What to Watch For: Bears vs. Patriots Preseason Game 2
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
What to Watch For: Bears vs. Patriots Preseason Game 2
See the Slideshow Below
The second game is will provide a second look at Jimmy Garoppolo after he had some success in his first preseason game against the Saints.
Will Brady see the field? It seems unlikely given Belichick's comments prior to camp starting and again earlier this week.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"The priority is Jimmy, all the players are important but he is the priority," Belichick said in the press conference.
On a side note, Brady only has 16 days left before his suspension begins.
Position Battles Taking Shape
As training camp has gone on, position battles have started to take shape all over the depth chart.
One of the most notable ones is on the offensive line, specifically the center position where David Andrews and Bryan Stork are vying for the starting job.
Meanwhile, the running game has struggled thus far in practice and in the last game. Blount has struggled just to get back to the line of scrimmage at times and Dion Lewis is still out.
Gaffney has been seing reps with the ones in practice, will that translate into tonight's game?
Lastly, could this be a chance for Aaron Dobson to break through? given the Patriots injuries at the wide receiver position, he will get alot of looks tonight.
For more on those topics and other things to watch for, see the slideshow below.
5 Things to Watch for in the Patriots Preseason Game vs. Chicago
Aaron Dobson
The Patriots receiving core is banged up right now which is opening the door for Aaron Dobson to make a big push for a roster spot.
Dobson has had his fair share of ups and downs over the last couple of seasons. Much of Dobson's failure has been linked to injuries.
When healthy the Patriots have great depth at the receiver position so Dobson is going to need a big push to guarantee himself a roster spot.
Butler vs Jeffrey
While it is only preseason, the practices between the Patriots and the Bears have been quite physical and have resulted in fights and players being ejected.
Most notably, Patriots' cornerback Malcolm Butler was thrown out of practice on Monday after getting into a fight with Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. Jeffery was also taken out of practice, but stayed on Chicago's sideline the remained of practice.
If Butler and Jeffery matchup tonight, there could be some fireworks.
Besides Butler and Jeffery, the Bears have some big wide receivers, making for interesting matchups with the Patriots smaller secondary.
Offensive Line
After the way last season ended, the offensive line is a major concern. Everyone is seemingly feeling good that the offensive line will return to historical greatness with the return of long time coach Dante Scarnecchia. Let's hope that Dante's magic takes hold soon.
The line was less than impressive in the first preseason game against the Saints.
The biggest thing to watch is the center position and who gets what reps. Right now, second year player David Andrews has played most of the reps with the starters while Bryan Stork has struggled to get on the field. He is battling another concussion this preseason.
In practice earlier this week, Stork was thrown out by Belichick for throwing a punch at a Chicago Bears player.
The other player to watch on the line is Nate Solder who got burned a number of times in the first preseason game. Solder missed almost all of last season with an injury and the preseason Saints game was his first game back.
Blount/ Running backs
The Patriots have alot of running backs on the roster and so far in this preseason they have not exactly impressed.
Blount is leading the way in the not impressing category. In the first preseason game, Blount had 9 carries for 20 yards. Of those 20 yards, 12 of them came on one play.
This week in practice, it was Tyler Gaffney who saw reps with the ones instead of Blount. Will that translate to the game?
James White will see play time, while Dion Lewis remains out as he is still recovering from his ACL surgery.
The Patriots need the running game to work, especially early this season when Garoppolo will need help.
Jimmy Garoppolo
The bright lights are back on Jimmy Garoppolo now in his second preseason game after going 11 of 18 for 168 yards in the first game against the Saints .
This week practicing against the Bears, Garoppolo had an up and down week, he found success throwing to Julian Edelman but in other cases he struggled to get rid of the ball on time.
Accuracy, not turning the ball over (which he did successfully in game 1) and avoiding bad throws or bad decisions (like running one way and throwing back across your body) are all things to continue to look for in these preseason games.
