Redskins vs. Patriots
Were we all salivating at the mouth for football season to start or just me? The Redskins came to Foxboro, looking to start off on the right foot for the year, and test out some of their shiny new toys, and the Patriots benched anyone that going into the year would more than likely be a starter for them, so lets vault into tonight’s action and waste no time.
With no Rex Burkhead (starter rest), Sony Michel (knee draining procedure), the backfield was a mish-mash, but quickly Jeremy Hill made his case for carries. Scampering at the start of the second quarter, his first run broke off for 12 yards, right up the gut. Hill on the next play caught a pass out of the backfield. From that point forward, Hill was running on all cylinders, as he laid out an amazing tackle protecting Hoyer from imminent rushers. He ended the game 11 carries for 51 yards, and I think if Michel’s injury lingers, we could be looking to Hill as the major beneficiary, as he looks like a younger, sharper James White.
Devin Lucien for Patriots roster devotees may recall him being an end of the bench/practice squad player, but tonight he was making his case that he may just warrant some of those snaps Eric Decker was brought in to get. In the second quarter, Lucien broke free after Hoyer was stuck in the pocket for a few seconds, catching a pass for 22 yards, running out of bounds, and immediately after jumping off for a 25-yard pass, leading into a field goal, at almost the end of the half. Lucien showed solid hands, and ability to not give up on his routes, and could be intriguing if anyone in this wide receiver pool struggles or ends up injured.
Cordarelle Patterson was almost as impressive, catching just 2 passes, but both were his only targets, and both were made in spectacular fashion, as one was made on an overthrow by Brian Hoyer many would say was not meant for him, and his other was made on a ball batted up in the air he somehow managed to catch with one arm entangled with a cornerback. Patterson, while not getting many targets, should be on our radars as Tom Brady steps back into the helm when the season starts, and if he does well with those, this could be a nice sneaky WR3 in our deep bench leagues, or WR4 in more shallow leagues.
Could Ralph Webb be a player to look at for those of us who dig a Dynasty-style league here and there? He at least made his case closing out the Patriots running back squad this evening, waiting behind his line on runs, shifting off tackles, and punching in a beautiful corner of the endzone TD, and following it up with a pretty two-point conversion to seal the drive. The undrafted rookie from Vanderbilt (Vandy, if you’re nasty) put his name on the list of players to watch for the remainder of the preseason, as he finished the game 14 carries for 46 yards, in about a quarters worth of work.
Colt McCoy deserves just a short bit of coverage here, as he started this game and played so much like Alex Smith I peeked through the helmet a few times to make sure it was not. 13 for 18, 189 yards, checked down when he had to, and two touchdowns to zero interceptions. While you may think like me that McCoy has been in your mind so long he probably played with leather helmets, he’s making a case that if Smith goes down, he could lock this starters job up. Just keep his name in mind for deep two QB leagues where you draft Smith for now.
-Matt Bevins
If you count that INT as a knock against Dalton I can’t take seriously that you actually watched the game.
He forced it to a receiver while he was under pressure…
If you’re not taking Saquon or Odell in the first round id like to be in your league.
I agree with a lot of Mr Bevins assessments.. I liked how Hill looked, and Webb deserves to be watched closely…McCoy also looked good
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