The end of the preseason is finally upon us and we’re mere days away from games that actually count. It will be nice to finally put both this preseason and last season’s devastating end behind us.
The fourth preseason game is traditionally the least interesting, often times starters don’t even play more than a series or two. If Tom Brady’s absence from practice Tuesday is any indicator, it’s probably a safe bet he won’t even suit up.
Brady’s been having some fun with the media this week. First, there was his infamous walking cast lying in his locker on Monday. That of course led some (like the Boston Herald) to speculate it might mean his 'deep foot bruise' was more serious than anyone was letting on, despite Brady looking fine at practice.
Then on Tuesday a pair of crutches were lying in his locker and the brilliant beat reporters started to catch on that it was probably Brady messing with them. By Wednesday there will probably be a wheelchair in there. Gotta love a star quarterback with a sense of humor.
Anyway, on to our final Keyz of the preseason...
1. Let's See Gute with the Ones – I’d really like to see Matt Gutierrez get the start and go against the first team defense from the Giants. Cassel has had three games with the ones and unless you've been in cave you probably know he hasn't been so good. Don Banks of SI.com didn't even rank him in his back-up quarterback ratings. “Gute” may be third to last in Banks ratings but he's done pretty well against the backups, so let’s see how he does against top notch competition.
2. Corners Got Back – With the release of Jason Webster the cornerback situation is starting to take shape. Ellis Hobbs, Fernando Bryant and Terrence Wheatley are clearly the top three. After that the picture is a little more hazy. Rookie Jonathan Wilhite just got his first game action last week. Lewis Sanders has been in and out with injuries. With Safeties John Lynch and Brandon Meriweather assured siginificant playing time the Pats might only keep four corners. Look to see who’s playing where and with who Thursday night. The Pats almost always experience injuries at the corner position during the season. Quality depth here is critical.
3. O-line in the Sand – Though Matt Light returned to practice this week it’s probably doubtful that he’ll play Thursday night. But with his return we can be sure that the Offensive Line will just about be back to full strength for the opener. The only question mark will be at Right Guard. With Stephen Neal being put on the regular season PUP list Tuesday, he’s out at least the first six games of the season.
The candidates to replace him: Mike Flynn, John Welbourn and Billy Yates are currently the healthy ones, and Russ Hochstein could be in the mix as well once he returns to practice after being injured earlier in the preseason. Welbourn and Flynn have a lot of flexibility and both could be in the mix. It wouldn’t even be out of the question to see Flynn starting at Right Guard and Welbourn replacing Nick Kaczur at Right Tackle should he be ineffective. Regardless it will be interesting to see how the line plays out, especially at Right Guard. Look to see who’s starting there Thursday night, it could be an indicator of who will be there week one.
4. The Chad Gotta Bring It – It doesn’t sound like Wes Welker’s rib injury is serious but if he even misses one game the Pats are going to need something out of The Chad. He had his best game against the Eagles, but one nice touchdown grab in the preseason doesn’t mean much unless he continues to build on it. Hopefully Welker will be back and ready to go week one and Chad can just relax and play. That’s probably the best recipe for success. It will also be interesting to see if The Chad gets any punt returns like he was before Welker came off PUP.
5. Remember the Super Bowl – I can’t say I’m surprised that there hasn’t been much talk about any sour feelings about seeing the Giants again so soon after they ended the Pats season in February. Of course, you’ll never hear words like “revenge” or “payback” out of Bill Belichick’s team. But I know that just seeing those blue helmets lined up across from them again will be a nice reminder of how 2007 came to a tragic end and should be good fuel on the fire just before the 2008 campaign begins.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 11:18PM 
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