Great breakdown, as always. I noticed this thread and it was the first one I ventured into. A couple of things I noticed...
1. Spikes was doing all that you mentioned and then some. Of course, I have to go back and watch the game again on the NFL Network recording that I set up, but I do believe that I saw him audible at one point (though Mayo was calling most of the audibles I saw out there). If this is true, and Spikes keeps it up, it means we should be looking at Spikes as the starter next to Mayo with McKenzie coming in to spell him.
2. Loved the emphasis on the power running game as well. I would have liked to see what they could do with Maroney in with the ones but, in general, there were some good holes opened up for BJGE. The edge blocking seemed to be solid as well. I really liked what I saw Crumpler doing in the running game. He seemed to be driving his man off the ball consistently. Gronk was alright but does need to put some work in. At one point, he almost caused a fumble in the backfield.
3. From looking at the O-Line, one can make a reasonable assumption that they have spent a lot of time in mini-camp and TC working on run blocking. Even though it was only the first preseason game, they seemed to block with a much more vicious streak in that area of the game. Connolly, I thought, has always been a solid run blocker. My questions were in the passing game. In this arena, I thought he did well. Obviously, we need more of a sample size in the passing game. But for tonight, he gets a nod from me.
4. As you mentioned, the fear that we saw last season with Brady is gone. He's stepping fully into his throws and he was pinpoint accurate last night. The renewed focus on the running game also opened up other passing options for him last night. He and Moss seem to be in midseason form already.
5. I stated last week and I'll say it again that if there's an odd man out in the receiving corps, it's probably going to be Holt. There were a couple of points in which I saw Tate take a CB and a safety with him over the top. He made another outstanding catch and kept both feet in for a big time first down. Edelman was also a beast. I don't think I need to say anymore than that. I think we'll be seeing Moss at flanker, Tate at split-end, and Welker and Edelman in the slots. That will be a hard package to cover. If we're going to bring in a fifth option, I would have to think that it would be Hernandez at this point since he saw a lot of time with the first team. Hernandez looked good at some points and completely lost at others. This is to be expected from a rookie though.
6. Defense as a whole looked good. I was suprised at how aggressive they were to start the game. Gerard Warren looked solid at DE and Wilfork was Wilfork. I have to think that if Murrell is the real deal, it would be a great thing for our defense. He was consistently getting into the backfield when he was rushing the passer last night. Spikes was all over the field as well. I've said this before and I'll say it again: his instincts are top notch. His eyes never leave the quarterback's eyes. This is the reason he was in on most of the tackles last night. Speaking of tackles, the first team tackling was excellent. This was highlighted by Chung (who was all over the field as well) wrapped up his man and stopping him a yard short of the first down on third and long. Good stuff.
All in all, I liked what I saw. I loved seeing the running game being the first option and, like I said, it opened up things in the passing game. O'Brien also called a good game. I believe I only saw one Kevin Faulk draw play. But one thing that we should all remember, before getting too pumped up, is that this is the first preseason game. There was a VERY vanilla gameplan from both teams. Also, a lot can change from now to the beginning of the season. But, all in all, this appeared to be a great step in the right direction from the problems that plagued us last season.
Football's back!! :rocker:
