Patriots-Jaguars Preseason Takeaways: Pass Rush Fails To Live Up To Hype

Perhaps we overhyped the New England Patriots’ rookie pass rushers prior to their preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

After making Jaguars offensive linemen look foolish in joint practices, linebacker Harvey Langi, defensive tackle Adam Butler and defensive end Deatrich Wise were expected to torment Jacksonville’s quarterbacks Thursday night. That wasn’t the case, and the Patriots hardly got any pressure on Jaguars QBs Blake Bortles, Chad Henne and Brandon Allen.

Here are our full takeaways after rewatching the Patriots’ preseason opener passing snaps.

PASS RUSH
DE Derek Rivers: QB hit, hurry
DE Caleb Kidder: hurry
LB Brooks Ellis: hurry

— Wise left the game after just 10 snaps with a head injury.

— Langi and Butler each played 24 snaps but failed to generate pressure. They have three more preseason games to prove themselves.

— Rivers led the Patriots in generated pressures but certainly didn’t dominate the Jaguars’ offensive linemen. He played 36 snaps.

PASS COVERAGE
CB Cyrus Jones: 3-4, 150 yards, two TDs
CB Kenny Moore: 1-2, 19 yards
CB Jonathan Jones: 1-3, 17 yards
LB Elandon Roberts: 2-2, 15 yards
CB Justin Coleman: 1-1, 11 yards
LB Brooks Ellis: 1-1, 9 yards
S Damarius Travis: 1-2, 7 yards
S Jason Thompson: 1-1, 4 yards, 44-yard DPI
DE Derek Rivers: 1-1, 4 yards
LB Trevor Bates: 1-1, 4 yards

— The glaring performance above is that of Cyrus Jones. He wasn’t helped out much by safety Jordan Richards on either of the long touchdowns he gave up, however. Jones should have been able to either stick with his man down the sideline or catch up to make a tackle. Jones also missed a tackle on an 11-yard reception.

— Rookie cornerbacks D.J. Killings and Will Likely both played sparingly but were not targeted.

— The Patriots didn’t get their hands on any footballs despite playing against some subpar quarterbacks.

PASS PROTECTION
OT LaAdrian Waddle: sack, QB hit, three hurries
OL Cole Croston: three hurries
OT Conor McDermott: sack, hurry
OT Cameron Fleming: two hurries
G Jamil Douglas: two hurries
OL James Ferentz: two hurries
QB Jimmy Garoppolo: sack
TE Jacob Hollister: QB hit

— It was notable to see Waddle spend so much time at left tackle while Fleming played on the right side. Fleming actually played well when asked to fill in for Nate Solder at left tackle last season. Waddle didn’t fare too well Thursday night.

— Offensive linemen Ted Karras, Jason King and Max Rich played but didn’t allow any pressures. Karras was on the field for 45 snaps.

— Garoppolo essentially sacked himself by sliding early while fleeing the pocket. Hollister allowed the QB hit when he chipped a pass rusher before heading into the flat as a receiver.

PASS ACCURACY
Jimmy Garoppolo:
1. Out of bounds to Devin Lucien
2. Wide to Hollister
3. Thrown into double coverage and broken up
4. Thrown away out of bounds toward Sam Cotton
5. Drop by Dion Lewis
6. Thrown wide to Austin Carr

— Garoppolo went 22 of 28 and showcased impressive accuracy throughout. Only four of those incompletions were either inaccurate or a poor decision. He’s learning from Tom Brady that throwing an incompletion out of bounds is a lot safer than throwing one in the middle of the field.

Jacoby Brissett:
1. High to Lucien
2. High to Hollister
3. High to K.J. Maye
4. Out of end zone to Lucien
5. Out of end zone to Carr

— Brissett was a little wild, completing 8 of 13 passes for 88 yards. All five of his incompletions were inaccurate, and all of them were overthrown. Brissett admitted after the game that his adrenaline might have gotten the best of him. He has to harness that. Now in his second year, adrenaline should be no excuse.

Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images