We'll get into our usual Gamechart and 3 up/3 down for the defensive side of the ball in the Patriots' 26-17 victory over Washington on Thursday night. But first, we'll start with the Patriots' defense, led by first-year de facto DC Brian Flores, showing a bit more than usual in an exhibition, and rookie LB Ja'Whaun Bentley making a real name for himself.
It's not that the Patriots never do anything creative on defense in an exhibition. And we're not saying the Patriots threw the kitchen sink at the Redskins on Thursday night (just look at all the space and base calls on Flores' playsheet during the telecast).
But I did find it interesting the Patriots did a lot of the things they do during the regular season — mixing zone and man coverage, sugaring the A gaps, coming on run blitzes — in this game. But then added another level with:
- At least six blitzes, which including a six-man pressure that evolved into an all-out blitz when the linebacker rushed on a Green Dog (LB pressure when his man, the back, stays in to block). Take a look:
- The Patriots also came on a slot blitz, that wound up being a run blitz when the Redskins ran the ball on the play.
Both of those are fairly unusual for the Patriots in the first preseason game. What does that mean? I'm not sure.
I'm sure some people will take this as a sign that Flores is bringing a more aggressive attitude to the Patriots defense. I'm not going to rule that considering Flores is, personality-wise, more aggressive and intense than his predecessor, Matt Patricia.
Another explanation? The Patriots are largely a veteran group on defense — even some of the depth guys have been around on the practice squad or camp. So why not challenge them a little?
And here's another: Maybe New England just wants to see how certain players look doing some of the things it'll end up doing in the season. It gives the Patriots some better film to evaluate the players when it comes to positional battles.
Overall, I wouldn't read too much into it right now. It's very early, and there's a long ways to go.
Here's the expanded chart from Thursday night:
[table id=102 /]
Positional thoughts:
DEFENSIVE LINE
Largely, I thought this group played well in this game, outside a general pass rush against backups -- which I'm sure people are concerned about. That's not unwarranted, as there were 11 total QB pressures on about 31 dropbacks (35.4 percent is solid, but not really considering the Redskins were playing their reserves). ... There were a few gap issues, including by Deatrich Wise, which is an area he needs to improve to be more than just a subpackage pass rusher. ... Didn't think Derek Rivers showed much in this game. On one play he showed tremendous get-off, but when he's not keyed up, he's very blockable. ... Adrian Clayborn (two half-knockdowns) showed good burst in limited time. ... Adam Butler (half pressures on three plays) continued to show up, and so did Eric Lee late in the game (sack, hurry). The guy just closes well. ... Trent Harris (sack/forced fumble, run stuff) earned himself more of a look.
LINEBACKERS
Outside of two plays, fifth-round pick Ja'Whaun Bentley showed more in one game than he did in 11 camp practices. The two plays: I think he was supposed to have FB Elijah Wellman, who slid away from Wise for 11-yard reception late in the first quarter; and Bentley showed some of his limited athletic ability on Colt McCoy’s scramble with 10:57 left in the second quarter where Bentley was slow to react/anticipate and then couldn’t get off the block of the running back. Other than that, Bentley was lights out. Had him for a team-leading seven impactful plays, including a forced fumble that was ruled down. Probably the most encouraging thing was he had two excellent pass tackles — Bentley was thought to be mostly a two-down backer, but he showed mostly good wheels in this game. He also had an excellent play on the goal line on the first play after the secondary debacle with 4:55 left in the first half. This will likely kickoff a competition for the starting Mike spot with Elandon Roberts, who was solid in this game. ... Kyle Van Noy has to hit that running back harder to keep him from being him on the touchdown. ... Dont'a Hightower had a bad zone drop that led to a 20-yard gain. Rusty. ... Thought it was interesting Geneo Grissom was a linebacker in this game. He's been an end in previous years.
SECONDARY
Well, this wasn't encouraging. Outside of Patrick Chung and Eric Rowe, who were good in this game, thought this group was fairly poor and, like last season, it had to do with the lack of pass rush up front. Are we really going to see a replay of last season? Man, I hope not. ... Stephon Gilmore has been tremendous in camp, but he was shoddy in this game. He got turned around on one pass, and then, on third down while playing inside leverage, he let Robert Davis easily cross his face and go for 20 yards. It would be one thing if it was just one play, but there was an earlier play when Cam Sims did the exact same thing but the ball was thrown to the other side of the field. ... Demarius Travis had a rough outing. Didn't come down and set the edge on one run, he whiffed on a tackle on the 57-yarder, and then he was poor in coverage on Maurice Morris' touchdown. ... Keion Crossen will be coached up to get a better drop on that zone coverage that started the 57-yard pass, but at least he came back and made the touchdown-saving tackle. ... Jordan Richards whiffed on an open-field tackle. Never seen that before. ... Ryan Lewis won't live it down this week that he celebrated instead of blocking on Grissom's fumble return. Good stick, though. in zone coverage.
THREE UP
LB Ja'Whaun Bentley: Patriots might have themselves a new starting Mike linebacker. Look out Elandon Roberts. Kid was all over the place.
DT Adam Butler: Continued to be a pressure maven in subpackages.
DE Trent Harris: Came against scrubs, but a stripsack and run stuff will catch the coaches attention.
THREE DOWN
S Demarius Travis: Showed that he's better suited for free safety than strong safety as he struggled against the run and in coverage.
CB Stephon Gilmore: There's no reason for him not to dominate that level of competition. Went through the motions.
LB Marquis Flowers: This isn't about his play as much as it is about his lack of playing time. Seems he's suffering the most with the two drafted rookies here (Christian Sam).