The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles face off at 7:30 p.m. ET in their first NFL Preseason meeting of the year. Find yourself away from Lincoln Financial Field or your television? No worries, check out the live scoring updates brought to you by NFL.com with all the plays and stats from Friday evening's game.
Somebody texted me this morning saying the Patriots don't have a chance of winning the AFC East because Tom Brady isn't surrounded by the players he once had. Well, he might not be with Wes Welker or Aaron Hernandez, but nobody should ever count Brady out. The Patriots are entering camp with six tight ends and 12 wide receivers. Danny Amandola and Michael Jenkins have the most experience from the 12 wide receivers, while the tight end race is still up for grabs as Jake Ballard is still bothered by knee troubles.
The Patriots' defense is not what it once was, but they still have guys like Rob Ninkovich, who had a team high eight sacks and tied first with five forced fumbles, Brandon Spikes forced five fumbles as well, while Chandler Jones had six sacks. Their secondary, while they gave up yardage, they also finished with 20 interceptions. That core of young corners will only get better as Devin McCourty led the pack with five takeaways.
The Eagles come into this season with a talented roster. A lot was made of their fourth-round pick, Matt Barkley. If they already have Michael Vick as their No. 1 option and Nick Foles as a beyond decent second option, then why is Barkley around? Vick's health issues should answer the question. He missed six games last season, three the year before and four in 2010. Who knows what Foles will be in his second second in the league. Barkley appears to be a decent third string.
With DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant and Brent Celek, the Eagles appear to have a solid receiving core ready for which ever quarterback throws the ball their way. Their running backs are also strong with LeSean McCoyand the emerging Bryce Brown in their back field.
Okay, so who is ready for some football scores? Click here for all the game stats, summaries and updates as the Patriots and Eagles hook up in the preseason.
P.S.- Vick might flinch a few times after he was bopped in a preseason game against the Patriots last season.
