New England Patriots preseason Week 1: 2nd quarter observations
The New England Patriots are playing football right now. Here are some things I noticed in the second quarter of the preseason tilt against the Green Bay Packers.
Next: Pats-Packers 1st quarter observations
1st drive – NE (continued from first quarter)
- Jimmy G chucked a nice throw out to Boyce on the outside. Boyce recovering from his first quarter drop.
- Play of the game so far: Jonas Gray rips off a huge touchdown run. He definitely dropped a few pounds and got faster over the offseason.
- Gray gets icing on the cake: two-point conversion off a sweep.
1st drive – GB
- Bradley Fletcher gave up a catch but made a nice thump before the first down.
- Jonathan Freeny made the quick read on a James Starks screen and terminated the play before the line of scrimmage.
- Pass rush forced a Scott Tolzien shovel pass. More good play from the front seven.
- Nice prevent defense on 3rd & 22 to force the punt.
2nd drive – NE
- James White with 17-yard catch-and-run. Good to see him playing well in pads.
Next: Profiling No. 28 James White
- White didn’t have as good of luck a few plays later, running for a loss.
- Garoppolo sacked way back on 3rd & 12, missing a check-down to White.
2nd drive – GB
- Geneo Grissom set the edge well, helping to stop Starks for no gain.
- Tavon Wilson just barely missed a PBU on 3rd & 1.
- Logan Ryan got toasted on a 26-yard touchdown. Not fun to see the wide receiver get so much separation from him.
3rd drive – NE
- Boyce gets rocked backward on kick return. He looked a bit undersized on the play.
- Jimmy G chucked a nice deep throw, but Boyce couldn’t reel it in. There was illegal contact by the Packers on the play, so the Pats got five yards out of the incompletion.
- Devey reported as eligible receiver, so the Patriots are still toying with that trick.
- White made a beautiful catch on a screen, slipped past a few Packers and got the first down. If he keeps that up, he will win the job for Shane Vereen’s old role.
- Boyce nearly came down with a back-shoulder throw, getting his helmet knocked down in the process. He should have caught it.
- For the third straight time, Garoppolo and Boyce couldn’t connect; Boyce had to intervene or else it would have been picked.
3rd drive – GB
- Robert McClain and Jordan Richards couldn’t put the squeeze on Ty Montgomery in time, giving up the first down.
- Ryan committed a holding call. That’s two negative plays in a row from the longest-tenured cornerback on the Patriots’ roster.
- Duron Harmon leveled Packers’ tight end Dustin Perillo. That’s the kind of physicality the Patriots need to have in the back end, something that Devin McCourty often lacks.
4th drive – NE
- White got taken down at the knees on an out route. At first glance, looks like a bruiser and nothing more but not something you want to see in the preseason.
- Garoppolo didn’t make the most of a free play after a Packers offsides, tossing a short pass to Jonas Gray when he could have gone for the end zone.
- Again, a Garoppolo-Boyce misconnect. This one was on Jimmy G, who floated the pass too much.
- Jimmy sacked.
- Gostkowski drilled 56-yard field goal in the final seconds of the first half, with plenty of room to spare.
Score: Patriots 11, Packers 9