A thumpin'

Here's a highlight from last night's Pats preseason loss to the Lions.

I didn't see too much of the game, but from the looks of this play it's easy to see why the Pats got hammered 40-9. Total lack of execution. The wide receivers looked lost. The blocking schemes were a mess. Brady looked even less mobile than usual. And that's just the offense. The defense wasn't much better.

Just an ugly, ugly game.

Fortunately, it doesn't count.

Practice practice practice

Tim Tebow takes a snap in practice... and Belichick didn't swallow his whistle. So far, so good.

Let the games begin

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Not that I haven't been enjoying the Summer Olympics from London. I have. The US-Canada women's soccer semifinal game was one of the 10 greatest non-Boston sporting events I've ever seen. (Do you believe in miracles is still at the top.) I like turning on the TV at 10:30 after I get home from work and having a wide variety of sporting events played at their highest level. What's not to like about that?

That said, I've been ready for this season for a while now. Brady and the Pats got back on the field for (almost) real against Brees and the Saints at Gillette last night. I had to work so Shep and his Dad took in the game on a perfect summer night for football. One of those nights that make you know why Texans love their football so much. The 2012 season has begun. The Pats are 1-0. It's all good.

And that's what Pats fans should focus on after the preseason opener... the good. There are always problems in the preseason. They are not really problems till Week 1. Or more like Week 5. The offense only scored seven points. Brady got whacked from behind. Nate Solder looked a little uncertain in stepping in for Matt Light. Brandon Lloyd is wearing 85 and at times playing like it. Brady got whacked from behind. Problems. But when you are coming off yet another run to the Super Bowl the odds are those problems will mostly get solved by September 10.

It's more relevant to look at the question marks coming into training camp and see how they are starting to be answered.

Q. Are the Pats two stud first-round picks Chandler Jones and D'onta Hightower good enough to make an impact right away?

A. Sure looks like it. Jones was everywhere. He only recorded one tackle but he disrupted many more plays. His size and speed looked NFL caliber. Hightower had one tackle (a crusher) and assisted on three others. He may not start, but he will see lots of playing time at key moments.

Q. Can Ridley and Vereen build on the promise from last year?

A. Once again... sure looks like it. Ridley averaged five yards a carry and looked very quick. His longest run was only five yards. That will have to get better. Shane Vereen, who was hurt most of last year, picked up 64 yards on 11 carries. His longest run was also only about five yards, but he made a few Saints miss on several rushes. And both backs held on to the ball. That is key.

Q. Is the team's depth -- a key to surviving the long season and finishing near the top -- improved from last year? A year that had pretty good depth.

A. Yes. Backup QB Brian Hoyer is clearly ready to play the role of Matt Cassel if he should be called upon. But more importantly the depth in the secondary is greatly improved. Free agent Steve Gregory -- a seven-year vet from San Diego -- looked solid in the middle of the field with Chung. Each had a nice pick in the red zone. McCourty and Arrington started at corner and didn't give up many big plays. The depth came with second-year corner Ras-I Dowling and rookie safety Tavon Wilson. Both played well and seem to have moved ahead of returning players Ihedigbo, Moore, Brown, Barrett, and Ventrone. 12-year vet Will Allen also looked good and could provide some veteran leadership to a young group. Then again I thought that about Joe Addai too.

Q. Can Belichick -- after all these years -- do what most coaches can't do and keep control of his team and stop them from tuning him out?

A. Do you have to ask? No one does it better. I saw the Pats on Day 2 of training camp. There was a lot of rust as you would expect. Less than two weeks later the coaching staff has the team well on its way to being ready for another season and another run at Lombardi #4.

Next up a game against Mad Dog Vick and the Eagles on the 20th. The second preseason game is always a big one in deciding position battles. It's a Monday night summer game at Gillette. And I don't work Mondays. Let the games begin.

First day

The first game of the NFL preseason is a lot like the first day at school.

Everyone has done it all before but they are all a little rusty and foggy. You know where you are supposed to be but you're a little unsure on how to get there. It just takes a little while to get back in the groove.

The Pats got in the groove last night at Gillette. And then some. 47-12. The next few days will be filled with the "What does it mean?" stories in the Sports Blab-osphere. Every year it's the same thing. What does it mean?

TOM AND OCHO: Great seats.

It means they are still 0-0.

The Pats played their first exhibition game and got a good look at what they have accomplished so far in the shortened preseason and what still needs to be done. There are always things to be done. The coaches now have some game action on film to bring to meetings. Veterans returning from injury (Gostkowski) got a chance to show they still have it. Young players like Stevan Ridley (three touchdowns) and Taylor Price made solid first-game impressions. But they could be gone in a month. There are three more practice games to go. There are lots of roster cuts ahead. Things change quickly. That's what preseason games mean.

For fans with a ticket, preseason games mean one thing. Fun.

I caught a little sports radio on Sunday and one of the guys on 98.5 was rambling on about how he feels bad for the fans who go to preseason games. He just doesn't get it. Sure, preseason games are not for everyone. It's for those who really love football of any kind. It would be nice if the tickets cost a little bit less, but it's still worth every cent.

You get to practice your tailgating in 80 degree weather. Shorts, steaks, and beer. A lot of people bring their children so the stadium has a more family atmosphere. The outcome doesn't mean anything so fans can just relax and enjoy the game. It's a great night of football. Kind of like watching a Pop Warner game with Tom Brady.

Although there was no Tom Brady last night. Or Ochocinco. Or Wes Welker. Or...
But it didn't matter to the Gillette crowd. They had a great time.

You'll hear a lot today about the Barstool Sports Brady Baby Photos Controversy. A lot about Albert Haynesworth. A lot about what the game means. Blah blah blah.

The Pats season started last night. It was a great start. Unofficially.

Rust remover

The Pats hosted the Super Bowl champs in the first preseason game last night. I did not go to Gillette to see the new video screens because I was on the Cape with most of my family to draft our fantasy football teams for the Coatuit League. I took Randy Moss with the seventh pick (we have eight teams). I would have taken him with the first pick. Not because I think he's the best player. My team name is Moss Racing after the WR's stock car venture. You name your team after a player you have to draft him. Every year.

But on to the real game... well, sort of. I didn't watch much of the game while we were drafting but I have watched the replay on the NFL Network (a.k.a. My New Narcotic). Both teams played a solid first exhibition game. Brady and Brees both played well and got out of there healthy. They seemed to knock the rust of pretty quickly which might be attributed to the fact the two teams had been practicing against each other for a few days.

Shep did attend the game and offered some observations:

• The new scoreboards are not overwhelmingly huge but are a big, big upgrade. Very bright and HD -- excellent images. The one on the lighthouse end looks no bigger than the old one, mainly because the right side and bottom are ads. The other screen is wider than before, but also has ads on each side. However, they are much, much better quality, so they seem bigger — and the best thing: the game video ran all the time, with quick replays from two or three angles immediately after every play — a tremendous improvement that adds a lot to watching the game. They did say NFL Red Zone will be shown during games (in the context of announcing, ‘NFL Red Zone brought to you by.....”)
• I sat in the clubseats for the first half and failed to inspect the Don Julio situation as instructed. I will run my windsprints after work today.
• My biggest impression is that we had a tremendous draft, and Jermayne Cunningham didn’t even dress. Spikes is a beast and how he didn’t go in the upper first round makes you wonder; he played a lot, mostly in Mayo’s spot after the starters came out. Gronkowsi is gigantic — I thought Alge Crumpler was big, but Gronkowski is head and shoulders above him on the sideline. Devin McCourty — first thing you notice is that, yes, he’s not tall but he is big in the upper body and hits with force; very fast in coverage, too, and his returns were spectacular. Hernandez big and very athletic, almost a way-oversized slot guy rather than tight end.
• Starting O line looked quite good — Steve Neal healthy and quick, Koppen as usual, Volmer looking big and quick, Light as usual, and Dan Connolly surprisingly good, quickly pulling and getting upfield to throw a couple of hard blocks, including stoning Vilma on the first touchdown run.
• Brandon Tate had a nice catch downfield, keeping inbounds right on the sideline. Edleman, of course, picking up again with 6 catches for 90 yards — great running after the catch, and some great returns.
• Marques Murrell: sack of Brees early and got downfield for a nice special teams tackle. Tall, physical, quick looking guy, wearing Seymour’s 93.
• Zoltan’s punts in warmups and during the game went very high, allowing for good coverage—and he got one well inside the 20 without going into the endzone.
• Tyrone McKenzie No. 44 played quite a bit in the later second half and had some tackles.
• Hoyer did well, Zac Robinson didn’t have a great shot, since he was getting a big rush and knocked about a bit. I’ve always liked Patrick Ramsey, now the Saints’ backup.
• Pat Chung looked bigger and better.
• I was very surprised to see Gerard Warren all over the place when he was in at the beginning of the game. I didn’t expect that. He was chasing down plays away from him and going hard.
• Wilfork and Moss looked healthy and good.

Shep concludes: Now, Mr. Belichick, where is our pass rush?

Good question.

The biggest bright spot that I saw watching the replay was the return game with Edelman on punts and first-round pick McCourty on kick offs. They could make a very dangerous return team for the Pats which would be a huge boost. We could get into how the running game looked, how the new tight ends played, how the defense did, or just how bad Don Criqui and Randy Cross are at calling a game. But it's one preseason game. Let's hold off on drawing any big conclusions about the 2010 New England Patriots. Just like it's too early to tell how my fantasy team (featuring Moss, Brees, Greene, Grant, Philly D) will fare. Way too early.