Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells used to famously say that NFL teams are what their record says they are.
But, in August, there are no records. All teams are 0-0 at this point, relative equals. Right?
So theoretically the Patriots are on a level playing field with an Eagles team that they unfortunately literally shared a practice field with this week in a joint workout session in Foxborough.
The revealing reality of the joint practice action was simple. To steal another legendary coach’s famous words, the late, great Dennis Green might appropriately be screaming from atop the media hill alongside the Gillette Stadium practice field that the Patriots “are what we thought they were!”
New England simply doesn’t measure up to a Philly squad with high-end talent all across its roster and legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.
The Eagles have an MVP-caliber QB in Jalen Hurts. The Patriots have a lackluster journeyman veteran at the spot in Jacoby Brissett who’s not having to do much to hold off No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye, who looks like he’ll be ready to start later rather than sooner.
Philly fields weapons and playmakers all across its offense, led by truly elite and imposing No. 1 wide receiver A.J. Brown, who was the best player on the practice field this week and it wasn’t particularly close. New England has a bunch of plucky, scrappy, competitive targets trying their best to prove their worth as both individuals and a competitive corps.
Right on down the line – and certainly on the offensive line -- Eliot Wolf’s collaboratively collected roster of talent pales in comparison to the squad from the City of Brotherly Love.
Save for New England’s defense that tried to put up the good fight, led by a defensive line that did its best to make Hurts work for what the got on the practice field, the Patriots showed who they are this week. It was likely a representative preview of things to come this fall for a team with a formidable schedule loaded with teams looking to make some postseason noise this coming winter.
The Eagles are a top-5 NFL team heading into the 2024 season. The Patriots are headed toward picking in the top-5 selections in the NFL Draft once again.
Even Jerod Mayo, who simply asked his team to “compete” in its work with the Eagles, seems to know it.
“The expectations for that team are pretty high compared to where our expectations are – from the outside looking in,” Mayo noted.
New England fans clearly know it as well. While the first 13 practices of the summer were lightly attended by Foxborough standards, the joint practice with Philly saw by far the biggest crowd of the summer. Fans lined Rt. 1 all the way down the Bass Pro Shops. To see NFL stars. To see a high-end team. To see a Super Bowl contender.
To see the Eagles.
There was a time when the Patriots were an annual NFL measuring stick. A program built up as the barometer for success. A team that others utilized comparatively to figure out their own lots in football life.
Heck as recently as this time a year ago there was hope in New England that double-digit wins were still a realistic goal. That there was enough talent to get the job done. That a good enough defense was good enough to overcome whatever shortcomings exist on offense.
Not anymore.
That was on full display this week on the practice fields, Captain Obvious style.
The Eagles are currently one of the NFL haves. The Patriots among football’s have-nots.
As another former sideline boss in these parts used to put it, it is what it is.