Foxborough, MA – The Patriots wrapped up a week with the Eagles with a 24-21 victory over Philadelphia in the first Saturday night preseason game at Gillette Stadium since 2006.
Although the Patriots provided some intrigue by rallying behind QB Behren Morton, who gets credit for a preseason game-winning drive in Saturday night's win, head coach Mike Vrabel rested his starters for the second consecutive exhibition. Part of his reasoning could be that New England has held three joint practices with Philly and Indy, including two days of joint sessions with the Eagles where QB Drake Maye took over 50 reps on Wednesday and Thursday combined.
Along with reserve listers Harold Landry III and Brenden Schooler, nine other Patriots weren't in uniform on Saturday night, including CB Christian Gonzalez. Starting QB Drake Maye, star receiver A.J. Brown and others were dressed for the game but didn't play after getting their work in during joint practices. However, Vrabel gave another reason when asked about the importance of Maye and the starters getting a "feel" for game speed before the regular season kicks off on Sept. 9 in Seattle, with Thursday night's preseason finale in Cleveland being the last chance for the Patriots starters to knock the rust off.
"I do not think we have a very deep team, so I think we have to make sure that we are preparing our football team and that we are doing everything that we can to keep our best players available," Vrabel said. "If that means playing Thursday as part of preparation, then that is what we will do. I have not made that decision yet."
Vrabel always seems to know how to push the right buttons with his players and could be trying to light a fire under the reserves who played in Saturday night's game. The Pats head coach was critical of his team's first-half defense, calling his first timeout with 1:53 left in the first quarter to rally his troops. There's also taking Vrabel at face value. The Patriots appear to be thin at linebacker and on the offensive/defensive lines. They addressed one of those areas by signing veteran C/G Greg Van Roten, who dressed for the game but didn't play. At this point, it's difficult to retool depth across the roster completely but the head coach's post-game remarks signaled that moves could be coming to shore up weaker areas.
Here are nine takeaways as the Patriots improve to 1-0-1 in the preseason with a victory over the Eagles on Saturday night.
1. Player of the Game: QB/Punter Behren Morton Leads the Patriots to Victory
The best part about the NFL preseason is that you never know what you're going to get. The Patriots threw it back to the days of Tom Tupa and Danny White with Morton throwing the game-winning touchdown and punting on Saturday night. Vrabel said P Bryce Baringer "wasn't feeling great" after his first two punts, so they turned to Morton to get them through the game. Morton averaged 44.3 yards per punt and wasn't half bad. At quarterback, the rookie was 13-of-17 for 129 passing yards and a game-winning 37-yard touchdown pass to rookie WR Nick DeGennaro.
"Tonight was fun. I wasn't expecting to punt. It's been since high school since I've punted, so you just got to make the most of your opportunity when it comes. So, I tried to do that tonight," Morton said post-game. "Coach came up to me and just said that if we got a punt on this drive, you're going out there. I was pretty cold at the time, so I went over to the net, hit a few balls. I asked Andy [Borregales] how far do I need to stand back - he told me 15 yards, catch the ball and just put it down there."
Morton has a compact release and seems to see the field well, noticing the half-field safety (J.T. Gray) over the top of DeGennaro drifting into the middle of the field on his touchdown pass. DeGennaro then snuck behind CB Isaiah Bolden, who was expecting safety help over the top. We've written before that the Patriots quarterback depth behind Maye has improved and Morton seems poised to make the roster as QB3.
2. Second-Year WRs Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III Flash Potential vs. Eagles
Speaking to the McCourty twins on the preseason broadcast, Patriots EVP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf called New England's crowded wide receiver room, "a good problem to have."
Although a trade involving fourth-year WR Kayshon Boutte could change things, New England could keep as many as seven wide receivers on its 53-man roster. On Saturday, second-year receivers Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III showcased how far the Patriots depth at wide receiver has come in just a few offseasons. Starting with Williams, last year's third-rounder has been a bit inconsistent since entering the NFL, with route landmarks and working back to the ball as two areas for improvement. However, Williams's ability to stretch the field vertically is a carrying trait that is unique to the wide receiver.
Williams showcased his field-stretching ability when he reached a top speed of 20.1 MPH (via NextGen Stats) on a 69-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Williams beat Eagles CB Ambry Thomas's press coverage at the line of scrimmage with another sweet release to avoid Thomas's jam and get down the right sideline to run underneath a deep shot from backup QB Tommy DeVito.
As for Chism, he caught all four of his targets for 45 receiving yards while moving the chains on a 24-yard catch on third down. Chism ran a McDaniels staple by motioning into a two-receiver stack with Williams and then running across the field away from Eagles CB Shaun Wade. Chism then ducked underneath to avoid a tackle attempt on an 8-yard catch that produced a first down. From this perspective, the Patriots are trending toward keeping all seven receivers barring a Boutte trade before the start of the season.
3. K Andy Borregales Bounces Back with Perfect Night (3-3 XPA, 41-yard FG)
It's not every week that the kicker is the third takeaway, but after going 2-of-5 last week, Borregales was a top storyline heading into Saturday night. The Pats kicker made a 41-yard field goal and all three of his extra point attempts. He still had some right-to-left drift on his kicks but the second-year kicker made them. Hopefully, things have stabilized with Borregales and Baringer doesn't have a long-term injury.
4. First-Round OT Caleb Lomu Gets Extended Run Following Marcus Bryant Injury
Due to backup OT Marcus Bryant going down with an ankle injury on the Patriots opening drive, New England was shorthanded at offensive tackle (starters Will Campbell and Morgan Moses had the night off). Rather than turning to international pathway player Lorenz Metz, Lomu played into the fourth quarter (57 snaps). On initial viewing, he allowed three total pressures with a sack when he failed to pick up a wrapping Ty Robinson on a stunt over the left side. Lomu's 1-on-1 pass-blocking looked solid and he did a nice job burying a wide overhang blitz from LB Tarron Jackson. Jackson came from over the slot and Lomu got his eyes outside, then buried Jackson into the ground – it was good to see a little nastiness from Lomu.
"We worked on it all week since they do that a lot. It was just natural to be able to see that in the game and make the calls that we needed to be able to go out and pick them up," Lomu said of pancaking Jackson. "[Finishing blocks] is one of the things I work on the most.
5. Breaking Down Second-Rounder Gabe Jacas's Second Preseason Game
The Patriots second-rounder played 36 snaps in his second preseason tilt against the Eagles on Saturday night and it was once again a mixed bag. Jacas logged a quarterback hit on an unblocked pressure but was called for roughing the passer (late hit) and was kicked out by Eagles OT Markel Bell to create a lane for an 18-yard run by RB Will Shipley. At 6-9, 346 pounds, Bell is a monster, but those "power" matchups are ones that Jacas will need to win more consistently at this level. I remain optimistic about Jacas because you see a foundation to build on as a power rusher but the discipline and play recognition will need to improve.
6. Vrabel Praises RB Lan Larison for 'Gritty' Performance vs. Eagles
When asked about the No. 3 running back competition, Vrabel had some praise for second-year RB Lan Larison, who is battling with RB Hassan Haskins and rookie Jam Miller for a roster spot.
"Lan certainly had a good performance, a gritty, tough performance tonight, and did some really good things," Vrabel said. "It is fourth and one. He gets hit behind the line of scrimmage and finds a way to get the first down. Then he is able to break a couple tackles there on third down when we needed it at the end of the game, so he did some good things."
Larison finished with 74 scrimmage yards on 12 touches, turning a few short passes into positive yards (28-yard screen) and converting a 4th-and-1. He has a familiar sub-package skill set to contribute on offense as a gun-run back and receiver out of the backfield (three catches for 41 yards vs. Eagles). From this vantage point, Larison doesn't quite have the top-end speed to be an early-down back who gets the ball deeper in the backfield. Instead, his blend of quickness and power is better suited to run the ball from the shotgun. Larison is also heavily involved in returning kickoffs, which is a primary responsibility for the Pats third back. Larison is the current frontrunner to win the third running back job.
7. Linebacker Depth an Area of Uncertainty for the Patriots Defense (Shaq Thompson?)
New England's depth at inside linebacker is an area of concern. Veteran LB Chad Muma, who was wearing the green dot for the Pats on Saturday night, has had some struggles in back-to-back preseason games (two missed tackles vs. Philly) and left the game late with an injury. LB K.J. Britt also overran a 14-yard screen and undrafted rookie Khalil Jacobs suffered an injury (he has shown promise this summer).
The best of the backups was rookie LB Namdi Obiazor. The sixth-rounder played a corner route perfectly on a 4th-and-1 play-action concept by Philly, breaking up a pass in the end zone by punching the ball loose from TE E.J. Jenkins. Obiazor has gotten some reps in camp practices with Elliss and Muma limited in recent sessions, so maybe the light is coming on for him. Before the Eagles joint practices, the Patriots had veteran LB Shaq Thompson in for a visit (along with DT DaQuan Jones). With the Pats current depth behind starters Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss, Vrabel and Wolf might consider making an offer to Thompson.
8. Backup QB Tommy DeVito Throws 69-Yard TD, Adds 36-Yard Scramble
The Patriots top backup quarterback has done some impressive things in camp practices but DeVito's accuracy hasn't translated into the preseason games. The fourth-year quarterback was 8-of-15 for 151 passing yards and a touchdown while adding a 36-yard scramble. The deep ball to Williams was a dime and DeVito's 36-yard scramble was great but his completion percentage over expectation was -12.4% and he had a turnover-worthy play when Eagles CB Kelee Ringo dropped an interception.
That said, DeVito showed off legit wheels on his 36-yard scramble. According to NextGen Stats, the Pats QB reached a top speed of 19.2 MPH. For reference, Maye only topped that four times last season. DeVito isn't known for his rushing ability but he showed off some speed there and the Williams deep ball was nice. Although you'd like to see more consistent accuracy from DeVito, he has made some big plays this summer.
9. S John Saunders Jr. Making a Strong Roster Push This Summer
Simply put, S John Saunders Jr. is really pushing to make the roster. He's a ball magnet with four interceptions in camp, including picking off Eagles QB Cole Payton in Wednesday's practice. Saunders then followed that up by suffocating every route into his coverage, including logging a pass breakup and jumping a boot-crosser that Andy Dalton wisely threw into the dirt (if he threw a catchable pass, Saunders was intercepting it).
"That's a read that the coaches tell us. I saw it and I was just so ready for it but the quarterback threw it in the dirt. Yeah, I was ready for that one," Saunders said of defending Philly's bootlegs.
The Patriots defense under Vrabel and DC Zak Kuhr has favored rangy cover safeties who can play at a high level in the passing game, pivoting away from safeties Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers in favor of Craig Woodson and former Pats S Jaylinn Hawkins last year. Saunders fits New England's mold at safety to a tee and could give them the depth to move Byard and Woodson around in three-safety packages.
Along with Saunders's emergence, CB Kindle Vildor broke up two passes on one drive including a third-down attempt. Vildor intercepted a pass in the two-minute period to end Wednesday's joint session and then was elevated to the right cornerback spot opposite Carlton Davis III. Vildor struggled a bit in the second joint practice but his ball skills have stood out.
The Patriots will now have a quick turnaround with two practices before traveling to Cleveland for Thursday night's preseason finale. Following a week with the Eagles, it'll be interesting to see if New England's decision-makers get a head-start by addressing areas where the Patriots roster depth is thin.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
