How good are the Patriots when they don’t even try to win and they still beat the Giants last night?  Coach Belichick never plays anyone that the Patriots plan on using in a key role in the last pre-season game.  Matt Cassell started the game at QB and he completed 10 of 14 passes for 99 yards.  Vinny Testaverde was the next guy in and he completed 7 of 11 passes for 99 yards with 1 interception.  Undrafted rookie Matt Gutierrez finished up and he also looked sharp connecting on 7 of 9 passes for 48 yards with a TD.  RB Quinton Smith has no chance to make the Patriots’ final roster but he led the way in the running game last night with 14 carries for 46 yards (3.3 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 10 yards.  Fullback Heath Evans also was busy with 7 carries for 16 yards (2.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 8 yards.  WR Bam Childress has a night to remember as he caught 4 passes for 39 yards (9.8 avg) with a TD and he also ran the ball 3 times for 27 yards (9.0 ypc).  WR Kelvin Kight (5 rec, 61 yards) and TE Marcellus Rivers (5 rec, 47 yards) also had solid games for the Patriots.  The Patriots finished up with 95 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 34 passes for 237 yards.

The defense didn’t play that well against the Giants but remember…..the Giants tried to win this game by playing their regulars.  The Giants rushed for 144 yards on 28 carries (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 38 passes for 175 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270830017

The Patriots have signed veteran punter Chris Hanson and they have released Danny Baugher.  Hanson has punted 9 times this pre-season for the Saints and Patriots and he has only averaged 38.1 yards per punt, but, he has pinned the opposition inside the 20-yard line an amazing 4 times.  Hanson was the Jaguars punter last season and he kicked the ball 72 times for 2,920 yards (40.6 avg, 33.4 net avg) and he dropped 20 punts (17.8%) inside the 20 yard line.  Danny Baugher appeared to have a good shot of winning the punting job before the Patriots signed Hanson.  He punted the ball 9 times in the pre-season for the Patriots and he averaged 44.8 yards per punt while pinning the opposition inside the 20 yard line 2 times.

The Patriots punished the Panthers on Friday Night.  Tom Brady was razor sharp as he completed 17 of 22 passes for 167 yards with 2 TD passes.  The other three Patriots’ QBs only completed 5 of 11 passes for 69 yards.  2nd year man Laurence Maroney had a solid game with 15 carries for 58 yards (3.9 ypc).  Fullback Heath Evans was a force as he carried the ball 7 times for 58 yards (8.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and they also caught 2 passes for 19 yards and a TD.  Sammy Morris also got his work in with 7 carries for 27 yards (3.9 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 23 yards.  The Patriots rushed the ball for 148 yards on 36 carries (4.1 ypc) and they completed 22 of 33 passes for 236 yards.

The defense was sharp as they held the Panthers to 57 yards rushing on 18 carries (3.2 ypc).  The Panthers did throw for 222 yards on 22 of 36 passing.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270824029

The Patriots have released punter Tom Malone who punted the ball 2 times in the pre-season for 93 yards (46.5 avg) but both kicks were touchbacks.  This makes Danny Baugher the starting punter for this season.  He has punted the ball six times this pre-season and he has averaged 46.8 yards per kick.  He has pinned the opposing team inside the 20 yard line 2 times and he has also nailed a 70-yard punt in the pre-season.

The Patriots have released Artrell Hawkins.  This was a little bit of a surprise because Hawkins did a decent job last season for the Patriots when pressed into duty.  He played in 14 games (12 starts) last season for the Patriots and he made 71 tackles, defensed 3 passes and had 1 interception.