Patriots
“If we disrupt him … I think we’ll have a good day.”
The New England Patriots’ defense has a tall task ahead of it, opening the season against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Philadelphia had one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses a season ago.
Franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts played a big part in that, and unsurprisingly he has been a major talking point for the Patriots leading up to week one. Bill Belichick heaped praise onto Hurts, calling him “arguably the best player in the league.”
In an interview with Steve Burton, Patriots safety Adrian Phillips talked about matching up against Philadelphia’s offense. Once again, Hurts was at the forefront of the conversation.
“It all starts with Hurts, you have to disrupt him,” Phillips said. “If we disrupt him, get him off the spot, and don’t let him affect the game with his legs, then I think we’ll have a good day.”
Hurts was one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the NFL last season. He passed for 3,700 yards and threw 22 touchdowns with just six interceptions. On top of that, Hurts added 760 more yards and 13 more touchdowns on the ground.
The weapons around Hurts make the Eagles’ offense even more difficult to stop. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are in their second season as a receiving duo, Dallas Goedert returns at tight end. Philadelphia also added running back D’Andre Swift in free agency.
The Patriots will need to bring their best to slow down Hurts and the Eagles. And Adrian Phillips knows it.
“He’s a competitor, he played in the Super Bowl last year,” Phillips said of Hurts. “He’s one of those guys that wants to come out and prove everybody wrong, and he did it last year. So, he’s going to be looking to do the same thing this year.
“We have to hit him in the mouth, we have to get him off his timing, and we have to stop the run game.”
The Patriots will be without Jack Jones for the season opener, putting even more pressure on Phillips and the New England secondary. On Friday, Belichick expressed happiness with what he’s seen from two other defensive backs this offseason, Myles Bryant and Christian Gonzalez. He called Gonzalez “even keel” and “consistent,” while referring to Bryant as “a very dependable player.”
Both Bryant and Gonzalez will likely play increased roles in Jones’ absence.
All eyes are on the road-favored Eagles on Sunday, but Phillips is confident in the Patriots defense.
“If we make them one dimensional and don’t allow them to do what they want to be able to do, I think Sunday will end in good praise,” Phillips said.
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