Patriots: A Step Back, or Not to Worry?
Monday, August 29, 2011
It doesn’t matter that it was only a pre-season game.
It was still ugly.
The Patriots’ 34-10 loss at Detroit Saturday night can easily be dismissed as not important in the overall scheme of things. After all, it was only last year when the team lost to the St. Louis Rams in the third pre-season game…and they did go on to an NFL-best 14-2 regular season.
But to provide proper perspective in this instance, it was clear from the opening kickoff that the Lions were simply better prepared, and they played with much more energy and enthusiasm than did New England. After finishing 6-10 last season (including a Thanksgiving Day loss to the Patriots at Ford Field), Detroit appeared anxious to prove they can play with the NFL’s elite in their third year under head coach Jim Schwartz.
Even though both teams were missing several players who expect to be regulars, the Lions had plenty of “roar” on both sides of the ball. And the lack of execution for the Patriots on both sides of the ball had Bill Belichick understandably agitated afterward.
“Well, no question about who the better team was (Saturday). I think that, obviously, I did a poor job of having this team ready to play and we didn’t do really anything very well, in any phase of the game -- certainly not good enough to win.”
Simply put, the Patriots did not play with any sense of urgency at all. Detroit’s defensive front four, led by second year former Nebraska all-American and NFL rookie of the year Ndomukong Suh, put constant pressure on the Patriots offensive line – and subsequently – put pressure on Tom Brady. Brady finished 12-22 for 145 yards with one TD and one interception, but he repeatedly skipped passes off of the turf to open receivers. He was sacked twice, but it was the inability of the offensive line to physically respond to the Detroit rush that was most surprising.
“I think we were trying to get the ball down the field a little bit, so you’re going to hold it,” Brady said afterward. “They have a good pass rush and we held up out there, for a decent amount of time, but I’ve got to do a better job of making quicker decisions, getting rid of the football and getting it to the guys that can do something with it.”
Defensively, the picture wasn’t much prettier. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was near perfect, finishing 12 of 14 for 200 yards and two touchdowns, while playing only the first half. There was no Patriots’ pass rush defensively – not like there was in either of the first two pre-season games – and Stafford also benefitted from some breakdowns in coverage by the defensive backfield as well, where the Patriots lost several one-on-one battles.
In short, it was ugly.
“We really weren’t competitive,” Belichick said. “We obviously have a lot of work to do. So, I don't think there’s any solution than to work harder, try to correct the mistakes and we have to do everything better.”
“Look, it's football," Brady reasoned. “When you make a bad play, you've got to overcome it. There's resiliency that comes into this game and mental toughness. It's all the things you're trying to build on as a team, trying to figure out what kind of team you've got.”
And what kind of team do the Patriots have, after three pre-season games? It’s a good question. Probably not as good as two lopsided wins might have you believe, and probably not quite as bad as Saturday night’s loss appeared to be. That puts the 2011 edition of the New England Patriots somewhere in the middle right now – which is probably where they deserve to be. Call it a “wake up,” or whatever else you want to call it.
But don’t dismiss it. It was ugly.
News and Notes
It will be a quick turnaround this week for the team – and for their final pre-season opponent, the New York Giants. Because of Hurricane Irene, the Giants and New York Jets had their game postponed until tonight – which means they must play two games in four days, with the Pats-Giants kickoff at Gillette Stadium Thursday night. That virtually guarantees few regulars, if any, will play…but that might not be the case with the Patriots. As bad as Saturday night was, Belichick said afterward it might affect the way he normally approaches a fourth pre-season game. And that seems ok to Brady, at least. “I'd love for us to get out there and play a lot better than we played, he said. “There's a lot of us itching to get back on the field. After days like this, you want to get back on the practice field.”
Does losing like this help the team re-focus at all? “I don't necessarily think losing games and playing poorly ever helps,” Brady answered. “I think we have to understand, like every week, when you play well, there are things you need to do better. When you lose, there are things you need to do better. We don’t want to ride the wave of emotions: ‘We’re great and we suck, we’re great and we suck.’ We are confident as a team, we just have to go play better.”
The Patriots lost their third preseason game after starting the preseason with a 2-0 record for the second straight year...Matt Light made his 2011 preseason debut when he started at left tackle. First round pick Nate Solder started in place of Light at left tackle in the first two preseason games...Wes Welker scored the Patriots first touchdown on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Brady in the second quarter. Last season, Welker’s longest reception was 35-yard reception vs. Green Bay on Dec. 19. He later suffered an injured neck making a tackle following Brady’s interception late in the second quarter…
Defensive back Jonathan Wilhite was also injured early in the third quarter. He left the field under his own power…offensive lineman Dan Connolly suffered an injured ankle in the first quarter…cornerback Kyle Arrington was credited with an 8-yard sack of Detroit QB Matthew Stafford in the second quarter. Arrington has never registered an NFL sack in regular season play. He also intercepted a Detroit pass in the end zone in the third quarter…wide receiver Chad Ochocinco was targeted four times by statistical count after the game, but he finished without a catch…
Defensive linemen Albert Haynesworth and Shaun Ellis, rookie cornerback Ras-I Dowling and rookie running back Shane Vereen were part of a group of 19 players who didn't make the trip to Detroit…the team did return to New England after the game just ahead of the storm, flying into Boston rather than T.F. Green in Providence as they were originally scheduled to do. The players had Sunday off, and are scheduled to return to practice Monday - even with a power outtage at Gillette Stadium thanks to Irene...
Nitpick:
Hard to choose just one. The play of the line – on both sides of the football – was not good. The Patriots were simply overpowered by the Lions’ defensive front four, and the offensive line made it appear that New England played a “zero” man front. No one got penetration into the Detroit backfield, which allowed Matthew Stafford to throw for 200 first half yards…
Standout:
In an otherwise dismal performance, tight end Aaron Hernandez stood out by leading the receivers with 5 catches for 46 yards. He also came up big on third down plays.
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