The New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers will meet this Friday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte to compete in an unofficial dress rehearsal for the regular season. New England enters week three coming off of a comeback victory against New Orleans in week two after dropping their week one battle against the Packers. Carolina on the other hand enter the third week of the preseason at a perfect 2-0 with wins against two other AFC East teams, Miami and Buffalo.
The first half of the New England - Carolina meeting will show off starting quarterbacks Tom Brady and Cam Newton more so than any game this preseason. The extended game time could prove crucial as the regular season approaches and neither teams starting QB has impressed in the preseason. In week two Brady was only able to complete two passes on three straight three and outs. Newton for Carolina hardly fared better as he went 4 of 10 passing with an interception. With this being the most important game of the preseason both QBs will need to bring confidence to their coaching staff and fans. Brady will need to show that deflategate will not impact his play, while Newton will need to show that his pocket passing and awareness has continued to improve.
Continuing to be the large question mark for New England is who will play at wide receiver. Julian Edelman and Aaron Dobson reportedly returned to practice this week and could bring a good punch to the offense that hasn't been their early in games. Also in the mix is newly acquired veteran Reggie Wayne who will look to create a quick connection with Brady and the offense and stick with the team.
For Carolina the wide receiver spot wasn't an issue entering week two of the preseason, but after number one receiver Kelvin Benjamin suffered a torn ACL the team now has a gigantic hole at the top of the depth chart on offense. One of the only players on the roster with size comparable to Benjamin would be young rookie Devin Funchess. Funchess only 21 has similar size at 6'4'' to Benjamin and will need to show he has similar skill of the Panthers have a hope of continuity on offense.
On the defensive side of the football for the Panthers the front seven has been the strength of the team for years. With defensive end Charles Johnson returning to practice he should cause problems for the Patriot offensive line. New England’s line was in shambles week one allowing seven sacks on Jimmy Garoppolo while starting three rookies on the interior. With starting left tackle Nate Solder back for the Patriots and veteran interior linemen Ryan Wendell returning to practice week three would be as good a time as any to prove the line can get it done in the run AND pass game.
Perhaps most importantly for both teams will once again be the play of the defensive backfield. The Biggest names for the Pats and Panthers will be Malcolm Butler and Charles Tillman respectively. Butler has had up and down reports in practice but has been given the starter treatment in the preseason. With extended play coming in week three he needs to prove he is worthy of the starting QB role. As for Tillman his presence likely will be more as an influence. At his advanced age Tillman isn't the player he once was, but if his leadership and smarts can allow other players to be in the right place to make plays.
The third preseason game is the closest fans will get to real football until week one of the regular season and should go a long way to proving who will make the final 53 man roster.
3 To Watch
Luke Kuechly - As stated earlier in the article the Carolina front seven is the strength of the team, and Kuechly is their leader. The star linebacker is borderline incredible stopping the run and covering the flat. The New England Patriots have struggled running the ball all preseason so look for them to try and open some holes in the Carolina defensive line, and look for Kuechly to meet the running back in the hole just about every time.
Logan Ryan - The third year corner for New England is yet another Rutgers player to be drafted by Bill Belichick. After a strong rookie season Ryan has been an absolute disaster in coverage allowing big gains and constantly falling behind in coverage. Ryan entered the preseason in contention for the number two spot opposite Butler, but after playing the entire preseason game two he could be fighting for playing time.
Dominique Easley - After missing most of his first season with the Patriots Easley has been given ample opportunity across the New England defensive line. Playing next to rookie Malcolm Brown Easley has a tremendous opportunity to show his pass rushing ability to get into the backfield while also showing if he has the smarts Belichick loves, keeping the contain on quarterback Cam Newton and maintaining his assignment in the run game.