Patriots Preseason Notebook: Week 2 vs Philadelphia

If the Notebook is about anything, it is accountability and hand up, I was at the Zach Top concert Saturday night and missed the Patriots preseason game. However, I made time on Sunday to watch the tape and here’s the week 2 preseason Notebook.

- Tommy DeVito is athletic and can make plays with his legs, but I’m not sure about him as a passer. After watching the second half of this one, Behren Morton looks like a superior thrower of the football. Not sure if he’s ready to take the #2 spot this year, but a year from now I could see him taking this job from Tommy Cutlets.

- You hate to see Marcus Bryant go down early in this game, the depth on the interior of the offensive was already a concern, especially after losing Ben Brown a week ago. You hope that both Brown and Bryant are able to return in short order, or we’re going to be holding open tryouts very early in the season.

- Play of the game was the 69-yard touchdown connection between DeVito and Kyle Williams. Williams showed that speed again, but it was his elite get off on the line of scrimmage that created the separation. Credit to Tommy D for getting the ball out there, but feels like this means more to Williams and his spot on this team. If you are looking at trading Kayshon Boutte (preferably after the season and not before it) then you could be grooming Williams to become your new deep threat. (He needs to get better at drawing PI on underthrown balls downfield, Williams too often looks like he’s trying to avoid contact down field, where this is unfortunately a part of the game now.)

- Efton Chism III looked solid but more than his performance, he looked markedly more comfortable in the offense and in the NFL. The McCourty’s said during the broadcast that Chism said he now felt like he understood the offense, when a year ago he just saw lines on a page. Not sure if I’ll predict the EC3 breakout for this season, but by 2027, I see him becoming an important piece of this offense.

- Looking at the running back position, Lan Larison had a nice game and Jam Miller a quiet one, though their stat lines were almost identical (Larison 3 carries for 33 yards, Miller 11 carries for 36 yards) but the separators were that Larison had a touchdown and also added 3 catches for 41 yards. If Larison can show an ability to catch passes, that might be the thing that earns him a spot on this roster. (Though if either of them can return kicks, then that’s the trump card.)

- The defense lacked intensity in the first half, but looked a bit better in the second half, though that could also be attributed to Cole Payton taking the snaps for the Eagles. (Andy Dalton and the Eagles running game did whatever they wanted in the first half. Mostly on the ground, the Patriots got pushed around a bit.)

- The Anfernee Jennings Preseason Defensive Player of the Game

Kindle Vildor- Had an interception in the first game and on Saturday night he seemed be around the ball all night. At one point he had a couple of nice pass breakups and almost had two other interceptions. He’s a veteran who I think will play a valuable role for this team behind Carlton Davis, giving some needed experience in the secondary.

The Patriots and Eagles had two days of joint practices last week and really I think there is more to glean from these mono-e-mono workouts than the preseason game itself. In joint practices, you have best on best, and actually see the starters competing against another team. (Honestly, I think in a few years, we’ll have these practices broadcast on TV, while preseason games will look more like scrimmages. The preseason games won’t go away, but they’ll be viewed as a chance for backups and fringe-roster guys to compete for spots. The Sterling Notebook had some Friends of the Program in attendance at both days of joint practices this week.

Rob Poindexter said the Patriots offense was cooking on Wednesday and the connection between Drake Maye and AJ Brown was very strong. The Patriots defense made Jalen Hurts life a living hell, forcing him into one million interceptions. (All numbers are approximate.)

Day 2 was more about redzone offense and the Patriots struggled a bit more. The consensus seemed to be that the Patriots certainly got the best of the Eagles on day 1 (the word dominated was used) but day two was about 50/50. Friend of the Program Jarod Richmond said that even though the Eagles seemed to get the better of the Patriots in the 2 minute drill and Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled, he would give the Patriots a slight edge.

So even though the judges score cards may read 10-9 in favor of the Patriots, when you add in the 24-21 win under the lights Saturday night, I think the Patriots have earned a TKO of the Eagles this week. 1-0-1 on the preseason with a date with the Browns this Thursday night. (Who will be interesting to watch.) But the final tune up before the 9/9 opener against Seattle, you just hope for good health since most of the regulars haven’t taken the field yet and probably won’t.

Photo credits Rob Poindexter and Jarod Richmond, Friends of The Program.