Game Day Thread 2018 Preseason G2: PHI @ NE

[Deus Irae]

I imagine I missed a lot of "Crossen sucks!!! Cut him!!" posts in this thread. Look, he led the team in tackles, he played all game, he hits like a Mack truck and he made ROOKIE mistakes in coverage. I think this kid is a STEAL and will be making solid contributions down the line.

Crossen should be something like the 3rd or 4th slot CB, so it's not surprising that he got exposed tonight. He's likely got the practice squad in his future.

 

[Joker]

I agree and I forgot one other thing...this McCourty twin we picked up? Yeah..somebody check the DNA on this bloodline. Buh bye.

 

[supafly]

Hue won 8 games with Oakland, so that's 9 career wins dude. Owned. Are you really going to stand by your statement that Todd Haley has 171 career head coaching wins Froob? Are you?!? I will block quote you, we can do that whole thing.

Sure, but can you block quote like, 10 different statements at once to try and really get me to see your point of view?

 

[supafly]

Maybe swope in and grab Dez before the Browns sign him?

I don’t think that’s going to get us anywhere. There’s a reason why no one really wants him. I am concerned with the WR group, though.

 

[supafly]

I was at the game tonight. I thought I saw a pretty well run first half, given the various situations...you know, no Gronk..Brady's first action...players like "ball in high grass" Dorsett and "baby, baby..where did my hands go?" Decker. Very impressed at the level of play exhibited by James White.It's like watching Faulk redux. Gillislee can't see holes. He's a goner IMO. Cordarrelle got a ton of snaps and flashed consistently. Wynn twisted his ankle or something Hope it's OK. Thuney is THE weak link on this O line. Van Noy came up big when he had to with an important sack. Liked that a lot...otherwise the defense was pretty vanilla. I DID notice Richards get beat in the EZ but get his hand in there to break up the pass. I don't know how to feel about this. Good play or luck? Still scares me. Ja'Whaun Bentley...OK,it's early but...I mean he's one of those players who shows up at key moments so far. He's getting a lot of snaps and I can see why. The real head scratcher for me is Will Tye, though. This guy is built. He's physical. He gets open. His hands are freakin' granite. Stone. I think if he played on a semi regular basis his catch ratio would be less than 10%. You can SEE he has the physical tools to play in the league but I don't think I've ever seen a football player with worse hands.


I imagine I missed a lot of "Crossen sucks!!! Cut him!!" posts in this thread. Look, he led the team in tackles, he played all game, he hits like a Mack truck and he made ROOKIE mistakes in coverage. I think this kid is a STEAL and will be making solid contributions down the line. BTW, Edelman is 100% and still as tough as nails. Sucks he has to sit because of "we don't know what it was but...PATRIOTS!". I was hoping Decker could fill that gap somewhat but after seeing him "perform" tonight, I'd say he's done in this league, probably done 2 years ago but definitely end of the line today. We'll see.

BTW..Quo vadis Duke Dawson? Is this a season ending PUP casualty?

Thanks for the report, Joker. Hope you had a good time.

 

[Joker]

well, I actually thought of you while I was sitting in 227 with the warm breeze wafting across the packed stadium...for about a millisecond..

 

[zimmy]

Ryan Lewis is my favourite of the young corners. Although Jackson has carved out a niche on special teams so he might make it. I think they want to find a reason to dump McCourty but not sure any of the young guys are doing it. They seem to be just giving ing each one a chance with the first team so even they don't know yet which way it's going.

I'm desperately hoping Wynn is okay. Even if its just IR to return in week 10. Being out for the year would suck. He has looked really good and seems to have the ability to play anywhere across the line

Love Bentley. I'm sure he might get exposed in coverage during the regular season. but he has lots going for him.

I do wonder if they might just dump all the WRs and just go into the first few games with 4. Then focus on the RBs and some 2 or 3 TE sets.

I think Keionta Davis makes the team. Think that means we keep 9 on the DL and either Valentine/Brown gets traded. I do think Patricia will come calling for a few bubble players.

 

[supafly]

I think Keionta Davis makes the team. Think that means we keep 9 on the DL and either Valentine/Brown gets traded. I do think Patricia will come calling for a few bubble players.

If so, we aren’t going to get much back in return. Brown would likely bring back a mid rounder. We aren’t getting anything for Valentine. He’s nothing more than a dime a dozen mid round pick who hadn’t seemed to pan out or stay healthy.

People make the argument all of the time about how a high round prospect is sure to bring something worthwhile, but we’ve seen tons of players cut without getting us anything in return.

 

[PScottman]

"How will a 41-year old Brady connect with his WRs after skipping OTAs?????"

Emotionally. Spiritually.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Nate Sudfeld -- d%#*!@t, Eagles!

 

[maineman209]

I imagine I missed a lot of "Crossen sucks!!! Cut him!!" posts in this thread. Look, he led the team in tackles, he played all game, he hits like a Mack truck and he made ROOKIE mistakes in coverage. I think this kid is a STEAL and will be making solid contributions down the line.

Yup.

 

[maineman209]

I think Keionta Davis makes the team.

Yup.

 

[long distance]

Reiss is probably the safest bet among Pats beat reporting . but his feel for the game is not on the same level. Anybody who has Crossen in the down column for his yesterday outing is just not understanding the situation and the process. While Reiss' game judgement is certainly not his forte . I would expect he understands the situation: Crossen saw only a limited number of snaps in the slot so far in TC esp. with fitst unit. He was a backup to JJ after he returned and Dawson went down. And he missed important time in week 1 and 2 of TC for minor injury.

The fact he got the nod from the start and stayed patrolling the slot throughout the game immediately puts him in the up column. The fact they didn't use Rowe there when JMC was outside speaks volumes as well. Obviously BB and Flores want to have a quick&fast guy at that position so they used Dawson, then JJ with some Crossen so far.

Of course he is still a very raw prospect and no one can tell how much he can improve esp. covering deep routs behind him . but he showed great speed and range, very solid tackling and good instincts making him already exciting player when the play is in front of him. He can get abused on deep/behind routs . but one also has to note that he was on his own there not getting much safety help (that he should) from Travis, Pleasant or Richards.

Not to mention that he was part of the top gunner pairing with Patterson in first week of TC . and obviously there are many things Pats don't want to put on tape too early also on ST.

 

[luuked]

Reiss is probably the safest bet among Pats beat reporting . but his feel for the game is not on the same level. Anybody who has Crossen in the down column for his yesterday outing is just not understanding the situation and the process. While Reiss' game judgement is certainly not his forte . I would expect he understands the situation: Crossen saw only a limited number of snaps in the slot esp. with fitst unit. He was a backup to JJ after he returned and Dawson went down. And he missed important time in week 1 and 2 of TC for minor injury.

The fact he got the nod from the start and stayed patrolling the slot throughout the game immediately puts him in the up column. The fact they didn't use Rowe there when JMC was outside speaks volumes as well. Obviously BB and Flores want to have a quick&fast guy at that position so they used Dawson, then JJ with some Crossen so far.

Of course he is still a very raw prospect and no one can tell how much he can improve esp. covering deep routs behind him . but he showed great speed and range, very solid tackling and good instincts making him already exciting player when the play is in front of him. He can get abused on deep/behind routs . but one also has to note that he was on his own there not getting much safety help (that he should) from Travis, Pleasant or Richards.

Not to mention that he was part of the top gunner pairing with Patterson in first week of TC . and obviously there are many things Pats don't want to put on tape too early also on ST.

He got the down because of the three DPIs that were all him panicking not because of his overall play. That doesn't mean the staff is not high on him. If they weren't he would have been out of the game.

 

[DarrylS]

From my big comfy couch was impressed overall by the progress of the offense, but concerned about the WR depth..

Several players played their way out of the Patriots last night.. they just do not fit" Crosson(3 costly penalties), Gillislee immediately come to mind..

Bentley seems like the real deal, and if he stays as good as he did last night might be a real find.

Thought the catch by Hollister was a difficult one, is he a keeper??

Lane Johnson where were you in stopping our new pass rush?? Looking at billboards and signs behind planes??

BTW the pass rush seemed more agressive than previously seen..

 

[long distance]

He got the down because of the three DPIs that were all him panicking not because of his overall play.

Yeah, but that's mediot thinking par excellence and id expect better from Reiss..

and of course you panic if you have little exp., no help over the top.
btw - DPI always better than TD . esp. in preseason games that offers more opportunity to test GL D f.e.....

 

[luuked]

The defense played with more urgency and looked a bit more comfortable than last week. The offense will always look problematic without gameplanning. Not particularly concerned about any of the units right now.

Quick kneejerk reactions:

Good:

Bentley continues to make most out of his chances. He made a couple of mistakes today but that is to be expected from a rookie. Still had a pretty good game overall.

Rivers looked like taking another step after his first game last week. Looked pretty good. As did Clayborn.

The run defense continues to look considerably more stout than last year and this is excellent news.

Wynn help up well against Chris Long in his first series until what according to pictures on Twitter looks like a twisted ankle. Hope it really is the ankle and not an achilles. It would be brutal for him to miss his rookie season.

Patterson looks like a good offensive weapon but is just not a good receiver. I am confident that Josh will find enough ways to get the ball into his hands.

Hollister looking promising.

Meh:

JMac: Didn't get much to do because Foles ran out of whatever magic he had in the SB and could not really stress our defensive backs. But the one time he was highlighted got burned by a nice move in the endzone. I wonder if he is feeling the pressure and that's why he tried to jump the slant on that play instead of showing patience. But then again those 1v1s are always in the favor of the offense as long as the ball arrives as planned.

Richards: Had a nice bounce back game with good tackles on ST and a nice recovery in the endzone when he knew he was beat, stayed patient and punched the ball out instead of panicking. His lack of speed showed 1-2 times when he played deep safety. But the same happened to Pleasant later in the game. I mean those are the reasons that these players are on with the 3s.

Bad:

Travis just looks uninspiring.

Decker looks slow and has questionable hands. Not a good combination so far. He will need to do a 180 this week.

Crossen this is just about the 3 penalties and not his play. I know he is a rookie and this might be a great learning opportunity for him. He just can't allow himself to panic, when he gets beat. Apart from that he didn't have a bad game.

 

[luuked]

Yeah, but that's mediot thinking par excellence and id expect better from Reiss..

and of course you panic if you have little exp., no help over the top.
btw - DPI always better than TD . esp. in preseason games that offers more opportunity to test GL D f.e.....

I never thought I would say this but Jordan Richards showed exactly how to play when you get beat. Don't panic and try to make a play on the ball. The first one especially when he just lost track of the ball and ran into the Philly WR way too early was totally unnecessary.

But it will be a great learning opportunity for him. He looked solid for what he was tasked with.

 

[Nunchucks]

Add me to the group that has concern about the wr group. After jules it is terrible. Hogan is fine as a 3rd er, but the rest is not good.

Burkhead and white will have to pick up the slack

 

[luuked]

Thought the catch by Hollister was a difficult one, is he a keeper??

Great catch, looked like he ran the route nicely. He is coming along.

BTW the pass rush seemed more agressive than previously seen..

You can only use the pieces you have. Flores has a lot more toys to play with upfront than Patricia. If Rivers stayed healthy and Ealy worked out we might have seen similar pressure last year. If Clayborn can give us this until February he will be a big pickup making the life for Flowers, Wise and Rivers a lot easier.