FOXBORO, Mass. — The
New England Patriots’ lone joint practice of training camp was a rough one for the offense. The defense held its own, sure, but the offensive output was bad enough that it threatens to overshadow whatever positive the defense might do this season.
But that was just one practice against the talented
Philadelphia Eagles. Surely, the offense spent all Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday hearing from coaches about what it lacked and ways to improve. Now the Patriots will take that to the field and aim to deliver a better showing in their second of three preseason games, which also happens to be the one in which teams generally play their starters the longest.
Given all of that, Thursday night’s tilt at Gillette Stadium against the Eagles will be an important measuring stick for the Patriots. Here’s what I’ll be watching in the game:
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The offensive operation
OK, by this point, we know the Patriots’ offensive talent isn’t great. This is not going to be an above-average unit.
Given that, the last thing coordinator Alex Van Pelt and company can afford is to be frequently penalized, putting themselves in second- and third-and-long situations. New England just doesn’t have the talent to overcome flags that move the ball back.
Yet that’s exactly what has happened so far. The offense committed four penalties in the first 17 plays of the preseason game against the
Carolina Panthers. Against the Eagles, three different members of the starting offensive line (
Mike Onwenu, Chukwuma Okarafor and
Sidy Sow) committed false starts while adding holding infractions and an offensive pass interference. The group also had to re-huddle once after a miscommunication.
It was already going to be a struggle for this offense to consistently move the ball, and it will be even harder if it’s regularly forced back due to penalties.
Thursday night, even if the offense doesn’t thrive, I just want to see if the Patriots can put together a clean couple of series, limiting penalties and silly mistakes.
Drake Maye’s performance
Coach Jerod Mayo heard the criticism of the team’s handling of
Drake Maye in the preseason opener, letting him play just six snaps against the Panthers. So Mayo said he’ll have a different plan this time around.
The guess here is that Maye will get around two full quarters. That’ll offer a much clearer picture of where the rookie stands.
Plus, part of the allure of Maye as a prospect is his athletic ability, and that’ll be interesting to monitor Thursday as he’ll likely have to scramble a fair amount, especially given the offensive line performances we’ve seen so far. Which leads us to …
Offensive line play
The offensive line had the worst practice I’ve ever seen from a front five against the Eagles on Tuesday. Whatever they’re trying isn’t working — not in the run game and certainly not in pass protection.
The players know it was bad. The coaches know it was bad. So how do they respond? That’s what we’ll see Thursday night.
On a deeper level, I’m curious to watch three players in particular.
The first is
Vederian Lowe. He’s been the clear weak link among the starters despite serving as the first-string left tackle for the last week. He needs to be better.
The second?
Caedan Wallace. If Lowe is going to be replaced in the starting lineup, it would likely be by Wallace, the rookie third-round pick. He hasn’t been good enough to earn a starting job, but at the same time, the dropoff from Lowe to Wallace doesn’t seem significant, and Wallace is the player with higher upside you envision starting for the long term.
Finally, I’m keen to see how
Layden Robinson fares. The fourth-round guard did pretty well in the preseason opener, but Mayo said Robinson still has a long way to go. If he can play well, the Patriots could consider moving him to the starting right guard spot while kicking Mike Onwenu outside to tackle to solidify the major weakness there (even if Onwenu is slightly lesser as a tackle).
A No. 3 wide receiver
Demario Douglas and
Ja’Lynn Polk had good training camps. If they can stay healthy, they’re reliable targets and should play fairly significant roles.
But with
Kendrick Bourne seeming likely to miss the start of the season, the Patriots need another wide receiver to step up.
K.J. Osborn is the one who’s likely in line for the biggest role behind those two, but that spot certainly isn’t settled after a mediocre camp.
Tyquan Thornton has played well but has struggled to translate his camp success to the regular season.
Javon Baker has had some nice moments but has been inconsistent. Same for
Jalen Reagor.
Kayshon Boutte is probably on the wrong side of the roster bubble right now, but like all these receivers, he should get plenty of chances Thursday to move up into that No. 3 receiver spot.
Which cornerback steps up?
The concern for the Patriots isn’t how the top end of the cornerback depth chart looks, but rather whether it can stay healthy.
Marcus Jones is injured once again after missing 15 games last year.
Jonathan Jones, who has managed to stay healthy early in his career, is entering his age-31 season, dealt with ankle and knee injuries last year and is sidelined again.
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The Patriots feel reasonably good about the depth behind them with
Marco Wilson and
Alex Austin. Wilson will probably get the first chance Thursday, likely with the starters. But how they play could go a long way toward determining which of them is the first cornerback off the bench once Jonathan Jones is healthy.
