While Monday night's game against New England is the regular season tune-up for the Eagles' starters, it doesn't look like the Patriots are going to treat it the same way.
The Patriots have three games in a span of 10 days and ESPNBoston's Mike Rodak reported that quarterback Tom Brady, tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez and wide receivers Brandon Lloyd and Wes Welker may see "little, if any, action" against the Eagles.
This would be disappointing since the Patriots passing attack provides a great test for the Eagles defense. Can the defensive line disrupt Brady? Can strongside linebacker Mychal Kendricks and the safeties cover the amazing tight end duo of Gronkowski and Hernandez? How will Joselio Hanson, with a dislocated finger, match up with Wes Welker in the slot?
Head coach Andy Reid said on Saturday that the starters will play into the second half. Hopefully, they will get to test themselves against the first-team Patriots and get a better gauge of where they stand going into the regular season.
Typically, the Eagles would treat the third preseason game as the final exam for the starters before the regular season. However, the game is Friday against Cleveland, the team the Eagles will open the regular season against on September 9. The Eagles will not want to show the Browns anything that they can work on before the season opener.
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