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Wow I never even thought about that but it makes some sense. We’ll see if they’re more willing to try some long ones this year.
And how about Cardona getting no credit for just stepping in and doing a great job last night. We always take long snappers for granted until they rocket one over the punter/kicker’s head.
I’m sure he’ll get some attention this season, but for now he’s strangely way under the rookie radar.
Updated Patriots Depth Chart (post-Preseason Game One)
I don’t want to get too crazy and read too much into how guys were being played last night, but I do think we got some clarity on positional specificity like Rufus Johnson being at defensive end and Xzavier Dickson playing more linebacker.
One significant change is moving Brandon Gibson to the top of the X WR depth chart. I am curious to see how he looks next week with Brady and more of the real offense. But unless Dobson comes roaring back, Gibson has the inside track on the #4 WR spot.
Juggled the DTs a bit as well. I had them as DT and NT but I think there’s just so much crossover now it makes sense to just label them both DT. Antonio Johnson is at the top right now but I don’t know how firm that is. Alan Branch could knock him off once completely in shape.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/updated-patriots-depth-chart-post-preseason-game/
I think Ryan is what we thought he was – a slot corner with some outside versatility but probably not a guy who’s going to project to a long term starter. As I said yesterday, these were vanilla defenses and they played quite a bit of man, not exactly Ryan’s specialty. I think he’s fine, he’ll just likely remain in his role from last year as the fourth corner.
I’ve never really been enamored with Boyce and last night just reinforced every average feeling I’ve ever had about him. Last night was probably his last chance to shine unfortunately. He just doesn’t really seem to fit into the offense in a way that maximizes his strengths. Most obvious is that his play speed is not up to his timed speed. He has no zip and gives no defender problems with any particular skill set.
I think Brandon Gibson is now my favorite at the 4th WR spot, with whoever can get healthy first between Tyms and Dobson at the 5th spot. I’d give Tyms a slight inside edge due to special teams ability.
I can’t entirely disagree. I did think he showed some good moves in the open field a couple times, but yes, I still like Vereen, Woodhead and Faulk more than I like White at this point. (Still wish we’d held on to Woodhead)
This is why after last night, I think the plan will be to replace Vereen with a combination of Cadet and White, not just one of them carrying the load, at least in the early part of the season.
Cadet has better size than any of those guys and could add a very different dynamic of a physical receiving back that we haven’t really seen before. In that context, having a change of pace, small/quick guy like White would be complimentary.
And let’s remember, White hasn’t played a game in a year. He’s better mentally now in the system, but physically he still needs to get his feel for true contact back.
Add in Bolden as well who can catch the ball and it’s a pretty solid group. It just might take time for one guy to emerge above the others, if anyone even does.
Although I am not NFL.com help, I appreciate this question because I am so on the fence about signing up for NFL Whatever It’s Called Now. To answer your question I’d make anything saying “auto renew” is off, but I think they already did the auto renewals based on some tweets I saw so you might be in the clear.
But I really don’t feel like giving the NFL $100 right now. And yes, it’s really vital to my analysis on the site and I love the all-22 film but I just can’t bring myself to pull the trigger yet.
I was alerted to some offshore sites that basically steal it, but even there you have to subscribe in bitcoin and I’m not quite ready to go down that wormhole.
I’ve done a pretty good job over the years avoiding giving the NFL money ever since they sent me a cease and desist letter for my tiny t-shirt shop, but I might just have to bite the bullet on this one for the good of the blog.
The only big concern about the offensive line for me right now is how healthy Solder is. If it’s not a long-term thing then everything will be fine.
Not sure why everyone is surprised that a line consisting of three rookies inside, a converted guard at left tackle and Cameron Fleming at RT wasn’t stone cold solid last night.
And as I tweeted earlier this morning, it was pretty clear Garoppolo didn’t trust them completely either, leaving the pocket from perceived pressure when he could’ve just stepped up and pulled the trigger.
I’m probably a little too optimistic, but I loved what I saw out of Mason and Jackson last night. I focused a little more closely on Mason and was impressed with pass blocking. He has good feet and despite his smaller size he keeps moving and holding his block.
Mason really stood out while pulling and out on screens, especially on Gray’s long TD run. Can he step in and start, I’m not quite sure right out of the gate, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in there at some point this season.
Will focus closer on Jackson next time around, but the general consensus out there was he was very solid.
Otherwise, Fleming’s your third tackle and the other guys will probably never see a meaningful snap (although I thought Andrews showed some flashses) so we don’t really need to sweat the OL right now.
If anything there’s reason to be excited we have two solid rookie guards.
