PostGame Thread 2024 Preseason Game One: Patriots Win 17-3 over Carolina

[PatsFan2]

Milton’s TD throw was nice but Jackson was wide open. I would think almost every backup QB in the league could hit a guy that open.

sb1: Milton have a Gun an arm that can Beat Tight Man coverage far cry from the previous guy and Zappe.

 

[Clonamery]

Feel like I could gleam more about the team from a few practice tweets than from tonight's whole game.

I've seen many worse pre-season games, this was middling. Mostly a snooze, lots of 3 n outs. The defense looked like they knew what they were supposed to do as a unit most of the time. The offense as a unit was marginally more adept than I expected.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

The offense as a unit was marginally more adept than I expected.

The Panthers sat their top defense so playing against the Panthers' number 2s, who were playing vanilla D, is a pretty easy lift.

 

[TomPatriot]

IF the new kick off rules is the reason why we are keeping Reagor around just cut him right now. It's really stupid there's no reason to carry a KO specialist now they can't run anywhere Advantage Kicking Team.

I was thinking “just put the ball at the 25.” Maybe teams just need to adjust.

 

[Family]

My man Boutte did well?

Yes, overall.

Boutte dropped two passes.

I don't care that he caught 3 passes for 53 yards, including one that set up a TD.

Two drops (one would have been a first down) is a bad game.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Boutte dropped two passes.

I don't care that he caught 3 passes for 53 yards, including one that set up a TD.

Two drops (one would have been a first down) is a bad game.

It was pouring rain at times. I am not sure how Boutte's hands are in practice. He did get marginally open. Polk and Baker were blanketed when I saw them.

 

[Clonamery]

Boutte dropped two passes.

I don't care that he caught 3 passes for 53 yards, including one that set up a TD.

Two drops (one would have been a first down) is a bad game.

He got separation. Rather 2 drops in preseason than critical drops in a real game like Edelman had early in his career. Relax.

 

[scott99]

It was a fun game to watch. Defense was aggressive no matter who was in there. Offense kind of sputtered along except for 3 drives resulting in points.

Prior to this year, I always used to complain that though we might have a good 1st team, our backups always seemed to suck compared to the opponent’s. This game was different. Obviously Carolina is horrendous, but they didn’t start any of their starters. But late in the game, when it was 3rd stringer vs 3rd stringer, ours were better than theirs. Lets see what our 2nd and 3rd strings do vs the Eagles 2nd and 3rd stringers.

There is a lot to like about the defense, I like the aggressiveness from them. I thought several guys really stood out, I thought Ximines was the player of the game, unstoppable.

Joe Milton was fun to watch. Some people don’t realize the kind of athlete he is. On his crazy scramble, you saw the speed he brings as well as his strength. He ran a 4.56, so he’s not just big, he’s fast. Also like how he looked off the safety on his TD pass. His arm is his obvious strength, but he played smart too.

My only disappointment was Maye, I have no clue what the coaching staff was thinking. That was so bizarre. One series for your 3rd overall QB. Some things did worry me, Maye seemed to be looking down a lot, I’m not a body language expert, but it seemed to almost look like a lack of confidence, he also looked super serious, maybe that’s just his face, but didn’t seem to be having fun, maybe all of this was because he KNEW he was only getting one series ? He seemed confident throwing the ball though. Even the one incompletion didn’t seem that bad, he put it in a place that should get caught. But obviously a serious lack of sample size to see what we have. Bizarre move by the coaching staff. That was a HUGE disappointment.

Some people were tweeting it is the Green Bay way. But Maye is supposedly the #2 QB, you have to get a bigger sample size.

 

[Family]

He got separation. Rather 2 drops in preseason than critical drops in a real game like Edelman had early in his career. Relax.

Edelman was a converted QB who didn't get meaningful snaps at WR for 5 years.

I'm not relaxing for Boutte that long.

 

[borg]

Bailey Zappe is a dead man walking...

This is likely true, but I expect Zappe to get a stay of execution for longer than we hope.

Consider this scenario....

The Patriots stable pony starting QB goes down in the 1st quarter of week 1....then what?
Hand the keys over to Maye (or Milton) and say, 'even though we've slow-played your introduction into the NFL, and our OL will likely get you killed, and your footwork is Pop Warnerish....it's all yours now".

I'm thinking NE carries 4 QBs when the season starts simply because Zappe has 2+years of NFL experience vs 2 weeks

 

[Family]

It was pouring rain at times. I am not sure how Boutte's hands are in practice. He did get marginally open. Polk and Baker were blanketed when I saw them.

Marginally open vs backup corners.

I'm not saying the other WR's were ok, but you play in rain, snow, sleet.

Two drops on five attempts while marginally open is a poor performance, especially when you are a dark horse to make the team.

 

[Clonamery]

Marginally open vs backup corners.

I'm not saying the other WR's were ok, but you play in rain, snow, sleet.

Two drops on five attempts while marginally open is a poor performance.

He was the best WR for the Pats (not saying much) but you'll have to choke on that.

 

[borg]

Channeling his inner Jim Plunket

 

[Family]

He was the best WR for the Pats (not saying much) but you'll have to choke on that.

Yeah after five years.

 

[Clonamery]

Yeah after five years.

Again, there have been worse periods of Pats football and worse preseason games than last night. It means nothing.

 

[n1997y]

My man Boutte did well?

So-so.

Couple of nice catches. Couple of bad drops.

He’s on the bubble for the roster. Not sure what he showed will get him on it.

 

[Sicilian]

Not much to take from this from a prediction standpoint, but just fun to see football again and let these guys shake off the cobwebs. Few stand out things for me (all with big grains of salt due to situation/opponent):

1) Polk may not be a dynamic weapon, but he looks the part. Smooth hands, reliable. There's going to be value in that on this team.

2) We won't really know what this new kickoff rule is going to look like until the regular season. Teams aren't going to show their hand on anything exotic before the games matter.

3) I was disappointed we didn't see more of Maye, because I want to see what we have in the kid, but I understand it. Weird weather, "starting" OL coming out, and likely a LOT of work coming up in the joint practice and possibly preseason game 2. If he only throws three passes against the Eagles I'll be more irritated.

4) As for Maye himself, I thought he looked pretty good. Took what the defense gave him and showed nice zip on the incomplete pass to Reagor. Better weather or a more sure handed receiver and that's probably complete.

5) Milton looked better than I expected at this point in his development. That said, against actual NFL competition, he's not doing the triple spin move reverse field 8000 yard scramble for a 13 yard gain. He's getting caught by 9 out of 10 NFL defenses. Also, his delivery on the out route that was almost a pick six was telegraphed so much the Carolina DC could have told the CB it was coming in morse code and he still would have had time to get there. Kid's exciting, no doubt, but this was the knock on him in college. Amazing physical talent, but just makes some head scratching decisions at times.

6) Mitchell Wilcox is so weird. He's constantly open it seems, but his hands are like two medicine balls covered in vaseline.

7) No movement either way in the kicking competition. Both did kickoffs, Slye hit a 42 yard FG and Ryland hit both extra points. They're neck and neck right now IMO.

8) I don't mind Mayo challenging that potential interception. It's the very end of the game, up 17, so there's nothing to save the challenge/timeout for. And even though it's preseason and nothing counts, I bet that defense wanted the shutout. It may seem silly on the outside, but it absolutely means something to the guys playing the game. I think the challenge was as much to give those guys a chance at that as anything.

 

[Jim Beankie]

Milton’s TD throw was nice but Jackson was wide open. I would think almost every backup QB in the league could hit a guy that open.

Reminded me of this, except Milton didn't stare at the WR right from the snap and also didn't float it over.

 

[Family]

Again, there have been worse periods of Pats football and worse preseason games than last night. It means nothing.

Of course it means something if we are talking about this player making the 53.

Polk/Baker/Osborn/Pop seem like locks. That leaves 1-2 spots for Thornton/Reagor/JuJu, and Boutte Even Wallis made a case for himself, and Bourne is in the wings.

Does Boutte play special teams? He has to stand out receiving to even have a chance.

 

[Water Boy]

What was interesting to me was the post game press conference. At the podium, Joe Milton just has an aura of a stud. He's very calm, well spoken, intelligent and extremely likable. He talked about his ability to stay calm on the field and not panic.

When Maye took the podium he spoke like a nervous teenager who just wasn't comfortable with lots of "yeahs" and nothing but cliche. The contrast in the two was striking.