The participant many Patriots followers are most excited to see Sunday retired this offseason and final performed a house recreation at Gillette Stadium almost 4 years in the past.
Tom Brady will definitely carry pleasure to the hometown crowd. But for the primary time in 22 years, he received’t be crucial participant on the sector.
Instead, these 4 gamers will probably be key in deciding the Patriots’ matchup in opposition to the Eagles.
QB Mac Jones
If Jones performs as poorly as he did in 2022, then fairly merely put, the Patriots don’t stand an opportunity in opposition to the defending NFC champions. And Jones has his work minimize out for him.
Bill Belichick has careworn the truth that the Eagles have essentially the most ferocious go rush within the NFL. They compiled 70 sacks, misplaced Javon Hargrave however gained Jalen Carter within the first spherical of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Jones has performed behind a banged-up offensive line all summer season. He’s expressed confidence within the group. We’ll discover out if he’ll nonetheless be pumping up his blockers by Monday morning throughout his weekly interview with WEEI.
Jones not solely must be extra correct and higher at stopping errors, he additionally should play across the stress that his offensive line will inevitably leak into the backfield. The Alabama product was one of many NFL’s worst passers below stress in 2022. He was significantly better in that regard as a rookie.
To succeed Sunday, Jones should face the stress, evade it and proceed to make spectacular throws with Eagles defenders respiration down his neck.
LT Trent Brown
It’s unclear what the Patriots’ beginning offensive line will truly appear like on Sunday. But we do know that, barring something unexpected, Brown will probably be at left deal with and David Andrews will probably be beginning at middle. If wholesome, Cole Strange (knee) and Mike Onwenu (ankle) will probably be manning the left and proper guard spots. Right deal with is the true thriller with Calvin Anderson, Vederian Lowe, Sidy Sow and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. all serving as imperfect choices.
Anderson spent almost all summer season on the non-football sickness checklist. Lowe and Wheatley had been acquired through commerce final week. And Sow is a rookie who spent almost all of his school profession at guard.
So, Jones ought to put much more religion within the participant defending his blind facet: Brown.
Brown will primarily be spending his time blocking Josh Sweat, who rushed off of the best edge for many of his snaps final season. Brandon Graham, who break up his time between the left and proper edges final season, will probably be blended in, as properly. The proper deal with’s main concern will probably be Haason Reddick.
All three gamers had over 50 complete pressures and 11 sacks final season.
CB Christian Gonzalez
The Patriots’ 2023 first-round decide is about to be thrown into the hearth as a 21-year-old rookie. The crew wanted a tall cornerback to match up with greater broad receivers, and that’s what Gonzalez will probably be tasked to do in opposition to 6-foot-1, 226-pound A.J. Brown and 6-foot, 170-pound Devonta Smith, each of whom had been 1,000-yard wideouts in 2022.
One of the explanations Gonzalez fell to the seventeenth general decide within the draft was his perceived lack of physicality. That makes him a greater choice to cowl Smith. But there’s no cornerback on the roster with higher measurement, velocity and stature to cowl Brown than Gonzalez.
So, we’ll discover out if Gonzalez’s physicality is an issue early within the 2023 season.
He ran cold and hot this summer season. There had been occasions when he matched up properly in opposition to contested-catch maven DeVante Parker, and he asserted himself properly in opposition to Packers broad receiver Christian Watson in joint practices.
But he was additionally beat handily at occasions by Patriots receivers — together with an undrafted free agent like Thyrick Pitts — at occasions this summer season.
Don’t count on Gonzalez to be excellent as a rookie. But the Patriots might want to depend on him, and he’ll be solid within the fireplace by the litany of high broad receivers the Pats play this season.
S Kyle Dugger
Devin McCourty is gone, and it nonetheless looks as if the Patriots’ main plan to interchange him will probably be a free safety-by-committee with Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Jalen Mills and Jabrill Peppers, amongst others.
Pass rush is vital. But defending the deep half of the sector and inflicting turnovers may be much more paramount in opposition to quarterback Jalen Hurts and his spectacular set of go catchers, which additionally consists of tight finish Dallas Goedert.
Dugger has seven interceptions and two fumble recoveries over his final two seasons. He scored three defensive touchdowns final season, two coming off of pick-sixes and one other from a scoop and rating.
He must carry that play-making ingredient from wherever he’s taking part in Sunday. And that may embody some snaps in McCourty’s outdated place.
Source: www.bostonherald.com