11 Things We Learned From the Patriots Loss at Carolina

11 Things We Learned From the Patriots Loss at Carolina

Ian Logue

The good news about the preseason is that it's only the experience and not the final score that matters, which is good news for the Patriots after losing 25-14 down in Carolina Friday night.

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The #1 thing I learned is that, other than Trent Brown, the entire offseason has yielded almost no return. The veterans who were added to replace free agency losses/traded guys all seem to be washing out or contributing next to nothing (Matthews, McCourty, Patterson, Decker) and the draft has given the team an interesting LB prospect (Bentley) and nothing else.

A full fairly busy offseason and draft - including a draft where they went in with a number of high picks - and the team is clearly worse off in talent across the board. Hill might help but he's a pretty marginal player. Shelton hasn't looked especially noteworthy. Brown looks like a lateral move from Solder. The rest of the draft/free agency didn't address the holes from last year or the new holes opened up during the offseason.

The WR group, interior pass rush, DL depth, cover LB, #4 S and #2 CB positions look as bad or worse than they did last year.

I think Patterson will be a nice addition to the offense......

Shelton and AC were both solid offseason additions on the DL. Michel could still be an impactful addition as well.

I still think it is hard to judge anything by the preseason. Wait till game 4 to see how these additions turn out.

It was Jackson (34) who along with DMAC got beat by Samuel

My thoughts on the game.

Offense

The WR core looked fine. Dorsett and Patterson will be able to do enough.
The Brown needs a little more work at LT but isn't horrible. He will be a downgrade from Solder though.
More passes to James White in the first 4 games. Nothing but good things happen with the ball in his hands as a receiver.

Defense

This team needs to stop being scared of running QBs.
The DL didn't get much pressure but was told to hang back a lot i think.
The LB play was pretty decent overall and I like what Bentley showed again even if he didn't get to have those 'pop off the screen' plays.
This team still doesn't know what to do with the #3 CB. Getting late in the preseason to have that still be a question.

Overall it will turn out fine. I just hope that by the playoffs this is all worked out and everyone is healthy.

Sfpat said:

It was Jackson (34) who along with DMAC got beat by Samuel

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It was Keion CrossedUp & Jason McCourty who were beaten by Samuel.

I'm kind of surprised to see Cyrus Jones not have his annual season ending injury this game. He only has two more games to choose from to maintain his streak.

What I learned from the Carolina game.

1.) Jason McCourty is as slow as his brother and that is bad.

2.) the defense is still not playing well as a single unit.

3.) mason still sucks in pass protection.

4.) the lack of a deep threat at wide receiver, is a major problem.

5.) the offense is out of whack and the timing as way off.

Ochmed Jones said:

What I learned from the Carolina game.



4.) the lack of a deep threat at wide receiver, is a major problem.

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Patterson was the beneficiary of DPI. No?

Ochmed Jones said:

What I learned from the Carolina game.

1.) Jason McCourty is as slow as his brother and that is bad.

2.) the defense is still not playing well as a single unit.

3.) mason still sucks in pass protection.

4.) the lack of a deep threat at wide receiver, is a major problem.

5.) the offense is out of whack and the timing as way off.

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It was one exhibition game. You did not learn

#1,3,4,5.

You could make a "reasonable" argument that you actually did learn #2, but that's it.

I'm not sold on McCourty making the cut.......Not sure what BB is thinking ( nobody is) about the values brought to the DB by any of the younger/faster players as a #3 with ST value.....My feeling is JMc has a 50/50 shot at making the final roster unless there is an injury in the final preseason game..

Ian, thanks for the article, real nice write-up. I'm nowhere near as good at picking up on plays as you are, but I didn't think Decker had a chance of making that catch in bounds.
I have a feeling he's going to stick on the roster despite his abysmal performances simply because of what Belichick said recently, that Decker understands the option routes and needs time (which he hasn't had) to take passes from Brady. I'd love to see him develop as a possession receiver for them. Between Gronk, Hogan, and Dorsett, they've got a host of downfield targets and a big strong possession receiver who knows the route tree would be a good addition and injury insurance, if he can be that guy. If they keep him and in four games he can't get in sync with Brady, he'll be cut when Edelman comes back.

Ochmed Jones said:

4.) the lack of a deep threat at wide receiver, is a major problem.

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In 2016, for the games that Gronk was healthy, he and Hogan led the league in YPC. Hogan finished that season tied for #1 with DeSean Jackson. Gronk finished with a 21.6 YPC, but on only 25 catches (30 needed to "qualify" for BSPN's list).

Also, Dorsett has the same 4.33 speed as Cooks and finished with the 8th highest YPC in 2016 (we just haven't seen the Pat use his speed yet).

PatsFan37 said:

If they keep him and in four games he can't get in sync with Brady, he'll be cut when Edelman comes back.

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Not that it's a huge deal, but Decker's $950k salary becomes fully guaranteed if he's still on the roster for Week-1.

maineman209 said:

In 2016, for the games that Gronk was healthy, he and Hogan led the league in YPC. Hogan finished that season tied for #1 with DeSean Jackson. Gronk finished with a 21.6 YPC, but on only 25 catches (30 needed to "qualify" for BSPN's list).

Also, Dorsett has the same 4.33 speed as Cooks and finished with the 8th highest YPC in 2016 (we just haven't seen the Pat use his speed yet).

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Being fast doesn't make you a good deep threat. And given Gronkowski's injury history, sending him deep on seams should be an infrequent thing.

Hogan can work as a deep threat, but they need someone to run intermediate routes and Patterson can't do that. Weeks 1-4 will be very difficult for the offense.

PatsFan37 said:

I have a feeling he's going to stick on the roster.

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You shouldn't listen to my investment advice either.

mcmurtry86 said:

Being fast doesn't make you a good deep threat

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8th best YPC in the league in 2016, ahead of Bryant, Hilton, Cooks, Britt,Green.

Doesn't make him a great deep threat, but it's not nuthin' and shows that the potential is there.