Preseason Week 2 vs. Panthers general thoughts:
1.) 2022 Patriots by tenure:
Matthew Slater, drafted in 2008, 15th season.
Devin McCourty, drafted in 2010, 13th season.
Joe Cardona, drafted in 2015, 8th season.
David Andrews, UDFA in 2015, 8th season.
Jonathan Jones, UDFA in 2016, 7th season.
Lawrence Guy, FA in 2017, 6th season.
Deatrich Wise Jr., drafted in 2017, 6th season.
James Ferentz, FA in 2018, 5th season.
Jakobi Meyers, UDFA 2019,4th season.
Jake Bailey, drafted in 2019, 4th season.
Dont'A Hightower, drafted in 2012, 9 seasons in total broken up into 2 tours of duty (not on the team currently).
Brian Hoyer, UDFA in 2009, 7.5th season (broken into 3 tours of duty)
Malcolm Butler, UDFA in 2014, 4 seasons (would have been 5th with two tours of duty)
2.) Patriots with rings:
McCourty - 3 (5 Superbowls)
Slater - 3 (5 Superbowls)
Andrews - 2 (3 Superbowls)
Cardona - 2 (3 Superbowls)
Jon Jones - 2 (3 Superbowls)
Hoyer - 1 (1 Superbowl)
Guy - 1 (2 Superbowls)
Wise - 1 (2 Superbowls)
Ferentz - 1 (1 Superbowl)
Hightower -3 (4 Superbowls, FA currently, but locker is intact)
Butler - 2 (on I/R, 3 Superbowls)
16 rings total, not counting the coaching staff...(21 with HT/Butler)
3.) Remaining members of past Superbowl teams:
1985: None.
1996: None.
2001: None.
2003: None.
2004: None.
2007: None.
2011: Slater & McCourty.
2014: Slater & McCourty (not counting Hightower/Butler).
2016: Slater, McCourty, Andrews, Cardona, and Jon Jones (no HT/Butler).
2017: Slater, McCourty, Andrews, Cardona, and Jon Jones (no HT/Butler).
2018: Slater, McCourty, Andrews, Cardona, Jon Jones, Guy, Wise, Ferentz, and Hoyer (no HT).
4.) These aren't your Daddy's Patriots....
5.) I hate that we have to cut down from 85 to 53...I really like all of our players. NFL rosters should be like FBS rosters of 100 players each team....
6.) OL: I am comfortable with Trent Brown, Cole Strange, and David Andrews on the left side. I am not liking what I am seeing on the right side. It is as if the Coaching staff is undecided on Onwenu's role in our zone blocking scheme. Then there's Wynn who is missing time as usual. I like what I am seeing from Cajuste.Herron is servicable from what I have seen and Frentez didn't look so great out there last night, but he should be servicable as a back up center. Anyone know how the CFL dude, Desjarlais is doing? Hambright was getting some good press in camp, but didn't see much of him last night? What about Durant? Are we gonna get anything from Russey, Hines, or Stuber this year? They all look like PS material...along with Will Sherman. How about Bill Murray? I am guessing he'll be signed to the PS in hopes that he's our next Stephen Neal? Hard to evaluate the OL unless you watch film over and over again...
7.) QB: No problems with our QB's whatsoever. I like what I see from Zappe while under pressure. Hoyster is Hoyster. And that was a nice throw by Mac.
8.) WR: It is obvious that our depth chart is now as follows:
Algholor, Parker, Meyers, Bourne (what's up with him anyway?), & Thorton.
Then beyond that...I am not sure if we will keep a 6th WR this year given our RB and TE rooms. I have liked what Wilkerson has shown all camp, I still have hope for Tre Nixon too, Humphrey has been making plays when called upon, Hammond not too bad...but not making it, and then there's Slater.
9.) TE: Was happy to see Asiasi make some plays yesterday. I think he makes the team..we need back ups for Henry/Smith. As for Smith, I think he's simply a victim of play calling. I am not sure Patricia will call his number any more than McD did last year. Hope Henry isn't gonna be out for too long. I have given up on hope for Keene...saw him on the sidelines yesterday...jersey had some grass smears on it...but otherwise he looked clean.
10.) RB: Clearly the strength of our offense, IMO. Harris showed good vision last night on one run...used his blockers well. Stevenson has been solid in camp..not so much last night, but sometimes RB's need reps to get going, IMO. Then there's Kevin Harris who actually looks like a monster....I like the kid. Pierre Strong...haven't seen enough, but he should stick. Then there's Ty Montgomery...I think he's our hybrid 3rd Down RB/FB/TE/WR jack-of-all-trades tool. Which makes me wonder about Jonnu's role on reps where we want to run a TE sweep. Then there's JJ Taylor who I am afraid will be a numbers game cut....he looked great last night.
11.) DL: I feel a lot better about our DL than I did weeks ago. Godchaux, Barmore, Wise, and Guy..that's a solid line right there. I like what I have seen from Anderson, Carl Davis, Ekuale, Roberts, and LaBryan Ray. Gonna be some tough cuts here....
12.) LB: I love Mack Wilson...such speed that we didn't have last year. McMillian seems to be slotted in as a starter...maybe. Bentley looks better too. Jennings will stick, IMO. Then there's always Judon..love that guy. Uche made a play last night...but I'd like to see more before I get too excited. Perkins made some plays, but I am not sure he sees a lot of snaps this year unless there are injuries. McGrone? Didn't see him last night...not looking goood.
13.) CB: With losing Butler and JoeJuan Williams, I was interested in watching our depth last night. OK, Mills is our #1...Jon Jones is our #2...then in the slot I think it will be a mix of Marcus Jones/Jon Jones/Miles Bryant...with Mitchell going outside. I like what I have seen of Wade thus far...but Miles Bryant is out playing him...and Jack Jones is a rookie. We then have Cody Davis and Justin Bethel who are ST aces...not sure if we keep all of these guys.
14.) S: DMac and Dugger are the mainstays out there for sure. Phillips will get a lot of reps. I haven't seen much of Jabril Peppers yet... I hope Joshuah Bledsoe makes the team..I like what I am seeing. I even like Schooler, but don't think he makes it.
15.) ST's: We know Folk is our kicker, Bailey is our punter, and Cardona is our LS'er. But who are our core ST guys? I have Slater, Cody Davis, Justin Bethel, Schooler (?), and a bunch of guys competing to be our PR/KRs. If we knew our core ST'ers...we would be able to predict the initial 53 man roster easier. We no longer have guys like Brandon Bolden, Brandon King, etc... I like Miles Bryant's returns from the first pre-season game...but I'd like to see more from others....