Who's hot and who's not, and game notes.
I don't usually like commenting upon a game from only what I see on television, especially the Kraft Sports Productions preseason telecasts of the Patriots, because you're more likely to see Steve Burton shilling on the sidelines for the Mass. State Lottery instead of a big play ... oh, wait, I actually saw that.
In any event, I still came away with some impressions of the Patriots in their 27-25 victory over the Eagles in the preseason opener, and here they are in the form of Who's Hot and Who's Not. Then after that, we offer you the official Patriots Game Notes as sent here by the media relations department from Philadelphia.
WHO'S HOT
TOM BRADY: Clearly. He was 10-15 for 100 yards and two touchdowns, and while he did throw one ball with a little too much air under it for an interception, I'd suggest that Randy Moss took one look at the ball and figured, "Uh-uh, I'm not risking a broken arm or ripped-up knee to break this one up. It's the preseason."
JULIAN EDELMAN: The rookie ex-QB from Kent State was a multi-tool player. He caught five passes for 37 yards and ran back a punt 75 yards for a score, and looked like a potential game-breaker in the making. A Welker clone, perhaps?
CHRIS BAKER: Two TD catches on well-run short-yardage patterns where he had to shed defenders. Nice start to the tight end battle.
MYRON PRYOR: The rookie defensive end was active and around the ball in time with the first unit when it was in a 4-3 alignment. He was credited with one sack, although Derrick Burgess blocked his offensive tackle into Donovan McNabb's escape path to help make the sack possible.
PAT CHUNG: Some nice hits and ball-stripping by the rookie safety, He was credited with five tackles, tying Jerod Mayo for the team lead.
NICK KACZUR: It looked to me as if the right tackle heard the rumblings that his job was in jeopardy. He seemed to do a good job of keeping his assignments occupied, while rookie Sebastian Vollmer got run over trying to keep someone off Andy Walter in the second half.
JONATHAN WILHITE: Looked like he held his own with Shawn Springs on the bench. Helped that Donovan McNabb was bouncing the ball to his receivers on two hops.
DARIUS BUTLER: Interception on a two-point conversion try, a few nice plays as a nickel back and some flashes on special teams, although he did over-run one tackle.
WHO'S NOT
JOEY GALLOWAY: Two passes thrown his way in the first half. One's low and he doesn't get there. The other is there before he's mentally prepared to catch it. Is he the John Smoltz of the Patriots?
SAMMY MORRIS: A veteran does not fumble the ball away when he's facing rookies and free agents desperately trying to make the other team.
LAURENCE MARONEY: He got a lot of early carries (six for 14 yards). He still dances too much. BJ Green-Ellis still shows much more of a burst and a willingness to hit the hole fast and keep running.
TERRENCE NUNN: For a kid that was looking good in camp, his chance to be a kick returner left much to be desired on his three tries.
WHO'S LUKEWARM (a new category)
RANDY MOSS: Yes, he caught three passes for 54 yards and also snaked old friend Asante Samuel into an interference penalty. But he just has that look in a preseason game that he's going about 60 percent. He didn't even bother to play matador on the interception by Sheldon Brown.
ANDY WALTER: A few issues with ball security during his second-half stint. He was 5-9 for 62 yards, but looks like he's not comfortable yet in the offense.
GAME NOTES:
*The Patriots opened the preseason on the road for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
*The Patriots victory over Philadelphia marked the first time the Patriots opened the preseason with a win since beating the Bengals at Cincinnati, 23-13, in 2005 (8-12-05).
*QB Tom Brady started the game and played until the last set of downs in the first half. He finished the night 10-of-15 for 100 yards with two touchdowns for a 97.2 quarterback rating. He engineered scoring drives of 77 yards and 75 yards that both ended with touchdown passes to TE Chris Baker.
*Brady threw a four-yard touchdown pass to TE Chris Baker in the first quarter, his first since completing a six-yard touchdown pass to WR Randy Moss in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII. He also completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Baker in the second quarter.
*Baker had a two-touchdown performance in his Patriots debut. He has never had a two-touchdown game in the regular season.
*Seventh-round draft pick WR Julian Edelman returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. The Patriots have not had a punt returned for a touchdown in the regular season since Troy Brown returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown at Carolina (1-6-02) during the last game of the 2001 season.
*Edelman finished the game with five receptions for 37 yards, one punt returns for a 75-yard TD and one kickoff returns for 24 yards.
*Second-round pick S Pat Chung blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt by PK David Akers in the second quarter. Chung was a two-time special teams player of the year during his collegiate career at Oregon.
*QB Andrew Walter relieved Brady and started the second half. He completed 5-of-9 passes for 62 yards.
*Ray Ventrone saw his first action at wide receiver after working as a safety for part of his NFL career. He caught his first pass on a four-yard reception from Walter in the third quarter.
*TE Chris Baker started at tight end in place of TE Benjamin Watson, who did not dress for the game. Baker finished with three receptions for 22 yards and two touchdowns.
In any event, I still came away with some impressions of the Patriots in their 27-25 victory over the Eagles in the preseason opener, and here they are in the form of Who's Hot and Who's Not. Then after that, we offer you the official Patriots Game Notes as sent here by the media relations department from Philadelphia.
WHO'S HOT
TOM BRADY: Clearly. He was 10-15 for 100 yards and two touchdowns, and while he did throw one ball with a little too much air under it for an interception, I'd suggest that Randy Moss took one look at the ball and figured, "Uh-uh, I'm not risking a broken arm or ripped-up knee to break this one up. It's the preseason."
JULIAN EDELMAN: The rookie ex-QB from Kent State was a multi-tool player. He caught five passes for 37 yards and ran back a punt 75 yards for a score, and looked like a potential game-breaker in the making. A Welker clone, perhaps?
CHRIS BAKER: Two TD catches on well-run short-yardage patterns where he had to shed defenders. Nice start to the tight end battle.
MYRON PRYOR: The rookie defensive end was active and around the ball in time with the first unit when it was in a 4-3 alignment. He was credited with one sack, although Derrick Burgess blocked his offensive tackle into Donovan McNabb's escape path to help make the sack possible.
PAT CHUNG: Some nice hits and ball-stripping by the rookie safety, He was credited with five tackles, tying Jerod Mayo for the team lead.
NICK KACZUR: It looked to me as if the right tackle heard the rumblings that his job was in jeopardy. He seemed to do a good job of keeping his assignments occupied, while rookie Sebastian Vollmer got run over trying to keep someone off Andy Walter in the second half.
JONATHAN WILHITE: Looked like he held his own with Shawn Springs on the bench. Helped that Donovan McNabb was bouncing the ball to his receivers on two hops.
DARIUS BUTLER: Interception on a two-point conversion try, a few nice plays as a nickel back and some flashes on special teams, although he did over-run one tackle.
WHO'S NOT
JOEY GALLOWAY: Two passes thrown his way in the first half. One's low and he doesn't get there. The other is there before he's mentally prepared to catch it. Is he the John Smoltz of the Patriots?
SAMMY MORRIS: A veteran does not fumble the ball away when he's facing rookies and free agents desperately trying to make the other team.
LAURENCE MARONEY: He got a lot of early carries (six for 14 yards). He still dances too much. BJ Green-Ellis still shows much more of a burst and a willingness to hit the hole fast and keep running.
TERRENCE NUNN: For a kid that was looking good in camp, his chance to be a kick returner left much to be desired on his three tries.
WHO'S LUKEWARM (a new category)
RANDY MOSS: Yes, he caught three passes for 54 yards and also snaked old friend Asante Samuel into an interference penalty. But he just has that look in a preseason game that he's going about 60 percent. He didn't even bother to play matador on the interception by Sheldon Brown.
ANDY WALTER: A few issues with ball security during his second-half stint. He was 5-9 for 62 yards, but looks like he's not comfortable yet in the offense.
GAME NOTES:
*The Patriots opened the preseason on the road for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
*The Patriots victory over Philadelphia marked the first time the Patriots opened the preseason with a win since beating the Bengals at Cincinnati, 23-13, in 2005 (8-12-05).
*QB Tom Brady started the game and played until the last set of downs in the first half. He finished the night 10-of-15 for 100 yards with two touchdowns for a 97.2 quarterback rating. He engineered scoring drives of 77 yards and 75 yards that both ended with touchdown passes to TE Chris Baker.
*Brady threw a four-yard touchdown pass to TE Chris Baker in the first quarter, his first since completing a six-yard touchdown pass to WR Randy Moss in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII. He also completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Baker in the second quarter.
*Baker had a two-touchdown performance in his Patriots debut. He has never had a two-touchdown game in the regular season.
*Seventh-round draft pick WR Julian Edelman returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. The Patriots have not had a punt returned for a touchdown in the regular season since Troy Brown returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown at Carolina (1-6-02) during the last game of the 2001 season.
*Edelman finished the game with five receptions for 37 yards, one punt returns for a 75-yard TD and one kickoff returns for 24 yards.
*Second-round pick S Pat Chung blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt by PK David Akers in the second quarter. Chung was a two-time special teams player of the year during his collegiate career at Oregon.
*QB Andrew Walter relieved Brady and started the second half. He completed 5-of-9 passes for 62 yards.
*Ray Ventrone saw his first action at wide receiver after working as a safety for part of his NFL career. He caught his first pass on a four-yard reception from Walter in the third quarter.
*TE Chris Baker started at tight end in place of TE Benjamin Watson, who did not dress for the game. Baker finished with three receptions for 22 yards and two touchdowns.
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Comment by Mark Farinella on August 14, 2009 at 3:34pm -
Rick, from what I've seen so far, the defense should be improved but thin on depth. Linebacking is the biggest concern; I think the acquisition of Burgess is Vrabel-specific -- better pass-rusher, and the alleged leadership qualities of Vrabel in the locker room were a bit of a myth. Mayo's a stud and Thomas should prosper with him concentratting solely on playing the outside. Not sold on Pierre Woods, Eric Alexander and Gary Guyton as yet, and I think Bruschi may be close to done. Secondary will have good depth, but the question will be how the new guys mesh. Line is OK. Wilfork looks a little too huge to me, but rookies Myron Pryor and Ron Brace could be nice pickups.
Agree, Brady looked sharp. I especially enjoyed his mini-tantrum after the interception ... he wants to kick some butt.
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