Some thoughts and observations from tonight's game...or at least the part I watched closely.
1. If you are worried about not seeing much from Brandin Cooks, don't be. It seems clear to me that the Pats are keeping him well under wraps this pre-season. In fact the entire offense has been pretty much under wraps so far.
2. The OL (including Flemming) kept Brady clean today and did well for JG as well. Tuney's whiff of JJ Watt killed the Pats first drive, but overall I thought the OL (first and 2nd editions) was better than I expected.
3. JG had an up and down game. His skills at running the team's offense is obvious. Still he made 2 big mental mistakes during his time that cost his team dearly. He didn't call the correct protection on his strip sack (pretty sure that was the case), and his pick was just DUMB.
4. Happy that Cyrus Jone did well on his punt returns, but I was more pleased at how he played so much better at CB.
5. Sad to see my 2 year binky, AJ Foster play so well. He deserves to be on an NFL roster, I just don't see how he can make THIS one.
6. Lewis flash more of his 2015 self in this game. Burkhead caught the ball really well and ran effectively as well. Can't hardly wait to see what we have in Gillislee, but we can win with what he have.
7. The media concern this week will be all about the DL. The most concerning thing for me was just how long guys like Branch, Brown, and Valentine played in this game. Ealy, I though was solid against the run, and he did HIS job on the Watson TD. Overall a positive, if not "dazzling" day for him.
8. Speaking of Watson, I thought he showed that he is no where near ready to be an NFL starter. He was inaccurate even on his short passes. For some reason the mediots had me believing that the kid was on the verge of grabbing the starting job. Not even close.
9. I'm begining to think that David Andrews is starting to remind me of Dan Koppen. Koppen was another over acheiver that you were constantly trying to upgrade, then the next thing you know its 8 years later he's still your starting C.
10. I REALLY liked what I saw from Harvey Langi. He runs so well, and gets good pressure when he rushes. He also is a completely unfinished product who needs tons of work, but I'm pretty sure he's going to make this roster, and might even contribute some to the regular defense this season
11. Larry Guy is very quietly having a pretty good TC.
12. I would feel a lot better about this season if both Nate Solder and Danta Hightower started to practice this next week
13. Malcolm Butler didn't have a good game tonight. He was beaten badly on the first TD, and while he was in position to make a play on that long pass, I've seen him do a lot better than what we got on that play. It seemed like he lost the ball in flight or something.....but that being said, this is going to be a VERY good secondary.
