ONE. FINAL. RUN.

[djp73]

49ers @ Patriots
Gilette Stadium – Foxboro, Massachusetts
Sunday August 16th, 2015 7:00pm

TREYVON FORD TAKES A SLANT 74 YARDS TO THE HOUSE

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
San Francisco 49ers [1-0]	0	10	7	0	17
New England Patriots [1-0]	7	7	0	13	27

Patriots finish strong to top ‘Niners
Trailing going into the fourth quarter the Patriots second team defense buckled down and the reserve offense put up 13 points to come away with a 27-17 win over the visiting 49ers.

Tom Brady led the opening drive, completing 7 of 9 passes for 57 yards and capping it off with a 2 yard TD pass to TE Tim Wright.

After that it was Jimmy Garoppolo leading the team for most of the second and third quarters. Garoppolo struggled, throwing a pair of interceptions and completing just 3 of 9 passes. One of those was a 74 yard touchdown to rookie receiver Treyvon Ford.

The Patriots defense played well, holding the 49ers to just 182 total offensive yards, San Francisco’s scores came on shortfield possessions after Patriots turnovers.

Lamar Walden once again showed his abilities as a pass rusher, dominating the 49ers second string offensive line en route to 5 sacks, bringing his preseason total to 9.

Tavon Wilson made his case for the open starting safety position, recording 6 tackles in his 61 snaps played. He was all over the field in coverage as well.

The Patriots will have to make their first round of cuts as they need to get down to 65 players. They currently have 70 players on the roster.

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
NE T. Wright 2 Yd pass from T. Brady (S. Gostkowski kick)
2nd Quarter
SF J. Dwyer 6 Yd run (R. Bironas kick)
SF R. Bironas 28 Yd FG
NE T. Ford 74 Yd pass from J. Garoppolo (S. Gostkowski kick)
3rd Quarter
SF D. Carrier 8 Yd pass from M. Cassel (R. Bironas kick)
4th Quarter
NE S. Greer 11 Yd run (S. Gostkowski kick)
NE J. Barker 28 Yd FG
NE J. Barker 25 Yd FG

Key Player Stats

M. Cassel 13/22 155 Yds TD
J. Dwyer 14 car 40 Yds TD
C. Hyde 6 car 17 Yds
V. Davis 4 rec 56 YDs
V. McDonald 4 rec 55 Yds
N. Bowman 8 tkl
T. Thomas 2 tkl, 3 Int
T. Carradine 1 tkl, 1 Sck


J. Garoppolo 3/9 103 Yds TD 2Int
T. Brady 7/9 57 Yds TD
S. Greer 4 car 23 Yds TD, 3 rec 50 YDs
T. Ford 2 rec 79 Yds TD
A. Diaz 3 rec 46 Yds
T. Wright 2 rec 16 Yds TD
L. Walden 6 tkl, 5 Sck
A. Branch 2 tkl, 2 Sck
-----
Current Record: 2-0
Next Week: vs. @ Houston Texans (2-0)

[djp73]

Patriots Report


4TH ROUND PICK NOLEN BALDWIN WAS AMONG THE FIRST PLAYERS CUT

PATS PART WITH 4TH ROUND PICK, 4 UDFAS

Anytime you have to cut a player you just drafted it can be a blow to the franchise. The Patriots were forced to do just that in the process of going from a 70 man roster down to 65 players.

Guard Nolen Baldwin, who the Pats took with their fourth round selection earlier this year, was one of the five players the team chose to cut ties with.

From what we saw in the first two games Baldwin was outplayed by UDFA guards Orr and Conley, putting him at the bottom of the 11 man offensive line group, most teams only keep eight at the most.

"We never saw Nolen start to grasp things. He has the physical tools for sure, we just never saw the technique or the mental aspect click for him." Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo said when asked about Baldwin's release. The Patriots will incur a $400,000 cap penalty for the move, making it all the more surprising.

Aside from Baldwin the team also release four other players, none nearly as surprising.

Denolious Crawford, an undrafted quarterback from Western Michigan was amongst the players cut loose. Crawford was 12 of 21 for 191 yards along with a touchdown and an interception. Coming in as the fourth option at quarterback Crawford didn't have much of a chance. If the team wasn't so committed to the development of Jimmy Garoppolo he may have gotten more playing time. Crawford was well behind Scott Tolzien, who currently looks to be the team's third stringer if they decide to keep three quarterbacks.

Runningback Marcus Briscoe from Purdue was another UDFA casualty. With Blount, Ridley and Gray all but locked into the first three runningback spots it was a very uphill battle for Briscoe and fellow UDFA Spencer Greer. Briscoe carried 13 times for 43 yards and a touchdown while catching 2 passes for just two yards. Greer gets to stick around for now by showing his versatility.

Arryn Hickman is another undrafted player who didn't show the team enough in his limited audition. While showing some value as a kick and punt returner Hickman was never able to get on the field with the offense. The Patriots have no shortage of valuable return men so that just wasn't enough. A number of dropped passes and route running errors in practice kept him out of the rotation at receiver.

Let's be honest, if there was one player with zero chance of making the roster it was undrafted free agent kicker Jesse Barker. With Gostkowski, one of the top kickers in the league, to beat out it was a bit of a shock that the Pats even brought him aboard. Barker connected on both of his chip shot field goal attempts but never showed a very strong leg in camp. Both field goals were under 30 yards.

With the first round of cuts out of the way the coaching staff will get to see the players in Saturday night's contest in Houston before having to make another six cuts by Monday. These first two rounds of cuts are the easy ones, from 59 to 53 is when they'll really have to start making the tough decisions.

Players Cut
QB Denolious Crawford
HB Marcus Briscoe
WR Arryn Hickman
OG Nolen Baldwin
K Jesse Barker

[djp73]

Around the NFL

Scores
N/A - Preseason

Headlines

Bears cut Jared Allen

Falcons, Chargers make a trade

Players of the Week
N/A - Preseason

Key Injuries
NYG OT J. Pugh - Hip Fracture - IR
PIT OG R. Foster - Achilles Tear – IR

CHI DE W. Young – Upper Arm Fracture – 5 Weeks
TB HB D. Martin - Broken Thumb - 3 Weeks
TB DE M. Johnson – Knee Cartilage Tear – 4 Weeks
SD LB J. Attaochu - Dislocated Ankle - 5 Weeks
SD LB M. Ingram – Broken Thumb – 4 Weeks
KC LB D. Johnson – Broken Hand – 7 Weeks
NYJ OT C. Stark – Dislocated Hip – 4 Weeks
DET DE J. Hughes - Dislocated Knee - 4 Weeks
DET LB S. Tulloch - Shoulder Tear - 3 Weeks
CAR C W. Montgomery – Pulled Groin – 4 Weeks
NE DE J. Diaz - Abdominal Tear - 2 Weeks
STL HB T. Mason - Abdominal Tear - 1 Week
STL CB J. Jenkins – Dislocated Ankle – 6 Weeks
BAL DT B. Williams – Dislocated Elbow – 1 Week

Transactions
Broncos sign K J. Barker 1Yr $420k
Bills sign P D. Zastudil 1yr $950k
Falcons trade SS K. Ishmael to Chargers for 2016 RD3 pick
Bears release DE J. Allen
Vikings release LB C. Greenway
Titans release HB M. Jones-Drew
Steelers release WR M. Austin
Seahawks release HB B. Green-Ellis
Chargers release HB T. Gerhart
Browns release FS T. Mays

[djp73]

Patriots Report


SPENCER GREER CARRIES THE BALL WHILE AT NAVY

FORMER MIDDIE GREER IMPRESSING PATS

Undrafted rookie free agent Spencer Greer has caught Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's attention. Both on the field and off.

"Usually Tom or I are the first ones at the facility." Belichick said. "When you have an undrafted rookie already there in the weight room before I get there you notice. He's made an impression."

Greer has also made an impression on the field. In just 44 downs played he has 59 yards on 12 rushes, three of them for touchdowns. He's also shown ability in the passing game, catching 4 passes for 48 yards.

"I'm just here to try my best and work as hard as I can. If I do that and I don't make the team then so be it. If i don't do everything in my power I'll never forgive myself." Greer told me yesterday.

Greer's versatility may be his biggest asset. A high school quarterback Greer made the transition to wingback in Navy's unorthodox option heavy offense. He says he's still learning the pro style offense in New England.

"It's completely different. At Navy I was doing the same thing ninety percent of the time. Here every play is different."

Greer says when he's not a the facility working out he's in his playbook. "There's a lot to learn. I don't want to be behind the curve in that aspect either, I always have it with me."

While it's unlikely the Patriots will keep all four of the runningbacks currently on the roster if Greer shows enough he could stick around as a change of pace back. He is the fastest runningback and has the best hands out of the group. Think Kevin Faulk or Shane Vereen. Ridley, Blount and Gray are all power runners for the most part so there's certainly room for a shiftier back on the roster if he can prove he belongs.

Greer will also be the team's primary punt and kick returner Saturday. Something he excelled at for Navy.

[djp73]

Patriots @ Texans
NRG Stadium – Houston Texas
Saturday August 22nd, 2015 9:00pm

ARRINGTON SCORES ON A 65 YARD PICK SIX

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
New England Patriots [2-0]	0	17	0	10	27
Houston Texans [2-0]	0	0	6	6	12

Patriots coast past Texans
Tom Brady led the Pats to a 10-0 lead against the Texans before heading for the sidelines for the rest of the night. Brady was 12 of 14 for 102 yards in his appearance.

Garoppolo connected with Tim Wright for a 9 yard score just before the half.

Houston finally got on the board with a pair of field goals in the third.

The teams swapped pick sixes in the fourth and Goskowski added a late field goal to make it 27-12 final score.

The Patriots backup quarterbacks struggled in the win with Garoppolo throwing a pair of picks and Tolzien adding another. Garoppolo was 9 of 14 for 68 yards while Tolzien completed just 8 of 17 for 137 yards.

New England never established a run game and Jonas Gray led the way with just 16 yards.

Treyvon Ford caught 3 passes for 74 yards.

Arrington, Revis and Buchanan all recorded interceptions while Easley sacked the Houston QBs three times. Wilfork, Hightower, Ninkovich and Walden each recorded a sack. Walden also forced a fumble when he pummeled Houston rookie QB Kaelin McDaniel on a scramble.

The Patriots will have to cut six players this week and should play primarily backups in their final preseason matchup.

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
NE S. Gostkowski 35 Yd FG
NE L. Blount 1 Yd Run (S. Gostkowski kick)
NE T. Wright 9 Yd pass from J. Garoppolo (S. Gostkowski kick)
3rd Quarter
HOU R. Bullock 35 Yd FG
HOU R. Bullock 31 Yd FG
4th Quarter
HOU T. Nix 43 Yd INT Ret (2 pt Failed)
NE K. Arrington 65 Yd INT Ret (S. Gostkowski kick)
NE S. Gostkowski 26 Yd FG

Key Player Stats

T. Brady 12/14 102 Yds
J. Garoppolo 9/14 68 Yds TD 2Int
T. Ford 3 Rec 74 Yds
T. Wright 6 Rec 54 Yds TD
D. Easley 3 Tkl 3 Sck
D. Hightower 4 Tkl 1 Sck
K. Arrington 4 Tkl, INT, TD
D. Revis 2 Tkl, INT
L. Buchanan 4 Tkl, INT


M. Flynn 2/2 26 Yds
K. McDaniel 9/21 89 Yds 3 Int, 5 Car 54 Yds
D. Posey 3 Rec 39 Yds
J. Criner 2 Rec 24 Yds
T. Nix 7 Tkl, 2 Sck, Int, TD
T. Williams 3 Tkl, Int
W. Moore Int
-----
Current Record: 3-0
Next Week: vs. vs Baltimore Ravens (0-3)

[djp73]

Patriots Report


SCOTT TOLZIEN DIDN'T SURVIVE THE SECOND ROUND OF CUTS

PATS MAKE SECOND ROUND OF CUTS

The Patriots announced their second round of cuts today, dropping six more players to get to the league mandated 59 man roster.

Quarterback Scott Tolzien, who was brought in as a veteran insurance policy behind Tom Brady, couldn't beat out Jimmy Garoppolo for the backup job and was deemed expendable. Tolzien was 17 of 33 for 222 yards and an interception, missing several basic throws. The Pats will head into the season with just Brady and Garoppolo on the roster as they did in 2014.

Acey Darman, an undrafted fullback out of Georgia was also released. While he showed some value as a runner and receiver his ability as a blocker was not up to the standard the Pats were looking for. James Develin will retain the job.

Wide receiver Jorian Clayton played in 12 total snaps through the first three games and never made a catch. He returned one kick for 17 yards. Not useful as a receiver and just average as a return man meant there was no room for Clayton in the crowded receiving corps.

Offensive Guard Jesse Orr didn't make the cut either. While he did show some promise he was just too far behind the rest of the offensive line group. The UDFA out of USF is seen as a project player and with an already talented offensive line in place there just wasn't room.

Cornerback [b]Margarito McGee[b/] from South Carolina could likely have found a spot on a roster with less talent at the position but with the depth the Pats have he never got a chance to shine. McGee played 42 defensive snaps and only recorded one tackle. Dennard, currently fifth on the depth chart, is leaps and bounds better and with the Pats likely to keep an extra safety there was no room for a sixth corner.

Another undrafted rookie from South Carolina that the Pats cut ties with is safety R.T. Mullins. Mullins didn't show too much in his time on the defensive side of the ball, occasionally looking lost. He did return three punts for 36 yards but didn't do enough there to warrant keeping him around.

Now down to 59 players the team will have to make six final cuts following their final preseason game against the Ravens at Gilette. To this point the cuts have been relatively easy with a clear cut difference in talent separating those who have left from those who are still here. The cut from 59 to 53 will be much more difficult as the talent difference is much smaller, if any.

Players Cut
QB Scott Tolzien
FB Acey Darman
WR Jorian Clayton
OG Jesse Orr
CB Margarito Mcgee
FS R.T. Mullins

[djp73]

Around the NFL

Scores
N/A - Preseason

Headlines

Chris Borland to Jets?

Vikings cut Darren McFadden

Players of the Week
N/A - Preseason

Key Injuries
NYG OT J. Pugh - Hip Fracture – IR
JAX QB K. Clemens – Hip Fracture - IR
PIT OG R. Foster - Achilles Tear – IR

CHI DE W. Young – Upper Arm Fracture – 4 Weeks
CIN LB V. Burfict – Pulled Groin – 3 Weeks
TB HB D. Martin - Broken Thumb - 2 Weeks
TB DE M. Johnson – Knee Cartilage Tear – 3 Weeks
SD LB J. Attaochu - Dislocated Ankle - 4 Weeks
SD LB M. Ingram – Broken Thumb – 3 Weeks
KC LB D. Johnson – Broken Hand – 6 Weeks
IND LB B. Werner – Dislocated Ankle – 5 Weeks
DAL DE W. Hayes – Partial MCL Tear – 7 Weeks
MIA LT B. Albert – Broken Thumb – 2 Weeks
ATL DE K. Biermann – Broken Thumb – 1 Week
SF DE J. Smith – Upper Arm Fracture – 3 Weeks
NYJ OT C. Stark – Dislocated Hip – 3 Weeks
DET DE J. Hughes - Dislocated Knee - 3 Weeks
DET LB S. Tulloch - Shoulder Tear - 2 Weeks
CAR C W. Montgomery – Pulled Groin – 3 Weeks
NE DE J. Diaz - Abdominal Tear - 1 Week
STL CB J. Jenkins – Dislocated Ankle – 5 Weeks
BAL HB J. Forsett – Broken Wrist – 2 Weeks

Transactions
Bears release WR S. Ajirotutu
Bills release HB K. Barner
Bucs release HB C. Sims
Bucs release P M. Koenen
Chargers release DE T. Alualu
Colts release OG M. Ramirez
Eagles release WR J. Huff
Giants release S N. Berhe
Giants sign P S. Powell 1yr/640k
Jaguars release S D. Landry
Jaguars release HB D. Reynaud
Lions release HB A. Smith
Rams release WR B. Butler
Rams release HB D. Richardson
Ravens release DL T. Kelly
Redskins release HB M. Asiata
Saints release WR M. Slater
Seahawks release HB S. Jackson
Titans release HB D. McCluster
Texans release HB A. Blue
Vikings release HB D. McFadden

[djp73]

Ravens @ Patriots
Gilette Stadium – Foxboro, Massachusetts
Saturday August 29th, 2015 7:00pm

NINKOVICH SALUTES THE HOME CROWD AFTER A SACK

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Baltimore Ravens [0-3]	0	0	10	0	10
New England Patriots [3-0]	0	10	7	10	27

Pats finish preseason undefeated
Jimmy Garoppolo finished with 284 yards and a touchdown as the Patriots rolled to a 27-10 victory over the Ravens to wrap up the preseason.

New England finishes 4-0 and looks to be firing on all cylinders heading into the regular season.

Spencer Greer and Jonas Gray got the bulk of the work in the backfield, each scoring a touchdown. Greer showed his receiving abilities with 6 receptions for 39 yards.

Treyvon Ford continued his impressive preseason with a 7 catch 86 yards performance including a touchdown where he caught the ball short of the endzone and dragged Terrell Suggs in for the score.

Tiquan Underwood caught 3 passes for 55 yards.

Dominique Easly made the most of his extended playing time by recording a pair of sacks. Aevry Shepherd, Alfonzo Dennard, Michael Buchanan and Rob Ninkovich each picked up a sack as well. Dennard also had an interception as well as leading the defense with 4 tackles.

Spencer Greer handled all the kick and punt returning duties on the day, finishing with a 17 yard average on kicks and a 10.2 yard average on punt returns.

The Patriots have to make their final cuts from 59 to 53 players by Monday evening. They will open the regular season in Buffalo against the Bills

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
NE S. Greer 1Yd Run (S. Gostkowski kick)
NE S. Gostkowski 43 Yd FG
3rd Quarter
BAL J. Tucker 37 Yd FG
NE J. Gray 2 Yd run (S. Gostkowski kick)
BAL F. Gore 59 Yd pass from K. Wenning (J. Tucker kick)
4th Quarter
NE T. Ford 6 Yd pass from J. Garoppolo (S. Gostkowski kick)
NE S. Gostkowski 34 Yd FG

Key Player Stats

K. Wenning 10/17 154Yds TD Int
F. Gore 4Car 6Yds, 1Rec 59Yds TD
D. Pitta 5Rec 55YDs
G. Jennings 3Rec 39Yds
A. Brown 9Tkl
M. Elam 6Tkl
A. Skinner 6Tkl
B. Williams 4Tkl, 1Sck
M. Glass 2Tkl, Int
C. Mosley 4Tkl, Int


J. Garoppolo 27/40 284Yds TD Int
S. Greer 12Car 41Yds TD, 6Rec 39Yds
J. Gray 5Car 21Yds TD, 2Rec 60Yds
T. Ford 7Rec 86Yds TD
T. Underwood 3Rec 55Yds
A. Dennard 4Tkl, Sck, Int
M. Buchanan 3Tkl, Sck
D. Easley 2Tkl, 2Sck
-----
Current Record: 4-0
Next Week: vs. @ Buffalo Bills (0-0)