To say Patriots Nation was excited to watch the first preseason game would be an understatement. The Patriots game actually scored higher in ratings than the Olympic games. The Patriots game had 13.5 while the Olympic games had an 11.1 rating! If you were the few that watched the Olympics over the Patriots, here is what you missed:
The Pats were off to a very slow start against the Saints. Something viewers should remember is that the Saints were playing their second preseason game. Tom Brady came out for the first few series, but he did not expect to get sacked with a fumble recovery by the Saints. It only took the Saints 4 plays to march down the field. The Patriots defense prevented the touchdown and the Saints settled for a field goal. The score remained 3-0 for most of the game. That is until Brian Hoyer marched down the field late in the third quarter and connected with Britt Davis for a touchdown. The extra point was made by Stephen Gostkowski and the Patriots held the lead the rest of the game with a final score of 7-6.
Some highlights and lowlights….
- Chandler Jones, the first round draft pick defensive end out of Syracuse, made an impressive start to his NFL career with a sack. Jones also drew two consecutive holding penalties on Jermon Bushrod. He demonstrated his ability to to block and read the plays. He’s a player to keep your eye on this season.
- The Patriots had two interceptions on the Saints- one by safety Patrick Chung and the other by Safety Steve Gregory. Both interceptions were in the red zone.
- Linebacker Dane Fletcher was injured with a torn ACL and will more than likely be out for the rest of the season. This means that other defensive players will have to step up, which won’t be that difficult because the Patriots picked up more defensive players in the draft this year.
- Tom Brady was sacked, causing him to fumble the ball. This isn’t something we typically see, but I’m not too worried about it. This just shows that the offensive line has some work to do in order to protect Brady. It also shows that Brady needs to work on some things, and, for a guy like Brady, he’ll have no problem doing that.
The first preseason game is always the first step to the season. It gives fans a taste of what’s to come, and it gives the coaches an idea of who will make the roster and what improvements need to be made for the season. The next preseason game is on August 20th against the Eagles!
