As the Patriots took the field on Monday to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in their second pre-season game thus far, they had a much different look that almost resembled a JV version of the team. There was no Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Brandon Lloyd, or several other big names from the Patriots roster in attendance. Bill Belichick was letting the league know that he wasn’t a fan of the tight pre-season schedule that has the Pats playing 3 games in a 10-day span.
Early into the first quarter, Michael Vick was taken down after scrambling and throwing the ball away, injuring his ribs in the process. While Vick’s x-rays came back negative, it still begs the question why the pre-season needs to be four games long. Of course these teams want to get a feel for the talent that they have on the field, but this should be able to be accomplished in the grueling training camp that each player has to go through to earn a spot on their respective teams.
The game could basically be summed up by too many penalty calls from the replacement referee’s, an unnecessary injury to a star quarterback, and the 3rd longest Patriots pre-season game since 2000. Is this really what the NFL wants right before the beginning of its brutal 16 game schedule?
Roger Goodell has hinted at shortening the pre-season and adding a few games to the regular season, but until a plan is put forth for this to actually happen the league will be far from taking care of the situation at hand. Instead players will continue to get injured and fans will proceed to drop big money to see back-ups play average football at best.
Below are some shots from the Patriots 27-17 loss last night.
QB Ryan Mallett in the pocket.
QB Ryan Mallett avoiding pressure in the 1st quarter.
RB Shane Vereen with a rush in the 1st quarter.
RB Stevan Ridley breaking a tackle in the 2nd quarter.
Red Sox (injured) 3rd baseman, Will Middlebrooks, catching the game from the stands.
Credit to Michael O'Neill for the photos.
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