C2 Sports The Boston Globe FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019
By Jim McBride
GLOBESTAFF
FOXBOROUGH—Tom Bra-
dymadehis 2019debutThurs-
day night and received the
loudest ova-
tion fromthe
Gillette Stadi-
um crowd.
The Patriots’first-string de-
fensealso madeits first ap-
pearance,and theseguys made
all the noise.
No coordinator? No prob-
lem. New England’s defense
put on a stifling first-half per-
formance in an 10-3 win at sti-
fling Gillette Stadium.
The defenseshowedmulti-
ple looksand packages and
kept Carolinaquarterbacks
Cam NewtonandKyle Allen
befuddled and bruised.
Newtonplayed the first se-
ries before leaving with a foot
injury that he most likely suf-
feredrunning for his life from
the likes ofKyle Van Noy, Ad-
am Butler, andMichael Ben-
nett.
“I always thinkit’s how well
you can rush as a group be-
causeit’s not one person,’’ said
Bennett. “There’s the person
who’s pushingthe pocket, the
personwho’s making the quar-
terback step up, so we just have
to continueto growas a group
and that just takes repetition.’’
Newton,also makinghis
maiden 2019 voyage, complet-
ed 4 of 6 passesfor 30 yards
but never looked comfortable
and was plantedtwice (Van
Noy for minus-9yardsand But-
ler for minus-8).
Van Noy explodedoff the
line and flew past a phantom
blockfromtightendChris
Manhertzto drop Newton,
who was in a walking boot af-
ter the game.
As frightenedas Newton
mighthave been,it was also a
scary momentfor Van Noy,
who cameup limpingafter the
sack.After receivingsome
treatmenton the field and a
quicktrip to the blue medical
tent, Van Noy did somerun-
ning and cutting on the side-
line before returning to action.
The Butlersack — and cred-
it the secondary for outstand-
ing coverage on the play — was
Newton’s final play of the
night. He didn’t comeup hob-
bling, but with the way New
England’s defensewas swarm-
ing, Carolina coachRon Rivera
had no reasonto put his fran-
chisequarterback in harm’s
way any longer.
In one featured subpackage,
the Patriots had Bennett,
ChaseWinovich,Dont’aHight-
ower, Van Noy, andJamie Col-
linson the line and revving
theirengines.The Panthers’of-
fensiveline had no answer and
no chance.
Allenwentthree-and-outin
his two first-halfseries(2 of 4
for 11 yards)with the second
comingto an end whenBen-
nett sacked him for an 8-yard
loss.
Bennett was lined up in a
nose position and over-
whelmedMatt Paradisat the
snap,driving the centerback
and into Allen’s kitchen before
knockingthe quarterback
down.
“I thinkwe have a lot of tal-
ent and we’re just figuringout
now what everybody’s role is
and everybody’s buying into
theirrole and that’s the best
part about this defense,’’ said
Bennett.
Carolinamanaged a measly
29 total net yardsover the first
30 minutes,morethan half of
whichcameon threeChristian
McCaffreyrushesfor 16 yards.
Things didn’t get a wholelot
better in the secondhalf as thePanthers finishedwith a paltry
99 total net yardsfor the game.Oddsand ends
Here are someotherthings
that stood out as the Patriots
ran theirexhibitionrecordto
3-0:
RInjuries are inevitable,
and the Patriotshad theirfair
share. Van Noy (returned),Ben
Watson(possible concussion,
did not return),Nate Ebner(re-
turned),DamienHarris(did
not return),GunnerOlszewski
(did not return), andLance
Kendricks(did not return)all
endedup in the medical tent.
Additionally, specialteamsace
BrandonKingneededto be
carted off.
RJarrett Stidhamrelieved
Brady and was 15 of 19 for 134
yards.He was sacked five
times, however. Asked about
the decisionto go with Stid-ham overBrianHoyer,Bill
Belichicksaid,“[We] take a
look at everybody. Brian’s
played a lot of football.’’
RPhillipDorsettmadethe
most of his opportunities,
catching seven passeson as
many targets for 47 yards.
Withseveral bubblereceivers
banged up (Br axton Berrios
andMaurice Harris), Dorsett
has movedto the frontof the
line for the fourth/fifth receiver
spot.
ROlszewski was impressive
as a puntreturnerwithJulian
Edelmanand Berrios out. The
shifty rookie returnedfour for
63 yards,includinga nifty 28-
yarderwherehe showedsome
nice shake-and-bake moves.
RIsaiahWynnmade his sec-
ond straight start at left tackle,
playing the first five serieswith
the rest of the first-stringoffen-
sive linemen.He againdemon-strated the ability to quickly
get his powerful armsup and
on his opponent. He missed
one blockon a Brady-to-
Dorsett screenbut otherwise
was very solid.
RPlaying with the second-
and third-stringers, defensive
endUfomba Kamaluwas very
active with a team-highfive
tackles, includinga 16-yard
sack.
RStephenGostkowskiwas
1 of 2 on field goals, missinga
43-yarderwideleft whenit ap-
pearedJake Baileydidn’t get a
cleanhold.Gostkowski has
misseda field goal in each of
the preseason games.Out of sight
Patrick Chung,who was re-
centlyindicted for felony pos-
sessionof cocaine in New
Hampshire, was not spotted on
Thursday night. It’s unclear ifhis absence was related to the
charges or an injury. “Pat
hasn’t played the wholepre-
season,’’ said Belichick.He also
didn’t practice Tuesday and has
worna red, no-contact jersey
throughoutthe summeras he
recoversfromarm and shoul-
der ailments... On his pre-
gameradio appearance on 98.5
The Sports Hub, Belichicktalk-
ed aboutpunterRyan Allen,
who was released Tuesday after
six years with the team.“I can’t
say enoughpositivethings
aboutRyan. He’s professional.
He’s donea great job for us. I
expect to see Ryan in this
league,’’ said Belichick... Edel-
man (thumb)andDemaryius
Thomas(Achilles’), who came
off the non-footballinjury list
and physicallyunable to per-
form list respectivelythis week,
dressed but didn’t play. Both
were spotted drenchedin
sweat heading to the locker
room after a workout on the
backfield... Berrioswent
througha pregameworkout
under the watchfuleyes of
strength coachMosesCabrera
and receivers/special teams
coachJoe Judge.He evidently
didn’t pass the test becausehe
didn’t dress... Edelmanand
former Patriot turned Panther
Chris Hoganchatted duringthe
initialwarm-upperiod.Hogan
later spenttime with Patriots
offensivecoordinatorJosh Mc-
Daniels... Hogan caughta
hug from Brady at the end of
the quarterback’s length-of-
the-fieldpregamejog...
Scouts fromthe Dolphins,
Steelers,Browns,Rams,Bucca-
neers, Redskins,and Jaguars
wereat Gillette.JimMcBride can be reached at
[email protected].
Followhimon Twitter
@globejimmcbride.It was quite an exhibition by the defense
PATRIOTS
NOTEBOOK
BARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF
Kyle Van Noy got a charge— and a hugelift — fromMichaelBennett’s first-half QB sack.BARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF
GunnerOlszewski(9) averaged15.8 yardson four puntreturnsfor the Patriots.SEPT. 8
PIT
8:20p.m.
NBCSEPT. 15
@MIA
1 p.m.
CBSSEPT. 22
NYJ
1 p.m.
CBSSEPT. 29
@BUF
1 p.m.
CBSOCT. 6
@WAS
1 p.m.
CBSOCT. 10
NYG
8:20p.m.
FOX, NFL NetworkOCT. 21
@NYJ
8:15p.m.
Ch. 5, ESPNOCT. 27
CLE
4:25 p.m.
CBSNOV. 3
@BAL
8:20p.m.
NBCNOV. 17
@PHI
4:25p.m.
CBSNOV. 24
DAL
4:25p.m.
FoxDEC. 1
@HOU
8:20p.m.
NBCDEC. 8
KC
4:25 p.m.
CBSDEC. 15
@CIN
1 p.m.
CBSDEC. 22
BUF
TBA
TBADEC. 29
MIA
1 p.m.
CBSPatriots in 2019
At Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
New EnglandCarolina.................................................^00030703 —3—1 0
SecondQuarter
NE — Develin 1 run (Gostkowskikick),9:52.Drive:
15 plays,85 yards,8:21. NewEngland 7, Carolina 0.
Fourth Quarter
4:52.Car — FG Slye 41, 10:11. Drive: 11 plays,New England7, Carolina 3. 44 yards,
yards,NE — FG Gostkows4:58. NewEngland 10, Carolina 3.ki 23, 5:13.Drive:10 plays,^70
A — 65,878.
FIRST DOWNS.........................................72Car NE 2
Rushing....................................................21 1
Passing....................................................49
Penalty.....................................................12
Third-downFourth-downeff .................eff..............................................2-12... 1-1 10-170-1
Total yards............................................99 316
Total Plays............................................41 72
Avg GainNet yards rushing..........................................................................2.4.....51 129 4.4
Rushes................................................... 17 36
Avg per rush........................................3.0 3.6
Net yards passing............................... 48 187
Sacked-YdsGross-Ydspassing...........lost ...................................................904-42 5-22 209
Completed-Att................................11-20 23-31
HadIntercepted.....................................00
yards-Pass Play..................................2.0 5.2
KickofPunts-Avg.fs-EndZone-.........................TB...................................8-51.92-2-2 4-48.03-3-3
Punts blocked.........................................00
FGs-PATsblocked.............................. 0-0 0-0
Total returnPunt returnsyardage..................................................................56... 3-5 4-63 3
Kickoff returns...................................0-0 0-0
Interceptions ...................................... 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yds....................................9-88 8-80
Fumbles-loPossessionst.............................................................................22:541-0 37:061-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Carolina, Scarlett10-24, McCaffrey3-
16, Bonnafon2-6, Grier 2-5. New England,Brossette
14-53,Michel10-36,Bolden3-21,Harris 2-8, Stidham
3-4, Brady1-3, Burkhead2-3, Develin 1-1.
PASSING— Carolina,Newton 4-6-0-30, Allen 3-6-
0-16, GrierStidham15-19-0-134.4-8-0-44.NewEngland,Brady8-12-0-75,
RECEIVING— Carolina,Bonnafon2-31, Samuel2-
16, Godwinlett 1-8, Olsen2-9, McCaffr1-4, Mooreey 1-10,1-3. NewLevrone 1-9, Scar-England,Meyers
7-74, Dorsett 7-47, Davis2-8, Izzo1-18, Patterson 1-
17, Olszewski 1-15,Kendricks 1-11,Watson1-10,
Burkhead1-6, Anderson1-3.
PUNTRETURNS— Carolina,Godwin 3-5. NewEng-
land, Olszewski 4-63.
TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS— Carolina,Williams6-
2-1, Burns4-0-0, Bradberry5-0-2,Doss3-1-0, Boston 3-1-0,5-0-0, HamiltonKunaszyk4-1-1, Cockrell3-1-0,
Jackson 3-0-0, Smith2-2-0, Blanding 2-2-0,Reid 2-
1-0, Thompson 2-0-0,Elder2-0-0, Norris 2-0-0,Elliott
2-0-0, Carter2-0-0, Obada 1-3-.5, Poe 1-2-.5, Love 1-
Luke0-0, Kuech1-0-0, Parmsly 1-0-0,0-4-0,TeuhemAddisona 1-0-00-1-0, Balla, Haynesrd 0-1-0.1-0-0,
NewEngland,Kamalu5-0-1,Munson 3-1-0,Hall2-
3-0, Pennel2-1-0,Van Noy 2-0-1,Bentley2-0-0,High-
tower 2-0-0, McCourty2-0-0,Sam1-1-0, Harmon1-
1-0, Cowart 1-1-0, Davis 1-1-01-0-1,Williams 1-0-0, Gant 1-0-0,, Butler 1-0-1, BennettGilmore 1-0-0,
Webster 1-0-0,Brooks1-0-0, Roberts 0-2-0,Wise0-
1-0, Howard0-1-0, McCourty0-1-0.
MISSEDFIELD GOALS— New England, Gostkows-
ki 43.Patriots10, Panthers 3Jakobi Meyers, who impressed
in the first two preseasongames
workingwithbackups,had no
successtogether. Meyers
couldn’t snag any of his three
targets from Brady and also was
called for a hold that wipedout a
long run by Sony Michel. One of
the two targets wasn’t totally
Meyers’s fault — Carolina corner-
backJames Bradberry madea
great play to break it up — but
the othersweremissedconnec-
tions,notablyone on thirdand 8
during New England’s first drive.
On that play, Meyers seemed
to give up on his route and got a
talking-to from Brady when they
went to the sideline.
“I think for all of us, you play
with guys that are maybe new to
the offenseand so forth, some-
times they think they’re not part
of the route, and thena team
plays a certaincoverage and
they’re part of the route,” Brady
said.“Earlyin the season,that’s
part of this time of year.”
Meyers said he didn’t find the
exchange with Brady intimidat-
ing, but that it madean impres-
sion.
“I was like, ‘Man, I’m really
getting yelledat by Tom Brady,’ ”
Meyers said.
Brady also threw completions
to running back Rex Burkhead
and tight ends Ben Watson and
Ryan Izzo, who hauledin a gor-
geous 18-yardpass that brought
the Patriotsinto the red zoneon
their third drive. Three plays lat-
er, fullbackJames Develin ran in
the lone touchdown.
“It felt great,” said Izzo, who
spent his rookie year in 2018 on
injured reserve. “Tom throws a
great ball, I was just happy I was
able to make a play.”
That throwto Izzo was Bra-
dy’s last before turning the game
over to Stidham,whosejob was
not to knock the rust off but to
provehimself.
Reflective of that, Stidham’s
situation postgamewas not like
Brady’s. A few minutes after he
cameoff the field,having played
the rest of the game, Stidham
stood, sweaty in the locker room,
still in his jersey. He woreno hat,
uPATRIOTS
ContinuedfromPageC1
but his hair was newly shaved as
evidence of an annual rookie rit-
ual. He was still smiling, happy
the Patriots gave him the nod af-
ter Brady on a nightwhenBrian
Hoyer did not get in the game.
Stidham’s playing time
doesn’t have to be a pure reflec-
tion of hierarchy. The Patriots
knowwhat they have in Hoyer
and need to figure out what they
have in Stidham.But the third
preseason game is considered
the most important becauseit’s
the one where players further up
the depthchart are expected to
play the most.
“We do what we thinkis best
for the team,take a look at every-
body,” coach Bill Belichick said.
“Brianhas played a lot of foot-
ball.”
Stidhamwas 15 of 19 for 134
yards withno interceptions. He
has a tendency to hold the ball
too long, a contributing factor in
the five sackshe took,but is ac-
curate, athletic, and poised.He
said he’d focus on the sacksin
film review.
“There’s definitelysome
things to learn from, whatever
situation it is,” Stidham said.
“That’s one of the things I’m
looking forward to looking at to-
morrow withthe coachingstaff
and just learning how to handle
that situation better.”
His connection with Meyers
was strong. WithStidham in,
Meyers caught7 of 9 passes for
74 yards,a reflection of theirbet-
ter-developed chemistry, as well
as the fact that Meyers was work-
ing against morebackupsthan
starters in Carolina’s defense as
the gamewenton.
The offensecould have been
sharper overall — it scored only
10 points— and werepunished
by penalties.
The takeaway, though,is not
the result. If the third preseason
gameis considereda dressre-
hearsalfor the regularseason,
the Patriots may just have put
their lead and his understudy on
display.Nora Princiotticanbe reachedat
[email protected].
Followheron Twitterat
@NoraPrinciotti.Brady sharp; Hoyer sits
BARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF
Sony Michel,who carried10 timesfor 36 yards,triesto hop out of a tackler’s grasp.BARRY CHIN/GLOBESTAFF
CamNewton,who left the
stadiumin a walkingboot,is
sacked by Kyle Van Noy.