With a host of new players and still a lot of work to be done, the question heading into Friday night's first exhibition is whether or not Patriots fans will see a larger dose of Tom Brady than in years past.
While Bill Belichick likely won't talk about it, it seems that he's let Eagles coach Chip Kelly what his plans are. According to Jeff McClane of Philly.com, Kelly explained after Tuesday's workout that Belichick revealed Tom Brady and the Patriots first team probably won't be playing much on Friday night in the preseason opener.
The reason seems to be the two teams are comfortable taking advantage of these joint sessions, using it as an opportunity to get real work in more of a controlled setting.
On Wednesday they spent time getting some work in the red zone as well working on their vertical passing game. Those are things that are obviously a little tougher to simulate during a game, so that's the reason these joint practices are so valuable.
The news isn't exactly shocking, as this follows the blueprint of how they've done things in past seasons. They've had a string of solid practices over the last week, so this could be a sign that Belichick is relatively pleased with where they're at to this point.
They'll hold one more Thursday before squaring off Friday night, although it appears the Tim Tebow fans may finally get a longer look at their guy. That should at least make the 4th quarter a little more interesting than it may have been in previous years.
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