Patriots' defensive coordinator hoping to 'dominate' Eagles in joint practice
Published in Football
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots are about to learn a lot about themselves on Tuesday morning.
The Philadelphia Eagles, who own one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, are coming to Foxborough for one joint practice with the Patriots before Thursday’s preseason game.
So, if the Patriots are looking for a test nearly three weeks into training camp, they’ll get one this week.
“Looking forward just to compete against another team, one, and then to see the guys against different matchups,” defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington said Monday before practice. “Because we’ve been going against our team for the past couple weeks, and to get another team to come in here and practice against them and to see who is able to do different things in the matchups. They have a well-rounded team up front, in the running backs, the quarterback position, same thing with the receivers. It’ll be good for our guys to have that level of competition to see who can fill those voids or can help contribute to our defense this season.”
The Patriots are currently ranked last in over/under win totals at 4.5, based on Vegas odds. The Eagles are ranked tied for third at 10.5. So, on paper, there’s a serious dichotomy in overall talent between the two rosters.
Covington’s unit must face off against players like quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley, wide receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith and offensive linemen Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson and Landon Dickerson, all of whom rank among the best at their positions.
“So, hopefully we come out and dominate. That’s what we’re looking for, being completely honest,” Covington said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, go out and dominate. We’re trying to compete at a high level and trying to execute, work on our fundamentals and technique, most importantly. And then we’re trying to make sure that we — again, we’re going against another team, so hopefully we jell together as a team offense and defense and special teams and work together.”
The offense’s job won’t be much easier, facing off against defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit with Bryce Huff, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Josh Sweat up front and Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and rookie first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell in the secondary.
“Excited to get another team in here, a contender team to go up and see where we land vs. these guys,” quarterback Jacoby Brissett said. It’ll be good work on both sides of the ball. I’m excited for that.”
The Patriots’ defense has outperformed its offense so far in camp. We’ll find out Tuesday if the defense has consistently won because they’re so talented or if they’re facing a weak group. We’ll also learn if the offense has struggled based on talent or competition.
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