Eagles defeat Patriots, 27-17

by MaPatsFan on Aug 23, 2008 7:48 PM EDT in New England Patriots News

The Chad pulls one down, patriots.com

0-3. That's right, New England Patriots fans, we are 0-3 in the preseason. Asante's reunion turned out to be a defeat for our boys in blue and silver. Should we worry? There are certainly a few areas that need improvement. There are individual plays which certainly appeared to be worrisome (John Lynch getting beat, for example), but overall, it was a better showing than Tampa Bay. I'm still concerned about the fact that in all 3 games, our opponents managed to march down the field and score during their opening drives. And THAT, my friends, we cannot blame on Matt Cassel. More on that to come.

There is still a wildcard, in my mind. That wildcard doesn't address poor individual play, but it may account for overall team dynamics. That wildcard is Bill Belichick. We all know he's a crafty dude and has a history of showing very little in the preseason. I still hold on to the possibility that he's not showing all his cards just yet. He is constantly rotating players in and out and giving lots of snaps to some of our newer players like Wheatley. Granted, this is a fairly subjective viewpoint with little to no supporting information. I simply believe Belichick uses preseason games for what they should be used for: evaluation of players in a "live" situation. That being said, I'm not so worried that I would blow a gasket. We still haven't seen wonderboy take a snap and we've, more than likely, only seen a fraction of the playbook.

Coach Belichick, patriots.com

Matt Gutierrez - 14 of 20 for 217 yards, Matty G was a bright spot in the QB battle of the backups. Touchdown passes to both CJ Jones and Chad Jackson gave both WRs some needed positives given the trouble they've had in the past few games.

Matt Cassel - 8 of 14 for 60 yards, Matty C failed to impress. I've said this is his gig to lose and he's losing it. When #3 has a day like he had, #2 better equal or better those stats, especially considering the sinking row boat I think he's currently standing in.

C.J. Jones - With some questionable in the first 2 games, CJ Jones got it done Friday night. With 3 receptions for 70 yards and a TD, he's making a case for himself. Nice job, CJ.

Running Backs - I'm not feeling good. 24 yards in 5 attempts for Morris is not bad, but Matt Cassel had 22 yards in 1 attempt! next on the list was Maroney with a whopping 18 yards in 5 attempts. Kevin Faulk piped in with negative yards.

Defense - Swiss Cheese is what comes to mind. The linebacker corps are not plugging the gaps at all and CBs and safeties are just not there, allowing 390 total yards.

Special Teams - Allowed a 76 yard punt return for a TD by DeSean Jackson. I would not want to be Larry Izzo right now.

What I am most concerned about is inconsistency. Different people keep emerging as bright spots in these games, but noone is consistently knocking me dead every game. What happened to LaMont Jordan? Where's he been? Laurence, you're the premiere guy, but you're not playing like it. And Wes left with a rib injury. Hopefully, it's not serious.

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I think....

I think that you nailed a lot of it in your opening statements. BB could care less about the win-loss of the preseason. What he IS looking for is player evaluation and plays themselves. I think it was the Cowboys HC that said it, but it was one of the most appropriate statements I have heard. To paraphrase: “Even if a play is successful, we will probably only run it once. We are trying to see how plays work, not to keep running the same play reguardless of how well it works.”

With that in mind, we didn’t have many successful plays to run. Our defense played as poorly as I can remember in a decade, and our offense under our supposed backup didn’t fare much better. Matty G was fairly successful, but he played against the B team for Philly for the most part. Is he strong enough to count on?

As for Matty C… I haven’t disliked a NE QB this much since Drew Bledsoe. I know.. Drew did decently and led us to a SB, but you could pretty much count on his losing the game for us. I feel the same way about Matty C. No matter how well he does, I just think in the end he will blow it.

by Ogor on Aug 23, 2008 8:02 PM EDT reply actions

science experiment

Do we have to continue this experimentation into next week’s game against the Giants? I don’t think I can handle any more humiliation.

by cia on Aug 23, 2008 8:31 PM EDT reply actions

I am starting to believe

that Cassel’s prime reason for being out there, is to take all of the sacks and hits and knock-downs meant for Brady. There is no reason on God’s earth for BB to put Brady in, especially against the Giants on Thursday. Let Cassel and Gutz and maybe O’ Connell absorb it all.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Aug 23, 2008 9:04 PM EDT reply actions

Matt Cassel

Should be off the team. The only excuse I’d give him is the offensive line. As bad as the D played at times the offense under Cassel was worse. If the offense was able to maintain any time of possession the D would have been better. And in a regular season game the D would be a lot more physical under BB. Cassel had the luxury of having Moss, Welker, and Watson, Gutz didn’t have those options. Gutz may have played against a B defense but all things being even, I’ll take Gutz .

If my mother put on a helmet and shoulder pads and a uniform that wasn't the same as the one I was wearing, I'd run over her if she was in my way. And I love my mother.

BO JACKSON

by standingpat on Aug 23, 2008 11:23 PM EDT reply actions