new england patriots

I started out trying to watch last night’s game “live” on NFL Game Pass but it was a solid two minutes behind real time which made it quite frustrating to deal with as Twitter ruined every play before it happened. So I said screw it, went and treated myself to a massage and dinner before coming home and watching the game in peace late last night. 

Here’s what stood out to me on the initial watch:

1. Gotta start with Jimmy Garoppolo, definitely the best we’ve ever seen him. HIs quick release was on full display and he looked at ease running the offense and comfortable in the pocket. Most importantly the ball was coming out quick. I was getting a little curious if Garoppolo was going to take any big steps forward this summer as he’s been somewhat stagnant early on, but last ngiht was that big step. Impressive.

2. Once again Garoppolo showed some great chemistry with a receiver like he did last summer with Tyms, this time around it’s rookie Chris Harper who had a number of nice grabs and the touchdown. With Tyms possibly done for the year, Brandon Gibson getting hurt last night and Dobson still MIA, Harper could enter the 53-man conversation but I still think he’s headed for the practice squad at best. There’s always a receiver who shows some spark in the preseason who gets some buzz, but ultimately the Pats would probably sign Reggie Wayne before putting Harper in a real game.

3. Spent a lot of snaps focusing on Shaq Mason again and once again it’s exactly what we all know it is – very good run blocking and in space, but really struggles pass blocking and Kevin Williams was all over him last night. That kind of thing scares me when you realize what a vet vs. rookie guard can really look like. I’m just not sure what the other options are until Wendell gets back. They’re certainly trying to get Mason as many snaps as possible.

4. Even Nate Solder had his struggles last night, his first action of the season. I hoped the OL would’ve looked better with Solder and Fleming in there but we see it every year. It takes time for the OL to all get on the same page and Stork’s return will be a huge part of that.

5. We heard some buzz that Dion Lewis shouldn’t be discounted from the passing down RB role and last night he showed why. It was a little weird seeing a non-Faulk 33 out there, but Lewis showed great pop on his touchdown run. Definitely not too late for him to enter the conversation a little more seriously. I really liked what I saw out of him in pass protection too.

6. James White must’ve saw what Lewis did then picked up his own game as well as I though he ran a little tougher than last week’s game against the Packers. The guy we really need to see if Travaris Cadet to know for sure how this will all play out. Way too small a sample size and maybe I’m crazy but I kind of thought Lewis looked better than White.

7. The Brandon Gibson injury is really unfortunate. He was approaching lock status for the roster. Still waiting to see how serious it is. Now all eyes turn back to Aaron Dobson, who seems to have nine lives no matter his injuries.

8. I can’t read too much into the secondary’s performance last night. It seemed like more experimentation was going on than anything – McCourty at corner, Brown in the slot, continued heavy rotation at safety. It’s all just preparation for matchups.

9. McCourty had his good and bad moments at corner, but yes, he’s best at safety. The role we’ll see him in is covering tight ends man-to-man on third downs, and it’s unlikely he’s covering outside receivers.

10. Still, I think it was a night to forget for Duron Harmon who looked off in his free safety coverage, especially on the long touchdown where he should’ve helped McCourty more than he did.

11. Dominique Easley played some defensive end last night and I thought it was clear he’s not long for there. Still, it’s experimentation and he looked okay at defensive end against the Colts in the regular season last year. I think the coaching staff is still looking for how to maximize Easley, but after last night I’m a bit concerned about him.

12. Nice to see Siliga and Branch back in there, albeit for late snaps. I think both of them are still significant parts of the rotation inside this year and both were a big part of the defensive turnaround in the second half. Yes, against scrubs, but still.

13. Some good play from James Morris last night who appeared to take some positive strides forward, including his forced fumble. Let’s face it, forcing turnovers is a key to this defense. Morris is still on my 53-man roster for sure.

14. So is Jonathan Freeny as long as we don’t have to see him playing defense much, if at all. He’s a very good special teams guy who can play defense in a pinch, but he’s not a long-term starter or anything.

15. Jabaal Sheard continues to look like a perfect fit. So physical on the edge and a handful of a pass rusher. I am very curious to see how the snaps get divvied up between him and Ninkovich, but last night we did briefly see the vaunted pass rushing front of Sheard-Easley-Chander-Ninkovich. That one gets us all excited… for 3rd-and-longs.

16. Definitely a night to forget for Jamie Collins but I’m not concerned. Lot of people were giving him crap for not being able to cover running backs, well he’s 6′4″ 250, how many guys that size can even stay close to covering running backs? That won’t be Collins’ task in the regular season much at all, so we can just chill poking holes in a potential super star’s game.

17. Lot of rotation along the defensive line last night and I think that is a sign of things to come in the regular season. Early in the season especially we’ll see mixing and matching from down to down until they find what works best.

18. I never take much from the final score, but it was an impressive come-from-behind victory for the Pats and certainly one they can take some pride in. There’s never much carryover from the first team to the second team and the win doesn’t erase a flat first quarter, but they showed some resilience and it’s always nice to win a game you were down 21-0 in.

19. Logan Ryan continues to be what he is – a slightly-above average corner. He gives up some plays. He makes some plays. If he’s forced to be more than the 4th corner this year I have concerns.

20. The third preseason game is always the best one where we get a sense of where things are really standing. The starters will play at least a half and we’ll see who really is at the top of the depth chart. Most interesting will be the bubble guys who get some first team reps to see if they fit in. Still, the development of the rookie OL is vitally important and a huge area to watch next week.