The Patriots host the NY Giants in the first game for pre-season
So football is back… kinda.
Sure, it’s only the first game of the pre-season, and spoiler alert the Patriots didn’t win, but there was plenty to be positive about, even if there is some to still have those concerns over.
You all know by now, it’s my second full season writing these, I like to keep it as positive as possible whilst still letting you know what went on, and I’ll be honest folks I’m feeling rather rusty! Saying that, it wasn’t a tight pre-season game, but the Giants did put out a lot of their first team against, what the Patriots would probably specify, as the second, maybe third string guys.
An early in the game call, of too many men on the field for the Patriots defence, was a sloppiness that’s avoidable, not the greatest of starts.
Henry Anderson was a sight we didn’t see much of last season, although I know some of us were looking forward to, and he blocked his guy well moving him towards the Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. This gave way a little for Anfernee Jennings to charge through for the QB pressure, causing the Giants to settle for a field goal, putting the first points on the board.
Tre Nixon had himself a great kick return, followed not long after by a false start from Justin Herron, the penalties had really begun.
Currently the running back room has significant depth, but we did see JJ Taylor out there ‘scuttle bugging’ his way around, I’m just not certain it was always successful enough.
The defense continued to show some of the good stuff we saw in training camp, as Daniel Ekuale took on two guys, and Anfernee Jennings brought the heat taking down the Giants running back. Raekwon McMillian and Joshua Uche delivered some quarterback pressure, and there was good coverage by Terrance Mitchell on the runner.
The first quarter displayed good complimentary defense by the Patriots, and Myles Bryant had himself his first NFL punt return for a gain of 30 yards.
Hoyer continued the game with some great throws, I quote the fabulous Scott Zolak here with; “Hoyer dropping dimes!”.
The later part of the first quarter saw a catch by 87, the tight end Matt Sokol. It didn’t result in much, granted, however, on a personal note, a ball to a tight end always has me excited.
The second quarter showed Tristan Vizcaino kicking off, and Terrance Mitchell once against working hard and fighting through the block to help with the take down.
Another name some were hopeful to see, LaBryan Ray, the undrafted rookie out of Alabama, was out there earning his reps, with good stance keeping his guy contained.
A second false start by Justin Herron continued to rack up the penalties, and whilst he aired out some good balls, Bailey Zappe was under pressure.
Physicality on defense, whilst good by Mack Wilson, and then Jennings losing his containment to get after the quarterback, it saw Shaun Wade break up a play that resulted in a pass interference call.
Guys like Uche, Jennings, and Bledsoe were catching my eye quite positively, but Joejuan Williams a little less so, especially when he was beaten by Richie James for the Giants touchdown.
Shifting focus to the offence, Matt Sokol has undertaken his blocking tight end role rather well, and the third quarter saw Tre Nixon breaking free of some major coverage to make several great catches from a few lovely balls by Bailey Zappe.
Unfortunately, as much as the defence had some great flashes, including new comer to the team, Jalen Elliott, the Giants were still a little too successful against the run. Although, I must admit it seemed that Cameron McGrone could sniff out a ball whilst it was still in the air, and the third half saw his second almost interception.
But, the penalties kept on coming, as rookie Nate Weiland, with initially a lovely power charge, got a bit too heavy with Daniel Jones and used his weight to drive him into the ground. Penalty number 12 for the Patriots.
Jalen Elliott continued to show up all over the place, and Jack Jones gave us glimmers of his skills knocking the ball away beautifully with two almost pick-offs.
With the wide receiver core having some depth, we saw plenty from Tre Nixon and Kristian Wilkerson to prove that the 53 man cut down is going to be tricky, and Lil’Jordan Humphrey had a great vertical with some good engineering by Bailey Zappe, to throw another name into the wide receiver melting pot of choices.
Unfortunately, there were some injuries on the offensive line for Cajuste, Herron and Murray, and although they all walked off the field, it’s still a worry when that many O line guys, even if second tier, are nursing issues.
All in all, the defense and the offense had good flashes, and so I feel there is plenty of good to focus on. It’s still only pre-season game one, and whilst there is much to work on, I believe there are building blocks there stable enough to utilise, that’s just my two cents folks.
Until next time, you lovely lot. Go Pats!
