6 rings and football things: kadlick's crucial clashes
There’s a lot going on this weekend not only across the entire NFL, but in Foxborough specifically.
The defending NFC champions are in the house, Tom Brady is making his (second) return to Gillette Stadium since he left for Tampa Bay, and Patriots QB Mac Jones begins an all-important third season ... with a third offensive coordinator by his side.
Like I said, a lot is going on.
To make things easier for both New England's opener vs. the Eagles as well as for the rest of the season, I'm introducing 'Kadlick's crucial clashes' as a way to keep an eye on three key matchups in each contest. Here they are for Sunday:
- Jalen Hurts vs. Patriots' defense
The Patriots are expected to have a top-of-the-line defense in 2023-24 led by guys like Matthew Judon, Kyle Dugger, and Ja'Whaun Bentley. Sunday is their first chance to prove it.
They'll be thrown right into the fire against Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who led the Eagles to a 14-1 record in games he started in last season while compiling 35 total touchdowns.
Just a season ago, New England’s defense gave up just 20.4 points per game (good for 10th in the NFL), was second in the NFL with 30 takeaways, and led the league in defensive touchdowns with seven. There was, however, a line in the sand.
When the Patriots played against the likes of Mitch Trubisky, Jared Goff, Jacoby Brissett, Sam Ehlinger, Zach Wilson, Colt McCoy, and Teddy Bridgwater the Patriots allowed just 11 points per game and just 201 passing yards per game.
However, in games against Tua Tagovailoa, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Fields, Josh Allen, Kirk Cousins, Derek Carr, and Joe Burrow, they allowed 29 points per game and 255 passing yards per game.
I’d put Jalen Hurts, the runner-up to the NFL’s MVP award last season, in the second category.
How will the Patriots handle him? While they did have two linebackers in Judon and Josh Uche who both put up 11+ sack seasons last year, they’ll have to blend said pass rush with containment of the QB as a runner (Hurts rushed for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2022) if they want to have success this weekend. This will rely on discipline from their second level defenders in Bentley and Jahlani Tavai as well.
- Patriots offensive line vs. Eagles defensive front
The Patriots’ offensive line has been their achilles heel all summer. With injuries to Trent Brown, Mike Onwenu, Cole Strange, David Andrews, Conor McDermott, and Riley Reiff throughout training camp, New England has simply not had enough time to gel as a unit in front of Mac Jones.
To make matters worse, they'll now have to go up against the league's best pass rush in the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
In my informed opinion, here's how I think they'll try to temper it:
LT - Trent Brown
LG - Cole Strange
C - David Andrews
RG - Mike Onwenu
RT - Calvin Anderson
It looks serviceable - until you come to understand that Anderson missed the entirety of training camp due to an undisclosed illness.
While the tackle sounds excited, blessed, and ready to get back on the field, his true first action being against the likes of this Eagles front seven probably isn't the best way to integrate him into a new season.
Built on the backs of Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham, and Josh Sweat, Philly led the NFL in sacks in 2022 with 70, only the fourth to do so in NFL history. They also have the likes of Nakobe Dean and Zach Cunningham at linebacker to worry about as well.
New England has their work cut out for them. This matchup is what could make or break the win/loss column on Sunday.
So how will they handle it? Bill Belichick said it best on Monday with WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show:
"We're going to have to play really good team offense,” he explained. “I don’t think there’s any one person that can stop their aggressive front and pass rush. We're going to have to do a good job of, of course, blocking them, but also getting open. Getting the ball to the receivers who are open quickly. Can't stand back there and hold the ball all day. We know that, everybody knows that. That’s a combination of pass protection, receivers getting free, and the quarterback getting them the ball.”
This brings us to our third matchup: receiver’s and DBs.
- Patriots wide receivers vs. Darius Slay, James Bradberry
One of New England’s biggest needs this offseason was an upgrade at the wide receiver position. Their fix? Signing former Chiefs (and Steelers) pass-catcher JuJu Smith-Schuster, whose last game just so happened to be a Super Bowl win against the Philadelphia Eagles - and cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry.
Smith-Schuster performed well against not only one of the better cornerback duos in the NFL, but also one of the better overall secondarys. He hauled in seven catches for 53 yards on nine targets and also drew what was arguably the game-winning penalty against Bradberry on a whip route.
During his weekly appearance with WEEI’s Jones and Mego, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones spoke about how the former Chiefs receiver has helped them in their prep for Philly this week:
“Anytime he’s on film, just asking him what he saw, what was the play, what were they telling you to do here,” the signal-caller told the show. “All that stuff helps. It doesn’t have to be him necessarily, it can be another veteran, but JuJu has a great wealth of knowledge, obviously like you said played against and stuff, but it’s a new year and just tying to take in what he says as a veteran player. I always appreciate that as a quarterback.”
Smith-Schuster's experience against the Eagles isn't the only thing New England will use to help them this weekend, however. The key for Bill O'Brien's offense to beat this Philly secondary will be mismatches - and the OC has the tools to find them. Pass catchers like Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki, and Demario Douglas all have the ability to play on the outside, in the slot, and perhaps even in the backfield - a trait that will help Mac Jones and co. diagnose the right guy to go to (hopefully quickly) and give them a fighting chance to score back-and-forth points with this Eagles offense.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
Related
