****** First exhibition game postgame thread ******

[Ollie]

Mac looked promising without being spectacular but i liked that he wasn't trying to be spectacular tbh. Just took what the defense gave him and there was a rhythm to the offense that was familiar which i liked. lots of positives in the way he holds himself and poise but the lack of arm strength is noticable.

 

[mikey m]

Mac looked promising without being spectacular but i liked that he wasn't trying to be spectacular tbh. Just took what the defense gave him and there was a rhythm to the offense that was familiar which i liked. lots of positives in the way he holds himself and poise but the lack of arm strength is noticable.

The ball definitely doesn't have a ton of zip coming out of his hand. Based on some of his deep balls, I think it may not be an issue with his arm strength, but more just a comfort thing. Sort of how a wr can run a 4.3 on the track, but not look very fast running routes. Either way, maybe he starts to get a little more velocity on the ball in the coming years, maybe he doesn't. Maybe more velocity would make an improvement in his performance, maybe his style will be best suited to maximum touch and accuracy. Who knows, excited for his future though.

 

[Ollie]

The ball definitely doesn't have a ton of zip coming out of his hand. Based on some of his deep balls, I think it may not be an issue with his arm strength, but more just a comfort thing. Sort of how a wr can run a 4.3 on the track, but not look very fast running routes. Either way, maybe he starts to get a little more velocity on the ball in the coming years, maybe he doesn't. Maybe more velocity would make an improvement in his performance, maybe his style will be best suited to maximum touch and accuracy. Who knows, excited for his future though.

I think his arm is strong enough and he managed to fit the ball into some tight windows when needed. He looked calm and decisive under pressure which is great.. Even the passes looked calm

 

[Scotty]

Mac did well showing a lot of promise
Cam did look a bit slow in getting the ball out (did he play the WFT starters and Mac did not ???)
Did think the run defence got off to a slow start , maybe expecting too much for the first game
Judon is a beast (was really worried when he went down early)
If it is a numbers game for the final 53 would take Jacob Johnson over Lacosse (the FB catch in the first half was very good)
JJ Taylor is good would like to see him stay but would he make it onto the PS, his first carry knocked over the defender !
Wilkerson did have a couple of drops but one was pass interference ?
Have not looked at the stats yet but did Harry have one reception but appeared to be blocking a lot

Yes it was the first game but some good stuff to look forward too......hope Gilmour is coming back !

 

[Scotty]

Also thought that the defence coped better when facing Fitzpatrick but when Heinicke came on his mobility gave them more to think about

 

[borg]

yet I'm still here....did you go to bed son? I am unaware of any "smart pill"......Yet you have zero to contribute. Do you know how many kids I put to bed....its a lot, so don't be ashamed. My 23 year old son expects it and makes beds for his friends. Amateurs always have to start somewhere.

This is a fascinating paragraph.

 

[amfootball]

Mac looked promising without being spectacular but i liked that he wasn't trying to be spectacular tbh. Just took what the defense gave him and there was a rhythm to the offense that was familiar which i liked. lots of positives in the way he holds himself and poise but the lack of arm strength is noticable.

His arm is very weak. I was waiting to see him thread the needle in a midrange pass and it never came. His one long pass was a lollipop. I did like his poise and accuracy and command but his arm has to get stronger.

He really is Chad Pennington 2.0. Even wears his number and kind of looks like him too. Lol

 

[condon84]

Mac looked comfortable running our offense. Way more rhythm when he was running it vs Cam.

Judon looked great against the 1's.

Meyers also looked good against the starters. Got open and made tough catches.

Stevenson looked great against the backups.

Our DBs look like their implementing the Matt Patricia cover/non-cover scheme.

 

[amfootball]

The ball definitely doesn't have a ton of zip coming out of his hand. Based on some of his deep balls, I think it may not be an issue with his arm strength, but more just a comfort thing. Sort of how a wr can run a 4.3 on the track, but not look very fast running routes. Either way, maybe he starts to get a little more velocity on the ball in the coming years, maybe he doesn't. Maybe more velocity would make an improvement in his performance, maybe his style will be best suited to maximum touch and accuracy. Who knows, excited for his future though.

The issue with the arm strength is when he is getting pressure and he can't set his feet. Those throws are all arm and I am not sure how he will fair in those situations.

That being said, he looks like he has enough command to be the starter but I don't see Bill sitting Cam just yet. Cam had a very nice second drive ruined by the penalty.

 

[Mack Herron]

There's no way QN can be stashed. Kid is splitting it from 50 + with ease and has a live leg. Somebody is scooping him up.

How on earth are you cutting him? Folk is gone. Also:

 

[Kontradiction]

How on earth are you cutting him? Folk is gone. Also:

Rham is a dude whose game day speed is just entirely different than what he is clocked at in Indy. The man can move in the open field. He’s going to be a beast for us.

 

[Uptown]

Rham is a dude whose game day speed is just entirely different than what he is clocked at in Indy. The man can move in the open field. He’s going to be a beast for us.

Perfectly organic nickname. Nailed it!

 

[Sicilian]

Couple random thoughts now that I've had a chance to sleep:

1) I liked that Belichick decided not to challenge the Meyers catch. In a regular season game he would have, but it presented a nice teaching moment for the rookie. "Hey, they just blew a call. Now instead of 1st and 10, it's 3rd and 5. Are you gonna mope about the bad call, or go convert the 1st?" Good (small scale) test for the kid, and he passed.

2) Nordin missing the XP isn't ideal, but I feel like we saw that a lot with Gost over the years once they moved the kick back. Nailing long FG, then misses an XP. If it happens once a game? Big problem. But for now I think the positives on the night far outweigh that one miss for Quinn.

3) Side note: At the time, I'd wished they HADN'T overturned Washington's 2-point conversion. For one, I thought it was the wrong call, but for another, I wanted to see a potential 1:30 with two timeouts situation with a kick by Nordin to win the game. Obviously, the pressure in a preseason game is nothing compared to the regular season, but how many opportunities do you get to see a rookie kicker attempt a game winning kick before you have to decide to keep him? Would have been an interesting situation. I guess I'll just have to settle for an OUTSTANDING run by Stevenson instead

4) The entire punt operation needs work. I don't know how much of it was being out of rhythm because they just signed the new long snapper, but three false start penalties by three different guys looks bad. Also, Bailey was routinely outkicking the coverage. Not sure if he was pushing it too far, not getting enough hangtime, or the coverage guys just weren't getting down there fast enough, but it's something they'll need to tighten up all around.

5) I didn't think Newton looked bad, but the offense (without Agohlor or Henry), suffered from the same circumstance we saw last year: Ball is moving, drive looks good, then ONE negative play torpedoes it. A holding penalty in the red zone is killer for any offense, but you need to be able to make that back up if you're going to be a good offense in this league. It's never going to go perfectly. Get a 12 yard chunk play on 1st and 20 to put yourself back into the offense you know. We didn't see that kind of bounce back last year, and so far, same.

6) I'm not sure I would classify the Wilkerson non-TD as a "drop". Defender was all over him, and while a great WR makes that play, Wilkerson isn't competing for a spot on the roster that a great WR would occupy. If Agohlor or Meyers doesn't make that play, I'm more concerned because they're the best we've got. But if you're expecting Wilkerson to be a dynamic WR in this offense this year, I think you're going to be disappointed. He's competing for a depth/ST role. Still, GREAT throw by Mac.

 

[Kontradiction]

This thread is a great reminder - do NOT drink Fireball and post. Hell, don’t drink Fireball and do anything.

 

[Kontradiction]

Perfectly organic nickname. Nailed it!

Haha, it was completely unintended. But it fits. Should we add “The” in front of it, or just keep it Rham?

 

[Ryan]

It was fun watching Mac's debut.....he looked good for a guy playing in his very first NFL game.....composed, got the ball out quick, made good decisions, mostly accurate. For as short of a time as he was in there, Cam looked just like 2020 Cam (missing screen pass, getting strip sacked, etc).

 

[Sicilian]

Haha, it was completely unintended. But it fits. Should we add “The” in front of it, or just keep it Rham?

If he shows some elusiveness, we could call him The Dodge Rham. Might even get an endorsement deal out of it.

 

[Uptown]

Haha, it was completely unintended. But it fits. Should we add “The” in front of it, or just keep it Rham?

Rham is perfectly fine. We’ll add “The” after the SB title

 

[Uptown]

“Pristine?”…I likey..

Cam Newton: Mac Jones is 'pristine' in his preparation

Cam Newton praised Mac Jones and showed his support for the fellow Patriots QB after Thursday night's preseason opener.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[Rob0729]

My favorite Mac Jones pass last night was an incompletion. It was in the second half. Jones was in the pocket and a defender came through the line basically untouched and Jones stood in the pocket and even as the defender was come down on him, he threw a pass to a spot only Wilkerson could catch it (and he should have) because he was well covered. Those are the things great QBs do and cannot be taught. Either you have that poise in the pocket under pressure or you don't.

And no, I am not saying Jones is a great QB. He just displayed some attributes last night that show he COULD become a great QB.