Preseason Week Three Live Blog: Patriots vs. Panthers

We have officially reached the “dress rehearsal” week of the preseason, which has always been Week Three. Teams get their starters out there for the most amount of reps, and it gives them the opportunity to see areas of need, depth, and possible surprises. The Patriots have a good test with the Carolina Panthers coming into Gillette Stadium to take on the World Champs. The Panthers defense has always played very well against the Patriots, so that is a good thing for a team trying to get prepared for the quickly approaching regular season. There was some interesting news that came out today regarding Patrick Chung, news that could have a direct effect on the roster, specifically how they put together their secondary. Has Duke Dawson been playing safety because the Patriots are preparing to let got of Chung, or are they simply preparing for a suspension? It could be and probably is both, but the safety position bears watching because someone who wasn’t going to make this roster probably will now. We’ll focus on that tonight in our Preseason Week Four Live Blog.

The Panthers are still very talented on offense too, with Cam Newton at the helm. Running back Christian McCaffrey has become one of the most dynamic players in the game, so this will be a test for the Patriots on both sides of the ball. Carolina’ physical style of play is exactly what the Patriots need to see as they gear up for the regular season. With most starters typically sitting in Week Four, this is not the game that you want to miss. Tom Brady should play, but we will not see Josh Gordon, Julian Edelman, or Demaryius Thomas. If we see any of them before the regular season starts, I’ll be very surprised.

We are just an over an hour from game time, so get all your to-does done now so you can sit in front of the TV and follow our Preseason Week Four Live Blog! See you all at 7:30.

FIRST QUARTER

15:00- Gostkowski kicks it off and off we go. We should get an idea of what the starting defense could look like.

14:56- McCaffrey for three; Collins with the tackle. 2nd & 7…

14:15- Cowart, one of my sleepers, is plenty awake as he continues to make plays in the preseason; 3rd & 8…

13:30- Good 1st series for New England; four-yard reception, but they needed eight. 4th & 4…

12:49- Olszewski with the fair catch, and Brady takes the field for the first time in 2019.

12:30- Michel takes the carry for six; 2nd & 4…

12:11- Holding on New England negates a strong run by Michel; 2nd & 13…

11:45- Screen to Dorsett looked promising, but Dorsett didn’t get far; 3rd & 8…

11:04- Meyers was the intended receiver, but there was a mistake made on the play and he stopped running his route. For those weird Meyer-haters (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE), they probably liked that, but that is a mistake that cannot be made. 4th & 8, Bailey on to punt…fumble, but it was recovered by Carolina. Strong coverage by the Patriots punt unit.

10:47- Four-yard gain through the air by Olson; 2nd & 6…

10:09- SACK!! Van Noy with the perfectly timed blitz and sack, but unfortunately he hurt his knee in the process. He tried to walk off, but he had to go down and wait for assistance. Hopefully this isn’t anything serious because Van Noy is one of the best players on the Patriots defense. Yes, they have depth at linebacker, but Van Noy has developed into what teams thought he was coming out of BYU. 3rd & 15…

9:40- 14-yard run by McCaffrey; 4th & 1, and Olszewski with a decent return to set the Patriots in decent field position.

8:50- Meyers with the drop on a badly thrown ball; 2nd & 10…

8:44- Dorsett with the catch for nine; 3rd & 1…

8:28- Michel runs for three; 1st & 10 from their own 47…

7:57- Beautiful run by Michel is negated by a hold from…Meyers. Rough start for him. 1st & 13…

7:33- Chop block this time; ugly start for the offense in the penalty department; 1st & 28…

7:11- Incomplete pass to Watson; 2nd & 28…

7:02- Brady throws with guys all over him and completes it to Dorsett for 18…3rd & 9…

6:11- Dorsett makes the catch for five, which isn’t enough for the 1st down. Penalties are killing New England so far in the 1st quarter. 4th & 4…

5:36- Newton hits Samuel for 12; 1st & 10 from the Carolina 14…

4:45- McCaffrey with the catch and run for 10; 1st & 10…

4:07- Hightower brought the pressure, and then his teammates joined in, forcing Newton to throw it into the stands. 2nd & 10…

4:02- Good stunt by the Patriots defensive line cause Newton to throw it away. 3rd & 10…

3:49- SACK! Butler picks this one up, one of MANY the Patriots have recorded this preseason. This defense is loaded. 4th & 10…btw- Van Noy seems fine.

3:10- The Patriots will start deep in their own territory again, and hopefully they can avoid the penalties this time. They had some very strong plays negated on the last series because of stupidity. That can’t happen.

2:53- Another strong run by Michel; 2nd & 2…

2:40- Michel for five more; 1st & 10…

2:02- No gain on the cutback by Michel; 2nd & 10…

1:40- Incomplete pass to Meyers on a strong PBU; 3rd & 10…

1:19- Nine-yard reception by Watson, but a foolish late hit by Carolina will cost them 15 yards and a 1st down. It appears that Watson might be slightly dinged, and hopefully not concussed. That was a cheap-shot by Eric Reid. 1st & 10 from the Panthers 48…

:57- Dorsett with another catch for six; 2nd & 6…

:25- Burkhead runs for three; 3rd & 3, and that will do it for the first quarter. The Patriots defense was dominant, but the offense kept shooting themselves in the foot. Let’s see if Brady can convert on this 3rd down and sustain a drive for a score.

SECOND QUARTER

15:00- Brady runs for four (scary stuff); 1st & 10…

14:13- Burkhead runs for two; 2nd & 8…

13:30- Screen to Burkhead, who ran through a horsecollar for six; 3rd & 2…

13:00- Michel runs for five more (he is running well); 1st & 10…

12:22- Brady with a frikin laser to Izzo for 15; 1st & Goal from the eight…

11:44- Panthers line up in the neutral zone, giving the Patriots four more; 1st and Goal from the four…

11:17- Michel runs for three (nice spin move); 2nd & Goal from the one…

10:38- Nothing there, setting up 3rd & Goal from the one…Timeout, Patriots.

9:57- TOUCHDOWN, PATRIOTS!! James Develin hammers it into the end zone for six! They have about five guys that are good at the goal line. Gostkowski connects on the extra point, and the Patriots are the first team on the board. Just as suspected, when they eliminate the penalties, they can drive down the field. Michel looks great, but it is time to see Damien Harris against the ones. Patriots 7, Panthers 0

9:46- Newton is done, and Allen is in. His first pass is completed for eight; 2nd & 2 from their own 33…

9:05- Loss of two on the run; 3rd & 4…

8:30- Samuel makes the catch, but he only picked up three yards; 4th & 1, and Olszewski is back to return the punt…

7:34- Strong return, and Stidham will come in for Brady.

5:36- Stidham sacked for a loss of four, although he almost escaped. 2nd & 14…

4:55- Penalty on Dan Skipper, who is a flag machine. There are media members who like Skipper’s game; I am not one of them. 3rd & 12…

4:33- Stidham to Meyers for 17; these two just work well together. 1st & 10 from the Panthers 43…

3:54- Stidham tried to flip a quick one out to Develin, but he dropped the pass. 2nd & 10…

3:17- 3rd & 11, and Stidham finds Meyers for 10 over the middle; 4th & 1, and they’ll go for it…

2:17- Brossette did not get there, according to the spot I am seeing. It looked like he did, and they have a better back in Harris, but they ran it with Brossette. Panthers offense takes over, and the Patriots can’t pick up a damn yard to extend the drive.

2:08- Strong coverage by Jason McCourty on the fade down the sideline; 2nd & 10…Ron Rivera is challenging the play, which is ok. We need to know what they are going to overturn during the regular season. Insert Jeopardy music now…

2:01- That wasn’t even close. “Riverboat Ron” is…not very good.

1:57- Terrible throw goes out of bounds, and the Panthers will face 3rd & 10 when we return from the two-minute warning.

1:50- SACK!! Michael Bennett steps up and makes the play this time. This defense has so many pass rushers, something that hasn’t been the case in the past. Olszewski had a nice return, but there was a flag, and Brandon King was injured on the play. He is being carted off, and the entire team just came out to give him love. He just tore an ACL, that’s my guess. He is a strong coverage guy. What appeared good ended bad. 1st & 10, Patriots.

1:24- Bolden rips through for a 16-yard run; that was impressive. 1st & 10…

1:04- Pass is almost picked; 2nd & 10…

:57- Dime to Meyers for 17; 1st & 10…

:35- Dorsett makes the catch at the 35, but another holding negates the play. That may cost them points. 1st & 20…

:26- Dangerous throw into traffic to Meyers is thankfully incomplete; 2nd & 20…

:23- Handoff to Bolden, and although it appeared the Patriots were going to end the half, the Panthers called a timeout. 3rd & 19…

:18- Draw to Bolden for four, and the Panthers call another timeout. Apparently, they are working on their punt return game tonight. 4th & 15…

:00- Return to the 25, but there is a penalty on the play…which was a block in the back. The penalty is wiped off the board because time expired. That is it for the first half, a half dominated by the Patriots in play, but not by the score.

HALFTIME- PATRIOTS 7, PANTHERS 0

THIRD QUARTER

14:28- Meyers makes a catch for the 1st down; 1st & 10…

14:00- Brossette runs for two; 2nd & 8…

13:19- Seven-yard reception by Meyers; great catch sets up a 3rd & 1 situation…

12:54- Brossette runs for four yards and a tough first down. 1st & 10 from the 50…

12:13- Stidham tucks it and runs for six yards, which was a smart play. 2nd & 4 from the Panthers 46…

11:42- Brossette with a gain of one on the run; 3rd & 3 from the Carolina 45…

11:10- Brossette rips through the A-gap for a gain of 11 yards. 1st & 10 from the Carolina 34…

10:38- Eight more on the ground for Brossette, a UDFA from LSU. 2nd & 2…

9:55- Brossette runs for four more, picking up another 1st down. 1st & 10…

9:14- Fumble, Stidham. He didn’t tuck the ball, and the Panther recover in the red zone, a big no-no. He’ll hear from Belichick on his way to the sideline. Patriots 7, Panthers 0

9:10- Three-yard run by Carolina; 2nd & 7…

8:22- Munson misses the tackle in the backfield; 3rd & 1…

7:50- One-yard gain for the 1st down, the Panthers first 3rd down-conversion of the night. 1st & 10…

7:06- Eight-yard run sets up 2nd & 2…

6:30- The 3rd string guys are in the game; this is when we see guys make it or get cut. Game on!

5:22- Welcome to FLagFest, 2019!!! 1st & 35, Panthers…good luck!

4:56- Four-yard run; that isn’t going to cut it; 2nd & 31…

4:15- Five-yard catch, 3rd & 26…

3:32- They chucked it down the sideline, but JC Jackson was all over it. The Panthers will punt again, and Olszweski with a strong return on the play. He has had a strong night. 1st & 10 Patriots from the 50…

2:35- Stidham with a DIME on the 5-step drop deep out to Meyers; that is not an easy throw.

1:57- Stidham steps up and avoids the sack, and throws a sweet back-shoulder throw to Izzo, who didn’t catch it, but was interfered with. 1st & Goal…

1:54- NO BLOCKING on the play and Stidham is sacked as soon as he catches the snap. 2nd & Goal from the 19…

1:14- Brossette dives for two; 3rd & 17…

:37- Bad sack to take by Stidham, and to add insult to injury, Bailey pulled a Ray Finkel and spun it right to the strings for Gostkowski. That miss is on Bailey, and that had to hurt. That is the end of three.

FOURTH QUARTER

13:44- Munson is flying around out there; 2nd & 9, Panthers…

11:44- 4th & 2, Panthers…

11:35- Big play by the Panthers; 27 yards on the play; 1st & 10…

10:57- Incomplete pass, and he was open. 2nd & 10…

10:53- Great run defense as the Patriots rip though the B & C gap and blow up the play; 3rd & 12…

10:16- Incomplete pass, and the Panthers will attempt the field goal…after the challenge on what appeared to be either DPI or holding…& I was wrong. Not surprised. 41 yard FG attempt is good, and the Panthers cut the lead to four. Patriots 7, Panthers 3

10:07- Stidham completes it for the 1st down…

9:28- Brossette runs for six yards on the cutback; 2nd & 4…

8:58- Brossette runs for two more; 3rd & 2…

8:28- Ten-yard run by Brossette, and the Patriots pick up another 1st down on the ground.

7:52- Slant to Patterson for 15; that was a pretty play right there. 1st & 10…

7:08- Bullet to Kendricks, who was drilled on the catch. He is down, probably because he was just sandwiched. 1st & 10…

6:54- Stidham to Davis for five; 2nd & 5…

6:20- Brossette runs for no gain; 3rd & 5…

5:43- Stidham completes it for four yards, which is not enough. Gostkowski will try again…

5:13- Mock cheer on the 22-yard field goal, and he Patriots extend their lead back to seven.

4:41- Four yard gain and the Panthers are now facing 3rd & 2…

4:01- Dropped! The tight end was wide open, but so were his arms as he dropped the pass. The Panthers will punt, and of course….there is a flag down.

3:53- After being hit with two penalties on the last play, the Patriots offense will take over. I’m very confused as to what is going on out there. Meyers back to return because Olszewski got injured; weird moment right there, and he makes a fair catch.

3:45- Delay run to Brossette for four; 2nd & 6…

3:06- Loss of one of the run by Brossette; 3rd & 7…

2:24- Incomplete pass, and the Patriots are forced to punt.

Final Score- Patriots 10, Panthers 3

Thanks for joining us! Be sure to join us next week for the final week of the preseason. The Patriots improve to 3-0 on the preseason. Have a great week, Patriots’ fans.