The Patriots were sleepwalking again until late in this football game when they actually made a game of it.  Matt Cassel had another so-so effort completing 4 of 6 passes for 37 yards.  Matt Gutierrez wasn’t much better completing 5 of 9 passes for 69 yards with 1 interception.  Rookie Kevin O’Connell brought life to the offense when he came into the game.  He completed 3 of 4 passes for 22 yards in this game including a 16-yard TD strike to WR Chad Jackson.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 15 yards (7.5 ypc) and one of his carries resulted in a 5-yard TD run.  BenJarvus Green led the Patriots in rushing in this game with 28 yards on 6 carries (4.7 ypc).  LaMont Jordan also was effective rushing for 27 yards on 4 carries (6.8 ypc) and catching 1 pass for 23 yards.  The Patriots finished up with 80 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 19 passes for 117 yards.  The Patriots only had possession of the football for a stunningly awful 20:10 in this football game!

Linebacker Gary Guyton led the way for the Patriots’ defense in this game with 11 tackles.  Linebacker Victor Hobson and safety John Lynch pitched in with 8 tackles apiece.  The Giants finished up with 159 yards on 43 carries (3.7 ypc) in this game and they also completed 20 of 29 passes for 180 yards.  At least next week the Patriots will be inspired to play hard as they finished a woeful 0-4 in the preseason.

The New England Patriots had another dull effort last night against the Eagles.  Matt Cassel started again for the Patriots and he didn’t look that good completing 8 of 14 passes for 60 yards.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 22 yards last night.  Matt Gutierrez was great late in the game for the Patriots as he completed 14 of 20 passes for 217 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions.  Sammy Morris led the Patriots in rushing last night with 24 yards rushing on 5 carries (4.8 ypc).  C.J. Jones was the Patriots’ leading receiver last night with 70 yards on three grabs (23.3 avg) with a 9-yard TD reception from Matt Gutierrez.  Safety Raymond Ventrone also pitched in on offense catching 4 passes for 49 yards (12.3 avg) last night.  The Patriots finished up with 65 yards rushing on 20 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 34 passes for 254 yards.

NT Vince Wilfork led the Patriots’ defense last night with 8 tackles.  Linebackers Jared Mayo (7 tackles) and Tedy Bruschi (7 tackles, sack) each also played well for the Pats’ defense last night.  The Eagles finished up last night with 110 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 31 passes for 280 yards. 

The Patriots also had huge problems on special teams last night as DeSean Jackson returned a punt 76 yards for a TD and Quintin Demps returned a kickoff 101 yards for a TD against them.  I know it’s just the preseason but the Patriots are just painful to watch when they don’t really care if they win or not.

The Patriots have signed 34-year old center Mike Flynn to a 1-year contract.  Flynn replaces center Dan Connolly who was cut because of his poor play in the preseason.  Flynn started 15 games last season for the Ravens.  He has now played in 134 games (115 starts) in his NFL career all with the Ravens.  This was a very solid player to find just sitting at home so this was an outstanding signing for the Patriots.

The Patriots have released veteran tight end Marcus Pollard.  He caught 2 passes for 17 yards in the preseason but the Patriots wanted to go young at TE.  Ben Watson, David Thomas and Stephen Spach will likely all make the team and get a lot of playing time in a Patriots’ offense that likes to use the TE in the passing game quite often.

The Patriots didn’t show much effort in this football game and they never seem to in the preseason so it’s nothing to be worried about.  Matt Cassel again didn’t show much as he completed 6 of 10 passes for 57 yards.  He also couldn’t handle a bad snap by center Dan Connolly which was recovered by safety Sabby Piscitelli of the Bucs who returned it 24-yards for a TD.  Rookie Kevin O’Connell finished the game and he didn’t play well either.  He completed 6 of 15 passes for 61 yards with 1 interception against the Bucs.  Laurence Maroney led the Patriots in rushing with 15 yards on 7 carries (2.1 ypc) and that is not good.  Wes Welker led the Patriots in receiving in this game with 3 catches for 25 yards (8.3 avg).  The Patriots finished up with 56 yards rushing on 22 carries (2.5 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 25 passes for 118 yards.  It’s hard to watch the Patriots offense in the preseason as they only had possession of the football for 22:02 of this game.

The Patriots also had a dull effort on defense as the Bucs pushed them around with there running game.  Linebacker Jerod Mayo led the Patriots in tackles with 7.  CB Antwain Spain and linebacker Mike Vrabel each had 6 tackles apiece against the Bucs.  The Buccaneers finished up with a stunning 170 yards rushing on 36 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 25 passes for 125 yards.  The Buccaneers had possession of the football for an amazing 37:58 of this football game.  Like I said earlier in this article…..don’t be worried as this was just a preseason game.