MORSE: What to Watch for in Final Patriots Pre-Season Game

What am I going to look at in Sunday’s Pre-Season finale versus the Washington Commanders?

First off, Head Coach Jerod Mayo said that “anyone that is healthy will play on Sunday”. The first unit needs work. Jacoby Brissett has not been sharp in the 1^st two Preseason games. Last week he led an opening drive down the field, only to throw a horrible interception at the goal line that was returned 47 yards setting up Philadelphia for a Field Goal. Not only didn’t they get the 3 points or more on their own, but gave up field position, giving Philly a short field and 3 points.

Offensive Line remains the #1 problem for this team. Vederian Lowe, who coaches praised for making so much progress in camp, appears to have a back injury that will keep him out of the game Sunday. This needs to be monitored as this will force them to play players at Left Tackle they don’t want to. Chuks Okorafor has not played well trying to move from the Right Side to the Left. Rookie Caeden Wallace is trying to make a similar move from Right Tackle and he has had difficulty making the transition. Risky move by Eliot Wolf and the Patriots brain trust drafting a player that has played nothing but Right Tackle in his 5-year college career and try and switch him to Left Tackle. Wolf was unprepared for the run on Left Tackles in the 2^nd round. They were left empty handed. It was known before the draft that they liked Wallace, but they had Michale Onwenu at Right Tackle.

The injury will force another shift on the line. Expect Mike Onwenu back at Right Tackle, Layden Robinson, who has been the top-rated OL in the Pre-season per Pro Football Focus (PFF), at Right Guard. David Andrews may start at Center but will quickly give way to Nick Leverett. Andrews has some minor injury that will limit his playing time. Sidy Sow at Left Guard and Chuks Okorafor at Left Tackle. Vederian Lowe has missed the practices this week and will be held out. Caeden Wallace will play with the second unit at both tackle spots. Liam Fornadel will again be the 3^rd Center. He has had trouble with the exchange and has had a mis-snap every practice.

Quarterback There is no QB competition. Brissett is the starter and Maye the backup. Maye has been improving steadily through camp. Brissett has had two bad pre-season games. I expect that Brissett might get two series before getting lifted. I hope that Maye gets some run with the 1^st team Offensive line. It’s very unusual that the #1 QB plays in this last pre-season game, but the Patriots starting unit needs reps together. Would like to see Maye follow up his last outing versus the Eagles with another solid performance. Keep in mind that Maye is facing inferior competition in 2^nd and 3^rd team players. He is struggling with pre-snap reads and if he is forced to play, will see blitzes he has never seen before. My hope is that he doesn’t have to play at all this season.

Wide Receiver This has become quite a competition. Ja’lynn Polk has established himself as the #1 receiver. Not far behind is Pop Douglas who has had a very good camp. The other starter (drum roll) Tyquan Thornton. Yes, I wrote Tyquan Thornton. AVP loves his ability to get deep. The question is whether he has developed the Receiver skills needed to battle DBs for the ball. KJ Osborn has been making a late charge for a roster spot. On the other hand, Kayshon Boutte and Javon Baker have experienced a downturn. Baker will make the team based upon his draft position. Boutte makes some great catches, but he has come up with the dropsies in practice. Reagor is right in the thick of it and has special team kickoff return ability. Two of the three will make it. It may come down to how they play Sunday night.

Defensive Line They have been dealt a big blow with the blood clots to Christian Barmore. He will start the year on IR and may not be back at all this year. Mike Purcells was cut this week in what I thought was a big surprise because he is the only DL besides Godchaux to have the size for NT. Detrich Wise has not played well and his spot may be in danger. Armon Watts has been invisible. I thought he would tale Lawrence Guy’s spot. Jeremiah Pharms has been the #1 DL so far in camp. He looks to be a starter in Barmore’s spot. Dan Ekuale has been steady and good on the pass rush. I don’t think Sam Roberts has the size to make it a DL. Trysten Hill has been showing flashes. He was a high draft pick of Dallas (2019 #2). He has the size at 6’3”, 310 pounds.

CB/S There are several battles going on here. Looks like Isaiah Bolden and Shaun Wade are battling for the same position. Same with UDFA Dell Pettus and veteran Josh Bledsoe. So far it is Pettus that has the edge. He has just been balling out in practice and he really hits in the games. All four players are expected to play in Special Teams. Azizi Hearns was torched in practice but played very well in the two games. Looks like Jaylinn Hawkins will start at Free Safety, allowing Dugger and Peppers to wreak havoc from the hybrid LB/SS position. Marco Wilson and Alex Austin are battling for the top backup spot at CB. Marcelleus Dial has cut himself with poor play in the two pre-season games.

Kicker It’s all going to come down to this game. Joey Slye has been the better kicker but its close. Chad Ryland will need to perform well in the game Sunday to keep his job. Either way, whoever wins the job will be on a short leash.

Edge William Bradley-King has been playing well lately and is making a push as an edge player. Josh Uche was nicked up and unable to practice, opening the door for Bradley-King. Let’s see how he plays. I don’t expect Keon White to play much Sunday. Bradley-King, Oshane Ximenes and Christian Ellis should get plenty of playing time.

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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