FOXBOROUGH - Big day here at Gillette Stadium. It's the day Bill Belichick knows we've been waiting for: the season's first injury report.
Players limited in Wednesday's practice include three of the five projected starting offensive linemen: OT Trent Brown (Illness), Mike Onwenu (Ankle), and Cole Strange (knee). Also listed are CB Jack Jones (hamstring) and WR DeVante Parker (knee).
Later, I saw Brown enter the locker room, and he didn't appear any worse for the wear. Perhaps it was a heat-related illness because it's hotter than the sun's surface.
BSJ ANALYSIS
I fully expect Brown to be anchored at left tackle Sunday, with David Andrews at center and Onwenu…somewhere on that starting unit. Perhaps Belichick is leaving breadcrumbs. Onwenu was listed as an "OL" and not a guard on the aforementioned injury report. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. Also possible. Considering how much time he's missed, I'd be surprised if Onwenu can go the distance against the Eagles. Still, Logan Mankins once returned from his holdout midway through the year and played every snap in his return to action. Of course, Mankins is a different breed than most anyone, but I guess that's to say it's been done at least once.
How will the rest of that group shake out? The coaching staff was pleased with the work of Atonio Mafi this summer, and I can envision a scenario in which he starts and Strange, working his way back from a knee injury, comes in every third series or so. I would not consider that a benching but an acknowledgment of how much time he missed and that his history here is shorter and less accomplished than Onwenu's.
As for right tackle, the Pats are pushing for Calvin Anderson to be ready. The idea of rookie Sidy Sow facing some of Philly's pass rushers is unnerving, not just to the folks sitting in section 315. The team remains high on Sow but wasn't blind to some of his technical and physical issues this summer.
Believe it or not, losing Riley Reiff for this one (and, at the very least, the three that follow) is troublesome. No, Reiff wasn't great this summer. He may have lost the right tackle gig early in camp. But he adjusted reasonably well to guard and would have easily found his way into the action this weekend, whether inside or as the swing tackle. Instead, that role would belong to Vederian Lowe, who has experience playing both tackle spots for Minnesota a season ago.
Will this group be able to see it "through the same set of eyes" as Dante Scarnecchia used to preach? That's a reach, but they at least have plenty of game experience to rely on, and that can only help.
As for the other two injuries, same story, different year for Parker. He's been limited for about a week now. If he can't go, expect increased reps for Kendrick Bourne (which would be a good thing) and the possible call-up of Jalen Reagor from the practice squad. Again, it is more of a move to lean on experience than rely on a pair of rookies at the position (Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte).
Jones will have to be monitored here. The Pats are exactly deep with outside corners. If the 2nd year pro can't go or is hampered, it likely means Jon Jones is moving back outside, and he is also coming off an injury.
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One smile spoke far more than the words that followed it. David Andrews, entering year nine in the league, was asked if he had more confidence in the offense this year than last year's bleep show (that word wasn't a part of the question, but we were all thinking it).
Andrews grinned, happy but, in some ways, showing relief that whatever happens beginning Sunday against the Eagles can't possibly be worse than the Matty P/Joe Judge/Belichick troika last fall.
That's been the mindset the entirety of this offseason, basically from the moment Bill O'Brien walked through that door. At times, I've tried to minimize his impact. We're not talking about someone whose resume is loaded with top-10 offenses, but he did win some games with Brian Hoyer, Brock Osweiler, and other assorted also-rans. But can a coordinator make that much of a difference? Talent still wins games more than we've liked to admit in Foxborough over the year. But I've leaned further and further in O'Brien's direction since his arrival, seeing how he's coached this group and how they've responded.
"The plays we run have a meaning, and if we buy into them, they should be successful," said Rhamondre Stevenson.
Imagine that? Play design. Sequencing plays. Answers to adjustments. Hell, being able to make adjustments. It's a real, live NFL offense. It all matters.
"I feel like he's been very consistent with us and just who he is," Hunter Henry said. "He brings a lot of energy to our room. It's fun. He bounces a lot of things off of us. Feedback from us. Him talking to us. It's kind of a back-and-forth in a lot of ways. He's fun to be around."
That back-and-forth didn't happen last year with the offensive staff, at least not to the level the players have talked about this summer. So when you have someone with the amount of experience O'Brien has - not just in the pros but college as well - you can understand why this has opened some eyes, in a good way.
"It means a lot," said Stevenson. "He knows we're on the field actually running the plays. We see it maybe a little bit different than you watch it in film. So, he's just getting our input on it, just seeing what we like. Coaches working with players. Players working with coaches."
It's not a novel concept, but the impact is written all over these players' faces.