The issues on the offensive line loomed large throughout the night.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, right, talks with teammates on the bench in the second quarter of an NFL preseason football game against the New Orleans Saints in Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012.FOXBOROUGH – Tom Brady stood on the Gillette Stadium sideline after the New England Patriots' second series of the game and proceeded to give an earful to the rest of the offense.
He had seen enough. His first series of the game ended with him on his back watching the New Orleans Saints scurry after a lose ball, and the second never had a chance to get started.
The outcome of the game -- a 7 -6 Patriots' victory -- did not matter by that point. New England entered the game wanting to learn about its offensive line, and by the time Brady finished playing all of his 19 snaps, the 35-year-old quarterback had all the data necessary to make an assessment.
The offensive line is in need of work.
"There's a lot of things that we can learn from tonight," coach Bill Belichick said. "Obviously a lot of things we need to work on, but we'll keep plugging along and hopefully we can build on tonight."
With guards Logan Mankins (knee), Brian Waters (excused/did not report), and tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back) out, the Patriots were forced to go to battle with a patchwork line made up of (from left to right) Nate Solder, Donald Thomas, Dan Koppen, Dan Connolly and Marcus Cannon.
The first hint of trouble on the line came after the Saints were whistled for encroachment while fielding a punt -- a play during which linebacker Dane Fletcher suffered a torn ACL -- that gave the Patriots new life.
But New England was unable to capitalize. Koppen and Brady had an awkward center/quarterback exchange and left tackle Nate Solder was whistled for holding. Two plays later, right tackle Marcus Cannon, who has been standing in for Vollmer, allowed Saints defensive end Will Smith to sack Brady (4-for -7 , 30 yards) and force a fumble.
New England's next drive was submarined before it started after Cannon was whistled for a procedure penalty and Solder was again caught holding.
"It's just learn and move on," Solder said. "I think it's a building process, always trying to get better, work better together and make plays."
Wide receiver Deion Branch, defensive linemen Ron Brace and Jonathan Fanene were among the 20 players who did not dress for the game.
Branch, who is part of the highly contested battle at wide receiver, has not participated in team drills since Aug. 1. Spikes returned to practice on July 31 after missing the early portion of camp while recovering from offseason knee surgery, but he apparently suffered a setback and has not been on the field since Sunday.
As poor as the offensive line appeared at times Thursday, rookies Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower provided enough highlights on the defensive side of the ball to offset any immediate feelings of dread.
Both first-round selections during April's draft, Jones started at defensive end and Hightower began the game at outside linebacker. He slid into the middle after Fletcher's injury.
Jones made an immediate impact and obvious impact. On the second play of the game he chased Saints quarterback Drew Brees (1-for -4 , four yards) out of the pocket and forced him to throw the ball away.
He then singlehandedly killed New Orleans' third drive by drawing back-to-back holding penalties on Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod.
Jones played most of the first half and finished with two tackles
Hightower's impact was less obvious, but he showed a consistent ability to get to the ball and was always around the action. He finished with four tackles.
"He's like six inches taller than, so he's got the length in his arm. He's got all the tools," defensive end Rob Ninkovich said of Jones. "For him, now, it's just studying who he's going against and fine tuning."
The same could be said for the rest of the Patriots.