FOXBOROUGH — Thank goodness this was the first of three dress rehearsals for the Patriots' offense. Because in this one, shoes got stepped on, drinks were spilled and a few people probably got sworn at. Unfortunately, all those guys were offensive linemen.
Tonight’s first preseason game against the Texans was a carryover of what we’ve seen through two weeks of training camp practices: a makeshift unit full of wannabe starters, career backups and a guy or two who probably won’t ever play a meaningful down in the NFL. They were trying to come together and do something - anything - to give the skill-position players an opportunity to shine. Alas, their inability to do their job led to a whole bunch of plays that didn’t amount to a damn thing.
Now we know Bill O’Brien and his staff didn’t do any game planning for this one, but by the third series, the offensive coordinator was probably looking down at his vast menu of plays, closing his eyes and blindly pointing. Sure. Why not? Nothing else seems to be generating any positive momentum. It can’t be any worse (at least that’s how I envision O’Brien’s own inner monologue).
We knew, that of the five players the Pats are hoping to begin Week 1 with, only Conor McDermott would get any playing time today, and then the team went and surprised us all - maybe McDermott too - and had him start the game at left tackle when he’s been at right all camp. He later shifted to right and was probably the best of the lot, although that might be damning him with faint praise. He did get nailed for a pre-snap penalty, something that plagued this offense a year ago under the watchful eyes of that Matt Patricia fella.
But this is what we expected, no? Trent Brown didn’t play. Nor did David Andrews. Cole Strange remains sidelined. Mike Onwenu remains on IR. I don’t know if there’s any team that would be able to make this look like you want without four starters, and with the way camps and preseasons go now, we shouldn’t be surprised. There’s just not a ton of competitive reps.
There is faith that this group will look right when it matters because of O’Brien, because of new offensive line coach Adrian Klemm and because the aforementioned quartet guys are either really good or expected to be really good, when healthy. The real problem would be if their game looks like this in whichever dress rehearsal Belichick decides matters most. And even if that’s the 3rd and final preseason game, there’s still another two weeks to clean it up before the opener. So yes, there’s time.
In the meantime, Bill Belichick wasn’t handing out bouquets to the guys who did play.
“It was tough for the backs,” he said. “It was tough for the quarterbacks. Didn’t have a lot of space on the offense for the most part.”
The starting right side was the combo platter of rookie tackle Sidy Sow and guard Kody Russey. They had a particularly difficult time, especially when it came to pass blocking. The third offensive play of the game ended with a sack of Bailey Zappe. The pressure came off of both players. This has been a difficult camp for Sow as he makes the conversion from college guard to tackle. He had fared better as a run blocker this summer but that didn’t translate against the Texans. As for Russey, the clock is ticking. This is his second season and he has some positional versatility, however with the glut of interior linemen drafted this year, he may find himself squeezed out unless he finds a level he couldn’t reach tonight.
There was another sack later in the half. Russey and Chasen Hines, who was playing left guard, were both responsible. Hines later whiffed on a run block, and got Kevin Harris stopped before he even started. Hines had been putting together some good days in camp recently and there’s upside there. But there was too much interior leakage and a number of blocks where he was easily shed and cast aside. Not what he was looking for. Not what any of those linemen were looking for.
Prior to Malik Cunningham taking over at quarterback in the fourth quarter and doing what we figured he would do versus the bottom of the roster, there was only one offensive play that excited the crowd. And quite frankly, it was what we hoping to see a whole lot more of tonight: Tyquan Thornton making a play. It came during the second offensive series of the first half, a hole shot from Zappe that was somewhat misplayed by Texans safety Jalen Pitre, who was caught betwixt and between on whether to take Thornton out or play the ball. He did neither, and Thornton used his 6-2 frame to extend high and reel in the 27-yarder. The second-year wideout did have his hands full getting off the cornerback’s press to start the route. He was jolted sideways before being released as the Texans rolled into cover 2. But you saw the speed and you saw the hands flash and you had to say, ‘Good. He needed that,' because he did.
“It definitely felt good,” Thornton told us. “We’ve been emphasizing making good catches so it feels good to see that play come alive.”
Thornton had one other catch, finishing with 31 yards receiving to lead the Pats. Cunningham had 34 yards rushing. Poor Harris had 8 carries that went for 10 yards, and his long went for 7. I wasn’t a math major, but those numbers aren’t good. It was that kind of night for the shorthanded group, and while it’s one for Thornton to build upon, and one for Cunningham to enjoy, those big men in the trenches may want to skip the film session tomorrow because there might be some more shoes stepped on, drinks spilled and curse words uttered. That, and a hurry back Trent, Big Mike, David and Cole. You’re missed.