What we’ll be looking for from the Patriots during Super Bowl week

There’s a lot to focus on over the next few days as Super Bowl LIII looms just around the corner. From the perspective of a reporter who has covered eight Super Bowls, here are five things worth keeping an eye on when it comes to the Patriots over the next few days.

1. Personnel/practice wrinkles:


In previous years, when the Patriots have stumbled in the Super Bowl, one of the things that’s derailed them is a poor week of practice. (Almost to a man, the 2007 Patriots said their week of practice in the days before Super Bowl XLII was one of their worst of the year.) It’s not like players are going to come out and tell you practice was sloppy over the course of the week — we’ll have to rely on pool reports when it comes to how sharp things are on the practice field. But really, in the end, that’s something we’ll have to glean for ourselves in the media sessions in the days leading up to Sunday. Body language and tone over the course of the week will shed some light on how things are proceeding for the Patriots in this department in the days leading up to the game.

2. Injuries/health:

New England is as healthy as its been all year heading into the Super Bowl — the Patriots had no one on the injury report this week, which is remarkable at this point on the calendar. But as we saw in the days leading to last year’s AFC title game, it only takes one mistake to throw a monkey wrench into things. (In the context of this conversation, it’s also worth recalling how Malcolm Butler was slowed by illness in the days leading up to and following the AFC championship.) We’ll be keeping an eye out for anything unexpected when it comes to the daily injury report.