Butler, new corners tested early
FOXBORO — If the Patriots wanted to test their new group of cornerbacks against the best, then they picked the perfect opponent for a preseason opener.
In a year where the Pats will have to replace cornerbacks like Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Kyle Arrington and Alfonzo Dennard, the first offense to break in the new-look pass defense was that of the Green Bay Packers and All-Everything quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
And while it would be foolish to draw any grand conclusions after such a small sample size, this much-scrutinized unit held its own.
Maybe in a regular season game, things are vastly different. Certainly, last season when the teams met, Rodgers & Co. had their way against a much more highly decorated unit. But if the early returns mean anything, last night was an encouraging sign for a position group that has everything to prove heading into the 2015 season.
Rodgers played the entire first quarter, and while the Packers moved the ball well at times, the cornerbacks had a strong showing.
The leader of the group during training camp, Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler, continued to look like the top player at the position for the time being. On the game’s first drive, Rodgers targeted Butler’s receiver three times and completed just one pass.
On one of those passes, Butler provided close coverage on receiver Davante Adams and broke up what would have been a touchdown on the right side.
Earlier on the drive, on the game’s first play, Butler took away Rodgers’ first read and Chandler Jones then came in and made a sack. Butler also defended Adams well on another incompletion and only allowed a 10-yard completion to Adams on the drive.
Butler came out after that series, and although he only played a handful of snaps, it was a promising sample. If nothing else, it serves as a continuation of a training camp where Butler has been one of the most consistent performers on the team.
Outside of Butler, Robert McClain, Darryl Roberts and Bradley Fletcher all played a significant amount of snaps on the opening drives. For the most part, they acquitted themselves well, too. However, Logan Ryan had the lowlight when Jeff Janis burned him on a second-quarter touchdown pass from Scott Tolzien.
It bears note, too, that the corners did not have great help at times. Although the Patriots made two first quarter sacks on Rodgers, the Packers quarterback also had several plays where he had seemingly all day to throw. Also, Green Bay averaged 5.1 yards per carry in the opening quarter.
But outside of a 16-yard completion to Randall Cobb on a drive that resulted in a field goal, Rodgers did most of his damage after that first drive with passes to his tight ends and running backs against linebackers, particularly Jonathan Freeny.