10 things we learned

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On Football: 10 Things We Learned Last Night
By Christopher Price
BPB.com Staff
There are 10 things we learned from last night's Patriots-Saints preseason game — a 37-27 win for New Orleans — in no particular order:

1) There appears to be nothing physically wrong with Tom Brady. After a minor blip — his first pass of the preseason was picked cleanly by New Orleans safety Dwight Smith — he looked smooth, completing five of his next nine passes while guiding the Patriots' first team offense to 10 points. He finished 6-for-11 with 105 yards and one interception. Afterward, there was no sleeve on the arm and no ice pack on the shoulder.

2) Brace yourself for plenty of mock "quarterback controversy" talk today on WEEI, as Doug Flutie pumped some life into an otherwise slow preseason game — in his first three plays on the field, New England scored a pair of touchdowns. His finest moment of the night came late in the second quarter when he sailed a 29-yard touchdown pass down the near sideline for wide receiver Jason Anderson. For a preseason game, it was as big a moment you were going to get. Flutie finished 3-for-4 with 52 yards and one touchdown.

"I was excited about getting back on the field and playing," Flutie said afterward. "It was nice to make a couple of plays, but within this offense, I still have a long way to go."

3) In the absence of Tedy Bruschi, safety Rodney Harrison appears to be more than willing to pick up the "Full Tilt, Full Time" mantle. The veteran safety had an interception in the second quarter when an Aaron Brooks pass deflected off Chad Scott. The interception set up a three-yard touchdown run by Kyle Eckel on the next play, giving New England a 17-10 lead. However, his biggest play came early on when he absolutely flattened Saints tight end Ernie Conwell deep in New Orleans' territory, a crushing hit that left the crowd cheering.

4) It hasn't quite reached Defcon One status, but it's clear veteran linebacker Chad Brown is struggling. He swung and missed at three running plays in the first half, allowing double-digit pickups by the Saints Deuce McAllister on each occasion. (If it was a preseason game, New Orleans would have been wise to keep running at Brown.) He played the entire first half, but it was clear there were some issues. The position bears watching, at least for now.

5) In that vein, it's interesting to note that Bruschi and Roman Phifer still have their nameplates above their lockers. Bruschi's locker still has his gear — including his shoulder pads — in plain sight. The more interesting of the two is Phifer, who has reportedly kept the lines of communication with Belichick open. If Brown plays like he did last night, Phifer may be back sooner rather than later.

6) Top pick Logan Mankins started at left guard, and was part of an offensive line that didn't a meaningful sack. There's a continuity that's starting to develop between Mankins and the rest of the veteran offensive linemen, a big part of creating a successful offensive unit.

"It's very important," said Mankins of continuity. "Everyone has to know what the other guy is doing. You have to trust the guy next to you. Offensive line is based on consistency. You have to block your guy every play, and when you mess up, it shows on film."

7) With David Terrell, P.K. Sam, Bethel Johnson and Chad Morton sitting out for a variety of reasons, wide receiver/returner Tim Dwight helped his cause immensely with an impressive night. He returned one kick 19 yards, and in addition, he had a pair of first half receptions, including a sweet 45-yard pickup from Brady on New England's second series of the night. He also displayed a nice feistiness, getting in the face of Saints' players twice on the evening.

"Tim's a football player. He has the ability to make big plays. I think he's a little underrated as a receiver. He's been a great kick returner his whole career," said Flutie, who played with Dwight in San Diego. "I think the world of him."

8) Another player who performed well on special teams — and defense — was rookie Ellis Hobbs. The undersized rookie cornerback (who appears to be in the Tyrone Poole mold) had a 14-yard sack on the first series of the second half, and returned a second quarter kickoff 53 yards. He wasn't with the starting defense, but saw time at corner throughout the second half. He did botch a play late in the third when he gambled and lost, going for a pick on a quick out from Aaron Brooks to wide receiver Devery Henderson and coming away with nothing. Henderson took advantage of the miss, scampering 34 yards for the score. Regardless of the error, he bears watching — of the rookies, he drew the largest postgame crowd of reporters.

"My job was to make the team, and we're still trying to do that right now," Hobbs said. "Every opportunity that I get, regardless if it's on kickoff returns, on punt returns, defense, I'm just trying to go out there and make plays. I'm not worried about one specific thing."

9) The two nicest moments of the evening came when Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky appeared on the video screen, prompting a warm round of applause. It became a full-on cheer when he flashed his World Series ring. The second moment came in the second quarter when ex-Patriot running back Antowain Smith made his first appearance on the field with the New Orleans offense, sparking a nice hand from the crowd.

"I heard the ovation and I really appreciated it," Smith said. "They gave me a little love, and it felt good."

10) Bill Belichick takes great pride in the Patriots' special teams skills, and it sticks in his craw that New England was at the bottom of the league last year in punt coverage, kickoff coverage and punt return. Last night — against a special teams' unit that Belichick called "really very strong" — the Patriots had plenty of positives, including the fact that 18 of the first 22 plays the Patriots' ran were in Saints territory. The special teams was above average, but there's still room for improvement, according to special teams' captain Larry Izzo.

"There were some good plays and there were some bad plays. We just have to keep getting better," Izzo said. "There are things we can work on, individually, and as a group. We just have to get back to work. We have a lot of work to do."