The New England Patriots played their first preseason on Thursday and there were many interesting takeaways from the game.
Man isn’t it great to have football back? The New England Patriots played their first preseason game on Thursday and defeated the Washington Redskins 26-17. Even though the game doesn’t really matter, there is a lot of interesting observations you can make.
Preseason football isn’t where you see the star players play a whole game. Mostly it is seeing 2nd and 3rd stringers compete for a roster spot, and fans first chance to see rookies in the NFL.
So without further ado let’s look at 3 observations from the New England Patriots first preseason game.
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The defense still needs some work
Overall the New England Patriots defense wasn’t that good. It seems like Brian Flores is still working on this whole coaching thing.
The defensive struggled against a mediocre Washington Redskins offense. Colt McCoy was looking like he was playing in college. The Patriots had a tough time stopping him.
Also, the Patriots once again struggled to make tackles. I don’t know if opposing teams put oil on there jersey’s but the Patriots seem to have issues wrapping up. This issue has plagued the Pats last season and looks to be prevalent once again.
Even though the Patriots defense struggled there were some bright spots.
Ryan Lewis absolutely demolished a Washington wide receiver and forced him to exit the game immediately. It was a clean hit and reminded you of putting the hit stick on someone in Madden. Hopefully, the wideout isn’t to0 banged up.
Also, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley was the star of the defense. He had 6 tackles in the game and looked comfortable on the field. He is definitely someone fans are going to want to keep an eye on.
Patriots offense had a pretty bad start
The New England Patriots struggled a lot on offense. In the first half, Brain Hoyer looked incapable of completing a pass, and the receivers were dropping a lot of balls. The offense struggled to get in a rhythm.
Chris Hogan definitely didn’t have the best start to his preseason. He was targeted twice but couldn’t reign in any balls. Hopefully this lackluster was performance was just due to rust because the Patriots need him to perform well while Julian Edelman is suspended. Hopefully, the issues in the passing game can just be blamed on the quarterbacks.
With the Patriots issues at quarterback, I am starting to get nervous about the Patriots future. Of course, I am not talking about Tom Brady. The Patriots need to find a successor for him. Right now it looks like the Patriots have no plan for the future.
Really makes you wish we didn’t trade that stud Jimmy Garroppolo.
Running backs dominate
One of the only bright spots to come out of the Patriots first preseason game was the running backs. They came out with a bang and were one of the main reasons the Patriots ended up winning the game.
Jeremy Hill had a dominant game. As soon as he entered he had an impact. Hill showed great vision and made some great cuts. He had 11 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. Hill’s yards per carry (4.6) show that when he is handed the ball he makes the most out of it.
If Hill keeps playing like this it looks like we will be saying adios to Mike Gillislee.
Another impressive back was Ralph Webb. Webb is an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt. In the Patriots first preseason game, he had 14 carries for 46 yards and 2 touchdowns. It may have been against the 3rd stringers, but Webb showed some promise that may end up in him getting a roster spot.
The first couple of preseason games are about knocking the rust off. Hopefully, the Patriots will look at the tape and improve on their problem areas. It looks like they will have plenty of work to do.
For the players who struggled it will be a game to forget, but the players who excelled will be looking to build off of a strong showing.
The Patriots take the field once again next Thursday when they take on the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.