By John Sarianides

Storyline: After a week of practicing against the Texans in West Virginia, the two teams will play their second pre-season game tonight. The Patriots lost 31-24 to the Jags last week while the Texans lost their pre-season opener to the Panthers 27-17. 

Here are three things to watch for tonight.

1. How Much Will Brady Play? Tom Brady did not play last week so the expectation is he will play at least a quarter tonight. The 40 year old Brady has looked sharp in camp thus far so it will be good to see how he does in live action for the first time this season.

2. How Long Will the Starters Play? Playing the starters can be a tough proposition for coaches nowadays. Between injuries and only one cut down day, coaches have to use the first two pre-season games to evaluate their entire roster. I would only expect the starters to play a quarter tonight. Although with Belichick, you never know. 

3. Defensive End Rotation: The Patriots are thin at defensive end after rookie Derek Rivers tore his ACL. With Rivers and fellow rookie Deatrich Wise out, the Patriots will have a shorter rotation st defensive end tonight. It will be interesting to see how Belichick and the defensive staff manage things tonight. 

Final Thoughts: I am curious to see how much Brady plays tonight. As I said, I would expect him to play at least a quarter. The defense did not play well last week. Tackling and big plays were a problem. The Patriots have plenty to work on. Let’s see what they fixed during their joint practices with the Texans.