Power Pats

gdrv825by Scott Benson
scott@patriotsdaily.com

At one point early in last night’s glorious first half, with the Ghost of Woody Hayes fully inhabiting the body and soul of Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, my wife turns to me and says, “if they did this (hand off every play) every week all season long, you’d be the happiest person on earth.”

Yes, dear.

The usually pass-centric New England Patriots instead strapped on the leather helmets and pounded away last night, rolling up nearly 150 rushing yards to key an impressively complete 24-7 win over the Carolina Panthers in the all-important penultimate game of the 2007 pre-season. 

Tom Brady passed for two short touchdowns and the Patriots special teams blocked two John Kasey field goal attempts to finish off the Panthers.

Save for one breakdown that resulted in a 48 yard Jake Delhomme-Kerry Colbert touchdown pass through the center of the Patriots first team defense, New England dominated Carolina throughout, collecting its first victory in three starts.

Laurence Maroney shed his ‘don’t touch me’ jersey and was thrown headfirst into the Patriots offense, lugging the rock on New England’s first seven plays from scrimmage (and eight of the first nine; now THAT’S balance, Josh!) in a scripted sequence intended to bust the cherry on the second year man’s comeback from off-season shoulder surgery. He finished with 58 first-half yards on 15 tries before taking his leave at the break.  

Heath Evans added 58 of his own yards (and two third-quarter touchdowns, including one from Brady) and Sammy Morris converted an early 4th and 1 deep inside Patriots territory as I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming all of it.

Oh, yeah, I guess the quarterback and receivers were pretty good too, particularly in extending New England’s 90 yard, 18 play field goal drive that ate up nearly ten minutes of the first quarter.

The Patriots offensive line, after a horrendous performance against Tennessee last week, fairly pushed the lauded Carolina front seven all over the field while walling off the pocket against one of the NFL’s best pass-rushing defenses. If they were an ‘F’ last week, they were ‘A+’ last night, in the practice game that most observers feel best resembles regular season action.

The Pats defense continued on its even keel, stunting the Panthers rushing attack from the start and rendering inconsequential a decent Delhomme performance, as his 11-18-162-1 line could produce only the six points that came from Colbert’s catch and run past Mike Richardson, James Sanders and the trailing Eugene Wilson.

Linemen Vince Wilfork and Jarvis Green overwhelmed the center of the Carolina field goal unit to knock away Kasey’s attempts, each one setting up a short field (and subsequent touchdown drive) for the Patriots offense.

Both starting squads played well into the third quarter, as is the custom for third pre-season tilts, and in all respects the Patriots walked away with the decisive edge as rookies and backups once again ran out the clock to little effect. For the first time this August, the Patriots put together a complete game and looked damn near ready to start the season. Now, only the truly meaningless pre-season finale with the Giants stands between the Patriots and their opening day date with the Man-Genius.

If the Patriots go at the Jets with the same mix of aggressiveness and efficiency as they did the Panthers, I am SO reading all the New York papers on Monday, September 10th.

Some random thoughts:

*Belichick’s 4th and 1 challenge to his offense, issued despite field position at New England’s own 24, was THE highlight at this address. Who says this guy is no fun? The beauty, of course, is that the kick-in-the-ass challenge worked. Morris, coming in to relive Maroney after the latter had carried the ball seven straight times, left no doubt on the 4th down try, surging for five yards behind the right side of the Patriots line. The Pats offense then churned downfield in classic ball control style, settling for the field goal only after Ben Watson couldn’t hang on to a Brady toss in the back of the Carolina end zone. An accurate and catchable throw went for naught, with all due credit going to Chris Gamble, who stripped it as Watson fell to the ground. Small complaint on an otherwise complaint-free night: shouldn’t a tight end known for pass catching be a better receiver?

*Morris, on the other hand, is exceeding expectations. He’s falling right into the ‘power back’ role in a manner so solid and consistent that I can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop. Wait - he doesn’t own a ‘kennel’, does he? He also reminded us of his Dolphin days when he grabbed a Brady third-down flip and slashed for a first down. He, with Evans and veteran playmaker Kevin Faulk (who didn’t play after excelling the two weeks previous), seemingly give the Pats the depth and versatility they will need behind Maroney. The Pats running game was tested last night and, ironically, it ‘passed’.

*Maroney was very good, I thought. At first, he hunted and pecked like me on this keyboard, causing him to be stacked up at the line, but he gradually loosened up and began leaning forward for four and five yards at a time as the Pats o-line gave him plenty of room for his quick cuts and darts. His best run came on one he bounced outside, a 12 yarder on the Pats clock-eating first quarter drive. The best news came afterward, when Maroney reported no trouble with his recovering shoulder. Like I said, am I dreaming this?

*The Patriot Most Likely to be Featured on Entertainment Tonight jumped back into the New England lineup after a couple of personal days (I’m still working my sources to nail down the reason for the unplanned absence) and had one of those vintage Brady performances. His direction of that 18 play, 10 minute drive  could have just as well come from your Three Games to Glory video library. Though the Pats were intent on grinding it out, Brady went to the air to convert key third downs to Morris and Wes Welker (best night so far), and probably should have gotten six points for his trouble (see above). He later finished another run-based drive with a touchdown pass to a wide-open Marcellus Rivers, and in his final drive of the night (to start the third quarter), he threw seven times in eight plays, completing six, to rip off a bang-bang 77 yard touchdown drive capped with a nifty Brady to Evans check down. On 1st and goal from the Carolina 8, the quarterback dodged and weaved through the pocket before spotting Evans as he worked himself free underneath the Panther coverage. The fullback, who later added a 43 yard cutback run to his full night, was terrific throughout. As was Brady, fresh from the coast.

*As noted, Wes Welker had his best game, taking in three balls from the slot, and looking more comfortable while doing it. He also looked collected in the Troy Brown ‘Fair Catch’ role as a punt returner, safely gathering in a couple of booming Carolina punts. Donte Stallworth made a nice adjustment on Ken Lucas when Brady underthrew him on a deep ball, and you know something? I can see Kelley Washington one day developing into a long-term receiver for the Patriots as he earns his keep on special teams. I don’t know what this guy’s issue has been, but so far, he’s been nothing but competent for New England, including some surprisingly smooth routes and catches. On specials, he’s routinely one of the first on the scene. How can he not make the team? As they say, it’s early, but the Patriots front office seems to be hitting on their mid-tier free agents, don’t they?

*I honestly cannot think of a particular highlight for the Patriots defense, aside from perhaps the continued success of the defensive line despite the absence of stars Richard Seymour and Ty Warren. They stuffed Carolina at the point of attack, led by the formidable Wilfork (if the Pro Bowl has any merit whatsoever, he’ll be there soon), the invaluable veteran Green, and youngsters LeKevin Smith and Kareem Brown. Please allow me to confirm that the Pats d-line is freaking deep.

*They did allow nearly 170 yards through the air, but hey, look at the scoreboard. They did not sack Delhomme, though they largely kept him in the pocket where he could do the least damage. Which seemed to be their intention. The secondary - which may welcome Asante Samuel this week - gave up the one big play but to the good, they didn’t make a habit of it. Mostly, they kept the ball in front of them.  Another unfettered night for Harrison, who looks as ready as anyone for September 9th, and Eugene Wilson is moving well, delivering a few hard hits is support of the run. Richardson, the rookie from Notre Dame, took some snaps with the big boys and mixed it up well, though it was he that Colbert first eluded before he raced past a diving Sanders as Wilson chased in vain.

*Oscar Lua had a smooth interception of a David Carr pass that stopped a 4th quarter Carolina drive that had taken the Panthers inside the Patriots 20 yard line. Generally, though, this was a night for the first-string, and Lua and other hopefuls will have to wait until Thursday night for the chance to play their way onto the team.

*Stephen Gostkowski had a great night of kickoffs but went just 1 of 3 on field goals. Both misses were long ones, yet they had plenty of distance and no accuracy. The Patriots had better be as dominant as they were last night if the Ghost is going to struggle from the field.

*Lastly, Matt Cassel directed a 69 yard touchdown drive that was largely the result of Evans’s 43 yard burst, and then went three and out in his only other possession. By the way, welcome back Vinny Testaverde, who went three and out himself, but to be fair, like Jerry’s grandma, he’s on a very fixed income.

Sorry for the late post this morning, but I too am on a very fixed income.

In My Mind I’m Goin’ To Carolina

by Scott Benson
scott@patriotsdaily.com

I don’t know about you, but I’m struggling with these Friday night games.

I think it’s the ‘go to work for 8-10 hours first, THEN come home and watch the game’ thing that’s getting me. I like my job fine, but come on - I’ve got my priorities.

I guess if anything, this is our training camp for those two Monday night games the Patriots have scheduled later this fall. Push through the pain and drudgery now, and you’ll be ready to execute when the time comes.

Still sucks though. Here’s a few things I’ll be thinking about while pretending to pay attention in meetings today:

*What are we to make of these reports that say Asante Samuel is ready to end his holdout and rejoin the Patriots next week? I’ll use the most dreaded phrase in the English language here - “makes sense.” Samuel has staged his protest, and now he’ll return to the field, where presumably he can best position himself for another dash for the cash next spring (though there are no reports that the Patriots have conceded future franchise tags). I got to admit - out of all the posible resolutions here, I least expected Samuel to select the “makes sense” option. You know how these contract jihadists can be. Anyway, does he go right from Florida to the Pats starting lineup? Should he? I might suggest that he first watch the guys (Randall Gay) that have been putting the work in, at least for a few days, until he earns his way back out there. I can be a little jihadist myself.

*Will Laurence Maroney get a few touches against the Panthers tonight, and will we get a glimpse of the possibilities in the Pats new zone blocking schemes? Sammy Morris has shown promise as a solid backup so far, but there’s a lot of work still to be done with the New England offense, and finding a niche for the running game in and amongst all the spread formations would have to rank near the top of the offensive ‘to do’ list.

*Will the Patriots offensive line manage to get a finger in the dike tonight, or will they further bedevil Tom Brady with the missed assignments that plagued them last week? For that matter, will Brady even be in attendance? The man’s got a family to think of now. I hope he shows - I’m not sure my heart will stand Matt Cassel against the Carolina regulars. By the way, the Herald’s John Tomase has our Feature of the Day, an expansive piece on Brady’s prime years that features expert commentary from Roger Staubach, Ron Jaworski and Joe Theisman. For other news, as always, you can check patriotslinks.com.

*Will the Patriots defense continue their dominance from last week, and further assert itself as the true strength of the team? Will Rodney Harrison and Gay continue their impressive comebacks? Will Adalius Thomas step from the shadows into the spotlight? Will LeKevin Smith and Kareen Brown extend their push towards the final roster, giving the defensive line unprecedented depth?

*Will Danny Baugher continue to hammer the ball and nail down the punting job? Will Stephen Gostkowski smooth out the rough edges of the last two weeks? Will someone step forward as the primary returner?

You got me - that’s why we watch the games. But first, I’ve got to go to work. Groan.

Work avoidance issues? Tell me about it.

It’s A Boy!

by Scott Benson
scott@patriotsdaily.com

I haven’t been this excited about a pregnancy since Murphy Brown went off the air. Can Dan Quayle be far behind? This one’s right up his alley.

The big day finally arrived for Tom Brady yesterday, as actress and former galpal Bridget Moynahan ended her strangehold on the AFC East divisional race by delivering the quarterback’s first child, a boy, in a California hospital.

Moynahan, who is clearly a Jets fan, had hoped to remain pregnant long enough to cause Brady to miss the season opener in New York on September 9th, which would have likely sent New England’s divisional hopes off the rails for good. At least that’s what I’ve been reading in the papers. Another Pats-tweaking scheme by the devious Eric Mangini? Was Teddy Atlas involved? Probably. Talk about tampering.

Anyway, congratulations to Tom, Bridget and son. Hey - what if Mangini tries to set up a baby shower in Santa Monica early next month? Don’t put it past him - he’s always thinking! Will coach Bill Belichick allow Brady to miss the game to be there when the gifts are opened? Isn’t it Tom’s call, really?

Alert Steve Buckley! This thing isn’t over, it’s just beginning!

In other news, the Pats sent punter Tom Malone packing yesterday, which means Danny (My Name Is Erle) Baugher has won the Patriots punting job. Ty (Long-Term) Warren came back to practice after hurting his elbow against Tampa. Albert Breer of the Herald has our Feature of the Day on the always entertaining (and seemingly overlooked so far) Mike Vrabel. For the rest of the morning’s headlines, check patriotslinks.com. 

Does the Patriots Pro Shop have little silver-somethings?

Let Man-genius know we’re on to him, here.

The Future Dynamics of Player Relations

By Bruce Allen
bruce@patriotsdaily.com

This is another peek inside Bill Walsh’s Finding the Winning Edge.

There is a chapter entitled “Handling The Pro Athlete” which deals with ways in which to promote sound player relations. It also addresses challenges that can arise, including substance abuse, diversity in the locker room, domestic violence and player assistance programs.

The chapter concludes with a look at the “Future dynamics of player relations” and tries to forecast circumstances and factors that may affect player relations in the future. Keep in mind that this book is now 10 years old, having been published in 1997. See if what Walsh predicted has come true:

These were only some of the items mentioned in a rather lengthy list. Of the above, I found several particularly interesting. The third one down, which deals with coaching, seems to fit well with Bill Belichick, who certainly fits both criteria. It also fits a coach like Mike Shanahan. These two are among the longest tenured coaches in the league and certainly considered at the top of the coaching pile.

The role of agents in the lives of players is right on the money, as well as the obsession with image. The “unacceptable life-style” one I found interesting. Could this apply to someone like Michael Vick, who perhaps felt that he was protected from the consequences of his actions somehow?

The last item is one that has become an everyday occurrence among all athletes. From Terrell Owens to Chad Johnson, Ray Lewis, and yes, Randy Moss, these on-field demonstrations just seem to get more prominent each season, despite the efforts of the league to keep them more subdued.

Was the coach a prophet here, or were these things easy to predict? Talk about it in the comments.

Safety in Numbers

By Dan Snapp
dan@patriotsdaily.com

Here’s a nice surprise: the Patriots suddenly have a wealth of options at safety.

The return to health of Super Bowl tandem Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson has been the feel-good story of camp, but Bill Belichick said yesterday he’s just as comfortable with third-year pro James Sanders in there:

“Really, I think we’re at the point now where whichever two of those three are in there together, all of the communication is pretty good.”

Mike Reiss has more about Sanders in our Feature of the Day, describing his insatiable drive to improve, and his comfort soliciting pointers from anybody, including the star quarterback.

Laurence Maroney Redshirtless Vigil, Day Two, was the news of the day. Maroney chatted it up with the press, expressing his desire to get back out on the field. Both Dan Shaughnessy and Steve Buckley use the opportunity of a player talking to them to complain about when players don’t talk to them.

It’s Pronounced Leh-KEE-vin
With Le Kevin Smith looking more like a productive cog in the defensive lineman rotation, here’s a helpful mnemonic device to help in pronouncing his name: whenever you say his name, always say “look even” first. As in, “Look, even Le Kevin got a sack today! Good for him!” Once we get that squared away, maybe we can get announcers to remember the silent “K” in Gostkowski.

For all the people who saw the Pats extend Ty Warren and thought, “Why couldn’t they just do that with Deion Branch?” Reiss makes a key discovery: The extension was in addition to his remaining two years, not replacing them. So Warren is locked in for the next seven years. The Patriots tried to do the exact same thing with Branch, but Branch wanted to tear up the last year of his rookie deal.

Look, even Le Kevin knows the best place for one-stop Pats shopping is patriotslinks.com. See? You’ll never mispronounce it again.

Shed your red shirts in the comments area here.

Inside Gillette: Balancing Act

price logoby Christopher Price
chris@patriotsdaily.com

The preseason is a necessary evil — players need the on-field reps to get game-ready ready for the regular season. But, at the same time, it can be a dangerous animal — do you go all out, pushing it to the limit? Or do you go half-speed, hoping to preserve the body in hopes of not sustaining an injury … in what really amounts to a glorified exhibition?

Finding that balance can mean everything to a football player. Just ask Ronnie Lippett, Andre Tippett and Garin Veris, three dependable, durable Patriots … who suffered season-ending injuries in a 1989 preseason contest. As a football player, it’s in your DNA to want to go all out, all the time. But the desire to save leave something in the tank in a meaningless game — and stay healthy for when the real bullets start to fly — is also human nature.

Laurence Maroney is about to walk that line. The second-year running back, who underwent offseason shoulder surgery, has worn a red non-contact jersey all summer in hopes of protecting his shoulder. He traded his non-contact jersey for a regular practice one for the first time Monday morning at Gillette Stadium, and will likely get his first on-field test Friday in Carolina against the Panthers.

Finding that balance between wanting to stay healthy and trying to avoid injury — especially with a running back — can be tricky in the preseason, according to Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick. You don’t want to overexpose a player to injury in games that really don’t count. But at the same time, the player needs that level contact to truly prepare for the regular season.

“I think an individual player’s situation varies from player to player, but I think in general, players need to practice and play to get ready to play,” Belichick said of finding that balance needed to help get a running back ready for the grind of a 16-game season.

“I think if we just want to save everybody, we would just be sitting around here for six weeks and not do anything,” he added. “I don’t think we’d have a very good football team, but I think everybody would be safe. I don’t think that’s the answer.”

When it comes to running backs, veteran Sammy Morris says coaches have to remember that many starting backs will take more hits than Google during the regular season, so there’s no need to add to than number unnecessarily in the preseason.

“Obviously, it’s a physical game and there are a lot of collisions out there, so it’s kind of hard to come away completely unscathed as a running back,” said Morris, in his first preseason with the Patriots. “But you need to find a balance. ‘How many reps does this guy need? How many reps does that guy need? How much rest does this guy need?’ Coaches and players need to do that without second-guessing themselves in the end.”

Second-guessing can lead to trouble at any position. So can “sugar-footin’ or half-steppin’” — Ellis Hobbs’ favorite description of going half-speed in the preseason in hopes of not getting hurt. The third-year cornerback has seen plenty of guys take a play or two off in the preseason.

“Yeah, I’ve seen guys on film do that. I’m not calling anybody out on this team, but I’ve seen it on other teams around the league,” Hobbs said. “I think it’s human nature: in your mind, it’s the preseason, we can take our time, especially if you’re a high draft pick who knows he’ll be here.

“I think it’s harder for some players and it comes easier for others. The main thing I try to do individually – and I can only speak for myself on this – is to go out there and play as if it is a real game. Play as if it counts.”

In the end, it has to be a combination of player and coach working together in hopes of finding commonality.

“There has to be some middle ground between working and getting the team to be able to execute to a certain level — and at the same time you don’t want them worn down by the time you get to the season,” Belichick said. “But you have to be able to go out there and play competitively against pretty good competition in this league. We’re just trying to find that balance.”

5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

1. Matt Cassel. The two remaining preseason games are key ones for the third-year quarterback. Backup quarterbacks under Bill Belichick are traditionally given three years to succeed. If it’s not happening for them at the end of the third preseason, it’s not gonna happen — just ask Rohan Davey. If Cassel does not continue to progress over these next two preseason games, the Patriots could end up going out next April and using a second-day pick on a quarterback, or going and acquiring a veteran backup like Damon Huard.

2. The reaction to the first real hit Carolina lays on running back Laurence Maroney. Assuming he plays — and there’s every reason to expect he will for the reasons we detailed above — Maroney will start against a physical Carolina defense that should get him used to game action very quickly.

3. Danny Baugher. The rookie punter hasn’t clinched the job quite yet, but can do so Friday against the Panthers with another solid performance.

4. The Patriots’ offensive line. The Panthers were a lot better than the Titans at sustaining a pass rush last season (Carolina had a 41-26 edge in sacks), and could cause major problems for the New England offensive line and Tom Brady if the Patriots’ offensive line submits the same sort of performance they did against Tennessee.

5. Rodney Harrison. The veteran safety was vicious against the Titans, taking another step back to his 2004 levels with a savage sack of Vince Young. He’ll look to take another step against the Panthers and Jake Delhomme — someone he shared plenty of trash talk with in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

STAT OF THE WEEK

One of the points of emphasis during the week for the New England defense was to not allow Vince Young to beat them with his legs. (The Titans were sixth in the league last year in total percentage of running plays called.) Mission accomplished: the Titans had 36 passing attempts, compared to 31 rushing attempts.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“You see your quarterback on the ground, you look up and you say ‘Guys, it’s time to put their guy on the ground.’”
–Rodney Harrison, explaining the not-so-coincidental timing of his second quarter sack of Vince Young — which came shortly after the Titans’ dumped Tom Brady on his backside.

Christopher Price covers the Patriots for Boston Metro. His book “The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower” will be released in October by Thomas Dunne Books. He can be reached at chris@patriotsdaily.com

No News is Good News

by Scott Benson
scott@patriotsdaily.com

The Patriots were off on Sunday, so there’s little in the way of news as the third week of the pre-season schedule begins today.

That’s good news in and of itself, considering how the injuries piled up across the league this weekend. AFC rival Denver took a couple of big hits, losing end Ebenezer Ekuban (for the season) and tough guy back Travis Henry (for at least a little while). No news certainly has to be considered good news for the Patriots this morning.

Anyway, there are more post-mortems on Friday night’s troublesome performance by the Pats offense, and the energized play of the Patriots defense. Who’s Michael Felger, by the way? New kid on the Herald staff? He has to be a new guy to claim that David Givens, Deion Branch, Asante Samuel and Daniel Graham would all still be on the team if the Patriots had just treated them like they did Ty Warren. It must have killed him to leave Adam Vinatieri out of that group. Old Black and White Felger, with analysis as deep as a kiddie pool.

Mike Reiss of the Globe has our Feature of the Day on new Pats punter Danny (My Name Is Erle) Baugher, who had an impressive turn against the Titans and appears ready to grab the ‘vacant’ punting job for New England.

For the rest of your morning news, hit patriotslinks.com.

I knew I missed something on that Patriots goal-line stand on Friday night, and I did: the play of rookie end Kareem Brown, who was among the players who knocked Vince Young back away from the end zone on the fourth down stop that was credited to Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel. We’ll see how Brown progresses from here, but right now it looks like the Patriots will have unprecedented depth along the defensive front this season.

Josh Miller stops by the Herald long enough to lay the smack down on former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher. According to Josh, being in New England taught him that coaches can win you up to three games every season; this of course reminded him of several near misses in the Steel City. Maybe Josh was thinking of a certain AFC Championship game from a few years back.

I know, I know….when it comes to Cowher, I need to be more specific.

No comments, however, is never good news. 

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