FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- After review of the New England Patriots’ 30-28 win over the Detroit Lions in preseason action Friday night, a three-up, three-down look at which players’ performance was “up” and “down:”
UP
Adam Butler: The undrafted free agent defensive lineman from Vanderbilt showed up early in the game with disruptive penetration and backside pursuit against the run. His early playing time in the game reflects how the coaching staff continues to evaluate him for a spot on the initial 53-man roster, and the 6-foot-5, 300-pound Butler appears to be making the most of the opportunity. He has some solid physical traits to potentially harness, and with a strong performance in the final preseason game, he could lock down a spot.
Marcus Cannon/Shaq Mason: The impact of these road-grading offensive linemen in the running game kept showing up. When the Patriots needed to get a tough yard, they more often than not followed the right tackle/right guard combination. That was true on Mike Gillislee’s 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter (Rob Gronkowski and James Develin also helped the cause) and Gillislee’s third-and-1 conversion in the second quarter. Most of the pressure quarterback Tom Brady faced came from the other side of the line of scrimmage.
Chris Hogan: He totaled four catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns, all of which were team-highs, as he showed up as a factor in the short, intermediate and deep parts of the field. His work along the sideline was also notable as Brady kept a play alive with his feet and rolled to his right to find Hogan coming back to the ball. Tough catch and well done. The only blemish, it seemed, was Brady’s long interception late in the second quarter on a throw into the end zone in Hogan’s direction as Hogan seemed to pull up on his route. Whether that was on Brady or Hogan is unclear, but it was uncharacteristic to see.
DOWN
Trevor Bates: The first-year linebacker from the University of Maine was penalized twice on special teams (although it was unclear on TV if the second penalty was actually on him), got caught too far inside on a 12-yard run (12:13, third quarter), and appeared to be calling the defensive signals when the unit didn’t seem to be set initially on an 18-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter. In a decision that could be related to that, he didn't return to the field for the following series.
Cameron Fleming: Filling in at left tackle, he played a team-high 45 offensive snaps and had three plays that stood out as notable pass-blocking miscues that could have put the quarterback in harm’s way. He is strong in the running game (e.g., Gillislee's 27-yard run), and the Patriots won the 2016 season-opener with Fleming at left tackle, but his best fit is probably on the right side.
Jordan Richards: Playing a team-high 43 defensive snaps, the third-year safety was closer to the line of scrimmage for a good portion of the game as the Patriots worked on some different sub-packages. He showed his nose for the ball to recover a first-quarter fumble, but lands in this spot for not wrapping up running back Dwayne Washington on an 18-yard catch-and-run touchdown, and for losing his footing on a 14-yard catch by Ameer Abdullah late in the first quarter.