With injuries tearing down the Patriots wide receiver depth chart undrafted rookie free agent Chris Harper has been working his way up the depth chart. Harper has played well so far this season not only as a receiver but also as a return man on special teams. We all know Bill Belichick loves versatility in his players and with Harper showing his ability to do multiple things on the field
Harper has been receiving a lot of snaps with injuries to Edelman, LaFell, Dobson and Tyms and so far has made the most of his opportunities. It seems very likely that Brian Tyms is going to end up on the season ending injured reserve and Brandon LaFell possibly starting the year on the physically unable to perform list and Aaron Dobson battling yet another injury the Patriots receiver depth chart would take a hit and need players to step up, and Harper could be that player. Through two preseason games Harper has tallied 12 receptions for 117 yards and one touchdown as well as averaging 10.7 yards per punt return and 23.8 yards per kickoff return.
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Though it is just preseason and can never take anything into full effect Harper has gained the attention of coaches and players with his increase of snaps and production. The first preseason game third year man Josh Boyce was the main target for Jimmy Garoppolo, week two it was Harper who edged out Boyce on both offense and special teams. Boyce was not targeted at all on offense and didn’t receive any returns on special teams and I believe didn’t see a single snap in Friday’s win against the Saints. With the lack of depth the Patriots currently have at wide receiver the fact that Boyce didn’t receive a snap goes to show that New England doesn’t see him in their plans for 2015 and maybe the future. Harper seemed to have taken Boyce’s shot at the 53rd roster spot and will continue to fight for his spot over the next few weeks of practice and preseason. I would love to see Harper make the final 53 man roster with how he has played so far this preseason and wouldn’t want to risk losing him by placing him on the practice squad. I think the Patriots receiving corps should look like Edelman LaFell, Amendola, Dobson, and Harper, if all are healthy. Harper may not always be active or see a lot of playing time but keeping him on the roster would get him experience and playing time in practice as well as not risk losing him to another team by placing him on the practice squad.
The New England Patriots won their first game of the 2015 preseason in New Orleans on Saturday night, with a 26-24 come from behind victory. The Patriots started off sluggish in all three phases of the game, falling behind 21-0. Those were the starters out on the field when the team fell behind that badly, and you can be sure head coach Bill Belichick will let his players know about it. However, young players trying to make a name for themselves brought the Patriots back into the game. Here are my evaluations and observations from preseason game number two.
Defensive Starters Underwhelm: With the exception of Dont’a Hightower and Jerod Mayo, the Patriots starters on the defensive side of the ball were all on the field for the first three series of the game. It is safe to say that they did not impress at all. On the first offensive play of the game for the Saints, Drew Brees hit Mark Ingram on a wheel route in which he toasted Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins. A lot has been made about Collins athletic ability and how he by far and away the most physically gifted on the field at all times.
However, he has had a lot of trouble covering running backs. Saturday night was not his night. Later in the quarter Collins was blown back by Saints guard Jahri Evans on a screen play, that lead to a gain of seventeen yards. In addition, the Patriots secondary looked just like what many fans have feared they would look all offseason, horrendous. Drew Brees moved the football up and down the field with ease, picking apart New England defensive backs.
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Particularly Duron Harmon, and Devin McCourty who played at the cornerback spot opposite of Malcolm Butler. This was never more evident than in the first quarter when Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks ran straight past McCourty and Harmon for a forty-yard touchdown. It was flashbacks of 2011’s cellar dwelling secondary for many Patriots fans. The secondary is a work-in-progress so fans needed to be ready for games such as this one.
Offensive Line Continues To Struggle: The offensive did not give up seven sacks like they did last week agains the Green Bay Packers, nevertheless they did struggle opening up running lanes for LeGarrette Blount and Jonas Gray at times. The starting line went from left to right Nate Solder, Shaq Mason, David Andrews, Tre Jackson, and Sebastian Vollmer. Cameron Fleming saw most of the time at tackle in place of Vollmer.
The interior players struggled the most. It seemed as if time after time in the first half and even into the second, the Patriots running backs were just running into brick walls. After having a solid game last week, Shaq Mason struggled on Saturday night as he was blown up often by Saints defensive lineman. David Andrews had many of the same problems. Also, Cameron Fleming had some mental errors setting up in the wrong formation, which lead to a loss of yards for his team.
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The pass protection was solid which was encouraging. Now if the unit can string together a good mix of both the run and pass protection next week against the Panthers, fans should feel good about their offensive line heading into week one.
Garoppolo Has Flashes of Promise: After the Tom Brady lead offense went three and out on three straight series, Jimmy Garoppolo came into the game and looked very flustered at first like he did last week. However, at the end of the first half with just over a minute to go Garoppolo was in position to prove himself in a critical situation with his team trailing 21-0.
Jimmy took his team down the field, capping off the drive with a great hustle play that resulted in a touchdown. The pocket collapsed on Garoppolo, but he managed to break free of a Saints defender, rolled out of the pocket and fired the ball into the back of the end zone to Chris Harper, who had a great game.
At the start of the second half, Garoppolo had his best series of the game. It was a five and a half minute drive that incapsulated eleven plays for 55 yards, that ended with a Dion Lewis eleven-yard touchdown run. Throughout the drive, Jimmy connected with players such as Chris Harper and Jimmay Mundine on key third and fourth down conversions.
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There were some growing pains with Garropolo however. Early in the fourth quarter he made a terrible decision throwing the ball off his back foot to Brandon Gibson who was double covered. The ball was intercepted by Pierre Warren of the Saints. That is a Drew Bledsoe type mistake. He is moving the ball up and down the field looking good, then all of sudden he makes a dumb throw like that one. Also, later in the fourth Garoppolo dumped the ball off to Brandon Gibson on a third and long play. Gibson did not even come close to the first.
Jimmy Garoppolo’s most important drive of the game came with two-minutes to go in the game with the ball at the Saints forty-five yard line down 24-23. Garoppolo made essentially one play, and thats all he needed. On the first play of the series he fired the ball down the middle of the field to Jonathan Krause who made a very impressive catch with a New Orleans defender draped all over him. The catch put the Patriots at about the twenty-four yard line, setting up Stephen Gostkowski for the game winning thirty-five yard field goal.
In the end, Jimmy Garoppolo went 28 for 33, for 269 yards, with one touchdown pass and one interception. Not a bad game at all. Fans should feel encouraged about the progression from last week until now, and still be cautious that there is much more for Garoppolo to prove.
Miscellaneous Notes: Cornerback Bradley Fletcher stuck out for the first time all season, making two big pass breakups late in the game. Undrafted wide receiver Chris Harper was one of Jimmy Garoppolo’s favorite targets throughout the night, and he also had a huge punt return late in the game setting his team up with great field position. Malcolm Butler continued to impress, not so much with his coverage skills but with his physicality. He came up on two run plays in the first quarter and layed the wood down on two Saints players, one being Brandin Cooks.
The team as a whole has a lot to work on, especially on the defensive side of the ball. next Friday’s match up against the Carolina Panthers will be the most important of the preseason as the starters will see the majority of the reps. As fans we will get much more of a decent evaluation against a playoff caliber team.
Without a doubt, the best wide receiver on the New England Patriots roster over the past two seasons has been Julian Edelman. Over the these last two years, Edelman has brought in 197 receptions, for 2,028 yards, and 10 touchdowns. Edelman’s role has greatly increased since Wes Welker departed for Denver in March of 2013.
Edelman was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2009 draft out of Kent State, where he was a read option style quarterback. In his rookie season he played in only eleven games. However, he still managed to be a solid third string wide receiver catching 37 passes, for 359 yards, and one touchdown.
In the years 2010 through 2012, the Patriots had the league’s best offense, with the emergence of the two tight end attack of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, along with Wes Welker consistently catching one-hundred balls. With all that production, with some injuries added in Edelman took a back seat on offense.
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Nevertheless, in 2011 when the Patriots had some serious depth issues at the cornerback position, Bill Belichick used Julian Edelman’s athleticism to his own advantage. During that season, where the Patriots were at the bottom of the league in pass defense, Edelman was used heavily in nickel defense at nickel back. He was exactly Deion Sanders, but he was better than expected for a guy who played slot receiver. His versatility has made him a prototypical Bill Belichick Patriot.
In 2012, with Welker’s future with the Patriots in jeopardy, Bill Belichick began to plug in Edelman more at the top slot receiver spot. However, as was the case throughout most of his career he got injured. A fractured foot on Thanksgiving against the Jets, lead to Edelman being placed on season ending injured reserve.
In the offseason of 2013, Edelman became and unrestricted free agent. After receiving virtually zero interest from other clubs, besides one visit of the New York Giants, Edelman returned to the Patriots in April signing a one-year veteran minimum deal. He needed to prove that upcoming season that he could stay healthy and be a reliable number one receiver.
He did just that, beating out Danny Amendola for the top wide receiver spot and catching 105 passes, for 1056 yards, and six touchdowns. In a season where Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola were hurt for most of the time, and rookies such as Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins had to be first team players, Edelman was the one saving face.
This past season, Edelman was as reliable and clutch as ever. His regular season number speak for themselves, but in the playoffs is were he really shined. Most notably in the divisional round and in Super Bowl XLIX. Late in the third quarter of the divisional playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens the Patriots were driving down the field trailing 28-21. Brady threw a parallel pass to Edelman on what looked to be a screen. However, he pulled up and fired a picture picture perfect pass down the sideline to a wide open Danny Amendola for the game tying touchdown.
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In the Super Bowl, the Patriots trailed by ten points in the fourth quarter facing a third and fourteen play that could end the game. Brady rolled around the pocket and fired the ball into the middle of the field right into the hands of Edelman who was absolutely clobbered by Kam Chancellor. Later in the game Edelman caught the go-ahead touchdown pass to give the Patriots the 28-24 lead.
So far this season, Edelman has not been able to get on the field to often due to a nagging ankle injury. He did not travel with his team to West Virginia for joint practices with the New Orleans Saints. It is a bit alarming that Edelman has not been on the field hardly at all this summer, but for a player with as much experience in the offense that he has you have to expect that he can just jump right back into action. It is best to be precautionary with him because of his importance to the team.
Julian Edelaman is such an important player to the Patriots offense because he serves almost as a spark plug. Whenever you need a first down conversion or a big gain, go to Edelman. Also, he has always been able to spark the team with a solid punt return to put them in good field position.
In conclusion, health will be the biggest question mark for Edelman in 2015. At a position where players take such as beating the risk of injury is so high. In addition, Edelman has not suffered a serious injury since 2012, and you have to believe that he is at a high risk of injury this year. If he can manage to stay healthy, pencil him in once again for about 90 receptions and near one-thousand yards and being Tom Brady’s favorite target.
Last season, the biggest surprise on the entire Patriots roster was arguably wide receiver Brandon LaFell. The reason why he was such a pleasant surprise for Patriots fans was due to the fact that the team had struck out on so many free agent wide receivers in recent years.
Brandon, “Jojo” LaFell started his professional career with the Carolina Panthers when they drafted him in the third round out of Louisiana State. LaFell was a part of the 2008 BCS National Championship squad in Baton Rouge. In total, LaFell’s four seasons in Carolina were all very similar. In his four years, he finished with 167 receptions, for 2,385 yards, and 13 touchdowns.
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He was always the number three receiver on the depth chart, playing primarily in the slot. At 6-2, 208 pounds he is not your normal slot receiver, size wise. LaFell has always talked about how he learned a lot from veteran and perennial Pro-Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith. It is never a bad thing to spend every day in the meeting room as a young player with someone who will have a spot in Canton one day.
In March of 2014, LaFell became an unrestricted free agent. A few days into free agency LaFell signed a three-year nine million dollar contract with New England. At the start of his Patriots career, LaFell had a very tough time getting on the same page with Tom Brady. He did not even have a reception until week three against Oakland.
In garbage time in a week four Monday night blowout at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, “Jojo” had six catches, for 119 yards, and an impressive touchdown where he broke free from multiple defenders. That second half really light a fire under LaFell and spring boarded him for the rest of the season.
Brandon LaFell did not have a lot of big time statistical games, outside of week eight against Chicago. In that matchup he brought in eleven receptions, for 124 yards, and a touchdown. He finished the season with 74 receptions, for 953 yards, and seven touchdowns.
LaFell’s biggest attribute to the team was his ability to shine in big moments. In a week thirteen matchup against the Green Bay Packers, LaFell had two huge touchdown receptions. One in the second quarter on a third and goal situation and one in the fourth quarter in the back corner of the end zone that brought the Patriots back into the game.
In the divisional round of the playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens Brandon LaFell had the go-ahead touchdown on a picture perfect play with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The Patriots were at the Ravens twenty-five yard line on a first and ten play, when Brandon LaFell toasted Ravens cornerback Rashaan Melvin on the outside on a beautiful fade route.
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Brady put the ball right in LaFell’s hands for the touchdown putting the Patriots ahead 34-31. In addition, Brandon LaFell had the first score of Super Bowl XLIX with his eleven yard touchdown catch, putting a great move on Seattle cornerback Tharold Simon.
So far in the 2015 season, Brandon LaFell has yet to participate in a practice, spending all of training camp thus far on the physically unable to perform list. He is believed to have some sort of lower leg injury that has derailed his offseason. However, he was recently seen walking without a boot, which is a promising sign.
LaFell’s injury would be more alarming if it were his first season with the team, or if he was a younger player with less pro experience. He gained the trust of Tom Brady faster than any free agent wide receiver that I can remember, (Randy Moss and Wes Welker were acquired via trade).
Once LaFell makes his return he should be able to jump right back into that second wide receiver spot behind Julian Edelman. He is not an outside threat, but he is a big body that can be very effective in the red zone. Keep an eye out for him in your fantasy drafts.
LaFell is also a great drive starter as he proved last season. In addition to his pass catching ability, LaFell is the Patriots best and most physical blocking receiver. He is not afraid to scrap with opposing defensive backs and clear lanes on outside run plays. Also, he successfully pulled off the, “pick play” a couple of times last year.
In conclusion, if Brandon LaFell can fight through nagging injuries once again, expect him to be as consistent as he was last season. Pencil him in for about sixty or seventy receptions with a high number of touchdowns.
The AFC East for a long stretch of time has been ragged on for not being very relevant, outside of the New England Patriots. Some followers have discounted the Patriots reign of success because of the lack of competitors in the division. However, this past offseason there was a great amount of turnaround on all four teams within the division, which should make things a lot more interesting this upcoming season. So without further a due, here is my full breakdown of each team in the AFC East, with with a prediction of their final record and playoff standing.
New England Patriots: Once again the New England Patriots enter the season as the favorites to win the AFC East. Nevertheless, with the departures of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, and Kyle Arrington the secondary is now a work-in-progress that could cost the team some games early on in the season. In addition, with Vince Wilfork signing with the Houston Texans and Dan Connolly retiring, both sides of the line of scrimmage are in a transition period with a lot of young players that are still a bit unknown.
If the Patriots offensive line can figure out some early struggles, like they did very well last year, the offense as a whole should be very explosive. With weapons such as Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, and Brandon LaFell all with at least a year or more in the Patriots system under their belt, the offense should be able to move the ball up and down the field very effectively.
Also, the offense should not have to pick up the slack for the defense constantly if the front seven of the defense lives up to their potential. With young talented players on the rise like Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, and Jabaal Sheard, along with unproven players such as Dominique Easley and Chandler Jones with potentially high ceilings the front could carry the defense and allow Bill Belichick to, “turn the dogs loose.” Something they haven’t been able to do for a long stretch of time.
Prediction: 12-4, second spot in AFC Playoffs.
Buffalo Bills: Certainly one of the most talked about teams in the offseason, the Buffalo Bills are now filled with all sorts of bravado with new head coach Rex Ryan. Buffalo added tons of fire power on offense, with continued additions to their already strong defense. With Mario Williams, Kyle Williams, and Marcell Dareus plugging up the interior, with an extremely talented player such as Jerry Hughes coming off the edge, the Bills should cause all sorts of headaches for opposing quarterbacks. The secondary still has some question marks in Buffalo, but Rex Ryan has been known to make up for a weak secondary with his phenomenal pass rush.
The Bills offense can be described with in one word, speed. With speedy wide receivers such as olympic track star Marquise Goodwin, along with Percy Harvin, and future superstar Sammy Watkins the passing game has some burners that can really stretch the field. To add to the insanely fast wide receivers, the Bills added Lesean McCoy via a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. McCoy along with grizzled veteran Fred Jackson will contribute greatly to Rex Ryan’s run heavy offense. Also, McCoy can come out of the backfield and be effective in the passing game.
The biggest question for the Bills this season is the quarterback position. A three-way competition has spurred throughout training camp between Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel, and Tyrod Taylor. None of those three will strike great fear in any opposing team, especially the New England Patriots who are their biggest competition in the division. Unfortunately, their lack of quarterback talent will lead to their offense not reaching their full potential.
Prediction: 10-6, sixth spot in AFC Playoffs.
New York Jets: Much like the Buffalo Bills, the New York Jets have added a lot of new talent to the roster along with some old friends. The biggest additions of course being Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, and Brandon Marshall. In addition, the Jets now have a Todd Bowles as head coach who was the architect of the defense in Arizona that is now one of the league’s best.
On offense, the Jets have a plethora of weapons starting with an elite wide receiver such as Brandon Marshall whom they acquired through a trade with the Chicago Bears this past offseason. Marshall is a freakish athlete that is a threat to score anytime he is on the field. The only problem is keeping his head on straight.
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To compliment Marshall the Jets have a solid veteran in Eric Decker and promising rookie Devin Smith, who was a great player on Ohio State’s national championship team last year. Again, the Jets biggest question mark will come at the quarterback position. With Geno Smith now out for a long stretch of time, the team will have to rely on veteran cast off Ryan Fitzpatrick to lead them. That is something that fans of the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans will tell you not to be over confident about.
On defense, the Jets have possibly more all around talent than any team in the National Football League. When you have the best cornerback in the game in Darrelle Revis on your roster, you can do all sorts of things because he essentially takes away the opposing offenses number one target. On the other side of Revis, the Jets have Pro-Bowler Antonio Cromartie who is also a menace for quarterbacks and wide receivers to deal with.
Based off of those two players alone the Jets should have a top three secondary. In addition to their secondary, the front seven of the Jets will be one that can get to the quarterback. With Muhammed Wilkerson coming off the edge, and first-round pick Leonard Williams who was considered to be the best overall player in the draft.
In the end however, the Jets will probably not live up to there potential simply because they are the Jets and their locker room is already starting to collapse. With Sheldon Richardson likely out for the season because of his antics, and Geno Smith not commanding the respect of his teammates, Todd Bowles already seems to be letting the inmates run the asylum. That is something that has not bode well for former head coaches of the NYJ.
Prediction: 7-9, Miss playoffs.
Miami Dolphins: The Miami Dolphins have given the New England Patriots the biggest run for their money over the past couple of seasons. Head coach Joe Philibin has been able to keep his team in the playoff race until mid December, and then his squad falls apart. This was never more evident than last December when they had a chance to make a statement against the Patriots in Foxborough. The Dolphins came out with zero energy and fell flat on their face getting walloped by a score of 41-13.
This past March, Miami made arguably the biggest move of the offseason by signing perennial Pro-Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a six-year, 114 million dollar contract. Their defensive line should be able to get in the backfield with ease with Cameron Wake coming off the edge, and Suh up the middle.
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Furthermore, the Phins extended fourth-year quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a six-year 97 million dollar contract extension. Therefore, the Dolphins are spending big cash to protect their most valuable assets.
However, when you spend big money like that you can be left vulnerable at other positions. For example, Miami continues to have a weak offensive line, in a division with three stout defensive fronts. What good is your expensive quarterback if you cannot keep him upright. Also, the Dolphins offense is not exactly filled with offensive power, and Tannehill is not the type of player that can make players around him exceedingly better.
Overall, the Miami Dolphins on paper seem to have a very talented roster, but they just don’t have the coaching. That will be proven this year once again when Miami fans are disappointed that their team is golfing in January once again.
The Dolphins are probably the most stable team in the division outside of the Patriots. They have the pieces in place to make a substantial run, but there are some serious questions that the team hasn’t answered. Should the Patriots be afraid of being dethroned by the Dolphins? Let’s look at the strengths and weaknesses and decide:
Why should the Patriots be afraid: On offense, Joe Philbin has given the reigns over to QB Ryan Tannehill and have signed him to a large extension (6 year, 95 million) as a sign of good faith. He has improved every year and threw for over 4,000 yards last year. The Dolphins acquired WR Kenny Stills in a trade, signed TE Jordan Cameron and drafted WR DaVante Parker in the first round to improve his weapons. Second year Jarvis Landry looks like a future stud and adding a healthy Lamar Miller gives him a capable runner.
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On defense is where the strength is. There might not be a more underrated and dangerous player outside of Cameron Wake and to add one of the best defensive tackles in DT Ndamukong Suh gives them a dangerous duo to team up with steady DE Olivier Vernon. This is a dangerous defensive line that can wreak havoc across the line. CB Brett Grimes is an incredibly talented CB that teams up with probably the most underrated safety in the game with Reshad Jones. He is solid against the run and is excellent in coverage. These core players are the keys to a dominant defense that has the potential to carry them far.
Why shouldn’t the Patriots be afraid: Despite the optimism, there are some glaring holes that the pundits aren’t really addressing. When it comes to the offense, Tannehill might be overpaid, but he produces enough to warrant his new contract. With that, they have only solid offensive line starter with C Mike Pouncey. LT Brandon Albert is 30 and is coming off a major knee injury. Last year’s rookie RT Ja’Wuan James was overwhelmed and they have no real proven starter at either Guard spot. It doesn’t matter who is playing QB, RB or WR, if they can’t protect Tannehill, they are going nowhere. Lamar Miller has trouble staying healthy and they don’t have proven depth behind him. This means that is truly ALL on Tannehill’s shoulders and if you have watched him play, you can question why the team would do that.
On defense, there are some huge holes that they haven’t addressed. The back 7 leaves a lot to be desired. They have a promising LB in Jelani Jenkins and a solid starter with MLB Koa Misi, but they are both unproven and there isn’t a starter outside of him. Grimes is a great corner, but he’s 32. How much longer can he play at an elite level? Also, who is playing opposite him? Right now, their biggest acquisition was slot CB Brice McCain. That’s not the most encouraging sign for anyone. FS Louis Delmas has shown flashes but can’t stay healthy and is coming off an ACL tear.
What does all this mean? There’s obvious talent there in Miami, but it’s too lofty to expect much more than .500 for this team. There is a lot of holes on this team and questions aplenty across the offensive line, secondary and line-backing corps. If they get these resolved, they are definitely a team to be reckoned with, but are still most likely a year away.
In March of 2013, the New England Patriots acquired Danny Amendola via free agency after the departure of long-time, and extremely productive receiver Wes Welker. Patriots fans were irate with the decision, seeing how Welker had fought through injury throughout his six-year Patriots career and hardly missed any time.
On the other hand, Amendola had missed a total of twenty-two games in four seasons with the St. Louis Rams for various injuries, including a serious collar bone injury that could have taken his life. Amendola entered Foxborough the same way he entered Texas Tech, taking over for a record breaking Wes Welker at slot receiver.
Amendola’s first year and a half in Foxborough was tough and frustrating for himself and the fans. Not only did he struggle to stay healthy, which was his biggest question mark heading in, he also could not get on the same page as Tom Brady. He was the polar opposite of Wes Welker at the beginning.
Amendola’s career really jump started in week seven of last season against the New York Jets on a rainy Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. The score was 20-19 in the fourth quarter, and the Patriots were hanging on to the lead by the skin of their teeth. On a third and nineteen play, Tom Brady rolled out of the pocket to his left side and looked as if he was just firing the ball into the back of the end zone, when out of nowhere Amendola snagged the ball out of the air while getting hit by Jets safety Antonio Allen, for a touchdown. The Patriots prevailed in the end with a 27-25 victory.
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That single play helped carry Amendola throughout the season, and particularly into the postseason. In three playoff games Amendola finished with eleven receptions, for 137 yards, and three touchdowns. The divisional round against the Baltimore Ravens is where Amendola contributed the most.
In the fourth quarter the Patriots faced a huge third down play while trailing 31-28. Brady fired a quick out-route to Amendola, and he then shook off Baltimore defenders to dive over the first-down marker, setting up a fresh set of downs. The Patriots would later score on a touchdown reception from Brandon LaFell, which gave the team the lead 35-31, the score they would win by.
Of course Amendola’s most notable moments came in the end zone. His second touchdown of the Baltimore game from Julian Edelman which tied the game up at twenty-eight.His second touchdown of the Baltimore game from Julian Edelman which tied the game up at twenty-eight. Then about three weeks later, Amendola helped bring the Patriots back into Super Bowl XLIX, finding the end zone to narrow the Seattle lead to 24-21 in the fourth quarter.
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Going into the 2015 season, Amendola looked set to be the number three receiver on the Patriots roster. However, with Brandon LaFell still on the physically unable to perform list, and Julian Edelman fighting injuries, Amendola has received more first team reps and targets from Tom Brady than any other Patriots wide receiver.
This increased amount of reps and comfort with the starting quarterback could very well lead to Danny Amendola’s first full season where he is a productive player on the Patriots roster. He brings a lot to the table. He has the ability to play in the slot, and also at times catch the ball outside of the numbers. In addition, his most underrated trait is his ability to run block. Last season, Josh McDaniels called a lot of sweep plays to the outside where Amendola would come down and stalk block on a defensive back.
Furthermore, Amendola was without a doubt the Patriots best kick returner in 2014. He came onto the scene in week twelve against Detroit where he had two very solid returns that helped jump start the Patriots offense.
In conclusion, now that Danny Amendola is a, “made-man” in the Patriots offense, he can now be apart of a plethora of targets that should be one of the league’s best offenses. With the contributions of All-Pro Rob Gronkowski, and the reliable Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell, and now you can throw in Amendola who could bring in about sixty receptions, the Patriots offense should be lethal.
The New England Patriots fell short to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 22-11, in their preseason opener on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. There was certainly a lot of bad, but also a few bright spots in the loss on Thursday. As Bill Belichick said after the game, “It’s the first preseason game everybody has a lot to work on, we will watch the film and i’m sure there will be corrections on every play.” Here are my main takeaways and notes from Thursday nights contest.
Malcolm Butler Impresses Again: The majority of Patriots fans were probably hoping to see a lot more of Malcolm Butler than they actually did. He was only out on the field for about two series. However, while on the field Butler made multiple plays in the end zone. Butler locked down his defenders and stayed on them while Aaron Rodgers rolled out of the pocket, breaking up two different passes. Encouraging to see seeing how he seems to be the teams number one cornerback right now.
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The Rest of The Secondary Disappoints: Other than Malcolm Butler and Devin McCourty, the Patriots secondary as a whole was very disappointing. Darryl Roberts was on the field starting, which was a bit surprising. He played decent, but certainly not up to the level that you would comfortable having him as a starter.
Aaron Rodgers took advantage of him playing to far off the line. In addition, Logan Ryan was toasted by wide receiver Jeff Janis on a pass from back up quarterback Scott Tolzien for a touchdown. Furthermore, Duron Harmon had some tackling issues on a long touchdown run by Alonzo Harris when he collided with fellow defenders James Morris and Bradley Fletcher. Just an awful display of defense.
Jimmy Garoppolo Shows No Progression: If you asked me to tell the difference between Jimmy Garoppolo in late December of last season and tonight, I would have a tough time. It does not seem like he has improved his game very much, we could sort of get a glimpse of that in practice.
His decision making still is too slow. That helped contribute to him being sacked seven times throughout the night. He look as if he was making a concerted effort not to use his legs. There were times where he should have scrambled out of the pocket, instead he went to the turf. Garoppolo finished the night 20 of 30, for 159 yards, zero touchdowns, and one bad interception that was intended for Josh Boyce. Garoppolo fired the ball at Boyce on a ten-yard dig route, however instead of hitting him on the outside shoulder away from the defender, he threw it inside where LaDarius Gunter picked it off.
Young Offensive Line Struggles Greatly: The offensive line without a doubt was the lowlight of the game for the Patriots on Thursday night. Players such as David Andrews, Josh Kline, and once again Jordan Devey had a very tough time against a defensive front that is not exactly the 1985 Chicago Bears. The offensive line gave up seven sacks in total, and most came from the interior. Shaq Mason show some potential as a run blocker, but had a tough time keeping up with the pro level speed. There will certainly be a lot of scrutiny placed towards that group this upcoming week.
Josh Boyce Doesn’t Live Up To Hype: After having a very good training camp thus far, Josh Boyce had a very underwhelming performance on Thursday night to put it lightly. Mental errors continue to hurt his career. Simple mistakes like turning for the ball, and running all the way through his routes, and bad drops were some of the lowlights of his night.
Boyce finished the game with one catch after being targeted eight times. It was a rough night to say the least, and disappointing for me because I had him as a player to watch for. He needs to make up for his performance next week, because if he continues to string together lack luster performances he will be looking for a job come early September.
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Miscellaneous Notes: There was a few bright spots on Thursday night behind all the disappointment. Trey Flowers was one of my nice surprises. Flowers made a great move on Packers starting tackle David Bahktiari to get to Aaron Rodgers and bring him down for the sack. It was very encouraging to see that explosiveness from him.
Also, Jonas Gray took advantage of his chances running for 74 yards, with a 55-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Finally, Stephen Gostkowski lived up to his new contract by nailing a 56-yard field goal at the end of the first half to give the Patriots the 11-9 lead.
Let’s just hope Jonas Gray sets his alarm clock on Monday. The guy who single handily murdered the Colts scampered for a fifty-five yard run down the sidelines to put the Patriots up 8-3. Gray ran in the ensuing two point conversion. The second string Green Bay offense struggled and wasn’t able to produce more than a first down or two, handing the ball back over to the Patriots. With Jimmy G at the helm, the Patriot’s drive stalled deep in their own territory with a breakdown on the offensive line allowing a sack on Jimmy G. The Packers dinked and dunked downfield setting up a third and eight just over midfield. Green Bay seems to have left their punter at the airport and made Logan Ryan look like Meg Ryan, getting beat on the go route for a Green Bay touchdown. Green Bay missed the two point conversion, taking a 9-8 lead. Jimmy G hit James White on a nice little screen pass, but almost coughed the ball up with a poorly under-thrown pass. This forced the Patriots to punt, pinning the Packers at their twenty. The Packers seemed to continue treating this like a Madden game going for it yet again on fourth down, this time failing to convert. This put the Patriots in decent field position at the tail end of the first half, setting up perfectly for the two-minute offense. Jimmy G under-threw Boyce for the third time, barely avoiding an interception, causing the Patriots to settle for a 56 yard field goal attempt. Gostkowski smashed the field goal through the uprights, giving the Patriots an 11-9 lead at the half.
The time has finally come, sort of. It isn’t the best football, but it is players fighting for their jobs, in live game situations with the bright lights on at Gillette Stadium. Preseason football is here, and that means it is time to evaluate the players that have been hyped up and scrutinized throughout training camp.
With so many players on the roster that will be cut by week one, it is hard to keep track of which players you want to keep an eye on during preseason games. Here are five players that you should watch closely on Thursday night if you are a Patriots fan.
Josh Boyce: The majority of offensive starters for the Patriots will not be playing tonight. That means hopefully no Rob Gronkowski, no Julian Edelman, and maybe a limited Danny Amendola. There is a battle for the fourth wide receiver spot currently brewing in Foxborough, and third-year receiver Josh Boyce is near the top of that battle.
Boyce has seen more time in preseason games throughout his career than in regular season games. Last year he spent the season on the practice squad, and he has impressed thus far in training camp. He has constantly beat rookie cornerback Darryl Roberts for touchdowns. On Thursday night, expect to see Boyce on the field for the vast majority of the game.
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Boyce will be playing alongside and competing against at the same time receivers such as Brian Tyms, Chris Harper and Brandon Gibson. Those four are fighting for roster spots, and Boyce has the most experience in the Patriots system out of the four.
Malcolm Butler: The last time we saw Malcolm Butler on the game field he was intercepting Russell Wilson at the goal line to win the Patriots the Super Bowl, as a fairly unknown un-drafted rookie cornerback. Now he is the teams top corner and he will face heavy scrutiny if he doesn’t perform up to that billing.
Throughout the first three weeks of training camp, Butler has been a pain in Tom Brady’s side, intercepting and deflecting passes left and right. He has certainly locked down that left cornerback spot on the roster. Even though for the time being he is labeled as a starter, he will need to be on the field for a large majority of the time Thursday night.
In the preseason, defensive coordinators do not get to fancy with their schemes. As former head coach Herm Edwards once said, “In the preseason you have two flavors of defense, chocolate and vanilla. In the regular season you get thirty-two flavors.”
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Basically what Herm is trying to say is that in the preseason, you get basic man coverage and light zone coverage from defenses. Therefore, we will get a decent evaluation of Malcolm Butler when he matches up against top notch receivers such as Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb even if it is only for a series or two.
Trey Flowers: In the preseason, we get a pretty solid look at the new rookies on the roster. Seeing how the first-round picks are usually penciled in as starters we don’t get as good a look at them as we do with the mid to late round picks. That is why I will be focusing on a player like fourth-round pick, defensive end Trey Flowers.
Flowers started off training camp slow, but of late has been getting solid reps with the starting defense. He is a bigger defensive end at 6-4, 269 pounds and many think he could play in a 3-4 scheme, as oppose to being just a five-technique defensive end.
Flowers is a work-in-progress when it comes to being a pass rusher, but is a solid run defender. Flowers will be fighting with Zach Moore for playing time, and I am giving the leg up to Flowers on that one. In addition, Pro Football Focus had Trey Flowers as their second best steal of the entire draft.
Jimmy Garoppolo: Obviously with the suspension of Tom Brady up in the air we will not being seeing him on Thursday night against the Packers. Now we get to see back up Jimmy Garoppolo for most of the night. It will be a good look at what might be a reality early on in the season if Brady does have to serve a game.
Furthermore, an annual preseason tradition for Patriots fans is evaluating the back up quarterback. Last summer, Jimmy Garoppolo impressed in preseason action leading many to think that he could be the heir apparent to Tom Brady. So far in practice this summer, Garoppolo has been very underwhelming. He takes too long to make decisions, and with a patchy offensive line full of young inexperienced players, that could be a recipe for disaster against Green Bay.
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Also, Garoppolo needs to test his arm. He will have receivers with him that can somewhat stretch the field in Josh Boyce and Brian Tyms. We saw a little bit of that Garoppolo to Tyms connection last August, and it has transitioned into training as well this year. Expect Josh McDaniels to test Garoppolo against the Packers with a pass happy playbook.
James White: With Shane Vereen gone, one of the most important positions on the Patriots offense has been left barren, the pass catching back. It has been an interesting battle to watch between Brandon Bolden, Travaris Cadet, and James White in Foxborough. If you asked me who was losing that battle as of right now, I would tell you it was White.
However, with Travaris Cadet suffering from a hamstring injury we more than likely will not see him in action against the Packers. Therefore, we will be getting a heavy dose of Brandon Bolden and James White. Most Patriots fans know what they have with Brandon Bolden. He is a very good special teams player who can pass block, and come out of the backfield when needed and be fairly productive.
James White is still an unknown. He was hardly on the field at all in 2014, and when he was he did not show an burst like he did in college at the University of Wisconsin. Thursday night will be his chance to prove that he can come out of the backfield and shine and also run in-between the tackles. If he doesn’t show that ability that he was drafted for, White could be looking at another season where he barely sees the field.
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