Five takeaways from Patriots’ 22-11 loss to Packers in preseason opener
COMMENTARY
The New England Patriots’ return to the football field in August was far less glamorous than their exit from the field in February. Fortunately for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots won’t be depending on most of the players who earned a majority of the snaps on Thursday night in the Patriots’ 22-11 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
The Patriots’ preseason opener revealed several issues that need to be addressed before the start of the 2015 regular season, but there were also some positive impressions to be gleaned from the loss.
Here’s a look at the five biggest takeaways from the action.
1. Malcolm Butler is here to stay: For the second straight summer, the cornerback has been on fire. On Thursday night, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was not the fire extinguisher. The Super Bowl hero yielded just one completion on three passes into his coverage, and the one completion he allowed was followed by a quick, forceful hit.
Butler even got the veteran treatment, finding his way to the bench after just one defensive series. The Patriots have seen enough from Butler at this point to know that he is their best cornerback currently on the roster. Why put him at risk for an injury?
2. Jimmy Garoppolo remains a mixed bag: The nickname “Jimmy Gameday’’ may be even more accurate than anyone could have imagined. The Patriots’ second-year quarterback continues to prove that while he may not be perfect in practice, he can make plays in games.
Make no mistake: Garoppolo’s NFL-caliber throws came in all shapes, sizes, and results. He hit a 15-yard out to Josh Boyce, a dumpoff to James White when under pressure and tried for a deep corner route to Boyce that was incomplete. Even that incompletion showed Garoppolo’s ability to put the ball in a spot where only his receiver could get it.
For all the signs of promise, Garoppolo’s night was far from perfect. There were a pair of underthrown passes to Boyce that were nearly intercepted. Then there was a pass behind Boyce that was intercepted (though the receiver should have fought harder for the ball). There were a few instances when Garoppolo held the ball too long instead of passing to open targets.
After a slow start (5-of-13, 63 yards), Garoppolo finished his night (20-of-30, 159 yards, one interception) looking better. But after being sacked seven times, he’s lucky he finished the night in one piece.
3. Injuries are quickly mounting: Key receivers Aaron Dobson, Julian Edelman, Brian Tyms and Danny Amendola were not in the lineup. The Patriots were also without starting offensive linemen Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer and Bryan Stork. Linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Jerod Mayo didn’t play either. Cornerback Darryl Roberts, defensive end Trey Flowers and running back James White were all lost to injuries during the game. White returned, but the other two did not.
Unlike a “Madden’’ simulation, the Patriots cannot turn their injury settings to “off’’ to avoid the trouble during the preseason.
4. The Patriots have a lot of depth in the defensive front seven: Jabaal Sheard, Trey Flowers, Rufus Johnson and Geneo Grissom were just some of the players making impact plays for the Patriots on Thursday night in the form of quarterback hurries, hits and sacks.
These are far from household names, to be sure, but every home is built on a sturdy foundation. Without it, things fall apart in a hurry. There will be some tough cuts in the next couple of weeks as the Patriots trim the roster for the regular season.
The Patriots lost high-profile players in their secondary during the offseason, but the team made key additions to its front seven.
5. The Patriots have issues with their depth on the offensive line: Too many times, Gillette Stadium fell silent as Jimmy Garoppolo took a devastating hit of some kind behind a porous offensive line.
That’s to be expected given the aforementioned injury issues, but it’s still troubling given the potential uncertainty of the Patriots’ quarterback situation. One bad hit on Garoppolo, and we could be seeing far more of Ryan Lindley than anyone (other than the Patriots’ opponents) wants to see. Even with the struggles of the makeshift line apparent, the Patriots continued to trot Garoppolo onto the field through the fourth quarter.
Perhaps the coaches felt he needed the repetitions to be ready to possibly play at the beginning of the regular season. One problem: he won’t be ready if he’s in a cast.
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