It’s rare that preseason games have a lot of meaning behind them, but Thursday night is a big one for the New England Patriots.
There’s obviously still the quarterback competition, but with only one preseason game left until Miami preparation starts, the game against Philadelphia may be the most competitive, real football action the Pats get until that Miami game. The Giants are here for joint practices next week before the game takes place in the Meadowlands, but it feels like tonight is the best chance to get a true evaluation on a number of different things.
THE QUARTERBACKS
We start with the QB’s because it’s still the most interesting thing happening in Boston sports right now besides the epic Red Sox collapse. The reps are important tonight for both guys, but you should be focusing on who Mac Jones plays with. Is he in for an extended period of time with David Andrews at center? Are Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor and N’Keal Harry on the field for most of his snaps, or is it Kristian Wilkerson, Isaiah Zuber and Gunner Olzeweski? Is he handing off to Sony Michel or Damien Harris? Bill Belichick talked at length this week about how much they tell guys not to worry about whether they’re playing with ones and twos, but do we honestly believe that? I sure don’t. If Cam can’t function with the “top” guys and Mac does, whether Belichick likes it or not he may have to seriously consider starting the kid soon.
THE RECEIVERS
Can someone separate themself, please? In the offseason when New England signed Bourne and Agholor, we all expected at least a significant bump in talent compared to Harry and Meyers. So far, there hasn’t been any significant bump in anything. In fact, it’s just one big group of mediocre right now. Agholor has been pretty consistent in camp and both Harry and Wilkerson have flashed in some practices, but Harry no-showed last week against Washington and Wilkerson dropped a touchdown pass that would have automatically put Jones in the Pats’ Hall of Fame. It would be nice to see someone other than Meyers have a big game tonight, especially if the ones get some significant playing time like some are expecting.
DEVIN ASIASI
As the only healthy tight end left tonight, it’ll be interesting to see what he can do both as a blocker and as a pass catcher. I’m most interested in seeing what he can do in the red zone if given the opportunity since both Jonnu and Henry will be the go-to guys down there when healthy. However, given recent history, there’s a chance Asiasi might be thrust into a bigger role this season if one or both of those guys can’t stay on the field. Tonight might be the first real opportunity he gets to flash a bit.
LINEBACKERS
By all accounts from everyone who was down in Philly this week watching practice, Jalen Hurts was tearing up the Pats defense. Now, the secondary is obviously still an issue without Stephon Gilmore (we’ll get to them), but I’m focusing on the linebackers tonight. Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, Josh Uche, the returning Chase Winovich, Anfernee Jennings, and a few others can make life much easier on that secondary if they can contain Hurts and not let him run around. He doesn’t feel like the best pocket passer, so it’ll be a nice early test against a mobile quarterback, something the Patriots defense struggled with quite a bit last year.
THE SECONDARY
Jalen Mills, Joejuan Williams, Jonathan Jones and JC Jackson need to show they can survive without Gilmore. Ryan Fitzpatrick looked far better than he should have last week in a limited sample size, but if the secondary was getting beaten as badly as some said they were in practice this week, then we’re running out of time before we hit the panic button. Gilmore may not be back until the middle of the season and although Jackson has been good throughout camp, both Mills and Jones need to have a better showing against Philly tonight. Joejuan Williams might not even be on the team if he doesn’t improve soon and Myles Bryant – who had a few nice plays early on in camp – has been non existent so far.
QUINN NORDIN
The fantastic story continues. Nordin has a chance to further make his case to earn the job over Nick Folk if he can have a big night in his first test kicking on the road. Folk has slowly watched his job slip away as he’s sat out with an injury and if Nordin can put together one more 3-for-3 or 4-for-4 night and hit his PAT’s the call for Quinn will only get louder and louder from the fan base.
JJ TAYLOR or SONY MICHEL?
I firmly believe JJ Taylor is going to run at least one punt back for a touchdown this year. That means he provides more than Sony Michel does and I don’t think Sony has a path to staying on the roster unless he has a huge night. Taylor not only provides a potential spark on special teams with his quick burst and elusiveness, but he ran pretty hard against Washington, something Sony hasn’t done since the AFC Championship in Kansas City. James White, Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson and Brandon Bolden (yes, because of special teams) are all probably locks, which means Michel’s time as a Patriot may be running out.