The New England Patriots rested their starters for the team’s preseason opener against the New York Giants on Thursday. Coach Bill Belichick gave a reason for that decision on Monday, as the team shifts its focus to the second week of the preseason.
Players such as quarterback Bailey Zappe and wide receiver Tyquan Thornton made the most of their opportunity and had a legitimate impact on the game. Zappe went 19-of-32 on the evening, throwing for 205 yards and a touchdown.
Thornton had a strong outing as well, scoring a touchdown in the first quarter. The wide receiver finished with two catches on both of his targets for nine yards and the touchdown. This game was a showcase for rookies and reserves, as the Patriots continue to assess the depth they have at each position.
Coach Bill Belichick talked to the media prior to practice and gave his reasoning for resting his starters, per NESN’s Dakota Randall.
“Well, the players that played a lot in the game did less in some of the practices leading up to the game, and the players that played less in the game or didn’t play at all in the game, did a lot more,” said Belichick. “So, I think when you look cumulatively, over, call it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, which actually we have — the volumes are pretty close. So, some guys played a lot in the game, but really didn’t get a whole lot of practice reps.
“Now, they did in the stadium practice, where everybody got a lot of reps in, so those were split up pretty evenly. But from that point on, I would say the overall number is sort of the same, but some of the numbers were a lot higher in the game, some of the other numbers were a lot higher in practice. Both in terms of number of plays and actual volume of what the player did, I think it balanced out. Not perfectly, but it balanced out.”
It will be interesting to see what lineup the Patriots put out in their second preseason game against the Carolina Panthers. The second game could prove to be a big one for the starters, with only one preseason match left following Friday’s game.
New England was able to see what they had for depth last Thursday, and it gives them something to build on as they finish out the preseason slate.
