BSNblog

Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots

Friday, 7:30 pm Eastern

The New England Patriots have looked nothing like the team that went undefeated during the 2007 regular season so far this preseason. The Patriots have been without quarterback Tom Brady and he is questionable for this game on Friday. Normally the third game of the preseason is a dress rehearsal for the regular season but the Patriots may not treat the game as such. Philadelphia will be looking at the game as a big test though. Quarterback Donovan McNabb and the Eagles will look to play far better than they did last week against Carolina.

New England is a 3 point favorite with a total of 36 at SBG Global.

The Eagles will be without wide receiver Kevin Curtis on Friday. He will be out for quite a while after suffering a sports hernia. "We're trying to not wait and do that whole thing," head coach Andy Reid said. "We're trying to get on it. We've identified (the hernia) and it's the problem, and we're trying to get it taken care of." Wide receiver Reggie Brown will also not play on Friday and that means DeSean Jackson will start in Brown's spot Friday in New England, while Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett will rotate at Curtis' spot.

The Patriots will be looking for their regulars to play better on Friday even if Brady does not play. “We try to emphasize every opportunity we get to prepare for our NFL Week One and regular season opener. So that is all of training camp practices and all four preseason games. I think they are all important and we try to maximize all of them. Each game gives the players the opportunity to fine-tune their skills, techniques, reactions and all that in preparation for the regular season.” Head coach Bill Belichick said, “This [game vs. Philadelphia] is a good one. It is a good opportunity against a good football team. The guys that get the chance to participate in the game, I'm sure they will be able to utilize that to help them prepare for the season. Not everybody will, but the guys that do, that will be good for them. The guys that don't, hopefully they will get it some other time or they have already gotten it.”

NFL betting stats show that this is the fourth time in the preseason that the Eagles and Patriots have met with Andy Reid as head coach of the Eagles. The Patriots won all three preseason meetings from 2002 to 2004. The Eagles are 14-25 under head coach Andy Reid in the preseason. Overall the two teams have met 17 times in preseason history. The Patriots have a 9-8 edge in those meetings and have won the last six overall.