Some bubble impact from last night:
Hoyer made a decent case for himself on the roster. At the very least, he saw time against maybe the league's best defense, and did that with a complete fleet of second stringers. Further, he certainly improved across a full game.
Law Firm again played well.
Nunn stepped right into Slater's spot, and outperformed him at KR. Plus Nunn can contribute on offense. Nunn is a very deep long-shot, but he had a pretty good game.
Wendell was the clear #2 center, starting last night against the top DL in the league. He was the top back-up to Koppen last week. Ohrberger snapped behind him, and speaking of behind, that's exactly where he placed one of his shotgun snaps to Hoyer. The QB nimbly dove on the errant ball. But presumably that time and versatility support Ohrnberger's case at the expense of Yates and Connolly.
I didn't notice enough out of Britt or O'Callaghan to make a guess on whether either did better in their chase of a fourth OT spot.
Smith and Watson were neck and neck in ineffectiveness. Watson did line up in the backfield, showing his versatility. Smith finished the preseason with one catch for three yards. He probably played his way off the team.
Steve Williams played a lot, and had another pretty good game. He's also way down the list, but has been a bit of a pleasant surprise.
I thought it was fascinating that Woods was playing and Guyton was not. A very clear sign of Woods' status right now. All off-season, the refrain to the 'no Vrabel, no OLB's' chorus was 'Belichick obviously feels confident in Woods, just as he did with Cassel.' Well, Woods showed about nothing through three games. But he did have a sack-and-a-half last night. Woods has dropped from the groomed starter opposite Adalius Thomas to guy on the bubble in a very thin LB group. He may have done enough to stay last night.
Another very interesting competition was Eric Alexander vs. Paris Lenon. Hard to see both making the roster. Lenon has lots of experience as a starting linebacker in a corp that needs depth. Alexander is an heir to Izzo as a special teams leader. Both had the very same stats: 4 solo tackles, 1 assist. Neck and neck. Lenon costs almost $400K more. If Slater hits IR, the Pats will be that much closer to the cap limit.
Interesting that Wheatley was not out there, given how much time he missed last year. I guess an indication that he has made the squad, since Love did nothing to outplay him. Also interesting that Chung and Butler were out there gaining experience.
And I guess the Slater has guaranteed a slot, but likely on IR.
