Patriots Come Out Scoring In Their Third Preseason Game

It was electric, as the Patriot’s scored on their first drive of the game.  The scene looked something out of a regular season game.  But no this was still Preseason Football.  Yesterday on [Friday] the Patriots faced off against the Detroit Lions in Detroit.  This was their third Preseason game and boy did their starting offense look good.  They would end up winning the game [30-28] on a last minute Field Goal.  Here are some takeaways from the game:

On the first drive of the game, Tom Brady looked good as he connected with Chris Hogan for the TD.  It was a quick pass to an open Hogan as Rob Gronkowski drew the defenders with his route.  Hogan would go on to score another TD later in the game with a deep 70 Yard Pass to the End Zone, on the next ensuing drive.

Tom Brady looked good.  You could tell his arm strength was there.  He was poised and accurate.  His passes were on the money and he even had the pocket presence to tuck/run a few times.  He looked far better than Payton Manning at Age 40.  I mean he was dialed into his play makers.  He was so good that you just wanted to see more from him.  But this was still Preseason and they didn’t want injuries.

Speaking of injuries there was a scary moment of the game when Julian Edelman when down on a play.  He had to be taken out of the game.  He was carted off after only a few minutes of game time.  With what happened Danny Amendola had to step up as the go to Slot Receiver.  He filled in the position perfectly.  He will be taking on more Slot Receiving as Edelman is out.

For Running Backs, Mike Gillislee looked good as he scored a Rushing TD.  The third Touchdown of the game.  To make it an even score they went for a 2 Point Conversion.  With the same package and the exact same play as the Rushing TD.  Gillislee got to the ball and entered the End Zone on the 2 Pointer. With James White and Dion Lewis, this back field for the Patriots has some good depth.

On a sour note, the Patriots’ Defense looked flustered.  They were giving up too many yards.  Their typical “bend don’t break” mentality was lacking.  Listen they just didn’t get the stops that they needed when the opposing Team was driving the ball.  They needed to get their assignments right and make some good defensive plays.  As the game went on you could tell that the Coaching Staff wasn’t happy with the Defense.  When Bill Belichick was asked about it, during Halftime, he just responded in a serious tone that they needed to make some plays.

Now is the time for the Patriots to make some improvements, as their next and last Preseason Game is on Thursday, August 31st.  It will be against the New York Giants, their old rivals.  The Patriots still have ways to go until Opening Day on September 7.  What they need is depth on their Defense.  They need some players to fill the void of Rob Ninkovich, who retired after last year.  If they can find the right group of guys who can fit together with their “bend don’t break” mentality, they will be that much better as a Team on the whole.

Patriots Release Kony Ealy Who Failed To Master The Defensive Scheme

In a shocking turn of events, the New England Patriots have released defensive end, Kony Ealy.

Ealy came to the Patriots from the Carolina Panthers and was one of the lone bright spots for the Panthers in their Super Bowl loss two seasons ago. The Patriots traded for Ealy this past offseason sending Carolina the 64th overall pick for the Panthers 72nd overall pick and Ealy.

Patriots are releasing DE Kony Ealy, source said. Tried him in their scheme. Not a similar style to Ninkovich so it didn't work out.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 26, 2017

Vote Of Confidence Came Just A Day Earlier

This news is slightly surprising given the fact that just yesterday head coach Bill Belichick gave Ealy a vote of confidence.

“Yeah, I thought Kony has been better every week,” Belichick said. “The Jacksonville week was his best week and then I think last week against Houston was a little better and then this week has been a little bit better. Each of the last three weeks he’s definitely on the upswing. He’s been better in practice and made more plays in the game. Hopefully that will continue [Friday night]. He’s made solid progress.”

But that vote of confidence came at the same time the Patriots were reportedly trying to gauge the trade market for Ealy. Either the value wasn’t there, or Belichick cut the veteran to allow him to find a team of his choice.

Ealy had struggled to start training camp for the Patriots with the 25-year-old trying to pick up the Patriots defensive scheme. It is worth noting that he was starting to come around as of late. But he clearly did not click with his play style being vastly different than that of the retired Rob Ninkovich.

Ealy was listed as number 1 on the Patriots unofficial depth chart at LDE. Now the chart reads Geno Grissom and Detriach Wise. On the other side at RDE New England has Trey Flowers, Derek Rivers, Caleb Kidder, and Keionta Davis.

It is unclear at this time if the Patriots are looking for another option to plug in at defensive end with the team already weak at the position after Ninkovich’s retirement.

Patriots Talk: A Dog Fight At Running Back

The Patriots are an interesting team because they make the most value out of their players but at the same time this opens up a lot of players that will not likely make the final 53 man roster. Bill Belichick has been one who will always have his full decision in when he knows for certain and right now, he is trying to create competition for each player to demonstrate their full abilities. The running back position this year is literally up for grabs as he had traded for running backs Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee (who returned to practice today and commented that he is feeling ‘at 100%’, so the heat is on for the team vs Detroit to see what he is capable of showing on Friday) this off season.

Bill Belichick said it best during his press conference on Sunday when asked how his thought process would be starting and how much time a player is given in the preseason.

“It could be a number of things, but I’d say the bottom line is we try to go through each player and each position and kind of have a rough idea of what our expectations are for that player during that particular game. Sometimes, Game 2 plays off of Game 1, so maybe somebody that didn’t get a chance to play in Game 1 plays more in Game 2 or vice versa. Sometimes you want to see different combinations of players. Again, at this time of year, all the players have played with all the other players at their position, so there really isn’t too much of that. But, sometimes it does give the coaches an opportunity to see how a certain group of players would work together – a certain group of linebackers or defensive backs or receivers, whatever the position is. So that could play into it, as well.”

RB Mike Gillislee says he was a full participant in practice today. Has been limited the last two weeks with hamstring. pic.twitter.com/V3U2EXgBoz

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 22, 2017

Different Approaches Lead To Different Results

This is true as no matter what, each game a team will need to approach differently. Belichick has known this fact his whole coaching career dating back to his time in Cleveland. Each group of players at a certain position will need to be used in different ways that can demonstrate what a player’s approach will be when given the chance. All running backs are divided into categories like power backs, scat backs, receiving backs etc. Each player will have something to show. As of  this writing the Patriots current Running Backs core consists of:

• D.J. Foster (27)
• James White (28)
• Dion Lewis (33)
• Rex Burkhead (34)
• Mike Gillislee (35)
• Branden Bolden (38)
• Leshun Daniels Jr. (39)
• James Devlin (46)*
• Glenn Gronkowski (27)*

*RB/Fullback

With the exceptions of Gronkowski and Devlin, the running backs currently consist of seven players. Now so far, there hasn’t been enough fully shown so far to say who will be guaranteed a spot but many feel that Brandon Bolden will remain due to his ability on special teams, D.J. Foster has been shown to be a competitor so far James White and Dion Lewis have given their workload as well. Rex Burkhead, Mike Gillislee and Daniels Jr. are the only ones who still have a lot left to prove to get a spot on the roster. It’s clear that at least one or two of the players listed will not make the final cut.

Rex Burkhead Is Still Learning

Belichick included was asked on how newcomers like Burkhead were adjusting to his system within The Patriots offense.

“Rex has missed very little time. He’s basically been out there every day and we’ve worked with him in all areas of the game that we think he can contribute in, which is all three downs offensively and the four phases of special teams that he’s been involved with, from Day 1. And we do that with really all of our players. So, even though a player might not be first or second on the depth chart in a certain unit like a sub back or the punt team or goal line, whatever it happens to be, he might be fourth team or fifth team listed on the depth chart, but he’s in there and he’s learning those responsibilities.”

RB Rex Burkhead was not present at the start of practice for the second day in a row. Makes it unlikely he will play vs. Lions on Friday.

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 23, 2017

Despite what Belichick has stated here, it is evident that the Patriots are valuing Burkhead’s ability as a special teamer as well, which was clear from day 1; Burkhead a player that can do a little of everything. It is clear he is still trying gauge where he would feel Burkhead is best and Mike Gillislee is still trying to show what he can do. With Burkhead unlikely to make the Detroit game at Ford Field he will have a lesser chance to demonstrate his abilities which leaves the others to get the opportunity. Based on the current roster, I will predict that the team will likely have 6 running backs for the 53 man roster (majority of NFL teams carry about 4 but the team last season carried over 5). Glenn Gronkowski, D.J Foster and Daniels Jr. will likely not make the final cut and be put onto practice squad for this season.