Malco Brown is likley to start next to Sealver Siliga week one.
Lets start with who will not be playing we already know we all not be seeing these guys as they did not make the trip to New Orleans . I would also not expect Brady as he got a majority of the reps on the last day of training camp. Other big names that are unlikely to see action are Sealver Siliga and Rob Gronkowski, no need to be giving them meaningless snaps in the preseason when there load will be huge in the season. I would not be surprised if we don’t see much or any of Hightower and Mayo both coming off of injuries.
Now lets get into what players to watch
1.Jimmy Garoppolo
With Jimmy G most likely starting it will be interesting to see who he responds after a difficult start vs Green Bay. Jimmy found his groove later in the game with quick passes to Brandon Gibson and Chris Harper. Jimmy has shown he can move well in the pocket and he must show that tonight with a mediocre offensive line, he can not create his own sacks. It would be nice to see Garoppolo to connect a deep ball after missing so many last week.
Jimmy G walking into a sack
2.Brandon Gibson and Josh Boyce
Gibson and Boyce have both have had solid camps. But so far it is clear that Gibson is more consistent and reliable. After playing well with the Rams and the Dolphins, Gibson has continued to play well in New England. Gibson is strong and has great hands, he can be a go to guy on third downs. However after coming off knee surgery Gibson lost speed and is not much of a deep threat and he is definitely limited. After a terrible training camp in 2014, Boyce has bounced back and been played really this training camp. But Boyce’s good camp has yet to translate to games. Boyce gets good separation, which is strange because his routes last week seemed to be off with Garoppolo targeting him 10+ times and only hauling in two balls. Boyce can be deep threat with his speed and he can be dangerous with the ball in his hands with his quickness.
3. Trey Jackson/Shaq Mason
After an up and down week one for both Mason and Jackson. They both look to improve in pass-protection. Jackson looks like a better candidate to start week one, but Mason needs to be ready with Ryan Wendell still not back from injury.
4.Brown/Easley/Grissom
After the D-line impressed last week it will be interesting to see if they can be just as impressive. Easley looked stout against the run and he showed his deadly first step off the line. It would nice to see Easley get some pressures this week as he doesn’t have to worry about a mobile quarterback. Brown also looked good against the run, I think Brown will start next to Siliga come the regular season giving the Pats two big bodys in the middle. I also hope to see Brown get to the quarterback. I don’t know if he has the pass rushing skills to stay on the field on third downs. With no Eric Martin, Rufus Johnson and Trey Flowers, Grissom will have plenty of opportunities at end to make plays. I still want to watch more of Grissom at tackle as that was his best role in college, however size may limit to the outside.
Easley’s first step causing havoc
5. Secondary
After impressing this week I project the Tarell Brown to start. I think the starting secondary will look something like this:
LCB:Malcolm Butler
RCB:Tarell Brown
NCB: Robert McClain
FS: Devin McCourty
SS: Pat Chung
With Devin McCourty moving around I wonder if they will mix in Duron Harmon and Jordan Richards and play more zone coverages. I could see a line up with Harmon/Richards/McCourty in it as they can all be trusted in deeper zones, whereas Pat Chung and Tavon Wilson are massive risks
All Vines are from Steve Palazzolo
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