Giants Edge Patriots 16-13 In Pre-season Finale, Quick Observations
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Jimmy Garappolo went the distance at QB for the Patriots and played well for the most part. (USA Today photo)[/caption]
That the New England Patriots dropped a 16-13 pre-season finale to the New York Giants was irrelevant. The Patriots rested most of their starters for the entire game and let the backups fighting for jobs to give the coaches a final look at their body of work.
Both the Pats and Giants got plenty of good and bad play from their teams to make the decision to who stays and who goes for the final 53 man roster a very interesting one.
Here are some quick observations from Friday’s game:
Garappolo Shows Promise: Jimmy Garappolo went wire to wire as the Patriots quarterback and overall one has to come away with a positive vibe with his performance. There were certainly some plays left on the field but overall his play was positive. His quick release and ability to slide in the pocket were two things that stand out quickly.
The rookie QB shows nice poise and great touch on the deep ball as evidenced by his beauty of a 33 yard touchdown pass to Aaron Dobson in the first half. But he threw too high on another that Dobson made a great play on in the back of the end zone but the throw forced him to come down out of bounds. He also was consistently throwing behind his receivers on those short crossing routes.
Garappolo finished 22-42 for 284 yards with one TD and one INT. Overall,it was a good stepping stone for Garappolo who probably won’t see the field again until 2015.
The Wright Stuff: New Patriots tight end Tim Wright showed himself to be a quick study. We expected to see him play in a handful of snaps but he ended up playing around 40 snaps. He is a smooth route runner and showed some nice speed in working the seam and underneath routes.
Wright caught 4 passes for 43 yards as the “move” tight end moving both inside and outside the formation, similar to the role of what Aaron Hernandez used to do. He didn’t look like a guy who just 48 hours prior was a member of the Tampa Bay Bucs.
It is easy to see what the Patriots like about him and with his size and wing-span, he should provide another nice target for Tom Brady, especially in the red zone. With a healthy Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Dobson, Brandon LaFell and now Wright, Brady’s options in the red area just got a lot larger in the physical sense.
Dobson Returns and Delivers: Aaron Dobson got in his first action of 2014 and worked off the rust. Showing no sign of favoring his surgically repaired foot, he looks ready to go and should be the big outside the numbers target that the team wants him to be.
Dobson made a great play down the left sideline for a 33 yard touchdown by Garappolo and nearly had another but the throw forced him out the back of the end zone. Dobson had a nice showing for a guy who missed nearly all of the spring and summer workouts.
Tom Brady was certainly watching and once all the weapons are on the field at the same time, it will be interesting to see how Josh McDaniels decides to utilize them.
No Answers on the OL: With Logan Mankins wearing a pirate hat in Florida, the question was, “who takes his spot?” at left guard. At first glance it appears that Josh Kline has the position sewn up as he went wire to wire on the left side.
But it was hardly a blemish free performance as he was pushed back on a few occasions while pass blocking allowing one sack and few hurries and was part of a group that didn’t get the job done in the running game.
The rookie class along the OL with draft picks RG Jon Halapio, Center Brian Stork and RT Cameron Fleming got some extensive work in but the results were mixed although Stork played well for most of the game in his first pre-season action.
It appears that the starters will be LT Nate Solder, LG Kline, C Ryan Wendell, RG Dan Connolly, RT Sebastian Vollmer once the season starts in Miami but it is far from written in stone at this point.
Injuries Could Hurt: The Patriots came out of New Jersey with two injuries of note. LB James Morris got his knee rolled over by Steve Beauharnais in a goal line situation in the first half and was helped off the field in a lot of pain.
And DE/OLB Michael Buchanan suffered a foot or ankle injury in the second half and didn’t return. The severity of each’s injury may play a factor in Saturday’s roster cut-down. Buchanan was playing very well and showing a nice push off the edge.
Other observations…
Zach Moore gets more intriguing by the day, the big raw prospect from Div II Concordia St. Paul played all over the DL on Thursday night and looks impressive with his bull rush moves. He’s a keeper.
Josh Boyce had another forgettable night and may find his roster spot in danger. He and Garappolo had communication issues on two key plays one which resulted in an interception and the other, a fourth down and one incomplete pass. Overall, this was not a good summer for Boyce who started the spring with such good promise.
Who is the kick returner for the Patriots? At this point the job still seems wide open, which isn’t a good sign at the end of pre-season.
James White had a decent night overall and seems a lock to make the team but I just haven’t seen enough in the running game as he always seems to go down on first contact. He remains a nice option in the passing game.
Add in Fonzie to SS Mix: With Patrick Chung getting the night off, Alfonzo Dennard got the start at safety against the Giants. Tavon Wilson, Nate Ebner and Duron Harmon all got significant reps as Devin McCourty also got the night off. Ebner played with a nice physical presence as did Wilson. Harmon struggled a little bit….another story line to monitor going forward.
For those keeping score at home, Eli Manning the Giants first team offense played two series and Manning finished the night 1-4 for 8 yards against mainly the Pats second teamers.
