Bedard: James White rides off and 5 things to watch when Patriots take on Giants tonight

In a move that was far from a surprise, James White announced his retirement.

White, who sustained a serious hip injury last season in the third game, will go down as one of the best backs in franchise history, especially for his postseason and clutch moments.

It's still a travesty that he was not named Super Bowl LI MVP after he posted 14 catches for 110 yards and scored 20 points — including the walk-off play — in the 34-28 victory over the Falcons.

White, a fourth-round pick in 2014, had a career that really exemplified the player that he was. He started humbly with the Patriots, playing only three games with five receptions as a rookie. Not the biggest guy, White had some early issues running between the tackles — he only averaged 1.5 yards after contact, according to PFF, through 2017. The next three seasons, he averaged 2.2. But once the Patriots settled on exactly how best to use White, as a full-time pass back, he flourished and became one of Tom Brady's most important teammates in Dynasty 2.0.

Not that it's a surprise that White hung them up, but the finality brings up some issues for the Patriots, which leads us into today's contest against the Giants...

TOP FIVE THINGS TO WATCH

1. The offensive operation.

There have been various reports saying the Patriots will not play many of their starters tonight, including Mac Jones. The team will play it off that they are focusing on the upcoming joint practices against the Panthers and Raiders, but the next joint practice against Carolina isn't until Tuesday. 

That means this will be their schedule for the last week-plus.

8/1 Full pads, competitive
8/2 Full pads, competitive
8/3 Shells
8/4 Full pads, competitive
8/5 Stadium jogthrough
8/6 OFF
8/7 OFF
8/8 Full pads, competitive
8/9 Full pads, 75 percent
8/10 OFF
8/11 Game, starters don't play
8/12 OFF
8/13 TBD, likely OFF
8/14 TBD
8/15 TBD, likely shells
8/16 Joint practice, fully competitive
8/17 Full pads, 75 percent
8/18 Game

So from Aug. 4 up to Tuesday, the Patriots will have had one fully competitive practice that doesn't involve live tackling, as seen with the Lions on Hard Knocks.

There's virtually no reason, with only three preseason games, not to have at least the offensive starters — the defense has many proven veterans who don't need the work — play a series to get some live action. The only real reason to withhold them is that you are afraid of what it will look like, and that Jones could get hurt. And those should be very real concerns. 

As far as the operation, all eyes will be on the offense. Who's in the booth on the headset? Who's calling the plays? Who's instructing Jones? Who's working with the offensive line?

2. The offensive line.

They have to get their act together up there, I don't care who's playing. I would expect the Patriots to open with a line of LT Justin Herron, LG Cole Strange, C James Ferentz, RG Mike Onwenu (maybe Arlington Hambright), RT Yodny Cajuste. All have something to prove. The Giants are expected to play a lot of their starters, and they have some good players up front. Good test for some of the linemen. 

3. Pass back auditions.

I previously had what type of plays are they calling, but since the personnel will likely be second and third stringers, that doesn't really matter. With White's retirement, let's put the focus on the pass backs, all of which have been underwhelming in camp.

Not sure if Ty Montgomery plays as a veteran, but he's the leader in the clubhouse. I'm very interested to see Pierre Strong and JJ Taylor on the field and evaluate how they do with pass protection and their performance in the flat. Kevin Harris should get some looks too.

4. Cornerbacks

Much to be determined here beyond Jalen Mills, who is CB1. Jonathan Jones moving to the outside, for now, has to be an indictment on what the coaches have seen to this point from Terrance Mitchell, Malcolm Butler and Jack Jones. Still plenty of time for those guys, but it seems like the Patriots feel good about the slot depth provided by Myles Bryant and Marcus Jones. Will all of that continue?

5. Edge/linebackers.

Time for some of these guys to show out and get the coaches to take notice, namely Josh Uche, Ronnie Perkins and Anfernee Jennings on the edge, and Mack Wilson and Cam McGrone on the inside. Love Wilson so far, but McGrone and Perkins are languishing on the third team. Games like these are a way to get noticed and bumped up the rotation.