The New England Patriots showed lots of promise in a 37-20 dismantling of the Philadelphia Eagles.
After last night we may not know what a legal tackle is anymore, but we do know the New England Patriots showed great promise in their win against the Philadelphia Eagles
Most of the team gelled really well together and looked more cohesive than last Thursday’s affair.
There was a ton of great action and storylines coming out of Thursday’s contest, but here are three things I took away from the game.
1. Tom Brady doing Tom Brady things
In our first look of Tom Brady in a game session, he went off.
From the first snap, you could just tell reigning NFL MVP was on a mission.
On the night he completed 19 of his 26 passes to go along with 2 touchdowns. As per usual he went through his reads beautifully and made good decisions.
He connected with Chris Hogan on a great 4-yard strike to the end zone scrambling to his right. Brady looked good in the pocket, evading pressure on multiple instances and making quick check-downs when a blitz was imminent.
He spread the ball around as usual but always seemed to go back to his security blanket James White; who he hooked up with for his second touchdown.
His only issues at all came with the deep ball. He underthrew two deep shots which were nearly intercepted by Eagles corner Ronald Darby, but in the end, they were just batted down.
All and all, Brady looked like his G.O.A.T self and looks ready for Week 1 against the Houston Texans.
2. Pass rush dominance
It seemed as if Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks were on the ground longer than they were on their feet.
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The New England Patriots recorded a ridiculous eight sacks as a team and had constant pressure all night long.
The star of the show was Adrian Clayborn. He was bull rushing past Eagles tackles left and right and helping his fellow pass rushers to apply pressure.
Clayborn had an amazing strip sack on Nick Foles which lead to a 54-yard fumble return touchdown by rookie linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley.
Kyle Van Noy also had a beautiful sack. On a play action, Noy burst right through the middle and landed a nice hit for the sack.
It was also nice to see Derek Rivers perform well. He had a sack to go with a great run stuff. River’s is a key to this 2018 defense, and he looked like he is ready to step up to the plate.
Something lacking last year with this squad was being able to get to the QB. Tonight showed that with unique looks and persistent edge rushers, that the pass rush should be much improved heading into 2018.
3. Poor outing by the secondary
The only issue tonight with the New England Patriots play was the performance of the secondary.
Not physical at the line and not keeping an eye on the ball, Patriots corners were routinely getting burned by the Eagles backup WRs.
On a 4-yard fade route in the second quarter, Eagles wide receiver Shelton Gibson did a little inside fake before he faded out, and left cornerback Jason McCourty in the dust. As commentator Scott Zolak put it “It wasn’t even contested”.
Eagles third string QB Nate Sudfeld dropped 312 yards against the Pats secondary and seemed to be targeting the inexperienced members of the team such as Keion Crossen.
Crossen was by far the worst member of the team tonight, constantly getting beat deep and getting out muscled.
Jordan Richards to no one’s surprise also had a rough night in coverage. The Patriots played a decent amount of man defense with a cover one shell tonight, leaving Richards as the lone safety playing a center field like role.
The only issue with that is, Richards did not seem to be reactant to the ball at all. Besides a lone pass breakup in the red zone on Eagles tight end Richard Rodgers, Jordan looked lost.
He routinely let receivers blow by Pats corners and offered no help whatsoever.
If Richards wants to make the roster, he needs to prove he has some range and be better reacting to the play at hand.
The New England Patriots next game is next Friday as they travel to North Carolina to take on Cam Newton and the Panthers.