Breakdown: Patriots offense vs. Lions

The Patriots’ first-team offense got a chance to tune up for the regular season against the Lions on Friday night and it was impressive.

It was hard to tell which was more responsible, the Patriots firing on all cylinders or the Lions’ inability to do even basic things like line up properly or tackle, but the bottom line is the Patriots’ offense looks ready for the regular season.

Let’s take a look at the positional breakdowns:

Quarterback

On the first drive, the Lions barely put up a fight as Tom Brady carved them up with easy throws to Julian Edelman, a penalty drawn by Rob Gronkowski, and then a simple throw to Chris Hogan. The Lions were just completely overwhelmed and looked like a JV team. … On the next “drive,” Brady gave Hogan a perfect pass against tight coverage and the receiver came down with it. Brady threw a seed down the middle to Danny Amendola, and then Gronkowski would have had a touchdown up the seam if Quandre Diggs didn’t tackle him. Brady was Brady with 4:20 left in the first quarter when he made something out of what looked like a broken play. He rolled right and found Hogan for 6 yards. …. Great throw and catch by Gronkowski for 9 yards to convert a third-and-7 early in the second quarter. …. On the two final failed third-down conversions, Brady made the right decision to dump the ball to James White (it’s up to him to make one man miss), and pressure didn’t allow Brady to wait for Amendola on a late crosser. … Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t have much to work with, but thought he was effective with a scramble, a nice throw against pressure to D.J. Foster (dropped) and a tight throw to Cody Hollister. Operated the hurry up well in the final two drives to get the win.

Running back

White had a nice blitz pickup, but twice he had a chance to break a tackle and couldn’t do it (once on third-and-11). That’s the White we’ve seen in most of his Patriots’ career. He reached another level in the Super Bowl. Would be nice to see that player on a more consistent basis. … Got our first look at Mike Gillislee in game action for the Patriots but, aside from his 27-yard run which featured good blocking, he had just 11 yards on 7 carries. Little bit of rust on him, and Gillislee didn’t look as explosive as he did previously in practices before his hamstring acted up. Something to watch, and an area where Rex Burkhead (inactive) has an edge. … Foster had his moments, but he also ran into a couple of bad runs and had a drop. …. FB James Develin was hit and miss.

Receivers

The good news in Edelman’s injury is that Hogan took over for him and executed many of the same routes that are Edelman’s bread and butter. It doesn’t look the same, but it’s basically as effective. Hogan was largely terrific with three “plus” catches. He has very soft hands … That being said, Hogan stopping on his route, which led to Brady’s interception, won’t endear him to the quarterback. … Brandin Cooks had a drop in a role where it looked like the Patriots were trying to hide him a little bit. … James O’Shaughnessy looks like he’s going to make the team and his blocking was improved in this game, but he still had a drop, stuffed run and another poor run block.

Offensive line

Overall this unit played very well against an active Lions front. Even Cam Fleming, who gave up the most pressure (three total QB pressures) and nearly got Brady killed once, competed very well in this game. … Center David Andrews, who looked like his starting spot was in jeopardy to Ted Karras at one point this summer, continues to play very well and was the best on the line. … Marcus Cannon missed a screen block, but other than he was great. … RG Shaq Mason had the toughest assignments in this game and he did well with it, posting four “plus” plays. Three were with the run (his strength), but he also had a nice one-on-one pass block where he kept his feet moving and reset his hands multiple times. That’s good work. … Good blocks by LG Joe Thuney and Develin to spring Gillislee’s 27-yard run. … The backups, after getting whipped against the Texans, were largely on point.

Gamechart



Three up

QB Tom Brady: The interception wasn't his fault, and his "off" throws to Rob Gronkowski looked to be on purpose or against pressure. Six "plus" throws in this one.

WR Chris Hogan: If he keeps executing like this, fans won't be longing for Julian Edelman very much.

C David Andrews: His rock-solid self in the middle.

Three down

Nobody really belongs on this list, so don't go crazy about any of them.

TE James O'Shaughnessy: Actually blocked better in this game, but he still had a stuff, another poor run block and a drop.

OT Cam Fleming: Largely played well, but did give up a team-leading three pressures.

WR Brandin Cooks: Had a drop and didn't have much of an impact. That may have been by design.