Last Friday, the New England Patriots won their first game of the preseason 42-35 against the Philadelphia Eagles at home in Gillette Stadium.
The win came after a week of joint practices with the Eagles. The game also marked the first preseason appearance by starters; most notably Tom Brady, Darrelle Revis, and Vince Wilfork. Veterans Jerod Mayo and Rob Gronkowski both missed the game due to personal and injury reasons, respectively.
Tom Brady led the Patriots in the game’s first offensive drive. After picking apart their way downfield, Brady was intercepted by Eagles’ cornerback Cary Williams and returned for a 77-yard touchdown return.
A sweet moment for Williams considering his salty words regarding the Patriots before their week of shared practice.
“I’m not trying to go into details about it or disrespect that organization, ” Williams said to the Philadelphia Daily News. “[I] give that organization all the credit in the world, but one fact still remains. They haven’t won a Super Bowl since they got caught.”
“They’re cheaters…I know you’re going to be at the (Eagles’ practice) film when we go out there…we’ll be watching film of them. I don’t want to show them my cards. That’s just me.”
Brady, rebounded in the Patriots’ next drive leading them down the field and capping off the drive with a touchdown pass to receiver Kenbrell Thompkins. Brady finished the night 8-of-10 for 81 yards with the touchdown and interception.
Continuing their glimmering performances from the first week of the preseason were cornerback Malcolm Butler and receiver Brian Tyms.
Butler, got playing time with the Patriots’ starting unit and quickly ended the Eagles first drive of the game by stripping the ball from receiver Ifeanyi Momah and recovering it.
On the other side of the ball, Tyms continued to rake in the receiving statistics. A week after nabbing five catches for 119 yards and a touchdown, Tyms brought in three more receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown.
Here are three more pressing notes to take away from the Patriots second preseason game…
Ridley’s Fumbling Issues Continue
Nearing the end of the first half, Patriots running back Stevan Ridley took a hand off up the middle. Getting stopped after about four yards, Ridley fell to the turf and on his way down fumbled the ball again. Luckily, it was recovered by fullback James Develin.
This marks another instance of fumbling for Ridley who has suffered a plague of turnovers the past few seasons. Markedly so last season where he was benched the rest of the games on numerous occasions, regardless of how much time was left in the contest.
After a streak of three lost fumbles in as many games last season, Ridley said, “For me, it’s almost disgusting–consecutive weeks, and personally as a player, my team deserves better.”
Following his fumble versus the Eagles, Ridley was taken out of the game. Whether it was him being pulled or simply he had played his allotted snaps, remains to be seen.
Ridley owned up to it after the game, saying, “When I go back and watch the play, and the ball is out again, Week 2, it kind of sucks. But it’s football, man, and I can’t get down about it. I can’t harp about it. That’s why you have preseason. I’m just going to keep on working and keep on pushing.”
Undrafted rookie free agent Jonas Gray led the team in rushing against the Eagles with 98 yards on 12 carries.
Tight End Concerns
Brady’s errant pass that was intercepted by Williams, was not the quarterback’s fault. Recently signed backup tight end, Steve Maneri ran the wrong route. In defense, the game was just mere days after being signed and was the only healthy option, which is a glaring sign at how thin the Patriots are at the position.
Following the team’s loss against the Redskins last week, the Patriots cut undrafted rookie free agents Justin Jones and Asa Watson in order to sign veterans Maneri, Ben Hartsock, and undrafted rookie free agent Terrence Miller.
Hartsock, was released four days after being signed and Miller was placed on Injured Reserve a day later. Maneri, has survived for now and Jones was resigned this Monday.
However, good news has finally found the Patriots regarding their tight ends.
On Tuesday, Gronkowski finally made it back to the practice field. The All-Pro participated in 7-on-7 drills and in the 11-on-11 portion of the work out. Hoomanawanui, aka Hoo-Man, made it back to the field although he spent most of the practice alone working on conditioning.
“It felt good,” Gronk said following practice. “I mean, it wasn’t full pads or anything, it was just a little routes but it felt good. Progressed a lot out there running routes against the defense, some 7-on-7, some team and everything, so overall it just feels good to be back out there.”
Garoppolo Passes Mallett
After many down reports on the second-round draft pick to start training camp, Jimmy Garoppolo has made a lot of noise in the first two games of the preseason.
Following his impressive appearance against the Redskins last week, Garoppolo was second off the bench after Brady left the game mid-second quarter and not veteran backup Ryan Mallett.
Garoppolo, showed that Week 1 of the preseason was no fluke as he continued to impress coaches and fans alike against the Philadelphia Eagles. The rookie out of Eastern Illinois threw for 72 yards and two touchdowns while completing six of 12 passes.
Mallett, got on to the field in second half of the game. Posting a respectable 92 yards on seven of 11 complete passes and a touchdown of his own.
Garoppolo’s leapfrog of Mallett was a surprise and could be the writing on the wall for Mallett’s time in New England, if not at the end of the camp than certainly at the end of the year as Mallett is in the final year of his rookie contract.
– The Patriots next game is Friday night as they play host to the Carolina Panthers at 7:30 PM EST.
