Will Jeff McLane Be SURPRISED if Eagles Lose to Patriots Week 1?

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In this segment of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast, Greg Bedard is joined by Jeff McLane from the Philly Inquirer to talk the Patriots Week 1 Opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. Will the Patriots be able to stage an upset against the Eagles? Greg and Jeff give their thoughts.   If you enjoyed this content, please make sure to watch the full episode here (https://youtu.be/vENCpewQi1Q) | Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast w/ Nick Cattles

Transcript

00:00 this goes into sort of, you know,

00:01 our general thoughts about the game.

00:03 Like I doubt that you've made a game pick.

00:04 I haven't made a game pick yet.

00:05 Like I'm just starting to get into the Eagles,

00:07 but you know, from my vantage point,

00:10 you know, if the Patriots defensively,

00:14 after they basically return everybody

00:17 and they've had all summer to get ready for this,

00:20 if they don't keep the Eagles somewhat in the mid 20s

00:24 and give themselves a chance to win,

00:26 like if the Eagles come out and they score

00:28 in their first three or four possessions in the first half

00:31 and it's over at halftime, like look out below up here.

00:34 I mean, their only hope is that the defense is elite

00:38 because, you know, I look at it and, you know,

00:41 I'm sure they've just been so beat up

00:44 on the offensive line.

00:45 And I don't even know how good they are.

00:47 I mean, Trent Brown is the left tackle starter.

00:50 He's inconsistent, but he looks pretty good this year.

00:52 Cole Strange, who's probably going to start at left guard

00:54 if he's ready, hasn't played all summer.

00:56 He's been hurt.

00:57 David Andrews is really good at center.

00:59 Right guard, Michael Wenu,

01:00 a strange and a Wenu who just started practicing

01:03 like in the last week.

01:03 A Wenu's a good player,

01:05 but I don't know where he is physically.

01:06 If they have to go back ups there, including a rookie,

01:09 like good luck.

01:10 And then right tackle is just a complete crap show.

01:13 Like to the point where they had to go and trade

01:14 for two guys on August 27th,

01:17 who have barely played in the league.

01:19 And their other alternative is a rookie

01:21 who's just been overmatched at right tackle.

01:23 Like you could get away with that against a lot of teams.

01:27 I mean, the Eagles are like the purple people eaters.

01:30 Like they're just like,

01:31 it's waves of people and large humans.

01:34 And I just don't know how the Patriots

01:37 are going to block these guys.

01:37 I assume they're just,

01:39 I think they're looking to survive this game.

01:42 And there's going to be a lot of quick games,

01:44 a lot of draws, try to run the ball a little bit,

01:46 take shot plays once in a while,

01:48 but they are going to try to get the ball out of Mac's hands

01:51 as soon as possible so he doesn't get killed.

01:54 Because that's what happened in the opener last year

01:57 in Miami when they got blindsided.

01:59 He got knocked out for multiple games

02:03 in the third game against the Ravens.

02:04 Like, you know, right now where the line is,

02:06 that's where they're headed for.

02:07 So, you know, like, you know, look,

02:10 do I like getting the Eagles early?

02:12 You know, for the Patriots defense?

02:15 Yeah, but I don't,

02:16 I think the Patriots offense is in survival mode.

02:18 I have a tough time seeing them winning this game

02:21 or covering or anything like that.

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02:37 Would you be surprised if the Eagles lost this game

02:44 or how surprised would you be?

02:46 - Yeah, I mean, like, it's nice to hear, like, you know,

02:48 a point of view of someone who covers a team from there

02:50 in terms of like, you know,

02:51 like we tend to be like down on the teams

02:53 that we cover sort of thing.

02:54 I mean, I'm not down on this team.

02:56 They're probably, they're the class of the NFC,

02:58 which is not saying much 'cause the NFC sucks this year,

03:01 but like, they're still good.

03:03 And they took the Chiefs all the way

03:06 to the end of the Super Bowl.

03:07 And they're returning a lot of guys, like offensively.

03:11 I mean, there's that.

03:12 And, you know, I guess if you're the Patriots,

03:16 you think, okay, our best versus their best,

03:21 maybe can help us keep the scoring down

03:24 and their worst versus our worst, you know,

03:27 maybe it cancels it out.

03:28 And somehow they kind of on the road,

03:30 they have some struggles, it's early for them.

03:32 They have whatever, you know, miscommunication,

03:36 Sean Desai maybe, you know, isn't quite ready for the job

03:41 and calling plays in this situation.

03:43 And so, and things kind of snowball from there.

03:46 It's possible, you know, in the NFL,

03:48 anything's possible.

03:50 - I don't know, has the line been out yet?

03:52 I mean, I wonder, it's gotta be,

03:54 it's not gonna be, it's a road contest,

03:57 touchdown maybe, six, seven.

04:00 - I think it's less than that.

04:01 I will check in a second.

04:03 But, you know, I do think that,

04:05 while I'm looking for that,

04:05 I do think that, you know, the formula for the Patriots

04:08 is gonna have to be like old school, like NFL.

04:10 Like, it's, they're gonna have to play

04:13 really good defense, keep teams in the 20s.

04:15 They have invested a lot in special teams.

04:18 I know the Eagles don't even care about special teams,

04:20 but they've invested a lot in that.

04:22 And they were bad on special teams last year.

04:24 But they're starting two rookie kickers in this,

04:26 a kicker and a punter in this game.

04:28 The punter will be fine, but the rookie kicker,

04:31 I mean, you know, we'll see.

04:33 But they need to make some turnovers,

04:36 change of field on special teams.

04:39 Like, that's their formula.

04:40 I mean, they could do it.

04:41 It's, the line is only three and a half,

04:43 Philly by three and a half in this game.

04:46 So, that's a bit odd.

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