Felger & Mazz On: Preseason Game #3

Felger & Mazz dissected last night's Patriots pre-season game against the St. Louis Rams. Both expressed serious concerns about the Patriots' defense heading into this season. How much does this one game really mean moving forward?

Felger: "Last night they were awful...More often than not, they play well in pre-season week 3. It's a week they take seriously, it's been an indicator of what kind of team they're gonna have. That's why I don't think last night means nothing. I think it means something. Is it five percent of what they're gonna be? Thirty percent? Is it an awful harbinger? It doesn't mean nothing, because the problem they had last night they had the last two regular seasons...Yeah, [Brandon Meriweather] pops guys- after the catch and an eight-yard gain. To me, he's an overrated player to this junction in his career. He thinks he's the man, that University of Miami sort of stank-ass attitude that I got zero use for, and he really doesn't make that many plays."

Mazz: "I don't put a lot of weight into any of these pre-season games. I came into this year having concerns about the defense. I still have concerns about the defense. I had concerns about the defense before last night's game. So last night didn't really alter my perception at all...Does last night's game discourage me? Nope. Did the first two games encourage me? Nope. It's a young defense, with an additional question that they didn't have a month ago because of the Ty Warren injury. Do I have concerns about their ability to stop teams with weapons, once they start playing for real? Hell yeah! I've had that from the very beginning...Bradford picked them apart. The defense was atrocious, all across...I'm starting to feel bad for Wilfork. Because I'm getting the feeling that without help on either side, he's going to get the crap beat out of him."