on the final 53. Needless to say, I am VERY excited about about the potential of this year's edition of the Pats OL.
3. The most interesting roster issues on the offense are clearly going to be at RB and TE. After labor day, some team is going to pick up a good player from these positions. And for the next 3 weeks the topic will provide a lot of good "talk" in all the roster threads to come. Too early for me to make an opinion but things will get very interesting after the next exhibition game.
4. Count me among those who thought that Ryan Mallet looked better than last season. Not as good as I would have liked, not as bad as I've been led to believe. He certainly looked better (or rather sounded
) than Matt Cassel did back in the 2008 preseason. From what I've heard all camp is that Mallet has improved in his 3rd year. That his footwork, decision making and accuracy are all better. Does he still take to long in getting the ball out? Probably, but he'll always looks slow compared to Brady. But so would a great majority of NFL QB's.
5. Tebow however is another story, but not of the usual reasons. I could actually can see a role for him on the team, especially if the Pats were willing to create a "Tebow-specific series of plays" for him. He is certainly a more than capable #3 QB. I mean how many #3 QB's have a 9-7 record as an NFL starter?
That being said, I don't think all the things he brings to the table is worth the extremely valuable roster spot that carrying a 3rd QB will risk. The fact is, I've grown comfortable only carrying 2 QB's for the regular season, and grabbing a suitable young arm for the PS. Right now I wouldn't sacrifice Jake Ballard, Zach Sudfield or Hoomanawanui for Tim Tebow.
6. I didn't hear Chandler Jones name mentioned much, so I was concerned about his play. It was comforting to hear from AZ that he showed the flashes that keep hope alive that he'll have the "big year" we all hope.
7. A lot of talk about the DeSean Jackson TD. Here's my take (and I've seen the replay several times now):
First Talib - He was clearly beaten off the press by a nice move by Jackson. That's going to happen people, they are paying the other guys too. Jackson is a very elusive receiver and a perfect match up for Philly based on the kind of big CB Talib is. All that being said, Talib still got back into a decent "underneath" position that would have given him a chance to make a play if the pass hadn't been perfectly thrown. I have said time and time again, NO DB can cover a perfectly thrown ball without committing a penalty.
As to Gregory, he certainly was late to the party. BUT, before you condemn him, it would be necessary to figure out what the coverage was, and what his responsibilities were. If the coverage called and formation made Gregory responsible for sideline support over the top, then he deserves all the blame you can hand out, since his tardiness and angle to the ball were clearly evident. HOWEVER, if he had other responsibilities, and was only reacting to a ball in the air, then all the hate has been unjustified.
8. Wilfolk and Kelly look to be a nice inside presence, and Kelly looks (or sounds) like he could be the man to provide the inside pass rush we've been looking for the last 2 seasons. Still Armstead's absence in training camp is among my biggest disappointments to this camp. Armstead and Cannon were 2 of my biggest binkies, and neither can seem to make it to the field.
9. Anyone have a comment on the progress of Jake Bequette? He got a lot of reps.
10. All right, I've tried, but I can't help myself. Yes, the rookie WRs and Sudfeld have got me excited. All seem to have one skill that we haven't seen from our WR's since Moss, and that's the ability to catch a back in tight quarters.
Thompkins reminds me of a young Deion Branch only a little bigger.. He seems like an outside guy who runs precise routes and has the ability to accelerate out of his breaks in order to get separation. But he has the potential to be even better because he also seems more capable of YAC than Deion and utilize inside routes that Deion avoided.
Dobson reminds me of a young Randy Moss, only a little slower. He has Randy's length and the ability to make the contested catch. Maybe a bigger Anquan Boldin would be a better comparison. A step down from Randy Moss perhaps, but everyone will be happy if he turns out that good.
Boyce reminds me of a young Steve Smith only without the experience. Smith is another short WR, but don't forget Boyce is 205 lbs. He's physical and thick like Smith and has blazing down field speed. Boyce might get his first action in the slot, but I think it would be a mistake to overlook his long term strengths as an outside threat as well
It would be quite ironic if after all his failures with rookie WR's the last decade, BB winds up being 3 for 3 this year.
BOTTOM LINE: Nothing we saw last night was definitive one way or the other, BUT in the great scheme of things......so far, so good.
1. LaGarrete Blount made a big impression. However that being said, I'd rather he emulate ASmith, than CJ Spiller. Let me try and make sense of that last remark. Antowain Smith was a super effective running back for the Pats for the first 2 superbowls. He was EFFECTIVE, not spectacular, or even noteworthy. IIRC he never had a 4.0 ypc season.
What he DID do was always move the ball down the field. He was great in SY and GL situations, and rarely had a negative yardage play. In those years the Pats OL was far from dominant, and Smith ALWAYS got what was there plus a yard or 2. He ALWAYS fell forward, and in the "move the chains" kind of offense the Pats have run for the last decade, that "skill" shouldn't be underestimated.
So while its damned exciting that our current 250 lb running back can reverse field and take it 50 yds for a TD and leap over tacklers and show an unexpect burst. What THIS team needs him to be is a guy they can count on to move the chains on SY and score on the GL.
I'm not saying he can't, or won't do those things here, but according to many Buc's fans, he didn't do them down there. No doubt he probably won a job tonight, and is a viable replacement if Ridley goes down. But he has an important potential role to play in this offense. Its a role he's fully capable of filling. I just hope he does. All that "other" stuff is just gravy.
2. Brady was great. The rookie and new receivers made it look like they'd been here for years.....yada yada, yada. The media will harp on this all week, and once again show us that they continue to have have a "keen sense of the obvious" The real story of tonight's scrimmage was our first peak at the dominance of the Pats first team OL (even with a 3rd string RG)
I was hoping this OL would be dominant this season, and I was happy to see some indications that my expectations have a good chance at being met. Solder is entering his prime and is likely to start a run of of Pro Bowl appearances that will last into the next decade.. Mankins had his first off season without rehabbing in 2 years and looked like the LG who deserved all that money. Wendell was a surprising success in his first year as a starter, and can only get better as he adds to his experiences. Volmer, like Mankins had his first offseason without a major medical problem in a couple of years and like Mankins is fully set to regain his title of the top RT in the league.
Now comes the only question of the OL and that's RG. But last night told us an important thing. We have 2 guys we KNOW that can be solid assets at the position, Svitek and Connolly, and one guy who has the potential to be awesome at the position. So either way the OL can only get better
When Connolly and Cannon come back the OL depth will dramatically improve. Not to mention how it will improve once Gronk returns to form. Then Dante will only have to find 2 guy from the rest to rise to the top and nail down a job on the final 53. Needless to say, I am VERY excited about about the potential of this year's edition of the Pats OL.
3. The most interesting roster issues on the offense are clearly going to be at RB and TE. After labor day, some team is going to pick up a good player from these positions. And for the next 3 weeks the topic will provide a lot of good "talk" in all the roster threads to come. Too early for me to make an opinion but things will get very interesting after the next exhibition game.
4. Count me among those who thought that Ryan Mallet looked better than last season. Not as good as I would have liked, not as bad as I've been led to believe. He certainly looked better (or rather sounded
) than Matt Cassel did back in the 2008 preseason. From what I've heard all camp is that Mallet has improved in his 3rd year. That his footwork, decision making and accuracy are all better. Does he still take to long in getting the ball out? Probably, but he'll always looks slow compared to Brady. But so would a great majority of NFL QB's.5. Tebow however is another story, but not of the usual reasons. I could actually can see a role for him on the team, especially if the Pats were willing to create a "Tebow-specific series of plays" for him. He is certainly a more than capable #3 QB. I mean how many #3 QB's have a 9-7 record as an NFL starter?
That being said, I don't think all the things he brings to the table is worth the extremely valuable roster spot that carrying a 3rd QB will risk. The fact is, I've grown comfortable only carrying 2 QB's for the regular season, and grabbing a suitable young arm for the PS. Right now I wouldn't sacrifice Jake Ballard, Zach Sudfield or Hoomanawanui for Tim Tebow.
6. I didn't hear Chandler Jones name mentioned much, so I was concerned about his play. It was comforting to hear from AZ that he showed the flashes that keep hope alive that he'll have the "big year" we all hope.
7. A lot of talk about the DeSean Jackson TD. Here's my take (and I've seen the replay several times now):
First Talib - He was clearly beaten off the press by a nice move by Jackson. That's going to happen people, they are paying the other guys too. Jackson is a very elusive receiver and a perfect match up for Philly based on the kind of big CB Talib is. All that being said, Talib still got back into a decent "underneath" position that would have given him a chance to make a play if the pass hadn't been perfectly thrown. I have said time and time again, NO DB can cover a perfectly thrown ball without committing a penalty.
As to Gregory, he certainly was late to the party. BUT, before you condemn him, it would be necessary to figure out what the coverage was, and what his responsibilities were. If the coverage called and formation made Gregory responsible for sideline support over the top, then he deserves all the blame you can hand out, since his tardiness and angle to the ball were clearly evident. HOWEVER, if he had other responsibilities, and was only reacting to a ball in the air, then all the hate has been unjustified.
8. Wilfolk and Kelly look to be a nice inside presence, and Kelly looks (or sounds) like he could be the man to provide the inside pass rush we've been looking for the last 2 seasons. Still Armstead's absence in training camp is among my biggest disappointments to this camp. Armstead and Cannon were 2 of my biggest binkies, and neither can seem to make it to the field.
9. Anyone have a comment on the progress of Jake Bequette? He got a lot of reps.
10. All right, I've tried, but I can't help myself. Yes, the rookie WRs and Sudfeld have got me excited. All seem to have one skill that we haven't seen from our WR's since Moss, and that's the ability to catch a back in tight quarters.
Thompkins reminds me of a young Deion Branch only a little bigger.. He seems like an outside guy who runs precise routes and has the ability to accelerate out of his breaks in order to get separation. But he has the potential to be even better because he also seems more capable of YAC than Deion and utilize inside routes that Deion avoided.
Dobson reminds me of a young Randy Moss, only a little slower. He has Randy's length and the ability to make the contested catch. Maybe a bigger Anquan Boldin would be a better comparison. A step down from Randy Moss perhaps, but everyone will be happy if he turns out that good.
Boyce reminds me of a young Steve Smith only without the experience. Smith is another short WR, but don't forget Boyce is 205 lbs. He's physical and thick like Smith and has blazing down field speed. Boyce might get his first action in the slot, but I think it would be a mistake to overlook his long term strengths as an outside threat as well
It would be quite ironic if after all his failures with rookie WR's the last decade, BB winds up being 3 for 3 this year.
BOTTOM LINE: Nothing we saw last night was definitive one way or the other, BUT in the great scheme of things......so far, so good.
Last edited by a moderator:
