Mike Dussault

My Patty-sense is telling me that we’re getting a skeleton crew tonight, with the important pieces playing just a quarter, maybe more if they’re stinking, but definitely not into the second half.

It would make sense to hold some guys back. Make sure they get the full game day preparation experience, let them have a few snaps and call it a night. As BB always says there’s nothing more important than the health of your team and this next stretch of three games in ten days will be a rough one to navigate.

With that said here are some of the players I’ll be keeping an eye on tonight.

1. Chandler Jones & Dont’a Hightower – I’m putting these two together because I’ll be looking for the same thing out of both of them, another step in their progression. It might be hard to duplicate the success that Jones had against the Saints, but this should be another opportunity for him to get his feet wet with many things he hasn’t see yet. I’m most curious though to see where and how much Hightower plays in sub-packages.
2. Ryan Wendell – over the past week no one has made a harder push for a starting job than Wendell. He’s drawn almost universal praise from those who have been at practice. This Eagle front should be a good test for him. Wendell could give this offense some badly needed versatility on the interior of the line regardless.
3. Defensive Backs – Assuming Tavon Wilson is out this is a chance for some new guys to show what they can do in the Money position. Will Allen had some aggressive plays against the Saints, look for him to be the guy to step in for Wilson. Also curious to see if Ihedigbo and Barrett get some looks there, or Hoodie forbid, Sergio.
4. Brandon Bolden – with the signing of Jeff Demps a spotlight has been ignited on Brandon Bolden and I would not be surprised at all to see him start over Shane Vereen. Not because he’s necessarily better than Vereen, but because the Patriots need to see him with the 1’s to know exactly what he can do. It also doesn’t hurt to spare Vereen a bit for the third preseason game. Bolden needs to prove that he can get the tough two yards, and if he can bust a long one or two it certainly won’t hurt his cause.
5. Ryan Mallet – We kind of know what we have in Brian Hoyer, and he’s probably going to attract some free agency interest next season, so the question that emerges is whether or not Ryan Mallet could be the future at QB after TFB. There’s no question he’s flashed a big arm, but he’s also been woefully inconsistent. There’s still time to iron that all out. But the stage is definitely set for Mallet to really flash what kind of potential he has at some point this preseason. His long term future with the Pats could be significantly affected by his performance over the next ten days.