It’s finally football season, which means it’s finally time to bring you some takeaways and observations from every New England Patriots game. The team of first-year head coach Mike Vrabel blew out the Commanders, who had 29 players inactive, with a final score of 48-18 on Friday night.
It wasn’t all good, but there was a whole bunch of it. Let’s find out what we learned.
…Will Campbell plays with a mean streak: Will Campbell had one really bad play on Friday night. He and fellow rookie Jared Wilson screwed up a stunt that allowed a free rusher and ended with a Drake Maye fumble. Other than that, the fourth overall selection in this year’s draft played a clean game.
After the Commanders missed a field goal on the drive following Maye’s fumble, the Patriots drove down and scored a touchdown with the starters. On that series, Campbell played like a man possessed. He pancaked multiple defenders, and played to the echo of the whistle multiple times. The 22-year-old played well, and played nasty. It’s only one game, and the Commanders didn’t have all their starters, but it looks like the Patriots got a dawg at left tackle. This week is going to be very interesting in Minnesota.
…Drake Maye needs to cut down on dumb plays: Drake Maye had a rough night on Friday. He had only three completions, all check-downs or screens to Henderson, and he did scramble twice — once for a first down and once for a touchdown. His worst play of the night was the aforementioned fumble on the first offensive drive of the game.
On third down, Campbell and Wilson allowed a free rusher and, while getting taken down, Maye tried to make a wild throw and ended up fumbling. His biggest issue is that he tries to be a hero and make plays instead of just taking what is there, a problem he already had as a rookie. That play was a perfect example of just that: instead of just taking the sack and moving on, Maye tried to make a play where there was none to be made, and ended up giving the ball back to Washington in field goal range.
If he is going to make the jump from solid player to great player, he is going to have to eliminate those plays from his game. Luckily, this game doesn’t matter, so the coaches can get that out of him. It’s a fine line, because you want him to make some wild plays, but also rein it in at times. Josh Allen is able to walk that fine line, but it took him a while to find out how to do it. Hopefully, Maye can figure it out sooner rather than later.
…the backup QB spot is a concern: After a solid joint practice on Wednesday, Joshua Dobbs a rough night on Friday. The Patriots’ backup quarterback missed a wide open Kyle Williams on a slant that would have been a touchdown, and missed him on a deep ball as well.
On the other hand, Ben Wooldridge, who struggled mightily in practice and hasn’t been taking many 11-on-11 reps, had a pretty good night throwing the ball. The undrafted rookie isn’t going to be the primary backup behind Drake Maye, but he might end up providing extra depth on the practice squad.
The Patriots are going to be in trouble if Maye gets hurt no matter who the backup is, but you would like to have a competent player behind him. At least based on his performance on Friday, Dobbs might not be that. The veteran free agency pickup is going to need to show that he can do more than he showed against Washingnotn if the Patriots are going to trust him to be their QB2 this season.
…TreVeyon Henderson is a true home run threat: The preseason started with a bang when Henderson took the opening kick 100 yards for a touchdown. The second-round rookie showed good vision and true breakaway speed on the return, and showed that he could be a valuable asset in the return game.
On offense, he had a nice 18-yard run, and addd three catches for 12 yards, with one of those ending with a hit stick on Noah Igbinoghene. At times, Henderson looked like he was playing at a different speed than everyone else out there. Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson will definitely still be big factors on offense, but Henderson showed that he can give them a home run threat on every play. Patriots fans are going to love seeing No. 32 with the ball in his hands.
…Marcus Bryant can hold his own: Not only are the Patriots starting two new tackles, but it looks like their swing tackle might be a rookie as well. Seventh-rounder Marcus Bryant got the start at right tackle, and played both on the left and right side with the second unit as well. He held his own, and looked like an NFL-caliber player out there. For a team desperate for offensive line depth, that’s a great thing.
Demontrey Jacobs, who has been struggling in practice, played OK as well, which should give you hope that the Patriots have solid depth on the line. If Bryant can be the swing this year, and develop this offseason, there’s a chance that he could end up as the starting right tackle next season, or even before. If that happens, and he’s a starting level player, that would be a huge win for the Patriots.
…Javon Baker flashes on special teams: The Patriots’ first five spots at wide receiver appear to be locked up, but they will almost certainly keep more players than that on their roster. Javon Baker hasn’t been able to really stand out on offense, at least consistently, but he showed up in the kicking game with a tackle and some good play at gunner on the punt team.
His special teams contributions give Baker an edge over fellow wideouts Kendrick Bourne and Ja’Lynn Polk, the latter of the two having left the game in the second quarter with an apparent arm or shoulder injury. It remains to be seen if he is going to earn a roster spot, but, if he does, his play in the game’s third phase might be a big reason for it.
…Efton Chism may have earned more reps: Efton Chism hasn’t done much in camp to separate himself from the rest of the depth wide receiver group. On Friday night, however, he made some plays that might serve as a momentum builder for the undrafted rookie. Not only was he getting open, but his ability to pick up yards after the catch, and specifically after contact, really showed up. He may have earned a chance to take some reps against starters this week in Minnesota, where he can continue to try to prove that he deserves a spot on this roster.
Chism’s ability to return punts could help with that as well. Former All-Pro Marcus Jones is the designated punt returner, but if Chism can be a contributor on offense and special teams — especially with Jones in a contract year — it could be enough to warrant a spot on the roster.
…Miles Battle is pushing for a role: The Patriots have some very good players at cornerback, but they still have a little bit of extra room at the end of their depth chart as a result of Marcellas Dial Jr. suffering a torn ACL this week. On Friday night, Miles Battle stepped up and made a case that he deserves a spot on the roster.
The Patriots picked him up via their practice squad in October, and he ended up playing in one game. Despite a lack of experience or résumé, Battle has good size, and if he continues to play like he did on Friday, he could find himself on the 53-man team when the regular season rolls around.
…D.J. James continues his meteoric rise: One of the biggest stories in camp has been the play of second-year cornerback D.J. James. James, just like Miles Battle, joined the team via the practice squad last year, and the improvement he has made over the offseason has been impressive.
He had another solid night Friday, capped off by an interception of Sam Hartman on a pass intended for Michael Gallup. James has all but ensured himself a spot on the roster this year, and he continues to get better. With the talent at the top of the depth chart, and the play of both him and Alex Austin and James, the Patriots seem to have one of the deepest cornerback rooms they have had in years.
…the kicker battle rages on: Andy Borregales and Parker Romo continue to fight for the kicker spot, and they both had good nights on Friday. They both went 1-for-1 on field goals, as well as 3-for-3 on extra points. The job is still probably the rookie Borregales’ to lose, but Romo has consistently been good, and has made a strong case for being a starting kicker in the NFL. Whoever loses this competition might end up getting claimed off of waivers, so the Patriots really need to get the decision right.
The Patriots are back in action next Saturday in Minnesota, and before that, they hold two more practices at Gillette Stadium plus joint sessions with the Vikings on Wednesday and Thursday. There will be a lot to watch for this week, and, hopefully the team performs as well as it did against the Commanders throughout this week.
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