Patriots

It wasn't all bad for Patriots starter Cam Newton Thursday night, plus more on the Mac Jones's deep ball that almost hit big.

Mac Jones Patriots
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) listens to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels during Thursday's preseason. Steven Senne/AP

Reacting to football games, including the Patriots’ first preseason game, in real-time almost always means you’re not getting the full picture. There are so many moving parts to each play that it’s hard to truly take stock of a single snap, let alone a whole performance, without a second look.

The buzz about Mac Jones’s strong command of the Patriots offense during his first real NFL action has people already writing the obituaries on Cam Newton’s time as the Patriots starter.

While that time will come inevitably, Newton’s Week 1 performance might not merit such action just yet.

But one thing that does need to happen for the Patriots? Getting their best defensive player, Stephon Gilmore, happy and back on the field. Because this defense may be in some trouble down the line if that doesn’t happen.

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Here are a few extra observations after a second look at Thursday night’s preseason action.

Keep perspective on Cam Newton.

Newton’s numbers for the day didn’t look that great (4-of-7 for 49 yards), which might lead one to think he lost ground in the Patriots’ quarterback competition.

But there are two caveats with that: 1. Newton had a much smaller sample size to evaluate than Jones — the veteran had 12 snaps over two series while the rookie had 33 snaps over five drives (including nine with the first-team offense). As such, it’s hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison of their overall performance (which may well have been by design).

Also, while the results weren’t there for Newton, the veteran quarterback didn’t play poorly at all.

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Neither of his two incompletions on Drive No. 1 were bad reps or throws. His first attempt was basically a throwaway on a split zone play-action that wasn’t open. Washington linebacker Jon Bostic had Jonnu Smith’s flat route covered all the way, and Newton additionally had pressure in his face as he rolled out. Turfing the throw is fairly common practice in that situation.

On the next play, Newton didn’t have much of a chance. Chase Young, the

2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year, destroyed Isaiah Wynn and jumped Newton from behind to force another incompletion (which was close to being a sack-fumble).
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Some might ask why Newton didn’t audible to another play with Washington showing blitz pre-snap. But that wasn’t the issue: the Patriots picked up the blitz just fine, and Newton would have gotten the ball out of his hand to Smith on the pivot route over the middle if Wynn held his block for another tenth of a second (which would’ve been a tenth longer than he blocked Young in the first place). That said, Newton does need to protect the ball better in that situation to avoid putting it on the ground.

“I think the first drive, out of 10 guys or 11 guys, one or two guys here [were] making a mistake, me included,” he said of the opening possession. “We’ve just got to be sharper.”

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The second drive was much better all around, from the way the team ran the ball to the way Newton threw it.

Smith’s catch-and-run on Newton’s short throw and a screen to James White will inflate the passing numbers a bit, but don’t forget the nice play-action throw he had to Jakobi Meyers over the middle.

The lone blemish: a screen pass that came in too hot for White on 3rd-and-12. Even if the running wasn’t going to extend the drive on that play, you still want to see him get a shot.

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It didn’t look that impressive, but Newton certainly didn’t do anything to jeopardize his job status in this one. The question is more if Mac Jones’s play last night was enough to sway the Patriots to change things up this week.

The Mac Jones moment that almost was.

For a half-second, Gillette Stadium was on the verge of transforming into pure sound as Jones’s deep ball down the sideline floated toward the hands of Kristian Wilkerson. But the ball fell incomplete, appearing to glance off the receiver’s hands just beyond the front pylon.

“It was a great ball by Mac [Jones],” Wilkerson said after the game. “I have just got to adjust better to it. I have got to do my part.”

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However, labeling the pass a “drop” might be a step too far.

Running the play back a few times, you can see cornerback Torry McTyer get his hand in to disrupt the catch just as the ball arrives for Wilkerson. The cornerback doesn’t get his hand on the ball – a testament to how perfectly Jones placed the throw – but he made an already difficult catch even harder for Wilkerson, who looked like he couldn’t close both hands around the ball because of the contact.

While it’s good that Wilkerson expects himself to make that kind of play and learn from it in the future, let’s chalk that one up to a great effort by everyone involved, including the defense.

The two had plenty of other good moments in this game to hang their hats on.

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Jones hit Wilkerson six times for 39 yards, both of which led all receivers in the game. The two also worked in some anticipation throws, with Jones firing to Wilkerson twice on comeback routes before he had fully turned back for the ball. On both occasions, the throws were a bit off-target – once because Jones was about to get hit. Wilkerson bailed him out once with a great catch away from his body but couldn’t save the other.

But don’t take that as too much of a knock on Jones. The fact that he already has the confidence to attempt throws like that in his first live NFL action speaks volumes about where he is in his development and his comfort level on the field.

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Expect to see these two young players link up a lot more in the next few weeks. Don’t be surprised if they give that almost-touchdown toss another shot against the Philadelphia Eagles, either.

If Jones does hit one of those deep throws, the calls for him to start Week 1 will reach a fever pitch.

The Patriots defense needs Stephon Gilmore back.

With every day that Jalen Mills plays outside cornerback for the New England Patriots, Gilmore’s chances of getting a 2021 raise increase.

Thursday night was another example of that.

On one hand, Mills wasn’t awful necessarily. But opposing defenses know they can go after him whenever they want, and Washington attacked him a bit down the field.

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First, the speedy Terry McLaurin worked Mills in man coverage on a deep crossing route that Ryan Fitzpatrick hit for a chunk play.

Then, with backups in the game, he got beat out of the slot by Dyami Brown, who dragged across the field as Taylor Heinicke escaped the pocket. It’s tough to cover on a scramble drill, but Mills needs to keep touch with his man on plays like that.

Heinicke almost connected with Brown on the next play against Mills as well. Brown got a step on the cornerback on a fade route, but the ball was overthrown by a few yards.

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Things are just fine on the other side of the defense. J.C. Jackson did a nice job breaking up a pass for McLaurin on the defense’s second possession and continued his strong preseason.

But Mills, while a versatile player, simply isn’t suited to a full season as an outside cornerback. He doesn’t have the speed or technique to make it work on a regular basis.

Expect Gilmore to get a pay bump to return to the field within the next few weeks.

Kyle Dugger is still improving in coverage.

As exciting as the second-year safety’s future prospects are, one thing continually seems to trouble him: covering receivers down the field.

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That issue appeared to arise once more on Washington’s second drive of the game when Ryan Fitzpatrick hit tight end Logan Thomas for a big 3rd-down conversion against Dugger on a corner route.

On one hand, you have to tip your hat a bit to the throw by Fitzpatrick, which was well-placed toward Thomas’ back shoulder. That would be a tough play for a lot of good coverage guys to make.

But Dugger also doesn’t do a great job of locating the football as he runs stride-for-stride with the tight end, making it impossible for him to play the ball before it arrives. That’s something he’s struggled with in training camp as well when running with receivers down the field in coverage, leading him to get beaten at times despite having decent position.

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By contrast, he did a much better job on a second-quarter deep ball from Heinicke that he and Myles Bryant both nearly intercepted.

For starters, Dugger played tight end Temarrick Hemingway’s corner route perfectly, keeping underneath leverage on the route while knowing he had Bryant’s help over the top. He then flips to find the football and disrupts the catch.

The young safety is best in coverage, however, when the ball is in front of him. Two plays after the Thomas catch, he came up to tackle the speedy McLaurin on a short out route, wrapping him up for a minimal gain. Give him a chance to drive downhill on the ball, and you’ll see those eye-popping physical skills and aggressive hitting style come out to play.

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The rest remains a work in progress.