The New England Patriots rookie quarterback was a surprise signing as
an undrafted free agent, entering camp behind the likes of Tom Brady, Kevin O’Connell and Matt Gutierrez.
At first glance, Hoyer was best projected as a candidate for the
practice squad. Now, though, the Michigan State product might have
emerged as the Patriots’ primary backup to Brady.
Hoyer completed 18-of-25 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown Thursday
in the Patriots’ 38-27 preseason victory against the New York Giants.
Even more surprisingly, Hoyer played the entire game and rallied the
Patriots from a 21-0 deficit while quarterback Andrew Walter remained on the sideline.
“I thought he moved the team,” head coach Bill Belichick said. “I thought he handled the ball fairly well, threw it accurately.
“We felt like he deserved a chance to keep playing and see what he could do with the outcome of the game.”
Hoyer and the second-string offense struggled in the first quarter
against the Giants’ first unit, which dominated the line of scrimmage
and never allowed Hoyer a free moment in the pocket. Once the playing
field was leveled and Hoyer had a chance to breathe, he looked
extremely comfortable and made every necessary throw to get the
Patriots into a rhythm. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around —
even when the Giants retook a 27-24 lead — it didn’t seem like a matter
of “if” the Patriots would score, but “when.”
“I thought [Hoyer] was really good,” tight end Ben Watson said.
“Obviously, there are going to be some things that he could do better,
but I thought for being able to play the whole game and to rally the
team and come back to get a win, I thought that was really good.”
Hoyer wasn’t in the locker room after the game, as the team apparently
didn’t want him speaking to the media. That left his teammates to do
the talking for Hoyer, who has outlasted O’Connell and Gutierrez and
presumably wrestled the No. 2 job from Walter.
If that is the case, there didn’t seem to be any complaints in the
locker room, as Hoyer’s teammates praised his improvement along with
his confidence in the huddle and the pocket.
“Definitely, I think it’s really important for a quarterback to have
that confidence in a critical situation when you’re down and able to
bring the team back,” Watson said. “All of that kind of stuff builds a
quarterback’s confidence. A quarterback is really only as good as his
confidence level.”
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Second-year running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis was the Patriots’
other star against the Giants. He rushed 29 times for 125 yards and
three touchdowns, and he also caught four passes for 22 yards.
Green-Ellis showed an ability to help the Patriots sustain drives in
the middle of the field, but his biggest impact came near the goal
line, rushing for a pair of one-yard touchdowns. His second score came
on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, and he forced his way into
the end zone while carrying Giants linebacker Clint Sintim on his back. The score gave the Patriots their first lead of the game at 31-27.
“It was the last play of the drive, fourth-and-1, and we needed a
touchdown to go ahead. Like Coach said, when we need a yard, we have to
be able to get a yard, so I was just trying to do my best to get it.”
On the Patriots’ next offensive series, Green-Ellis flew through the
line, broke outside toward the left sideline and raced past the Giants’
defense for a 32-yard touchdown run that sealed New England’s victory.
“I was just trying to score,” Green-Ellis said. “Every time I get in
there, I just try to score. Coach puts us out there to score points as
an offense, and that’s the only thing I was trying to do [Thursday
night].”
Roster decisions
The Patriots had 72 players on their roster for their game against the
Giants, meaning they’ve got to cut 19 players before Saturday’s
deadline. Belichick acknowledged after the game this is one of his
least favorite parts of the job.
“It’s always hard when you go to training camp with 80 players to
getting down to 53 and have to release 27 players, one way or another,”
Belichick said. “Basically that’s, in round numbers, what happens.
That’s always the hard part. Making decisions can be hard as players
compete and get very, getting in there pretty close and making the
decisions tough. Then the actual talking to players and telling them
what the decision is when it doesn’t go the way they want it to go,
that’s hard, too. Especially when guys have come out and really worked
hard over the course of training camp, done what you’ve asked them to
do, have played hard and come close [to making the team] but maybe come
up a little bit short relative to somebody else.
“We all know that’s the nature of the business. We know it’s
competitive, and not everybody can make all the teams and not every
team can win all the games. Somebody’s got to win, somebody’s got to
lose. Somebody plays and somebody gets a release. So that’s the
National Football League. It’s not like college when everybody gets a
letter sweater. It’s a little bit different here, but that’s the way it
is. It’s tough, but that’s the NFL.”
