Patriots Beat Giants 17-12 in Final Preseason Game
Friday, August 31, 2018
GoLocalWorcester Sports Team
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Patriots beat Giants 17-12 |
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New England Patriots closed the preseason out with a 17-12 win over the New York Giants on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Starters for both teams did not see any action in the game.
“The guys really did a good job, they went out and not only played offense and defense, but in the kicking game as well. It was a good warm night so I thought they showed up well. I think I learned a lot about them, I mean we will look at the film, but I think I learned a lot about these guys,” said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in his post-game press conference.
New England finishes the preseason with a record of 3-1.
Patriots Hold Off Giants
Trailing 6-3 at the half, Patriots rookie quarterback Danny Etling found Ralph Webb for a one-yard touchdown in the opening minutes of the third quarter to put the Patriots up 10-6 following a Stephen Gostkowski extra point.
New England would still be up 10-6 late in the fourth quarter when Etling ran 86 yards to the end zone to increase the Patriots lead to 17-6 following a Gostkowski extra point.
“I just took off down the sideline. It was a great job by the running back and the offensive line to sell it and make sure there was no-one there to make a tackle on me. Then I think I looked back about seven times and finally crossed the end zone. That was just a great play by the entire offense,” said Etling after the game.
Etling played the entire game for the Patriots, completing 18 passes for 157 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
He also ran seven times for 113 yards and a touchdown in the game.
The Giants would get a touchdown in the final 48 seconds of the game, but were unable to get the ball back.
Next Up
Saturday, September 1 is the next preseason milestone for the Patriots and all NFL teams.
Rosters need to be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m.
The Patriots open the regular season on Sunday, September 9 when they host the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium.
Game time is set for 1 p.m.
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1.
Charlie and Romeo Factor —The last time the offensive and defensive coordinators left the same year after a Super Bowl — the 2004 Super Bowl — it took the Patriots three more years to get back to the Super Bowl. The big difference now is Tom Brady is 40 years old.
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2.
Gisele Caroline Bündchen — According to press reports, Tom Brady's wife Gisele Bündchen tried to convince her husband to retire from football during this past offseason. After watching Gronk’s concussion in the AFC Championship and then Brandin Cook’s head injury in the Super Bowl, the pressure on Brady will only increase.
According to Sports Illustrated, Bündchen did it by trying to get Brady’s college teammate and friend Jay Feely to help her during a vacation this past spring.
Feely, a retired NFL kicker, told Sports Illustrated, “She was trying to get me to convince Tom to stop playing. She was dead serious.”
Feely says that he told Brady to "play as long as you can."
This news comes after Bündchen said in a May interview with CBS that Brady had suffered unreported concussions.
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3.
Dante Scarnecchia — The Patriots offensive line coach will be 70 years old on February 14. He retired once and was lured back by Bill Belichick. The two-years he was away, the Patriots offensive line was a mess and Brady took a beating. If he goes, Brady’s thought process on retiring may be impacted.
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4.
Emily Kelly — A New York Times opinion piece this past week titled, “I’m the Wife of a Former N.F.L. Player. Football Destroyed His Mind. He chose the sport, but he did not choose brain damage,” is a big impact story.
The piece was written by Emily Kelly. She wrote, “My husband, Rob Kelly, is a retired N.F.L. player. After five seasons as a safety beginning in the late 1990s, four with the New Orleans Saints and one with the New England Patriots, he sustained an injury to a nerve between his neck and shoulder during training camp that ended his career. By the time he retired in 2002 at 28, he had been playing tackle football for about two decades. Rob had no idea, however, that all those years of playing would have such serious consequences.
Kelly’s continued, “He went from being a devoted and loving father and husband to someone who felt like a ghost in our home. For a couple of months one winter he was so depressed and detached, he couldn’t muster up the energy to speak. My questions went unanswered until I simply stopped asking them. The silence was unnerving.”
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5.
Ever More Fragile Relationship Between Brady and Media — Call it the “WEEI pissant factor.” Despite Brady appearing on WEEI for years via a paid agreement, a WEEI host decided to call Tom Brady’s daughter an unflattering name. Brady was less than pleased.
For Brady, this year’s media relationship transformed from a decade-and-a-half love affair to a strained one.
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BONUS
Gronk's Future
Rob Gronkowski may retire. "I don't know how you heard that, but I mean I'm definitely going to look at my future, for sure," Gronkowski said. "I'm going to sit down in the next couple of weeks and see where I'm at."
It is harder to sleep soundly when you don't have your security blanket.