The New England Patriots ventured west Sunday for a week of joint practices with many old friends on the Detroit Lions.
The Lions are led by head coach Matt Patricia, who won three Super Bowls in New England, two as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator. One of Patricia’s few wins last season as a first-year head coach came in Detroit against the Patriots.
Through a week-and-a-half of training camp practices, the Patriots’ defense has outpaced their offense. We’ll see how New England stacks up against some new competition this week.
These are the matchups we’ll be watching most closely.
Danny Amendola vs. Jonathan Jones
Amendola should need no introduction to Patriots fans. He was New England’s slot receiver in two Super Bowl wins. Jones has had a fantastic training camp as the Patriots’ top slot cornerback.
Let’s see how much juice Amendola has left in the tank and if Jones can stick with a true technician at the position.
Kenny Golladay vs. Stephon Gilmore
Golladay is big, strong and broke out in a big way in 2018. Gilmore is one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks, but one of his worst games came against Golladay and Detroit last season when he let up two touchdowns.
Gilmore hasn’t been beaten by Patriots quarterbacks and wide receivers at all this summer. Let’s see if Golladay and Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford can find any success against him.
Mike Daniels vs. Joe Thuney/Shaq Mason
Former Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers is on the physically unable to perform list, so, unfortunately, we won’t be able to see him match up against the Patriots’ offensive tackles. Daniels just signed on with the Lions after being released by the Green Bay Packers.
Daniels is one of the best pass-rushing defensive tackles in the NFL, and Thuney and Mason are two of the league’s best interior offensive linemen. Pass-rush drills between Daniels and Thuney/Mason will be fun to watch.
Patriots receivers vs. Darius Slay
Let’s put this nicely: Receiver isn’t a major strength for the Patriots with Julian Edelman, Demaryius Thomas and Cameron Meredith on reserve lists and Josh Gordon suspended. There have been some standouts in camp, however. We’re eager to see how players like Jakobi Meyers, Maurice Harris and N’Keal Harry look against different defenders.
Meyers, Harris and Harry have had flashes against a very difficult Patriots secondary. The Lions’ secondary — which features familiar faces Tavon Wilson, Rashaan Melvin and Justin Coleman — isn’t nearly as good, but Slay is one of the NFL’s better cornerbacks. We don’t know who Slay will match up against, but let’s see if Meyers, Harris or Harry can beat him in 1-on-1s.
While we’re on the subject of Lions defensive backs, this week will be an interesting test for rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham away from Foxboro. Stidham has impressed early in training camp. Let’s see if he can keep rolling in Detroit.
Stidham likely will see extensive action in the Patriots’ preseason opener against the Lions. Practice reps might be dominated by Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer, however.
