Preseason football has started and it really couldn't have come soon enough for me. Thanks to the magic of NFL Sunday Ticket and the NFL Network, I've been able to see both of the Patriots preseason games. The Patriots did a lot in the offseason, acquiring Adalius Thomas, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker (who's been one of my favorite non-Patriot players recently), Sammy Morris, Kelly Washington, and, of course, Randy Moss. Sadly, a lot of the new weapons, and a decent amount of the old ones, have been injured and haven't been able to play.
Moss has yet to play down. The starting running back Laurence Maroney hasn't either. Most of the tight ends have been injured and haven't practiced though Benjamin Watson did play briefly in the last preseason game. So what can you tell from preseason thus far?
The starting defense, which was at about 90% in this preseason game (notably missing Richard Seymour), looks terrifying. They were fast, hard-hitting, and smart, really giving Tennessee a fit and making Vince Young run for his life. There was an obvious dropoff as the second and third team defenses starting rotating in. It was nice to see Randall Gay, our starting cornerback in the last Super Bowl win, back to form. He's had a rough time with injuries since the big win, but he's looking sharp thusfar.
The starting offense, on the other hand, looked average-to-mediocre. Without our starting running back, the run game was so-so. The timing with the new wide receivers was off, with passes going wide or receivers not looking when they should have been. Tom Brady threw two interceptions which, while poor decisions, could also be blamed on his target, Stallworth, for not running the route correctly in one case and slipping in another. The offensive line looked horrible throughout, with all the Patriots' quarterbacks getting hit repeatedly.
For the wide receivers that did play, Wes Welker and Jabar Gaffney did the best. Reche Caldwell looked sloppy, dropping a ball and having a catch wrestled away from him by a cornerback; I think he's at risk for being cut. Stallworth looked a little bit out of it, as I said before. The guy I really like is Bam Childress, who's a small guy that's been on the practice team mostly for the past couple years. Every preseason game he's played in he does exactly what has to be done: he makes tough catches, he returns punts, and he's not afraid to take and give hits. I really thought he'd make the team last year due to the weak wide receivers we had (he was brought up for a handful of games but saw limited action). I really don't think he has a chance this season with all the talent at that position, but he's still fun to watch.
At this point, I still feel that the Patriots are the best team in the AFC East. If they can get (and stay) healthy at all positions, they have the potential to be one of the best in the league. The starting defense will be a terror this year (again, if they can stay health). I just hope that the starting offense gets their act together. If Brady keeps getting hit the way he was in this last game, it'll be a very short season for him.
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