5 Takeaways From the Patriots 17-16 Preseason Win Over Carolina

Reggie Wayne

Newcomer Reggie Wayne played in the game for the Patriots after signing with the team on Monday and arriving in New England on Tuesday. 

Wayne played 12 out of a possible 27 snaps in the first half and dropped the only pass that he was thrown.

Wayne looked a bit lost at times in the Carolina game, which is to be expected given that he just got to New England.  

The next week of practice will be crucial for Reggie Wayne to get caught up and get on the same page with Brady and other recievers. 

Brady/ 1st team offense

Tom Brady and the first team offense played the entire first half against Carolina and for 28 minutes of it, things were not going well.

However, with two minutes to go in the first half, the offense finally got it going. Brady went 5 of 6 on the drive finding Danny Amendola on a big play over the middle and then finding tight end Scott Chandler in the endzone. This marked Brady's first touchdown pass in the preseason.

Overall, Brady went 7-of-13 for 84 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions with 18 yards rushing.

The 1st team offense has really not looked good the entire preseason but it is important to keep in mind that Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski and Brandon LaFell, still on PUP, have not played at all.

Jimmy Garoppolo

After a great game last week against the New Orleans Saints, Jimmy Garoppolo looked a bit shaky against the Carolina Panthers. 

In his first couple of drives to start the second half, Garoppolo threw two passes that should have been intercepted but were dropped. Against a first team defense, they would have been interceptions. Both passes were a result of poor decision making on Garoppolo's part. 

Garoppolo did bounce back with some positives as he lead the team to another come back win and threw a nice touchdown pass to Dion Lewis. 

Overall, Garopplo went 13 for 17 for 126 yards and a touchdown on the night. He also ran for 18 yards. 

James Develin Injured

Brown grad and Patriots full back James Develin caught a pass and then was knocked to the ground  early on in the fourth quarter. When Develin got up he was unable to put any pressure on his right leg and immediately went back down to the ground. 

After being on the ground for a few minutes, Develin was put on a cart and taken off the field.

Several members of the Patriots team and head coach Bill Belichick came over to see him before he was taken off. That is usually not a good sign.

If Develin is out for any significant amount of time this would be a huge loss for the Patriots as Develin is critical on third and short situations whether its blitz pick up and blocking, catching a pass or running the ball. 

This would be a big loss. 

Patriots Defense

There is no choice but to feel good about the Patriots defense after this game against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. 

New England held Carolina's first team offense to just six points (two field goals) in the first half and only gave up 16 in the game. 

The defense got pressure on Newton and a couple of sacks, one by Dominique Easley who was very visible throughout the night. 

Devin McCourty did not play primarily corner in this game, those duties went to Tarell Brown and Malcolm Butler. Against the Saints last week, McCourty played corner back the entire first quarter. 

Jerod Mayo saw his first game action since coming back from injury. Mayo only played the first quarter but moved around really well and was in on a couple of tackles. This is an important season for Mayo as he had to restructure his contract (to a more team friendly deal) in order to stay on the team. Mayo has been injured each of the last two seasons.