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Pats Posits: Real and Fake Concerns, Excitement

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I’ve got to head down to Philly for a few days so I won’t be able to jump into film analysis of this game as I’d like to, but maybe that’s for the best because nothing gets overreacted to like the first preseason game. The void of football games since the Super Bowl left the media circus chasing their tail all offseason. Now they’ll effortlessly jump into the attempted analysis of a football game that should be taken with a very big grain of salt.

What’s real and what’s not? There was plenty in the first half to get annoyed about but will those things actually matter next month when the regular season starts? What about the good stuff of the second half? Can we get excited about that stuff? It’s hard to sort it all out in the preseason, with no gameplanning and scrubs often on the other side of the ball.

Let’s break down what’s real and what’s not in some Posits before I hit the road in my Patriots-license plated car, praying I don’t get egged by some unruly Eagles fans.

Real Concern — Second Level Athleticism: As much as I was excited to see Ja’Whaun Bentley look far more impressive with quickness and aggressiveness than I saw him in camp, he’s not alleviating my concerns for the coverage linebacker situation. Really it comes down to Kyle Van Noy, in coverage on one of the touchdowns, and Elandon Roberts, who played well into the second half. Roberts will be targeted in coverage on early downs, and while he looked good a couple times recognizing play action, he’s going to have to continue to make strides. After those two there isn’t much hope anyone else is going to remake the second level of the defense, and let’s not even imagine what happens if Patrick Chung goes down.

Real Excitement — Bentley: Again, couldn’t believe how impressed I was with him. I didn’t notice one single thing about him in practice but here he was, flying around, often on the weakside, which was also a surprise. He could be a factor on defense.

Fake Excitement — Ralph Webb: Sorry guys, getting excited about an undrafted running back who runs like his NFL career depends on it is an annual occurrence. Despite his two TDs and conversions, I still think Webb’s only chance is on the practice squad.

Fake Concern — Wide Receivers: Been saying this for the last week when suddenly the receivers became a target of concern. Blah games from Edelman, Hogan and Dorsett will do nothing to alleviate those fake concerns, but once Tom Brady is throwing the ball they’ll look fine.

Real Concern — Jordan Richards: I still think Richards is on the team based on his special teams ability alone, but anytime he’s playing defense it’s a serious cause for concern.

Real Excitement — Jeremy Hill: Hill has been running strong all camp and has caught the ball better than Gillislee ever has. If he can be an early down and short yardage guy to lean on the Pats will be in good shape, especially considering Rex Burkhead and Sony Michel’s injury history.

Real Concern — Pass Rush Depth: The pieces are there but they’re still very much unproven. The simple fact is that the Pats must produce consistent pressure from two proven vets, Trey Flowers and Adrian Clayborn, and three mostly unproven youngsters, Dietrich Wise, Adam Butler and Derek Rivers. Dont’a Hightower will be a big factor as well, but it needs to all come together and outside of Flowers and Hightower I’m not sure anyone is a slam dunk to become surefire disruptor. There are two versions — 2014 when they get production from their starters who never get hurt and 2016, when there’s a deep rotation of rushers who can all get it done. Not sure yet where this team will fall.

Fake Concern — Stephon Gilmore: Yeah he gave up some catches in a vanilla defense that basically left him all alone, but once he’s up to speed and playing within an actual scheme, Gilmore is one of the best in the league and maybe the best shutdown corner the Pats have had since that one season of Revis.

Fake Excitement — Braxton Berrios: He’s just buried on the depth chart folks, what more can you say. We all want to find the next Edelman but I’m not convinced Berrios, or Riley McCarron are the guy, at least for 2018.

Real Excitement — Trent Brown: The biggest question mark for the 2018 Pats has been almost seamlessly filled thus far by Brown who is an athletic monster. I can’t wait to see how he changes the complexion of the offense.

Real Concern — Managing Brady: If there’s one thing that I don’t quite get is why no one can accept Brady is 41 and in a different phase of his career now. There were reports last night that he’s got a sore back and has been managed. So reducing his reps and going easy on him with the aim of having the same Brady in February we saw last year is vital. No matter how pliable Brady is, the wear and tear is going to mount. We can’t just throw caution to the wind, expect him to be at the stadium 24/7 and play every rep like he did when he was 24. Just go with it and enjoy every snap from here on out and adjust your expectations because Brady is 41 and needs to be protected more than ever.

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The train has officially left the station on the Patriots’ 2018 season. They’ll get another crack at the Eagles next Thursday which should be a good challenge since the Eagles were such a bad matchup for them in the Super Bowl. Now we’ll see if any of those flaws have been corrected (to a limited preseason degree of course).