Hard to tell much of anything in the first preseason game when the other team sits all of their starters, even if the final score was 48-18 in favor of the Patriots.
In terms of the big picture, the film didn't reveal all that much different from what we gleaned on Friday night: the Patriots looked like a professional and prepared outfit, and they obviously wanted to show their physicality, which they did in spades.
But the film did reveal some individual performances — good and bad — that were impossible to make out during the game. We'll get to those, and positional thoughts, 3 ups and 3 downs, and video analysis of the first two drives for BSJ members.
But first, I wanted to point out two rookie performances that were surprising both ways.
First, the good. Kyle Williams hasn't done much in a while on the practice field after a fast start, but he showed a lot of potential in this game - if Josh Dobbs could find him. Williams ran a series of good, explosive routes in this game to show that the talent is very much there.
He ran a great slant in the end zone when Dobbs was late and high. Williams was wide open. He ran two great vertical routes down the right sideline - showing veteran savvy by stacking (getting by the corner and then putting him directly behind him, which he has shown in practice) - but Dobbs severely underthrew one, and Williams was interfered with (no call) on the second. Williams did get an offsetting holding call earlier that drive when he ran such a good in-cut that the corner had to hold on for dear life. Dobbs also could have thrown an end zone fade to Williams when he was a whirling dirvish for a touchdown. Williams was also wide-open on a post early in the second half, but Ben Wooldrige checked it down to Lan Larison instead.
Williams' final line was 4 targets and 0 receptions, but stats lie, the film doesn't. His talent is real and much different than others on this team. Now, can he catch the ball reliably and run the right routes? We shall see.
On the other side of the coin, rookie left guard Jared Wilson really struggled in his 14 snaps with five minus plays (and I think most of the blame for the sack/fumble should be placed on Will Campbell and Drake Maye). This surprised me because he's been rock-solid in camp. There was some good work on duo blocks between the two rookies, but there were some technique issues that will need to be cleaned up with Wilson - and he is sort of a novice at this position.
On the first play of the game, one of the many crack tosses the Patriots ran, Wilson stayed on the initial double team with Garrett Bradbury too long (which led to Wilson getting held a little bit), and he couldn't get to the linebacker on the second level. On the next play, he didn't push the DT up the field enough on the draw to Rhamondre Stevenson, he lost leverage and a well-blocked play otherwise only went 2 yards. On the -1 yard screen to TreVeyon Henderson, Wilson missed his initial engagement with the DT, so he couldn't flatten him out, and he came back to make the play.
On the sack/fumble, Maye didn't take the easy money to Henderson in the left flat, meanwhile, Wilson was sort of an innocent bystander in a rush that I don't think was a designed T/E stunt - Campbell's losing leverage made it look like it. Like a lot of Campbell's losses, the edge goes outside initially, which causes Campbell to overset on his left side to make sure he doesn't get beat. The rusher then goes inside, and Campbell has no choice but to just stick out his right arm to prevent getting beat. If Wilson's not there, Campbell probably tackles the rusher or gets called for a hold. If it is a game, it's on Campbell to engage the rusher earlier and flatten him out so he can't just nail Wilson.
On the second offensive possession, Wilson was beat on his initial pass block when Maye ran for a first down, but Ben Brown was there to erase Wilson's mistake.
This was good teach tape for Wilson, who physically looked like he belonged, he just has a lot of stuff to clean up.
Check it out in the video:
Here are my positional thoughts (no ratings) against the Commanders:
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Didn't think Drake Maye was very good in this game, besides the mindless fumble. He didn't give Mack Hollins a chance on the deep route in the end zone, and he was late to Austin Hooper in the end zone. I also would have liked to have seen him throw on his two runs that produced a first down and a touchdown (hey, it's the preseason). I didn't mark him down for those decision, but on the first scramble, I thought Hollins and Hooper were options down the left side in the end zone. On his TD run, Hollins open. I asked Vrabel about those today. I think he disagreed, but only a little (especially on Hollins).
"Drake [Maye], I thought, made two good decisions when he went up into the B-gap, got the first down," Vrabel said. "Probably could have been a little muddy, I guess, if you're nitpicking to Mack Hollins, but I don't think he was put in harm’s way to where he went. So, I saw Mack break, and again, when you have the football in your hand, we trust you to make great decisions. I don't know if there were any other opportunities...."
The third down scramble...
"I think that the way that he went, I think it would have been hard for him to remain a passer to the left side, just physically," Vrabel said. "I mean, again, once you start to scramble – and again, you'll see some of the scramble drills hopefully today in the red zone, but we would like him to be able to shut off half the field. You start looking back here, bad things kind of happen. So, to me, I think he was going to the right, I think he saw soft coverage and trusted in his ability to be able to go and pick up the first down."
Vrabel and I are going to agree to disagree on these two plays. It's iffy in the regular season, but in the preseason I'd rather see Maye try to make these throws in game situations.
Josh Dobbs would have been worse, but he was bailed out by his throw to Efton Chism, and the on-target throw to Williams that should have been DPI. Dobbs didn't give Javon Baker a chance in the end zone, missed Williams down there as well, threw high to Chism, didn't throw an end zone fade to Williams, underthrew Williams badly deep and had another off-target throw to Chism.
Ben Wooldridge opened my eyes a bit on both his throws to John Jiles for over 20 yards.
Running backs
Rhamondre Stevenson showed his nifty feet on his 13-yard run that was thanks to a great Garrett Bradbury block. ... TreVeyon Henderson's burst and physicality were real. But I would caution wanting too much too soon for him. The thunder and lightning thing worked pretty well for the Lions last year with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. Don't worry, he'll get plenty of touches in a variety of ways. ... Too bad Lan Larison got hurt and is done for the year. He's another guy where the burst was real on film.
Receivers
I didn't think the run blocking was very good in this group outside two from Jack Westover, and one later from Jiles. ... Both Javon Baker (drop) and Kayshon Boutte got blown up once each. ... We covered the things Williams did well despite the goose egg. ... I wonder if Jiles gets more of a chance going forward. He looked pretty spry on his two catches, and he's got some Mack Hollins in him as a run blocker. ... Not sure Westover showed enough as a fullback to expand his role there. On the same toss crack TDs, he didn't execute well on one, but did the next time. ... Chism is certainly productive, I'm just not sure how much juice he has. Need to see more on film. ... Jeremiah Webb showed some juice on his 33-yarder, and also a nice run block on a toss crack.
Offensive line
Will Campbell was very solid in this game, outside the sack/fumble. Certainly finished well at times. I don't care much when he does it against a DB giving away 100-plus pounds, but he did have one on a linebacker, which is nice. You can tell Campbell is well-schooled and his fundamentals are sound compared to Wilson. Campbell knows how to play, just needs to keep learning. ... The most positive and surprising performance on the line was by Bradbury. He had two outstanding run blocks, and was clean in the pass game. This is a big week for him, going back to Minnesota. ... Marcus Bryant also opened my eyes a bit more as he had a plus pass block, and two run blocks. Did allow a half stuff and a hurry, but it was solid. He doesn't look like much, and he doesn't move all that well. But he knows how to stay between his guy and the QB, and that's the job. Not sure if it's starter level yet but it's still early. ... Cole Strange was very much a mixed bag. Had some standout blocks, but more rough reps in a new spot at RG. ... Of the reserves, I thought LG Mekhi Butler (who hasn't gotten many reps at all in camp) looked surprisingly capable and strong. Perhaps it's not a coincidence that he suddenly got second-team reps today. ... Demontrey Jacobs was borderline brutal, and Layden Robinson had a mental error and allowed a QB hit.
DEFENSE
Defensive line
Milton Williams has had a quiet camp, but he showed off his strength and quickness in this game with four impactful plays in just 13 snaps (albeit against backups). The man can split double teams with quickness, and he's a bear on a bull rush. ... Truman Jones got a chance and cashed in with a team-leading seven impactful plays, and he showed up several times on special teams. He can run, and knows how to corner on a pass rush. ... Elijah Ponder had three hurries, including a hold, before he got hurt. ... Khyiris Tonga continues to show he's more than just a run stuffer. He's strong in the pass rush as well. Good find by the scouting staff. ... Anfernee Jennings didn't play until the second half, and then was on the field near the end of the game. He's still a good player. ... Rookie Joshua Famer hasn't has much of a camp due to injury, but he showed his strength and long arms in this game, even if he got bulled on a TD run over LG.
Linebackers
Seven linebackers combined for three impactful plays in this game (and that includes two by Marte Mapu just sticking his nose in the run game). I'm not sure what that means. Maybe the line was really good. I just know starters Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss played about 18 snaps each, and I don't remember a thing. You get that with Spillane's film a lot, but he's pretty good at getting in passing lanes (of course, Sam Hartman couldn't pass). ... Mapu still looks out of place as a linebacker. ... Monty Rice gave up the 33-yard pass to a tight end.
Secondary
Outside of Jordan Polk and Kobee Minor, all the cornerbacks (Alex Austin, Miles Mattle, Marcus Jones, DJ James) were good and looked like they can play in this league. Solid depth with long and rangy players. ... James got a bit fortunate on his interception that Hartman stared it down forever, and the receiver slipped. ... Marcus Epps didn't play until the second half. ... Jaylinn Hawkins is just a good, solid player. ... Dell Pettus had one of his trademark hard hits. ... Craig Woodson had a fortunate QB hit as he stumbled on a blitz and the QB tripped over him. ... Kyle Dugger looked slow and not good when he allowed Hartman to get by him to the outside on a scramble, despite having two teammates in pursuit.
SPECIAL TEAMS
A lot of good stuff in these units. ... I had Truman Jones for three kick coverage tackles, Craig Woodson had two, Javon Baker had one, as did Lan Larison. Brenden Schooler was a meance drawing two penalties, posting a great punt tackle, but then he also had one of his old school idiot infractions where he drove an opponent into the ground for no reason, which drew an unneccessary roughness flag that was offset.
FOUR UP
RB TreVeyon Henderson: Everyone knows.
DT Milton Williams: Now let's do this against the Vikings and some starters.
Edge Truman Jones: The guy has some juice and his chances of making this team are getting stronger by the day.
C Garrett Bradbury: Yup, I was pretty surprised myself but he was really good in the run game.
THREE DOWN
LG Jared Wilson: Hey, nowhere to go but up for the rook. He'll be fine. He's learning.
QB Drake Maye: The turnover can't happen, had some errant throws, and some iffy decision-making.
S Kyle Dugger: We've been documenting this for a while. It's getting tougher to make the case for him being on this team.