Starters shine in Patriots 30-7 win
With tonight being the "dress rehearsal" for the regular season, many of the started shined during their extended playing time in the 30-7 win against the Carolina Panthers. With the starting offense working out a few kinks and getting into a rhythm and the Patriot's defense looking spectacular it was a promising night for Patriots fans.
3 UP:
Chandler Jones: Jones showed off his ability to get the quarterback tonight recording two sacks on Carolina's Cam Newton. Newton is not an easy quarterback to bring to the ground and Jones repeatedly kept in Newton's face. With the improved secondary, there is no reason that Jones can't gather sacks like he did tonight on a weekly basis. Not to mention the fact that Jones was able to run with and cover Carolina's Kelvin Benjamin a few times in coverage.
Shane Vereen: Vereen was able to reestablish his connection with Brady from last season. Brady and Vereen hooked up five times for fifty-seven yards and two touchdowns. Vereen has proven in previous years that he can be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses and he shows no signs of slowing down this season. Along with his abilities in the receiving game he also recorded six rushes for eighteen yards.
Julian Edelman: Brady reconnected with all of his favorite receivers from last season as he completed eight passes to Edelman for ninety-nine yards. Edleman showed shiftiness in the open field, an ability to get open, and trust worthy hands. He should be in line for another heavy workload this season barring any health concerns.
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Garoppolo- He once again looked cool, calm and confident when he stepped onto the field. He completed nine passes on twelve attempts for 105 yards and one touchdown, but more importantly than stats, he never forced any passes, he always took what was open and played smart football. His amount of playing time over Ryan Mallett is intriguing to say the least.
Honorable Mention: Stephen Gostkowski- A sixty yard field goal can't go without mentioning.
3 Down:
Ryan Mallett: Ryan Mallett has been in this category a few too many times this pre season for him to be feeling good about making this team. He shown a lack of comfortably and leadership in the offense. He has always been inconsistent with his throws and has never seemed to improve since the day he was drafted. Many of us were looking forward to seeing him play tonight following Brady, but he only replaced Brady for two drives in what seemed to be an "emergency test" to practice game like situations. Mallett's lack of playing time was disappointing and is not a good sign for him.
Brandon Browner: Browner once again was absent in the starting lineup for the Patriot's secondary. Whether that be because he is suspended for the first four games or just because of his inconsistent play is tough to tell, but he has been less then impressive and it is tough to say whether his play style is going to be too costly to be worth playing consistently in the Patriot's defense. He gets flagged a lot for his physical play and it could become a detriment for the Patriot's D. If someone like Dennard or Malcolm Butler can step up and take the role opposite Revis, Browner could be in trouble.
Danny Amendola: Amendola seems to be having trouble gaining the trust from his quarterback. He only received two targets in the game vs. Edelman's eight targets. It is tough to tell why Amendola is not receiving the targets from Brady, but if he could start getting open more constantly, we could see a huge increase in his productivity this upcoming season. A lift in productivity for him would take the burden off of Edelman and save both of their bodies for the stretch run into the postseason.
Moving Forward:
One thing that makes it tough to get a true gauge on the Patriot's offense is the lack of tight end presence. If Gronkowski comes back and can stay healthy their offense has the potential to be dynamic in all aspects, but if Gronkowski has a setback then their offense could be the staggered offense we have seen in past seasons. With Gronk's health so questionable, it is essential that they start searching around for tight end depth and reliability. Someone veteran like Tony Gonzalez or Jermichael Finley could be a huge boost and would allow Gronk to breathe a sigh of relief and not force himself to rush back if he is not ready.
The Patriots travel to MetLife Stadium next Thursday to take on the New York Giants in their final preseason game.
Written by: Andrew Ludwig
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