The New England Patriots played their first game of the 2022 NFL preseason on Thursday against the New York Giants, losing 23-21 in front of an energetic Gillette Stadium home crowd eager to watch the first Patriots football game in over six months.
Although the game featured mostly backup and reserve players who are vying for spots on New England’s regular season 53-man roster, it was still an entertaining watch and provided some glimpses as to how the team will operate in the regular season with their full starting roster.
Here are 5 defensive takeaways from the game that caught my eye.
1
The defensive line looked awesome
Maybe it’s the fact that in the first half of the game the Patriots had many of their starting defensive linemen on the field. Maybe it’s the fact that the Giants’ offensive line could very well be made out of swiss cheese. Maybe it’s both. Whatever the case may be, New England’s defensive line looked dominant throughout the game.
Although they didn’t show up much on the stat sheet (one sack and four quarterback pressures), the defensive line seemed to be in the Giants’ backfield on almost every play.
I was particularly fascinated by the play of Henry Anderson. The 31-year-old NFL vet was consistently penetrating into the Giants’ backfield (including a few times just absolutely dominating former fourth overall pick Andrew Thomas). Anderson also played well into the third quarter, a sign that maybe he’s still returning to game form after recovering from the torn pectoral muscle he suffered in Week 4 last season that sidelined him for the rest of the year.
When the Patriots’ defensive line couldn’t get to the Giants’ quarterback, they still influenced the play on the field through pass deflections. If this performance is any indication of how New England’s defensive line will perform this season, opposing quarterbacks are going to be in for a nightmare.
2
The revamped linebacking corps seems exactly as advertised
The Patriots completed the shift in their linebacking philosophy this offseason, going away from the big, strong north-to-south bruisers of the past (Tedy Bruschi, Jerod Mayo, Dont’a Hightower) and toward a more athletic and agile east-to-west linebacking corps.
Newcomer Mack Wilson, acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Browns this offseason, seemed to fit this role perfectly. Wilson was not only great in coverage but also came in hot on a few blitz packages and showed off his combination of speed and strength.
When Wilson came out of the game around halftime, second-year player Cameron McGrone took over the play-calling duties on the defensive side. McGrone, who missed all of last season due to a torn ACL suffered in training camp, seemed a little rusty on his instincts. However, his speed and agility were fun to watch both when he was in coverage and as he dove for multiple almost-interceptions.
3
Young guns showed out in an otherwise bland secondary
If there was one major flaw in New England’s defense on Thursday, it was probably the one that many fans and media members alike have been worried about the entire offseason.
While the Patriots’ secondary wasn’t necessarily all that bad, they didn’t do much that really wowed on the field (other than maybe Terrance Mitchell’s Peanut Tillman-esque forced fumble). If there was one positive takeaway from the secondary’s on-the-field play, it was the young players playing well in coverage.
Shaun Wade, the second-year player who New England acquired from the Baltimore Ravens right before the beginning of last season, consistently seemed to be playing good coverage throughout the night, including a great play where he got his arm in between the Giants’ receiver’s hands to break up a pass.
Second-year safety Joshuah Bledsoe also played well, drawing praise from longtime Patriots veteran (and current incumbent at the position) Devin McCourty.
Later in the game, fourth-round pick Jack Jones got a share of playing time at his cornerback position and showcased great instinctual ability on the field. While Jones didn’t record an interception, he was able to diagnose and undercut multiple Giants’ receiver routes and wrapped up well on his tackles.
While these players performing well in actual gameplay bodes well for the future of New England’s secondary, it doesn’t suggest much about how it may look this season, which is one of the largest concerns regarding the team after the departure of cover corner J.C. Jackson in the offseason free agency period.
4
Myles Bryant for punt returner
Myles Bryant, wearing Jackson’s old No. 27, got reps at punt returner early in the game and did not disappoint. Bryant showed an agility and playmaking ability that the Patriots desperately needed after the departure of returner Gunner Olszewski in free agency. His teammates on the sideline seemed to realize it too, jumping and celebrating around him after his first return.
While Bryant was a solid depth piece at the cornerback position for New England last year, he seems to be vying with more young players for that position this season. Given the amount of youth that the Patriots have in their secondary (albeit inexperienced and largely untested youth), Bryant’s punt returning abilities may provide him with the leg up on his competition for a spot on the 53-man roster.
Head Coach Bill Belichick and the rest of New England’s coaching staff are likely going to experiment with a few other returners throughout the preseason to see who plays the position the best. For now, however, it seems as if Bryant is ahead in that race.
5
Joejuan Williams is done
The fourth-year cornerback out of Vanderbilt has long been one of the names that gets tossed out when fans discuss the Patriots’ infamously terrible 2019 draft class. Williams just hasn’t lived up to his second-round draft pedigree in his three full seasons thus far with the team, largely serving as a depth role and not performing all that well when he’s played significant game minutes.
Williams played a significant chunk of Thursday’s game, particularly in the second half, and got beat by Giants receivers on multiple occasions, with one being for a touchdown.
That's six 🙌
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— New York Giants (@Giants) August 12, 2022
He played both in the slot and outside corner positions, indicating that New England’s coaching staff quite honestly just doesn’t know what position would be best to maximize his skill set.
Williams is in the last year of the four-year rookie contract he signed when he was drafted in 2019 and has a salary cap hit of just above $2.1 million with a dead cap hit (if released) of only around $700,000. Seeing how salary cap space has been tight for the Patriots all offseason, it seems as if now would be a great time to cut bait and save some money on a player whose potential seems to be all but gone at this point in his career.
