Pats Posits: Good Luck Once Brady Comes Back

Hip hip hooray the Patriots made it through the third preseason game without any injuries!

Oh and they beat the Panthers 19-17 too.

Jimmy Garoppolo played the first three series, Tom Brady played the next four, then Garoppolo returned for three more. Jacoby Brissett came in to finish things off late in the third quarter. I’m sure the radio airwaves in Boston will find a way to complain about Brady playing too much or too little or too early or too late, but I sure enjoyed seeing #12 out there.

At this point, any game with Brady is a gift so I just try to enjoy it and hope he doesn’t get hurt.

Brady had a vintage, pinpoint 33-yard touchdown to Chris Hogan. It’s a very good start for an important new piece of the offense, and a nice reminder that Brady isn’t suddenly throwing Peyton Manning ducks.

Jimmy Garoppolo was 9 of 15 for 57 yards. No TDs. No picks. This performance will be under the microscope the next two weeks leading up to Arizona so get ready to hear it analyzed into the dirt. PFF won’t be kind. The Pats are dead meat.

But all the “analysis” about Brady’s playing time or Garoppolo’s competence loses the forest for the trees. The forest is that the big bad New England Patriots football machine that we’ll see from October on looks more ready than ever to tear shit up.

That’s what I prefer to think about.

Here are the Posits.

— Some people’s expectations for Garoppolo are way out of whack. Here’s the reality: He’s a third-year quarterback apprentice that has never started a game. He didn’t see the field last year. Carolina was the perfect dress rehearsal for Arizona. Away game against a great defense. You might not have liked it, but that was a performance the Patriots can win with. Add in a gameplan, Rob Gronkowski, a full-go Edelman, Hogan, Bennett and you can see how it much easier it will be against the Cardinals. He’s gotten away with a couple bad throws but he hasn’t turned the ball over in three games. That’s good enough for me. If Garoppolo has zero turnovers in his four starts the Pats will likely be 4-0.

— Garoppolo sure wasn’t helped by all the penaties that led to a 3rd-and-18 and a 3rd-and-26. Sloppy football on the early downs that put Garoppolo in an impossible hole against a great defense. He needed adversity. He needed to make some mistakes. Mistakes he now (hopefully) won’t make in Arizona. This is a game to build off of and I think he’ll be fine. At the very least he should give them a chance to win every game. And really, with how stacked the Pats are this year, they could go 0-4 and still easily win the division.

— I love how the Patriots give some young guys the chance to start with the 1s in games like this. Elandon Roberts, Vincent Valentine, Ted Karras and Tyler Gaffney all started. All were guys I felt like I needed a closer look at. My immediate reactions:

• Roberts – Attacks hole, packs more punch than you might expect for his size, not elite athlete in space, but very close to Jonathan Freeny, who I think struggles attacking hole in the run game (see Denver Novemeber 2015).
• Valentine – Drew a holding penalty, held ground okay, not dominant. Not better than Branch. Think he needs another year to fully grow into his body and potential strength. Could maybe replace Branch next year.
• Karras – Played a lot, lived up to toughness. Tough call on roster, if Cooper can’t get healthy and Mason’s out for significant time you might need him.
• Gaffney – Looked a lot better in the first half than the second. First half was the best he’s looked. But in the second half, behind the backup offensive line, there wasn’t a lot to work with. He also failed again to pound it in from just outside the goalline. I remain torn on Gaffney. He could get cut. He could make the roster then get cut for another veteran running back. Or he could be a valuable first down back who can take some of the load off of a rejuvenated LeGarrette Blount.

— I’m realizing more and more how much the loss of James Develin hurt last year.

— Don’t look now but things are looking up for Marcus Cannon! Yes, I can’t believe it either. Although we can’t forget Cannon was fine in 2013 replacing Vollmer. The Pats have paid him a bunch of money so they must like him. Maybe he really does need Dante Scarnecchia. Whatever it is, Cannon has shown up well this preseason. We’ll see how he looks in Week 1 in Arizona when it all starts to count.

LG Joe Thuney reaching Kawann Short at 3-tech. That ain’t an easy block pic.twitter.com/C06UIzqxrd

— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) August 26, 2016

— Yup, looks like we found our new Logan Mankins for the next 10 seasons.

— Cyrus Jones was in at nickel over Justin Coleman, who entered with the 2s and played on the outside opposite Cre’Von Leblanc. Jones had a quiet night, which is a good thing for a rookie defensive back in his first start. Cam Newton was too busy targeting Logan Ryan and getting owned. Cyrus was electric as a punt returner, with an innate sense of how to cut. He made multiple tacklers whiff entirely. So this is great news to take some heat off of Edelman and Amendola. Cyrus will probably take all 50+ punting situations now, saving Edelman for just the risky ones.

— We got a glimpse of how the Patriots might defend mobile quarterbacks this season as they showed some 3-4 and 3-3-5 nickel looks. This put Dont’a Hightower on the line of scrimmage at WOLB. In previous weeks he was at MLB in the 4-3. Essentially him and Collins flip flopped in this game, showing how versatile and interchangeable the two linebackers are. Hightower was also used as a pass rusher in some subpackages. McClellin and (maybe) Mingo’s presence could allow Hightower more time getting after quarterbacks. That’s exciting.

— Logan Ryan started off camp in a red jersey, this was his first game and he looked strong. I recall a time not too long ago when everybody was ready to run him out of town. That was 2014, when he was lost in the slot between Revis and Browner. Now on the outside, Ryan has developed into a very solid NFL cornerback. He was targeted multiple times by Newton and was always in the right spot, while also nabbing a pick.

— It’s exciting thinking about this defense. I just don’t see any holes. How different from the days of Tully Banta-Cain!

— How awesome does Chris Long long? Dear god, where has he been all my life? He’s 100 miles-per-hour all over the place. I’ve been pumping him up all year, saying that two lost injury years were fooling everyone and that he still had a ton to give. Especially to a place like NE coming from STL. He’s even playing some OLB in 3-3-5 and had a tip on McCourty’s INT. He’s really going to shift the dynamic of the defense and, I’m sorry, but he’s probably better than Ninkovich…. Did I really just write that… My ole Ninkopoop… 🙁

— Hightower and Collins: The Golden Age. Enjoy it and let’s hope those two get locked up for a long time because holy damn they are fun to watch.

— There’s no doubt about it now, Cre’Von Leblanc is in the lead over Darryl Roberts and Jonathan Jones for the fifth cornerback spot. He looked good with the second team, playing outside opposite Coleman. He’s got instincts, is a willing tackler, and gets his head around to find the ball. That’s what Malcolm Butler had. A good game against the Giants could seal it for him.

— But also have to point out Jonathan Jones looked really good as a gunner on special teams. Roberts has made plays as well. Tough call. Would love to keep all of them. Might only get one to the practice squad.

— Very surprised Terrance Knighton has fallen so far down the depth chart. He wasn’t even given the snaps to compete. That tells me they’re done with him. They’ll probably make him play the entire game against the Giants and then decide his fate.

— There’s no way you can cut Anthony Johnson. You don’t cut a pass rusher like that. We just have to get him a new number. 96 might be available soon.

—  Blount looks re-energized and that’s a great sign, though the 4th-and-1 stop was tough. With Gaffney being just okay, Blount has been spectacular even jumping over an oncoming tackler. With Develin back and a better offensive line, the running game should be resurgent this year. They really need it to be.

— Another solid showing from Jacoby Brissett. Really good sign for the rookie, he certainly doesn’t look lost out there, throws an NFL ball and knows where to put it. He’s one to keep an eye on. Especially for you fans out there who already hate Jimmy Garoppolo.

Real football starts in 15 days from this posting. I can smell it. This year’s edition of the Patriots, with Brady ultimately at the helm, looks every bit as formidable as any Belichick Patriots team that has preceded it.

The defense is loaded. The offense has added some new pieces that bring a new twist.

And then Dion Lewis comes back for the stretch run? Holy shit.

So yup, same old story. No injuries, get within a play that goes either way for the Lombardi Trophy. Get injuries in the right spots, bow out in the AFC Championship or maybe, gasp, sooner.

It’s just what Belichick/Brady teams do.

One more meaningless one against the Giants and we’re on to the regular season!