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preseason

Patriots 2019 Preseason Set

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The Patriots got their preseason schedule for the summer and it’s about as Pats-friendly as it could get, with matchups against Matt Patricia’s Lions and Mike Vrabel’s Titans in the first two weeks of the season.

There’s quite a few reasons to be excited about this schedule with the obvious one being that the team can go back to using joint practices in early August. They took last summer off from them and got off to a 1-2 start. Communication with Patricia and Vrabel should be seamless and let’s not forget both teams knocked off the Patriots on the road last year.

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Locks, Bubbles and Long Shots: A Post-Draft Pats 53-Man Roster Look

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While roster building is a year-round activity, we can now take a general look at the roster and identify where the most uncertainty and competition will be this summer. You can also see where it might make sense to make an acquisition or two over final cutdown during Labor Day Weekend.

As of right now, I have the locks at 45 before any injuries turn all of this on its head.

Here’s what I got:

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Five Patriots Things to Watch vs. Lions

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The Patriots take on the Lions tonight in their third preseason game of the summer. While there are plenty of players to keep an eye on, it’s important not to get too worked up about what happens tonight (outside of major injuries). Because let’s face it, you’re more likely to hear a Patriots fan praise the work of Roger Goodell than you are to see the Patriots miss the playoffs this season.

Still, the stage is set for plenty of individual players to show what they’ve got and there are still expectations of what we’d like to see from the team before things get real.

Here are five things to watch tonight as the Pats can hopefully get through one final preseason game without a significant injury before turning the page to what is surely shaping up to be a scrubfest next week against the Giants.

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Pats Posits: A Last Minute Drive in Houston Finally Falls Short

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The Patriots and the Texans played a preseason game on Saturday night that came down to the final play, with Jacoby Brissett fumbling what was almost the game-winning touchdown pass.

It might’ve been thrilling if it weren’t the preseason…

But it is the preseason and how this game ended or what the score was matters not. What matters is how well the 2017 Patriots are coming together and who looked good, bad and injured in their second preseason game of the summer.

The headliners? Rex Burkhead‘s arrival, some defensive struggles but with some individual improved performances that could really help, and Stephen Gostkowski putting us all at peace.

Despite some more big plays allowed, I feel pretty good about the team right now after the second preseason game. Elandon Roberts appeared to be the only significant injury, while some of the guys who really needed to start playing well did so.

Of course we got to see Tom Brady play (meaningless, don’t tell him) football, so it was a good day no matter what.

Here’s them Posits as we inch closer and closer to the start of the regular season.

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Five Patriots to Watch vs. Texans

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The Patriots will play their second preseason game of the summer on Saturday night against the Texans, returning to Houston, where they were last seen winning Super Bowl 51.

It’s a good bet we’ll see more of the starters this week after Bill Belichick gave just about every top line player the night off in the first week of the preseason against the Jags.

The headlines for the Patriots, as they are for most teams, are all about overcoming injuries. Nate Solder has been out for a couple weeks, while one of his backups, LaAdrian Waddle had to leave joint practices with then Texans for medical evaluation back in Boston. Rookie left tackle Tony Garcia has also been missing time, leaving just Cam Fleming and Marcus Cannon, two players who should be protected as much as possible.

Tackle isn’t the only spot the Pats are dangerously thin. Defensive end Derek Rivers also had to return home to get his knee looked at and rookie Deitrich Wise continues to recover from a concussion he suffered in week one.

Simply put, the team cannot afford another injury at either of these two vital positions, but they can’t let that stand in their way of setting a baseline of performance against Houston. Between this week and next, the starters will get most of their work in. So it’ll be exciting to finally see some of the top end guys in action.

Here are five players that I’ll be keeping a close eye on.

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The Pointless-iest Game in Patriots History: Five things to watch

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Let me be clear: the 1st preseason game is trash every year for every team. I can only thank God that Troy Vincent is so pathetic at his job that we weren’t subjected to the Hall of Fame game last Sunday night. Sure, it’s a chance to watch humans play a reasonable replication of football and for deep divers (like me) who want to evaluate back of the roster talent it can be interesting.

But rarely is the game itself remotely watchable for more than a quarter because the gameplanning is non-existent, the plays are telegraphed and the execution is bad. And even more rarely do the performances of record have any real consequence in the real world. Anyone remember last year’s Jonas Gray 55-yard TD sprint that all but guaranteed his roster spot and HOF jacket?

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