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Patriots Cap Preseason with a Whatever Against the Giants

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There’s always a huge sigh of relief when the preseason is over. Injuries are the most impactful and most unknown factors of a football season, and to lose someone in August, before the games even matter, is always a downer.

Seeing Julian Edelman go down so soon after being a Super Bowl hero instantly put the team behind the eightball. But this year the 2018 Patriots were fortunate. There were certainly disappointments — Isaiah Wynn (who still isn’t on IR), Jordan Matthews and Kenny Britt being the prominent ones.

Otherwise, the Patriots will start the season with the team they wanted almost entirely intact. We can poke holes in where there could be depth problems, but every team has those. The fact once again remains, if the most key players of this Patriots team remain upright the entire season their chances at going to a toss-up Super Bowl are nearly assured.

There will be bumps in the road regardless of injuries. Remember, September football is very much an extension of the preseason. The team is still figuring out who they are exactly and what will make them unique amongst the last 18 seasons. They might look like total dogshit one week and lose a game to a team who might win four games all year.

But as the coaching kicks in, the players come together and begin playing to their strengths watch out. Those are the games where we’re reminded the New England Patriots Football Machine is still very much alive and well.

So, did we learn much of anything in the final preseason scrubfest? Were any roster spots won? Let’s take a quick look back before we totally turn the page to the roster craziness of the weekend and then the Texans.

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Patriots Gameplan: Preseason Week 4 at the G-Men

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The regular season is fast upon us! But first, we must sit through one last preseason scrub-fest. For many of those wearing the Flying Elvis tonight, it will be the last time they might ever put an NFL football helmet on. In that regard, I enjoy watching players on the fringe leaving it all out there like it’s the Super Bowl.

The hope is that no one important touches the field tonight. Of course, some who are kinda important will have to. Julian Edelman will likely see a good dose of snaps. So will Hoy-dog, not that anyone really cares about him. But the very most important pieces should be protected. Isaiah Wynn was an unfortunate casualty but appears to be the only significant injury loss of the summer.

Today’s final preseason gameplan will once again just be five areas to focus on. Next week we get into the PatsProp in-season schedule — Posits Monday, Film Tuesday, Scouting Wednesday, and Gameplan Friday being the blog staples.

Here’s the final “gameplan,” bring on the regular season!

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How Will Pats Cut Corners?

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The most interesting position group for the Patriots as we head into the final preseason week with cutdowns looming this weekend is cornerback. Between the new guys that have emerged and those who are returning from injury, there’s a logjam of intriguing players with a variety of skillsets, contracts and draft statuses. We’ve seen this happen before, with it often ending up with undrafted players making the roster and others unfortunately making it on different rosters around the league.

The position is oft-maligned but the top-two starters have been entrenched from the start. Stephon Gilmore was arguably the best defensive player in training camp. You might get distracted by the catches he gave up in a preseason game against Carolina, but make no mistake, Gilmore is poised for a shutdown season, the likes of which we haven’t seen in a long time.

Next to him will be Eric Rowe, who hasn’t let go of the starting spot since last Super Bowl. Rowe is an outside guy with good size, so he’s useful for matchups as well. While the Pats will lean heavily on their three-safety, two-corner package, all five positions feature entrenched veterans. After that is where things get murky.

Let’s run down the candidates.

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Patriots Gameplan: Preseason Week 3 vs. Carolina Panthers

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I swear to Hoodie, I’m not going to call week three of the preseason a “dress rehearsal” but it’s really the last time we’re going to get anything much of interest before the annual scrubfest against the Giants. This will be the last time we see anyone important before the bullets are real against the Texans, and for that reason, there will be plenty to react to from tonight’s game.

A good place to start would be these five lingering questions, where you can swap in Eric Decker for Kenny Britt. If he remembers how to catch he’s got to be close to a roster lock. If he’s not, you know he fell off a cliff. There’s no question all eyes will be on the receivers, especially Phillip Dorsett. If he busts a big play, things will look on track. Better than a big play, I’d rather a tough catch, but that won’t get the kind of attention a long gain would.

As has been the case in the preseason I’m diverting from the usual gameplan because, well, preseason games are minimally gameplanned. All they want to do is avoid bad plays that have no chance for success. Otherwise, it’s vanilla ice cream on both sides of the ball. However last week showed a bit of an exception with de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores sending more blitzes than I can recall seeing in the preseason.

This week there will be even more of a focus on the defense because Cam Newton is the kind of quarterback that the Patriots don’t blitz. He’s also the kind that gave them fits last year, so this first half at least should be an excellent test for the new front.

More on that and everything else I’ll be watching in the final dress re… meaningless audition of the summer.

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Patriots Gameplan: Preseason Week 2 vs Eagles

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Another Patriots preseason game is upon us, and in Week 2 there’s a chance to build on everything that was revealed in the comeback victory of week 1. The team has since wrapped up practices that are open to the public as we continue to build up toward a regular season that is just a few weeks away.

Are you excited? You should be because the Patriots dynasty is very much alive. The end will suck and likely come suddenly, but until then all is still right with the world, just as it’s been for nearly the last two decades.

Again, this won’t be a usual gameplan because, well, there just aren’t gameplans in the preseason. Only a collection of simple schemes that give the coaching staff a sense of players when they have little other than their own skills to rely on. But what matters most is the fight in the team and there appeared to be no problems against the Redskins. Just the usual sloppy start followed by a stellar finish, done mostly by guys who will be looking for other jobs in a few weeks.

Here are five things to watch against the Eagles.

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Patriots Clear Off PUP, Tuesday Tweets of Note

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The Patriots welcomed back the remaining members of the PUP squad meaning that they’ll open the season with no one getting a free pass behind the scenes until Week 6. Cyrus Jones, Jonathan Jones and Nate Ebner all returned to practice, donning full pads meaning their time being physically unable to perform were coming to an end.

For the Joneses, it’s a good sign that they’re back before the first preseason game. Jonathan could insert himself into the slot conversation over rookie Duke Dawson, while Cyrus faces a make or break year where the Pats could really use his punt return ability. He’s a bit of a wild card as a cornerback, especially with a loaded depth chart but maybe just maybe he could be a factor.

As for Ebner, he’s just about a roster lock for his special team prowess and is a good presence to have back on the field for Bill Belichick’s favorite phase of the game.

More on the brewing battles and what went down at Tuesday’s practice in the Tweets of Note.

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Will Who Return Punts for Pats?

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Since 2013 Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola have combined to return 190 punts for the Patriots. Last season, when Edelman went down, Amendola shouldered nearly the entire load with 27 punt returns. Bernard Reedy (who?) was second on the team with four. Now, with Amendola in Miami and Edelman looking at a four-game suspension, the Pats need a punt returner.

Patriots Punt Returns since 2013
Punt Punt Punt Punt Punt
Player Ret
▼		 PRYds TD Lng Y/R
Julian Edelman 96 1174 1 84 12.23
Danny Amendola 94 978 0 82 10.40
Cyrus Jones 11 73 0 21 6.64
Keshawn Martin 8 92 0 21 11.50
Bernard Reedy 4 55 0 23 13.75
Patrick Chung 4 10 0 7 2.50
Chris Harper 3 17 0 10 5.67
Damaris Johnson 2 3 0 3 1.50
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/17/2018.

Cyrus Jones, coming off an ACL tear and limited all offseason, was an electric punt returner at Alabama, with four touchdowns in his last season. Before the injury, Jones would’ve been the most explosive candidate on the roster. He could be a PUP candidate.

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