Patriots Play Giveaway at the End
Friday, September 02, 2011
Generally speaking, the fourth and final pre-season game is nothing more than a final chance for roster long shots to make a final impression, or perhaps for some veterans to knock off a little extra rust.
If you get a win, that’s a bonus.
And if you get a few gifts along the way, it also helps take some of the pressure off. The New York Giants were only too happy to oblige, with three first half turnovers. But the Patriots returned the favor in the second half, allowing a TD on a fake punt and a fumble return for another score that gave the Giants a come-from-behind 18-17 win at Gillette Stadium Thursday night.
Defensive backfield depth was hurt on the opening kickoff with Kyle Arrington on the tackle, he left the field slowly after the play. Quarterback David Carr passed complete to Domenik Hixon, who promptly fumbled. It was recovered by Patrick Chung, and returned to the Giants one yard line…BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored the touchdown from a yard out, with :20 seconds gone, the Patriots led 7-0. Next possession, Carr was intercepted by Devin McCourty, who returns to the giants 33…the drive stalled at the 13, and Stephen Gostkowski knocked through a 30 yard field goal for a 10-0 Patriot lead with 10:14 remaining…Albert Haynesworth saw his first action of the pre-season, and came up with two big stops on the next series, as the Patriots defense forced a NY punt…After a New England punt, New York moved the ball to the Patriots’ 31, and settled for a Rhys Lloyd 48 yard field goal to make it 10-3 with 2:46 left in the first quarter. Toward the end of the period, Tom Brady hooked up with Matthew Slater on a 64 yard catch and run, that put the ball at the Giants’ 4…
First play of the second quarter – and after much indecision by the officiating crew – Green-Ellis was credited with a one yard TD run…that no one in the stadium apparently knew about, except the Patriots. The officials never signaled the score, nevertheless, New England led 17-3 with 14:31 left in the second quarter…defensive end Shaun Ellis made his presence known for the first time in the second period with 10:30 left, chasing down Carr and forcing an incompletion. Keeping the drive alive through strong running from Andre Brown and Da’Rel Scott, the Giants managed to get to the New England one, before a botched snap never got to Carr. Andre Carter recovered the fumble, the third turnover of the first half for NY, at the one…following a Zoltan Mesko punt from his end zone, Jerrel Jernigan fumbled the kick at his 45 yard line, where it was recovered on the run by Gary Guyton and returned 50 yards for an apparent score. Yet the Pats were called for an illegal formation on the play, rubbing the TD off of the board…the Giants moved into the 2:00 drill and found themselves down at the Patriots’ 11, only to have the drive stall, thanks in part to a Shaun Ellis sack of Carr with :18 seconds to play before the half. Lloyd hooked a 49 yard FG attempt to the left with :13 left, giving the Patriots a 17-3 lead at the half.
The lead stayed at 17-3 through a non-descript third quarter, as both teams substituted liberally throughout the period. Many of the players seeing time of the field, with a few exceptions, will most likely find themselves looking for work in just a few days. On the first play of the 4th quarter, Da’Rel Scott took off on a fake punt attempt and ran 65 yards untouched into the end zone for the first Giants’ touchdown of the game. At 17-10 early in the 4th, there was a little life breathed back into the game, and the crowd, at Gillette Stadium.
Especially, for the Giants. With 9:40 left in the 4th, rookie free agent running back Richard Medlin fumbled at the Patriots’ 13 yard line, where it was recovered by Derrick Martin and returned for a score. The Giants then went for the two point conversion, where Ryan Perrilloux found Jernigan in the back of the end zone to give New York its first lead of the night at 18-17.
In the final, last gasp drive of the game, rookie QB Ryan Mallett was sacked twice (once by former BC star Mark Herzlich) after holding onto the ball in the pocket for too long…effectively killing any chance the Patriots had at driving for a last-second field goal opportunity. Yet a personal foul call on the Giants defense on 4th and long kept the drive going with :34 seconds left, only for Mallett to be sacked again by Tyler Sash...a tough night for a rookie quarterback, and an even tougher ending for the Patriots.
"We're going to evaluate everybody. Veterans have to prove themselves just like the rookies," Bill Belichick said afterward. "We need a lot of people to do a lot of different jobs out there. The most important thing is to evaluate the players out there on how they play and how they practice. That's our job now.
"I’m sure that we’ll learn a lot when we look at the film here tomorrow and then we’ll turn our sights toward some roster decisions and get on to Miami," Belichick added. "I think everybody’s looking forward to the start of the season. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’ll get started on it tomorrow."
The final 53-man roster will be determined this weekend, with 27 players to be trimmed from the squad. Consider it learning a lesson for a rookie quarterback, and for the Patriots – it’s always better to receive (turnovers), than give.
News and Notes
Bill Belichick’s teams have finished .500 or better in 15 of his 17 seasons as a head coach after the 2011 Patriots finished with a 2-2 record. New England has finished the preseason with a record of .500 or better 10 times in Belichick’s 12 preseasons with the Patriots.
In the 2011 preseason, the Patriots outscored their opponents 105-78, including a 38-19 advantage in the first quarter and a 74-39 advantage in the first half. The team’s preseason first-half total includes a 17-3 advantage against the Giants in the first half tonight.
Newly acquired veterans DL Albert Haynesworth and DL Shaun Ellis played in their first games as members of the Patriots and were both in the starting lineup. Haynesworth had three tackles (2 solo), while Ellis added a 7-yard sack. "We have a lot of depth. We had good depth at Tennessee, but here, we have great depth," Haynesworth said in the locker room. "We have guys that go to any other team and start. Like coach tells, like Pep (Pepper Johnson) he tells us, ‘Go as hard as you can for however many plays. If that’s three, four plays, do that, come out and we’ll have someone else send another wave of attack in.’ That’s what we’re going to do, I’m going to play as hard as I possibly can. When I get gassed, I’m going to come out.”
BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored on a pair of 1-yard runs in the first half. The game against the Giants was his second two-touchdown game of the 2011 regular-season. Green-Ellis finished the 2011 preseason with a team-high four touchdowns. In addition to his scores against the Giants, he scored on a pair of 1-yard runs at Tampa Bay on Aug. 18. In 2010, Green-Ellis had three games with two touchdowns as he led New England with 13 rushing scores, a total that trails only Curtis Martin’s two seasons with 14 rushing touchdowns on the Patriots’ all-time rushing touchdown list.
The first two Giants drives ended in turnovers inside their own territory. First, LB Rob Ninkovich caused a fumble that was recovered by S Patrick Chung and returned to the 1- yards. line to help set up a touchdown run by Green-Ellis. The Giants’ second drive ended when CB Devin McCourty intercepted David Carr and returned it 18-yards to the 33-yard line to help set up a field goal that gave the Patriots a 10-0 lead.
WR Matthew Slater finished the 2011 preseason with three 40-yard receptions. He had a 67-yard reception from Tom Brady in the first quarter against the Giants, setting up Green-Ellis’s second touchdown run, giving the Patriots a 17-3 lead. Slater had a 43-yard reception in the preseason opener vs. Jacksonville and a 53-yard reception at Detroit, with both passes coming from Brian Hoyer.
DL Mike Wright saw his first action of the 2011 preseason and tallied a pair of tackles.
Second round picks CB Ras-I Dowling and RB Shane Vereen played in their first games of the preseason. Dowling was in the starting lineup at cornerback, while Vereen led the team with 11 rushes for 34 yards.
S Josh Barrett, who spent all of last season on the team’s injured reserve list, made his Patriots debut and was in the starting lineup.
First round pick T Nate Solder started at right tackle in place of Sebastian Vollmer. Solder started the first two preseason games at left tackle in place of Matt Light.
Tom Brady started the game and played the entire first quarter and the first play of the second quarter. He finished the game 5-of-9 for 116 yards. Brady finished the 2011 preseason completing 28-of-50 passes for 379 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, compiling a passer rating of 92.0.
Green-Ellis registered a 21-yard reception from Brady in the first quarter. Green-Ellis’s longest regular-season reception was a 20-yarder from Matt Cassel at Miami on Nov. 23, 2008.
TE Aaron Hernandez finished the 2011 preseason with a team-high 16 receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown. Entering the Giants game, Hernandez’s 14 receptions led the NFL in the 2011 preseason.
WR Matthew Slater led the Patriots in the 2011 preseason with 190 receiving yards on five receptions. He averaged 38.0 yards per catch.
K Stephen Gostkowski connected on his lone field goal attempt against the Giants, and finished a perfect 5-for-5 in the 2011 preseason, including a total of 3-for-3 from 40 yards or longer.
The Patriots finished the preseason with a 2-2 record, marking the second straight year they finished the preseason 2-2. New England has recorded a 2-2 preseason five times in the last seven years, including a run of three straight 2-2 preseasons from 2005-07.
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