Looking forward to Game 2 of the Pre-season Thursday night (7:30) against the Philadelphia Eagles. \u00a0After two spirited joint practices, it will be interesting to see how the Patriots come out and play.\u00a0 The Eagles physically dominated the first practice, with both Jalen Hurts and Joe Flacco carving up the secondary.<\/p>\n
N\u2019Keal Harry vs Kristian Wilkerson<\/strong> – \u00a0This has become the biggest battle in camp.\u00a0 Harry has put together two good practices while Wilkerson has developed a case of the dropsies.\u00a0 On Tuesday, Harry benefitted from a heavy dose of Red Zone work.\u00a0 This is where he excels.\u00a0 He was 5 for 5 against the Eagles, some of which were starters.\u00a0 We need to see Harry targeted in other places on the field, in non- Red Zone areas.\u00a0 Might this be the week?<\/p>\n Mike Reiss pointed out that N’Keal Harry played out of the slot in the Red Zone.\u00a0 This made me look into a comparison between N\u2019Keal Harry and Aaron Hernandez as a slot\/TE hybrid.\u00a0 Interesting?<\/p>\n Harry<\/strong> \u2013 6\u20192, 228 lbs, ran 4.53 40 at the combine.\u00a0 His vertical jump was 35.3\u201d and he lifted 27 reps at 225 lbs, ran a 7.05 3-cone drill at his Pro Day.<\/p>\n Hernandez<\/strong> 6\u20192 245 lbs, ran 4.64 at Pro Day.\u00a0 His vertical was 33\u201d, he didn\u2019t do the weight lifting and ran a 6.83 3-cone drill.<\/p>\n Harry created quite the mismatch.\u00a0 It will be interesting if we see him in this position on Thursday night since the Pats are short on TEs.\u00a0 Could this be an avenue for Harry to make the team?\u00a0 Keep 3 TEs (Henry, Smith Asiasi) and an extra big WR that can block downfield?<\/p>\n Cam Newton vs Mac Jones<\/strong> – Most of the attention in camp has been focused on Newton vs Jones.\u00a0 Unless Jones starts to get reps with the 1st<\/sup> team, then it\u2019s no contest.\u00a0 Newton is the starting QB.\u00a0 Jones did get a sprinkling of 1st<\/sup> team reps and acquitted himself well (except for one bad INT). \u00a0He then reeled off a streak of 11 completions to end the day. \u00a0This showed that Jones is learning from his mistakes (He is a rookie and will make mistakes) can bounce back and not make the same mistake twice.\u00a0 Newton was 13 of 15 (with a drop by Wilkerson) on the day and Jones 13 of 14.\u00a0 Unless we have shocking results in the game Thursday night, Newton will be the starter.\u00a0\u00a0 Jones has learned the playbook and played well, but just not significantly better.\u00a0 However, if Newton comes out of the gate slow at the start of the regular season, Jones will get his opportunity sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n Newton was being ridden hard by Eagles’ 2nd-year\u00a0backup Safety K\u2019von Wallace, calling him the \u201cCheckdown King\u201d.\u00a0 Mike Reiss put it into perspective.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the defense was giving him and he took it.\u00a0 Philly was playing mostly zone and packing the end zone to prevent a score.\u00a0 I would relate the same thing about Mac Jones last Thursday night when Washington wasn\u2019t giving much downfield and Jones needed to throw the underneath stuff.\u00a0 He made the right decision and that\u2019s what the coaches are looking for.\u00a0 If he completes the throws that is nice, but not as important as making the right read.<\/p>\n Injuries begin to mount <\/strong>\u2013 <\/strong>This according to Jeff Howe of the Athletic –<\/strong> CB Jon Jones (first absence), TE Matt LaCosse (first absence), TE Troy Fumagalli (waived-injured to get to 85), TE \u00a0Jonnu Smith (second consecutive absence), DB \u00a0Myles Bryant (third consecutive absence), \u00a0Anfernee Jennings (sixth total absence), WR Tre Nixon (third consecutive absence), DT Lawrence Guy(third consecutive absence), TE Hunter Henry (fifth consecutive absence), LS \u00a0Joe Cardona (fifth consecutive absence), K Nick Folk (eighth consecutive absence), QB \u00a0Jarrett Stidham (PUP), CB \u00a0Stephon Gilmore (PUP), LB Cam McGrone (NFI), LB \u00a0Terez Hall (PUP), S Josh Bledsoe (NFI), DT \u00a0Byron Cowart (PUP).\u00a0 We are down to one true TE, Devin Asiasi, and FB\/TE Jakob Johnson for Thursday night\u2019s game.<\/p>\n Look for a heavy dose of Christian Barmore<\/strong> on Thursday.\u00a0 Lawrence Guy is out injured and Barmore has slipped into his starting role.\u00a0 I was critical of the Barmore selection in the draft, but everything I have read and heard indicated that Barmore has lived up to the expectations that come with the 1st<\/sup> DL drafted in the 2021 draft.<\/p>\n The D line as a whole was off against Washington.\u00a0 The WFT O-Line is not spectacular and they dominated the Patriots last Thursday.\u00a0\u00a0 That was mostly against the 2nd<\/sup> teamers.<\/p>\n Philadelphia Preview <\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Offense <\/strong>\u2013 It starts and ends with QB Jalen Hurts.\u00a0 The 2nd<\/sup> year Pro will have the reins to the offense.\u00a0 Once Carson Wentz was traded, Hurts became the #1 QB.\u00a0 All reports have been positive that Hurts has taken control of the team and will run the show.\u00a0 If you remember, Hurts was the all-everything QB at Alabama in 2016, but lost the National Championship game.\u00a0 In 2017 he didn\u2019t let that happen again.\u00a0 In 2018 he lost the starter’s job to Tua Tagovailoa.\u00a0 He subbed in for Tagovailoa in the SEC Championship game and led Alabama to victory.\u00a0 He transferred to Oklahoma in 2019 and had another terrific season finishing 2nd<\/sup> to LSU’s Joe Burrow for the Heisman trophy.\u00a0 He is no slouch.<\/p>\n Joining Hurts in the backfield will be Miles Sanders and Boston Scott.\u00a0 Sanders, when healthy is one of the top backs in the league.\u00a0 A true 3 down back.\u00a0 However, Scott often subs in in passing downs and is a proficient receiver and blocker.\u00a0 Philly had health problems in the backfield last year and ranked 30th<\/sup> in the league for healthy RB.<\/p>\n The Offensive Line was beset with injuries last year.\u00a0 They were the worst in the league to maintain their health and not missing time.\u00a0 This season they are leaning on seasoned veterans again.\u00a0 Three starters are 31 or older and that does not project well.\u00a0 The draft brought OC Landon Dickerson from Alabama.\u00a0 However, Dickerson is a risk having had 4 of 5 seasons in college ended early by injuries (2 ACLs, 2 Ankles).\u00a0 He is pushing 33 yo Jason Kelce who signed a one-year contract.<\/p>\n The Eagles WR were worse than the Patriots WRs last year.\u00a0 I am not making this up.\u00a0 This is according to CBS NFL analyst Warren Sharpe.\u00a0 They were also very unhealthy last season ranked 30th<\/sup> for WR\u2019s health.\u00a0 Jalen Reagor is expected to bounce back in year two and have a big year.\u00a0 Rookie #1 draft pick, Alabama WR DeVonta Smith will give Hurts a lightning-quick WR to throw to.\u00a0 I hope to get to see both in action on Thursday.<\/p>\n TE\u2019s Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert are a formidable duo to deal with.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see how the secondary (Dugger, Phillips) and linebackers deal with this double-headed monster.<\/p>\n Defense \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Eagles front 7 is anchored by the older duo of DT Fletcher Cox and DE Brandon Graham. \u00a0It was reported that Shaq Mason and Trent Brown played them tough and neutralized them in Tuesday\u2019s workout.\u00a0 That should be something to watch Thursday night.\u00a0 Also, look for some payback to Philly DE Derek Barnett who took a real cheap shot on TE Matt LaCosse on a crossing route.\u00a0 On the play, Cam Newton led LaCosse right into the hit.\u00a0 Newton has a tendency to hold onto the ball and wait for receivers to clear defenders.\u00a0 That was the play LaCosse was hurt on.<\/p>\n The secondary is led by CBs Darius Slay and Steve Nelson.\u00a0 Avonte Maddux is the slot corner that N\u2019Keal Harry burnt this week in practice.\u00a0 Safeties are Kvon Wallace and Anthony Harris.\u00a0 Wallace is the mouth that has been taunting Newton during practices.<\/p>\n Rookies \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n DeVonta Smith WR Alabama is a dynamic player and one to watch.\u00a0 DT Milton Williams from Lousiana Tech had phenomenal numbers at the combine but his play on film didn\u2019t show his athleticism.\u00a0 RB Kenneth Gainwell Memphis is a good receiver out of the backfield.\u00a0 He was targeted 61 times last year at Memphis with 26 of those targets coming from either the slot or out wide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Looking forward to Game 2 of the Pre-season Thursday night (7:30) against the Philadelphia Eagles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":37546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-news"],"yoast_head":"\n