New England opened its 2012 preseason tonight at Gillette Stadium against New Orleans and though the Patriots won 7-6, that's the furthest thing from my mind. The only thing I will takeaway from this exhibition is that linebacker Dane Fletcher is likely done for the season after reportedly tearing his left ACL.
He got hurt playing special teams so if he misses 2012, that means that Bobby Carpenter, Jeff Tarpinian and Mike Rivera all have a better shot of making the 53-man roster. Fletcher is entering his third season and he would have been a valuable reserve since he can play middle linebacker (where he started tonight) and special teams. Still, he had 32 tackles last season in 10 games (5 starts) so he's certainly replaceable. I'm not ripping the guy at all but if he's the biggest injury the Patriots suffer in the preseason, that's great news.
The other guy banged up in the game was wide receiver Britt Davis, who caught a 3-yard touchdown from Brian Hoyer in the third quarter. Late in the fourth quarter, he appeared to hurt his shoulder after a Saints defender fell on it after tackling him to the ground. There is basically no shot that he will make the team so this has no impact whatsoever. Still, I hope he's alright.
Bill Belichick has already given the team tomorrow and Saturday off since they don't play again until Monday, August 20 vs. Philadelphia. That game is back at Gillette and it is the second of four preseason games. Ugh, the real games can't come soon enough. Preseason football is terrible to watch with all the scrubs doing what they do (not much) on the field.
UPDATE 8/13: Ouch, both Fletcher and Davis were waived today by the Patriots.
UPDATE 8/14: Fletcher cleared waivers so he went back to the Pats who put him on IR.
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