We’re almost a the end of the week, and her’es a look at this morning’s top stories.<\/p>\n
Preseason Schedule Announced<\/strong> – The NFL announced the schedule for the 2018 preseason on Wednesday, and this year’s schedule will include three games against the NFC East, including a couple of teams that Patriots fans likely won’t be thrilled to see again.<\/p>\n The Patriots will start out the preseason at home against Washington in week one, followed by a battle against the Eagles at home at Gillette Stadium.\u00a0 The latter match-up will be hyped as a Super Bowl rematch, but it’s safe to say that it will be anything but given the significant\u00a0difference in the stakes compared to February’s game.<\/p>\n In Week three the Patriots will travel to Carolina to take on the Panthers, followed by a trip to MetLife Stadium to take on the Giants to close out the preseason.<\/p>\n Exact dates and times have still yet to be determined, but the estimated dates are as follows:<\/p>\n Week 1: Washington (Home) August 9-13 The one consistent match-up that Patriots continue to be saddled with is the final preseason game against the Giants, which is a team New England faces every year in the final week of the preseason.\u00a0 New York is riding an 8 game winning streak in the preseason against the Patriots, with New England’s last win coming back in 2009 when they put up 38 points in a 38-27 home victory.<\/p>\n 2017 – HOME – Loss – Giants 40, Patriots 38 In that game, Brian Hoyer got the starting nod and finished the night completing 18-of-25 for 242 yards and a touchdown, but it was a 29 carry, 125 yard rushing performance by BenJarvus Green-Ellis that ended up being the difference as Green-Ellis scored 3 touchdowns that night, two of which came in the fourth quarter.\u00a0 They also got points on defense thanks to then-defensive\u00a0back Brandon McGowan, who picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown.<\/p>\n As a result, fans can at least focus on rooting for the Patriots scrubs to be better than the Giants’ scrubs to hopefully put an end to that streak.\u00a0 But if not, they can shrug it off and hope that everyone at least gets out healthy as they start all over again in their quest to get to Atlanta next February.<\/p>\n Patriots Showing The Most Interest in Jackson – <\/strong>The Patriots obviously need a quarterback heading into this year’s draft and it appears that they really like Louisville’s Lamar Jackson.<\/p>\n According to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, the Patriots have shown the most interest so far in Jackson, with New England among a crowded group vying for his services.<\/p>\n Tom Brady seems to be a fan of Jackson, recently replying to an instagram post and commented to Deion Sanders, calling Jackson “a beast”.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/ByKevinDillon\/status\/984271350725533696<\/p>\n One thing that’s interesting is the fact the Patriots have been doing the\u00a0most due diligence scouting the QB position that they’ve done in recent memory, with Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal pointing out that so far, the team has been connected to at least a dozen quarterbacks.\u00a0 That’s the most they’ve scouted since they drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014 after being connected to 14 different QBs during the scouting process.<\/p>\n To put that number in perspective, the Patriots were connected to 11 quarterbacks in the past two drafts combined. The last time they talked\/watched\/visited with this many QBs pre-draft was in 2014 when they were connected with 14.<\/p>\n — Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) April 11, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nWeek 2: Philadelphia (Home) August 16-20
\nWeek 3: Carolina (Away) August 23-26
\nWeek 4: New York Giants (Away) August 30-31<\/p>\n
\n2016 – AWAY – Loss – Patriots 9, Giants 17
\n2015 – HOME – Loss – Giants 12, Patriots 9
\n2014 – AWAY – Loss – Patriots 13, Giants 16
\n2013 – HOME – Loss – Giants 24, Patriots 6
\n2012 – AWAY – Loss – Patriots 3, Giants 6
\n2011 – HOME – Loss – Giants 18, Patriots 17
\n2010 – AWAY – Loss – Patriots 17, Giants 20
\n2009 – HOME – Win – Giants 27, Patriots 38<\/p>\n\n